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Article published In: Spanish in Context
Vol. 22:2 (2025) ► pp.419–444

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Acquisition of segmental and suprasegmental features of Granada accent by long-term residents with L1 Polish

ORCiD logo with link | University of Granada
ORCiD logo with link | University of Granada | University of Wollongong
Published online: 5 August 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/sic.24017.wal
Abstract
Second language pronunciation during immersion involves acquiring features of the local accent rather than just the standard accent. This study examines how well L1 Polish learners, who have lived in Granada for over 10 years, have adopted the local Eastern Andalusian Spanish accent. In Granada, consonants in codas are often deleted, and preceding vowels undergo various changes. The research compares vowel pronunciation between 51 native Granada speakers and 32 L1 Polish speakers. Both segmental (F1 and F2) and suprasegmental (duration, f0, intensity) features are analysed using linear mixed-effects models. Results indicate that while L1 Polish speakers have acquired some segmental features of the Granada accent, they struggle more with suprasegmental features. This difficulty may be due to the limited coverage and awareness of suprasegmental features in phonetic studies and language teaching materials.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • 1.Background
  • 2.Aims, objectives and hypotheses
  • 3.Methods
    • 3.1Speakers
    • 3.2Samples
  • 4.Acoustic methodology
  • 5.Statistical methodology
  • 6.Results
    • 6.1Acoustic results
    • 6.2Statistical results
  • 7.Discussion
    • 7.1F1
    • 7.2F2
    • 7.3Duration
    • 7.4F0
    • 7.5Intensity
    • 7.6Significance of findings for L2 acquisition
    • 7.7Review of the research questions
  • 8.Conclusions
  • References
References (86)
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