Okklusive im Kontakt. Das System der Okklusive in der Sprachinsel Zahre/Sauris im Vergleich mit anderen bairischen Varietäten

This contribution deals with the stop system in the German based minority language of Sauris/Zahre in the northeast of Italy. An acoustic analysis was carried out revealing a contrast in voicing word-initially. Comparing the systemin Sauris/Zahre with other stop systems in the Bavarian dialect continuum we can observe progressive neutralization proceeding from south to north with the North and Middle Bavarian varieties (neutralization in all contexts) and the South Bavarian varieties spoken in the language islands in North-Italy (neutralization only in final position) as opposing poles. Implementation of voicing contrasts correlates with increasing contact to Romance varieties which exhibit the same laryngeal contrast. The specific shape of the stop system in Sauris/Zahre could thus be the result of language contact. In the final section,this hypothesis is discussed.