Gilly Marchini

Thesis title: Peak alignment and variable segmental anchoring in two Mexican Spanish ethnolects

PhD Linguistics

Year of study: 3

  • Linguistics and English Language
  • School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences

Contact details

Address

Street

Dugald Stewart Building

City
3 Charles Street, Edinburgh
Post code
EH8 9AD

Biography

Background

I am a second year PhD Researcher in the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences at Edinburgh University working under the supervision of Dr Michael Ramsammy , Dr Benjamin Molineaux & Dr Jeremy Steffman. Prior to coming to Edinburgh for the MScR in 2021, I completed an Integrated Masters (MLang) in French and Spanish Linguistic Studies from the University of Southampton in 2019.

Research summary

As a variationist phonetician & laboratory phonologist, I study the relationship between fine acoustic and articulatory detail and wider, phonological rules. My research focuses primarily on dialects of Romance Languages, particularly those of Latin America which have been largely overlooked due to systemic eurocentricity. Other research interests can be summarised as follows: 

  • Acoustic Phonetics
  • Laboratory Phonology
  • Experimental Phonetics
  • Variation within Spanish
  • Afro-Hispanic language

Current research interests

I am currently interested in documenting the segmental and suprasegmental of Costeño Spanish, a variety of Spanish spoken by those of African heritage on the Costa Chica in Mexico. I aim to document how these features may diverge from non-Afro Mexican Spanish varieties, as well as how they may contribute to ongoing debates concerning the ways in which languages may mark out stress patterns and, specifically, the acoustic and physiological characteristics which allow them to do so. Outwith my own research, I am also currently employed as an Acoustic Phonetics Research Annotator on the DFG-AHRC funded project, 'Prosodic structure at the interface between language and speech'.

Past research interests

Past research has primarily focused on the interaction between fine phonetic detail and wider phonological rules. For example, my MScR Thesis examined the dialect-specific nature of vowel compression and the acoustic realisation of lexical stress in Spanish. I have also researched the interaction between /s/-lenition effects and syllable structure in a variety of /s/-leniting Spanish dialects.
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