Topic in dialogue: prosodic and syntactic features

In this paper we investigate the relationship between phonetic phrasing, tonal pattern and phrase structure in left peripherical sentence topic. Our corpus consists of three task-oriented Italian dialogues. The results of prosodic analysis show that topics are usually associated to the highest pitch values in the Tone Unit, regardless to their actual syntactic position. Syntactic analysis shows that, while topic phrase structure is rather variable, topic function is quite stable, i.e., topics have mostly circumstantial-locative function, and less frequently subject function. Finally, phonetic phrasing, prominence placement and phrase structure shows clearly regular relationships

Phonetic variation of f 0 range in L1 and L2 : a comparison between Italian, English and Spanish native and non-native speakers

This work was carried out with the purpose of investigating the use of language-specific features of pitch span and level in L2. Different languages were investigated: on the one hand, we analysed productions in L2 Spanish and English, uttered by Italian learners with different proficiency levels; on the other hand, we analysed productions in L2 Italian uttered by Spanish and English speakers. The results show a very heterogeneous situation: to some extent, learners seem to be sensitive to f 0 excursion and modulation of the L2 input they receive; however, these intonational features of Target Language speech: i) are out of non-native speaker’s control, ii) do not affect all the aspects of L2 productions, and iii) present a high degree of inter-speaker variability

Transfer, fossilization and prosodic drift in Foreign Language Learning

This article aims to shed light on the processes governing the development of prosodic competence in Italian learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). We have analysed the intonational contours of yes-no questions read by five groups of speakers (A, B, C, E, and P). Groups A, B, and C are learners of EFL at three different levels (beginner, intermediate, and advanced), who have never spent significant periods of time in English-speaking countries. Group E includes advanced learners who have English language experience in the UK. Group P includes Italian professors of EFL, who represent a sample of speakers with both acquisition experience and high proficiency in English. Our results highlight the total lack of improvement from Group A to C, allowing us to suggest the occurrence of prosodic transfer and drifts. On the contrary, speakers who have acquired the language in natural environments show improvements in their FL prosodic competence, but this is identified only in some of the prosodic cues analysed. The cues for which we did not observe improvements are thought to be more vulnerable to fossilization

La strategia del questioning nell'interazione dialogica: verso una definizione di continua pragmatico-funzionali

Abstract - This work investigates the Questioning strategy within dialogical speech, considered the prototypical verbal interaction. In order to implement this communicative strategy, speakers need to take care of different kinds of aspects: information exchange involves interpersonal aspects as well as the propositional content connected with the specific communicative aims (in our case, the solution of the task-oriented dialogue). Therefore, we present an analysis considering these two levels in which interlocutors cooperate: an interactional and relational level, as well as a task-oriented level. These aspects are obviously related to idiosyncratic characteristics of each speaker and depend on social, cultural, relational and situational factors too. In spite of all this variability, we present some functional-pragmatic continua as a valid and accurate interpretation key of the dynamics of the Questioning strategy. They reflect  two different and often opposite forces acting simultaneously: on the one hand, the need to communicate a specific message to reach a common goal and, on the other hand, the effort to maintain the relationship with the interlocutor

Strategie pragmatiche in italiano e spagnolo a confronto: una prima analisi su corpus

In questo lavoro presentiamo i primi risultati di un progetto pilota di analisi pragmatica corpus based di dialoghi task-oriented prodotti in alcune tra le principali lingue europee. L’indagine è stata effettuata a partire da un’analisi quantitativa che consente di avanzare alcune ipotesi preliminari sul tipo di strategie messe in atto da parlanti di lingue diverse basate sulla ‘misura’ dell’occorrenza di categorie pragmatiche codificate secondo uno schema di annotazione appositamente realizzato per questo tipo di testi. Il metodo è stato precedentemente testato su un corpus di varietà di italiano parlato ed ha mostrato interessanti potenzialità di caratterizzazione dei diversi stili comunicativi adottati in diverse aree italiane. È possibile analizzare fattori quali il grado di coinvolgimento, le strategie di cooperazione, le dinamiche di competizione, i meccanismi di dominanza interazionale nello scambio comunicativo e fornirne una descrizione in chiave comparativa che fa luce su alcuni caratteri culturali dell’interazione verbale. L’analisi che qui presentiamo è relativa ad una comparazione tra italiano e spagnolo, lingue non solo tipologicamente simili, ma per le quali viene in qualche modo ‘percepita’ nel sentire comune una sorta di fratellanza o somiglianza culturale. Nonostante ciò, i risultati di questa analisi rivelano che non sempre è possibile osservare scelte ‘stilistiche’ simili dell’interazione verbale e nelle dinamiche comunicative

strategie discorsive in spagnolo l1 ed l2 a confronto un indagine su corpora dialogici

According to previous studies on L1 Italian and Spanish, speakers prefer different pragmatic strategies and adopt specific pragmatic patterns to express their attention to the interlocutor. This study deals with communicative strategies used in dialogic speech in L1 and L2 Spanish considering both textual structure and interaction between the two interlocutors. More in detail, the aim of this research is to analyse how speakers introduce and manage Discourse Topics in order to compare the behaviour of native and non-native Spanish speakers. The study examines two corpora of task-oriented dialogues, the corpus DiESPA, of Peninsular Spanish L1 −collected in different geographic areas− and the corpus DiELE-(I), of Spanish L2 –collected in the University of Salerno with Italian learners of a CEFR level B2-C1. The analysis of Discourse Topics introduction and management allows defining crucial textual characteristics and defining speakers' attitudes towards interlocutors. From a qualitative and a quantitative analysis, which examines the percentage of occurrences of pragmatic moves used by native and non-native speakers, it emerges that differences in native speakers and L2 learners' strategic choices used to complete the task are due to their limited linguistic competence, especially grammatical and lexical, rather than to pragmatic and cultural factors