Abstract:

This essay offers a preliminary analysis of the intonational system of the Istanbul variety of Judeo-Spanish, spoken by the last generation of speakers born in Turkey. The description is based on the analysis of pitch contours in recordings of free conversations and narratives by three native speakers. After providing some historical background, the main contours for the expression of final statements, continuing statements, emphatic statements, and interrogatives are illustrated with representative contours obtained from the recordings. Compared to many varieties of Peninsular and Latin American Spanish, there are some differences in the intonation of neutral statements among nearly all speakers. For continuing statements, Judeo-Spanish manifests additional contours.