Abstract
In this paper, I intend to offer an experimental phonetic and phonological analysis of the quality of the low vowels in the Eastern Lombard dialect of Berbenno (BG). Usually, Bergamasco dialect varieties don’t display a distinction neither in vowel quantity nor in the quality of their lower vowels. The current study, based on read speech data collected through dedicated fieldwork, nevertheless shows that some speakers, mostly due to emigration or long stays abroad (mainly in Switzerland), conserve an archaic distinction between [a] and [æ]. This seems to be not only a phonetic distinction, but even a phonemic one, related to a previous stage of Eastern Lombard for which contrastive vowel length can be assumed.
Salvi, Adriano