Intonation of Ontario French in a Minority Setting: A Study Comparing Two Age Groups

This paper focuses on melodic aspect of French in a minority setting and presents a study of intonation based on text readings by eight females. With a methodology allowing for a close comparison of intonation, I am looking at whether the inventory and distribution of tonal patterns, and the phonetic realization of a rising melodic contour, vary depending on the speaker’s age. Results reveal a significantly higher proportion of falling contours in this dialect, compared to dialects in majority situations, and significant differences in contour realizations between two age groups.