This article presents the results of a study of rhythm in Ontario French in local minority and majority contexts. To determine whether French in a minority situation shows a less syllabic rhythm due to English influence than it does in a majority situation, we used the following rhythm measurements: %V, ΔV, ΔC, VarcoV, VarcoC and nPVI-V. The results suggest no effect of language contact on the minority setting data where we find even more syllable-timed rhythm than in the majority variety. In addition, we observe that women and older speakers exhibit a more syllabic rhythm than men and younger speakers.
Previous studies of intonation in regional French showed differences in tonal alignment in comparison with the Standard variety [1], [2]. While high tones appeared timed similarly in Québec and Vendée French, they showed different secondary associations depending on whether they accompanied primary or secondary stresses [3]. As Ontario French is genetically related to these two dialects and dominated by the majority English language, it is necessary to understand the extent of tonal variation in contact: does it concern the tonal alignment only or tonal alignment and association? Considering low and high tonal targets, this pilot study suggests that high tones have the same association in all three datasets but appear more peripherally in Ontario. The low tones appear to demonstrate differences in association and alignment in the contact dialect. Thus, intonation of French spoken in a majority and a minority settings shows phonetic and phonological differences.
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