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Article In: Written Language & Literacy
Vol. 28:2 (2025) ► pp.173–232

Written vowel variation in Imbabura Media Lengua

 | University of Saskatchewan
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
This study investigates written vowel variation and stability in Imbabura Media Lengua, a contact language formed from Spanish lexicon and Kichwa morphosyntax. Through analyzing transcribed conversations by two native speakers, this research identifies patterns in orthographic choices, specifically focusing on written variability between mid and high vowels. Generalized linear mixed-effects models show that vowel choice is largely stable and source-aligned, though variation arises predictably in two domains, (1) root-final vowels preceding suffixes and (2) in lexical “reborrowings” — words originally borrowed into one source language from the other and subsequently borrowed again into Media Lengua. The minimal orthographic variation aligns closely with perceptual research, suggesting that how a vowel is perceived plays a greater role than how it is produced in determining spelling preferences. These results emphasize the roles of etymological origin and auditory perception in shaping Media Lengua’s nascent orthographic systems.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background
    • 2.1Orthographic practices in minority and contact languages
    • 2.2Kichwa orthography
    • 2.3Media Lengua orthography
    • 2.4Media Lengua phonology
      • 2.4.1Media Lengua vowel production
      • 2.4.2Media Lengua vowel perception
      • 2.4.3Media Lengua vowel sequences
  • 3.Methods
    • 3.1Annotators
    • 3.2Database
      • 3.2.1Dataset preparation
      • 3.2.2Frequency and count information
    • 3.3Quantifying variation
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Descriptive statistics
      • 4.1.1Orthographic variation by vowel
      • 4.1.2Orthographic variation by annotator
      • 4.1.3Orthographic variation by position
      • 4.1.4Orthographic variation by origin
      • 4.1.5Summary of orthographic variation
    • 4.2Inferential analysis
      • 4.2.1<i> variation
      • 4.2.2<e> variation
      • 4.2.3<u> variation
      • 4.2.4<o> variation
      • 4.2.5<ie>, <ia>, and <ea> variation
      • 4.2.6Other vowel sequences
  • 5.Discussion
    • 5.1Source language-oriented vowel stability
    • 5.2Vowel variability and non-standard vowel stability
    • 5.3Implications for orthography
    • 5.4Limitations
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • Author queries
  • References
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