Rising intonation in the Spanish of Chiloé (Chile): first approximation

Abstract

This research paper presents initial findings regarding the analysis of rising intonation con-tours in final, broad focus declarative utterances recorded in Chiloé (Chile). These utteranc-es—unlike the great majority that have been reported in different varieties of Spanish and characterized by a falling nuclear configuration—exhibit a rising terminal pitch. The first acoustic data of conversational speech are analysed and preliminary phonological observa-tions are made. Acoustic evidence of the rise is included, together with tentative phonolo-gical labelling and, finally, questions are raised and possibilities for further investigation are proposed.