Hiztunaren fonema inbentarioa eta elebitasun goiztiarraeuskara gehi frantsesa vs. euskara gehi gaztelania

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the relations between early bilingualism and phoneme inventory among Basque-French and Basque-Spanish bilingual adults living in the Basque Country. The paper provides an overview of the complex issues that phonologists face when investigating the nativization of loanwords and, more generally, the ways in which unfamiliar sounds and sound sequences are adapted to converge with the native language’s sound pattern. The general feeling is that loanword nativization provides a direct window for observing how acoustic cues are categorized in terms of the distinctive features relevant to the L1 phonological system as well as for studying L1 phonological processes in action and thus to the true synchronic phonology of L1. The paper analyses these phenomena with a case study of Basque-French bilingual speech.