Towards Modeling Second Dialect Speech Learning: The Production of Bogota [s] in Ciudad Bolivar by Speakers of Three Different Varieties of Colombian Spanish

This study investigates the second dialect production of Bogota Spanish /s/ in coda position by speakers of three different varieties of Colombian Spanish, who have been in contact in Ciudad Bolivar, a community located in Bogota, Colombia. The study has three aims. First, it will examine the role of phonetic distance in the acquisition of /s/ production. Second, it will determine the linguistic factors that constrain the realization of /s/ sound by the speakers of the three varieties studied. Third, it will look into the role of extralinguistic factors in the production of /s/. A total of 2322 tokens extracted from sociolinguistic interviews with 50 participants were acoustically analyzed in PRAAT. Statistical analyses were conducted using GoldVarb. The results showed the highest rate of [s] was produced by the speakers of the Eastern Andean variety, followed by the Western Andean, and then by the Coastal variety, suggesting that first dialect phonological processes may affect the acquisition of second dialect sounds. Consistent with previous studies that have examined /s/ variation and change, the linguistic factors position in the word, following segment, and syllable stress were also predictors of /s/ in second dialect production. The extralinguistic factors of age of arrival, age, and gender also had a significant effect on /s/ production in this study. Implications are discussed for models of second dialect speech learning.