Prosodic Phrasing in parentheticals and topics across varieties of European Portuguese

Abstract

This study focuses on the prosodic phrasing and intonation of utterances with parentheticals and topics in two previously unstudied varieties of European Portuguese (EP) - Porto and Évora. Our findings are compared to previous descriptions for the standard variety (SEP), and two Central-Southern varieties. The results indicate that there is no variation in EP in the prosodic phrasing of these utterances, as both parentheticals and topics form independent Intonational Phrases (IP) in all varieties. However, variation was found across varieties in the effect of constituent length on phrasing, and in strategies used to mark prosodic boundaries. Some varieties exhibit a higher sensitivity to constituent length, thus promoting the formation of compound IPs (SEP, Central-Southern varieties), than others (Northern varieties). These results, together with the fact that the IP was consistently found to be the domain for sandhi phenomena, further support the critical role of the IP in EP prosodic phonology.