This paper investigates Yes-No question intonation patterns in English L2, Italian L1, and
English L1. The aim is to test the hypothesis that L2 learners may show different
acquisition strategies for different dimensions of intonation, and particularly the
phonological and phonetic components. The study analyses the nuclear intonation
contours of 4 target English words and 4 comparable Italian words consisting of sonorant
segments, stressed on the semi-final or final syllable, and occurring in Yes-No questions
in sentence-final position (e.g., Will you attend the memorial?, Hai sentito la Melania?).
The words were contained in mini-dialogues of question-answer pairs, and read 5 times
by 4 Italian speakers (Padova area, North-East Italy) and 3 English female speakers
(London area, UK). The results show that: 1) different intonation patterns may be used to
realize the same grammatical function; 2) different developmental processes are at work,
including transfer of L1 categories and the acquisition of L2 phonological categories.
These results suggest that the phonetic dimension of L2 intonation may be more difficult
to learn than the phonological one