Informal speech processes can be categorical in nature, even if they affect many different words

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Phonetics
• Sociolinguistics

Background:

• Informal speech exhibits various reduction phenomena.
• The categorical nature of these reductions in spoken language remains debated.
• Focus on Dutch schwa reduction and word-final /t/ deletion.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate whether speech reduction processes in informal Dutch are categorical.
• Analyze the factors influencing the reduction of schwa and word-final /t/.
• Determine if reduction phenomena in spontaneous speech result from gradient or categorical processes.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of over 2000 Dutch past participle tokens from spontaneous speech corpora.
• Automatic transcription and phonetic analysis of segment durations.
• Statistical examination of phonetic variables affecting reduction.

Main Results:

• Reduction of word-final /t/ in Dutch past participles is a gradient process.
• Schwa reduction is influenced by phonetic variables, with potential for both gradient and categorical processes.
• Segment duration distributions support findings on gradient and categorical reduction.

Conclusions:

• Speech reduction phenomena in informal Dutch can result from categorical processes.
• Findings contribute to understanding the variability and systematicity of spoken language.
• Distinguishes between gradient and categorical influences on sound change in progress.