A comparative study of pitch range in female bilingual Maltese and Maltese English speakers

Abstract

This dissertation examines mean pitch and pitch range in Maltese and Maltese English female bilinguals. Specifically, the pitch of bilingual speakers is measured and the pitch range is calculated in order to figure out whether pitch varies across speakers with different language dominance. It also seeks to establish whether pitch and pitch range are influenced by whether a bilingual speaker is using Maltese or English). A secondary aim of the study was to determine what kind of material is best suited to research on pitch range. After a brief introduction to the Maltese bilingual context, a review of the relevant literature on pitch is provided in order to identify both the phonetic properties of pitch as well as its phonological correlates. These two factors build on one another and are crucial for the identification of pitch range. An overview of studies on pitch range, including of different methodologies used in such research was also carried out. Mean pitch and pitch range in a population of fifteen female bilingual speakers, aged 18-27 was examined through recordings of two types of data: read text data and sentence data. The speakers were split into three groups having different language backgrounds and dominance (Maltese, Maltese English and Gozitan dialect). These speakers were recorded whilst reading material in both Maltese and English. The results show that language dominance is a valid variable and that speakers’ mean pitch and pitch range differs depending on their language dominance. Specifically, Gozitan dialect dominant speakers have been found to have the lowest mean pitch as well as pitch range, in both Maltese and English. In response to the secondary aim of this study, it was found that sentence data containing different sentence types gives more explanatory power to the analysis. Pitch range research is still very limited in Maltese and Maltese English and thus further studies can be carried out on the topic, also building on the findings of this study.