Rhythm in Maltese English

Abstract

There is evidence to suggest that rhythm may be a key element in the identification of Maltese English, MaltE. A number of characteristics at different levels of structure have been noted in research on this variety. These include a number of phonetic and/or phonological features, some of which may combine to trigger the perception of a pronunciation which is identifiably MaltE. Amongst these features, examining aspects of duration and/or timing has been shown to be a worthwhile starting point in understanding the nature of the rhythm of MaltE. Such elements include, but may not be limited to, the preference for full over reduced vowels, the tendency to production of post-vocalic ‘r’, and gemination of consonants (Calleja 1987; Vella 1995; Debrincat 1999; Grech 2015). It has been pointed out in research to date (Arvaniti 2009; 2012; Nokes & Hay 2012), that while durational characteristics cannot be assumed to be entirely responsible for different rhythm patterns, they remain pivotal, together with features including pitch, or intensity, in the perception of patterns of prominence which collectively could be referred to as rhythm. Following previous research by Grech (2015) and Grech & Vella (2015), there are indications that a Pairwise Variability Index (Grabe & Low 2002) can capture aspects of vowel duration and timing which can, in turn, translate into some measure of lesser or greater degrees of identifiability of this variety of English. This paper therefore reports on a study carried out using a normalised Pairwise Variability Index, nPVI, to measure local patterns of variability in vowel duration, as an indicator of rhythm patterns in 6 MaltE speakers. These speakers were rated in an earlier study (Grech 2015) as representing different degrees of identifiability as MaltE speakers on a continuum of variation. The extent of identifiability of these speakers is correlated to the nPVI results obtained in an attempt at addressing the matter of the extent to which rhythm characteristics may trigger listener perceptions of this variety.