Intonational convergence in information-seeking yes-no questions: the case of Olivenza Portuguese and Olivenza Spanish

The present study investigates the realization of informationseeking yes-no questions in two contact varieties, Olivenza Portuguese and Olivenza Spanish, in comparison with Castilian Spanish. We aim to: (1) describe the use of prenuclear pitch accents and nuclear configurations and the durational properties of prenuclear, nuclear, and IP-final syllables in this sentence type; (2) compare the intonational and durational patterns of information-seeking yes-no questions in the contact varieties, Castilian Spanish, and Standard European Portuguese in order to find out which kind of influences the contact varieties show and how can the similarities and/or differences between Olivenza Portuguese, Olivenza Spanish, Castilian Spanish, and Standard European Portuguese in the light of language contact be explained. Our outcomes reveal that the contact varieties exhibit similar intonational and durational properties; they use a strong IPfinal lengthening to mark information-seeking yes-no questions, in contrast to Castilian Spanish and Standard European Portuguese. The comparison between the contact varieties and the Standard varieties has shown that Olivenza Portuguese and Olivenza Spanish pattern with Castilian Spanish rather than with Standard European Portuguese concerning the tonal realization of this sentence type. The intonational systems of both contact varieties can be seen as the result of convergence and transfer processes.