Spanish 414-Guide for the preparation of taped interviews
Please follow these guidelines carefully. Failure to do so may result in unusable materials, or may cause the project to be returned to be redone.
1. Consent. Be sure to give a copy of the explanation/consent form to the person whom you will interview, before the interview begins. Be sure the person understands the project. At the end of the interview, ask the person to state their consent on the tape. Those who prefer to sign a consent form may do so. Be sure to respect the guarantee of anonymity; do not identify the person in your written presentation, or by any other means.
2. Tapes: Use good quality, 60─minute normal size tape cassettes. Do not use `mini─cassettes' or DAT cassettes or diskettes. Acceptable brands include: Maxell, Memorex, Sony, Scotch, TDK, Fuji, BASF. Unacceptable brands include: Certron, Radio Shack (Realistic), Tone─Master, KMart, and all `brand X' tapes as used by school systems, government agencies, etc. or as sold unboxed in plastic bags next to the chewing gum and TV Guides. Acceptable tapes can be bought at any drugstore, supermarket, department store, bookstore, etc.. Use only a new tape, and turn the tape in with the plastic box. Do not use junk tapes or those which have been re─recorded; they break, may not record well, and will produce an ungradable product.
3. Recording: Use the best possible quality cassette recorder, if at all possible with an external microphone. The built-in microphones of `boom-box' portable sound systems usually give very poor performance. Try to find a quiet location, with no background music. Place the microphone facing the person being interviewed, but without intruding or poking in the face. It is most useful to lay the recorder and microphone off to the side, so that a more normal conversation can be held. The sooner you can deflect attention away from the tape recorder, the better interview you can get. After finishing, play back a few seconds of the recording to make sure that the tape has been recorded, and that sound quality is acceptable. Do not try to `edit' the tape, just use it as is, ignoring irrelevant or inaudible portions, interruptions, etc. Interviews should be a minimum of 15─20 minutes each; if you get more material, this is even better, although you may not use all of it in your analysis. You will not get full credit for the project if the interview is shorter than 15 minutes.
4. Interview style: Everyone has an individual style and personality, and every interview is the result of the successes and failures of individual personalities. Some interviewees just won't talk, no matter what, and you have to eventually thank them for their time and find somebody else. Others talk very artificially, and give all kinds of misleading information about their own speech and that of others. This may be interesting but is not always useful for a linguistic interview. In conducting the interview, there are more don'ts than do's. Some things that must be avoided: (1) never have the person read from written material or give a prepared or memorized statement; (2) never interview over the telephone; (3) never ask the person to use a `typical' accent or speech form; (4) never give someone a tape and a recorder and ask them to record something alone and bring it back to you; you must be present and conducting the interview; (5) nevernever make secret or hidden recordings, no matter how great the temptation; (6) never ask (on tape) the person's name, age, religion, and never talk about illegal activities. If the person starts to talk about delicate subjects which could later jeopardize them or that they might later regret, tactfully try to change the subject and/or temporarily stop the recording; (7) never interview classmates of the same course you are making the interview for (you may interview fellow students from other classes). If you interview family members or close friends, do so tactfully and only if you are certain they will not resent it later. With such people, rather than conducting a real interview, you can just continue a normal conversation, always obtaining in advance permission to record the conversation; (8) this must be a real interview; do not simply record a lecture, classroom presentation, public speech, radio program, etc.
The ways of obtaining a successful interview are much more variable, but there are several common denominators. It is best not to focus the attention on the language itself. You can ask about styles and customs in different countries, different areas of this country, etc. This will eliminate some of the self─consciousness and hesitation. As the conversation develops, you can ask questions about particular words or meanings, or ask how people in other regions talk, etc., but it is best not to begin with such questions.
Sometimes a one─to─one interview is clumsy, and if you can get another person or two, preferably from the same group as the interviewee, you can have a group discussion, allowing the others the greatest possible participation. With more than 3─4 people, the noise and interruption factor may get out of hand, so don't try to interview at parties, family dinners, etc.
The key to a good interview is getting the other person to regard it as an informal conversation, rather than a question and answer session. This is difficult to achieve, but the more you can get the other person to talk on a single topic, occasionally prodding them with questions or exclamations, the better will be the results. Good topics to discuss with speakers from other countries are the life and customs of other countries, assuming the interviewee is from another nation. You can ask about foods (fruits, vegetables, soups, desserts, etc.), the ways of celebrating Christmas, Holy Week, the local patron saint's day, the holiday of national independence, etc. You can ask about differences in the school systems (how many grades, how is discipline enforced, are uniforms used, what subjects are studied, etc.), dating customs (can girls go out alone on dates, at what age, do parents `check out' boyfriends first), sports and free time activities, etc. For older or more experienced people, you can ask questions about cultural differences involving the structure of the family, ways of expressing courtesy, etc. You can ask natives of another country about their first experiences in the United States, if what they found was what they expected, etc. Avoid asking them if they like this country or what people in their country think of the USA, since this may prove embarrassing. If you are talking with someone who mentions a particular skill (cooking, knitting, woodworking, etc.) you can ask about preparing some particular thing. People like to talk about their jobs, past or present, and about their plans for the future, for vacation periods, etc.
If you have some personal knowledge about the region of the person being interviewed, or if you have recently heard something on the news, this could lead into a discussion. Sensitive topics such as politics, social problems and religion should be handled only if the person being interviewed initiates the discussion. It is usually safe to ask about relations with neighboring countries, the organization of political parties, and so forth, but it is better to not talk about guerrilla movements, military coups, opposition to the government in power, etc. The person being interviewed may have family members still living in the country or may have arrived in this country under precarious circumstances, and such questions can be frightening.
Above all, thank the person for their time, tell them how helpful their participation has been to your studies, and assure them that in no instance will the tapes be used to make fun of them as individuals or their culture as a group, nor will their identity ever be disclosed.
Explanation/consent for recorded interview
Spanish 414 ("Spanish phonology") is a course in which students learn to describe the sounds of Spanish and English, and to observe the pronunciation of Spanish throughout the world. Your participation is requested to provide the students with a sample of spoken Spanish. The recorded interview will be used only for the purpose of transcribing and describing the sounds of Spanish. The student will turn in the tape and analysis for a class grade. If time permits, some tapes may be played to the class for group practice. All recordings are anonymous; your identity will not be revealed to either the instructor or the other members of the class.
If at the end of the interview you object to having the tape used for these purposes, you may request that the tape be erased on the spot. If you consent to the tape being used for the purposes stated above, please state your consent at the end of the recording. My colleagues and I thank you for cooperating in this student project. Please feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions.
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Spanish 414 ("Fonología española") es una asignatura en la que los estudiantes tienen como tarea la descripción de los sonidos del español y del inglés, y la observación de la pronunciación del español a través del mundo. Se le solicita la participación con el fin de suministrar una muestra de lenguaje hablado. La grabación de la entrevista será utilizada exclusivamente para la transcripción de los sonidos del español. El estudiante entregará la grabación y el análisis correspondiente como tarea calificable. Si el tiempo lo permite, es posible que algunas grabaciones también sean presentadas ante la clase. Todas las grabaciones son anónimas; en ningún momento se divulgará la identidad de los entrevistados, ni al profesor ni a los otros participantes de la clase.
Si al concluirse la entrevista Ud. prefiere que la grabación no sea empleada para los propósitos antes expuestos, puede pedir que se borre la grabación en el acto. Si Ud. está de acuerdo con que la grabación se utilice como material de estudio, tenga la bondad de afirmar su consentimiento al final de la grabación. Mis colegas y yo le ofrecemos el más profundo agradecimiento por su cooperación. En el caso de que quede alguna duda, le ruego comunicarse conmigo.
John M. Lipski
Professor of Spanish
Dept. of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese
N 352 Burrowes Building
The PennsylvaniaStateUniversity
University Park, PA 16802
(814) 865-4252
email:
Preparing the final project
The final project provides an opportunity for interviewing speakers of Spanish, both those who learned the language natively, and those for whom English is the first and primary language. A successful project (and a good grade) requires that the following procedures and suggestions be carefully incorporated:
1. If you choose a `Spanish-speaking' person, the interviewee can be from any background, U. S.- or foreign-born, providing that Spanish was one of the languages learned at home, from early childhood.
2. If you choose an `English-speaking' person, the interviewee must have learned English as the first and primary language, from early childhood. It is important that no Spanish should have been used in the immediate family while the person was growing up (e.g. by grandparents, godparents, etc.). Be sure to inquire as to whether Spanish was present in the person's life, regardless of their claims to be `English-only' speakers. The best subject for such an interview is someone from a family in which nobody speaks Spanish, who learned Spanish as an adolescent or later, through deliberate choice (e.g. in school, in military service, through volunteer work, marriage, etc.).
3. Carefully follow the guidelines for making good taped interviews. Make sure that good equipment and a good new tape is used; check that the recording is of good enough quality to be analyzed. Make absolutely sure to obtain the subjects' oral consent at the end of the tape.
4. You may interview anyone who is willing to cooperate, except for a current classmate in this Spanish phonetics class.
5. Each project consists of a tape with the interview, and a written report. Make sure your name is on the tape and on the report. The report must be typed, double spaced, with approximately 1" margins. Please do not put the report into any type of binder or plastic report cover.
6. The report is to be written in Spanish. You will graded for your use of appropriate Spanish grammar and vocabulary (at the ACTFL Advanced level) in addition to the content of the analysis. There is no minimum or maximum length for the written report. Typically, a complete report includes about 2-3 pages per interview.
7. You should not transcribe the interviews, but only comment on important phonetic characteristics of the. Begin the report with a brief (1 paragraph) description of the person, indicating where the person was born and raised, sex, approximate age and educational level, any travel, marriage or other personal circumstances that might affect the way they speak Spanish. For a native Spanish speaker, indicate if the person has lived in other areas/countries where Spanish is spoken. For an English speaker, indicate how and when the person learned Spanish, with whom they speak the language, any foreign travel, etc. Under no circumstances should the person be identified, either by name or by unmistakable characteristics, even if the person has given consent to be identified.
8. For a native Spanish speaker, comment on the pronunciation of the sounds which most typically vary from one dialect to another. Most of these involve consonants. Indicate consistent pronunciation (e.g. this person always aspirates /s/ before a following consonant) without giving specific examples. It is only necessary to give examples if the pronunciation is occasional or idiosyncratic (e.g. this person aspirates /s/ between vowels only in the word nosotros, pronounced as [nohótro]). Use phonetic transcription and appropriate terminology for the discussion. Do not use imprecise terms such as `hard,' `soft,' `corta las palabras,' `se come las letras,' etc.
9. For a native Spanish speaker, briefly compare the person's speech with the characteristics typically recognized for that dialect. This can be done either as each sound is described, or at the end of the report.
10. For a native English speaker, concentrate on features of pronunciation which are likely to have been influenced by English, using the checklist of typical errors and problems that you received at the beginning of the semester, and the contrasts studied in class. You may also comment on the fact that the speaker has overcome particular errors (e.g. does not aspirate word-initial /p/, /t/, and /k/). Do not describe the person's pronunciation of Spanish by simply stating that they `say it like English.' You must give a precise description of the pronunciation (e.g. the person gives intervocalic /d/ an alveolar, stop, pronunciation, similar to [r]).
11. You may bring tapes or outlines to the instructor, to resolve any doubts, and to make sure you are on the right track.
ENGLISH INTERFERENCE TRAITS
Name………………………………………..
_____Aspirated /p/
_____Aspirated /t/
_____Aspirated /k/
_____Alveolar /t/
_____Alveolar /d/
_____Intervocalic /d/ pronounced as stop [d] or flap [r]
_____Group /tr/ pronounced as affricate, nearly [č]
_____Intervocalic /b/ pronounced as stop [b]
_____Inappropriate use of [v]; attempted distinction b-v (e.g. votar-botar)
_____Use of English /r/
_____No multiple trill /rr/
_____Group /si/ + vowel pronounced as [š]
_____Voicing of /s/ to [z]
_____Unstressed vowels pronounced as schwa
_____Stressed vowels pronounced as diphthongs
_____Final /e/ and /o/ pronounced as diphthongs
_____/u/ pronounced as [yu] with cognate words
_____Use of English retroflex/velarized /l/
_____Incorrect placement of accent
_____English pronunciation of cognate words
_____Weak or lost intervocalic /y/
_____English-type contrastive stress
_____Failure to realize enlace (e.g. el otro → e-lo-tro); unnatural pauses between words
Análisis de hispanohablante
_____ /s/ ante consonante (hasta)
_____ /s/ final de frase (vámonos)
_____ /s/ final de palabra ante vocal (los amigos)
_____ /s/ inicial de palabra después de vocal (la semana)
_____ /y/ entre vocales (gallina)
_____ oposición entre /y/ y /λ/ (cayó/calló)
_____ oposición entre /r/ y /l/ finales de sílaba (casal/casar)
_____ /r/ ante consonante (carta)
_____ /r/ final de frase (a ver)
_____ /rr/ entre vocales/comienzo de palabra (carro)
_____ /n/ final de frase (también)
_____ /n/ final de palabra ante vocal (en agosto)
_____ presencia de fricativa interdental sorda [θ] (casa/caza)
_____ pronunciación de /č/ (mucho)
_____ pronunciación de /x/ (caja, gente)
_____ pronunciación de vocales átonas junto a /s/ (500 pesos)
_____ pronunciación de grupo /tr/ (otro)
Más símbolos usados en la transcripción fonética
[š]: fricativa prepalatal sorda (inglés ship)
[ž]: fricativa prepalatal sonora (inglés measure)
[č]: africada prepalatal sorda (mucho)
[ĵ]: africada prepalatal sonora (inglés judge)
[ś]: fricativa alveolar apicodorsal sorda (/s/ de Castilla)
[ŋ]: nasal velar (inglés sing, español tengo)
[rr]: vibrante multiple alveolar (carro)
[θ]: fricativa interdental sorda (inglés thick)
[ð] o [δ ]: fricativa interdental sonora (inglés them, esp. cada)
[I] o [i]: vocal alta anterior floja (inglés thick)
[ε]: vocal media anterior floja (inglés met)
[O] o [ọ]: vocal posterior media redondeada floja (inglés bought)
[U]: vocal posterior alta redondeada floja (ing. book)
[æ]: vocal anterior baja (ing. bat)
[٨]: vocal central media estirada floja (inglés cut)
[∂] (schwa): vocal átona centralizada, estirada floja (inglés Canada)
[b] o [β]: fricativa labial sonora (español había)
[g] o [γ]: fricativa velar sonora (español haga)
[χ]: fricativa uvular sorda (/x/ de Castilla)
[R]: vibrante uvular (francés rue)
[λ]: lateral palatal (calle en, por ejemplo, Bolivia)
[ł]: lateral retrofleja (inglés careful)
[ř]: vibrante asibilada (ver en, por ejemplo, Cd. de México)
[Ø]: ausencia de sonido; `zero fonético'
La sílaba: unidad rítmica mínima
En español, una sílaba consiste mínimamente en una vocal: a, y, etc.
En español, existen 3 clases de sonidos:
consonantes (no silábicas)
vocales (silábicas)
semivocales (no silábicas) pues, triunfo, seis, etc.
En inglés, también existen consonantessilábicas: careful, finger, cotton, etc.