Euskal doinueren ulermena: Markinako galderak eta baieztapenak

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to investigate the effects of intonational differences across Basque varieties. We have chosen three Markina Basque contours as stimuli in a perception experiment: those that are used in declaratives, yes-no questions and verum focus sentences. Stimuli include both natural and manipulated contours. Three participant groups (with Markina Basque, another Basque variety or Spanish as L1) classified stimuli as questions or statements. The results show that Markina Basque speakers differ from the other two groups in the interpretation of the contours. Markina speakers attend mostly to the tonal contour of the last syllable to identify questions.