A Comparative Variationist Analysis of Phonetic Variation and Change in Toronto Heritage Tagalog
Heritage languages are defined as a product of language contact. In this scenario, patterns of variability are often attributed to contact with the majority language. However, variability may not necessarily or solely be due to contact; it may also be driven by language-internal processes or even identity construction. This dissertation adopts a comparative variationist approach and develops a framework for examining variable patterns of bilingual sound production and the interplay between contact-, internal-, and identity-based processes underlying variation and change. Using Tagalog spontaneous speech data from two generations of heritage speakers in Toronto, and from older and younger homeland speakers in Manila, three phonetic variables are examined: the F2 of /u/, voice onset time (VOT) of /p t k/, and the realization of /r/. Inter-group comparisons and multivariate analyses reveal distinctive patterns. Focusing on Heritage Tagalog, results demonstrate that the F2 of /u/ exhibits stable variation whereas the VOT of /p t k/ and the realization of the rhotic as an approximant show signs of change. While the change in VOT may be attributed to contact with English (the heritage speakers’ majority language), the change in the use of the approximant reflects an interplay between contact with English as well as the language-internal process of lenition. Contact-induced patterns, however, do not point to complete (phonetic) assimilation. These findings suggest that heritage speakers have acquired and maintained separate categories for Tagalog sounds, but these categories nonetheless interact with those for their similar English sounds. Furthermore, the extent to which heritage speakers are oriented towards their Filipino heritage and culture influences the linguistic conditioning of /u/ and /p t k/, suggesting that structural aspects of the phonetic system are being deployed in the construction and expression of identity. Taken together, while heritage speakers display robust phonological knowledge in Tagalog, their linguistic experiences under contact have led to some changes, reflected in phonetic differences. More broadly, this study demonstrates that patterns of variability are not attributable to only one source. This work advances theories of language contact by increasing our understanding of how linguistic, social, and contact-based factors conspire to give rise to variability and change among heritage speakers.
bilingualism, heritage languages, language contact, phonetics, Tagalog, variationist sociolinguistics
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