Duration in Focus constructions between Chinese and Italian. A comparison between L1 and L2.

The distinction between stress-timed and syllable-timed languages is a long-debated issue. However, ‘pure’ types are virtually non-existent. Furthermore, the rhythmic characterization of words and constituents can be influenced by information-structure (IS). Based on these premises, the present work represents a pilot investigation aimed to explore Information Focus (IF) in Italian and Mandarin Chinese (MC) to (i) verify previous claims about the influence of IS on syllable duration; (ii) investigate the dominant syllable under the impact of Focus in tone and non-tone languages; (iii) analyze the duration in beginner and advanced Italian learners of Chinese L2 (ILs)’s productions. Results from different experiments have been statistically analysed through Generalized Linear Mixed-Effects Trees (MET), suggesting that in MC (i) syllables in post-focal position have shorter duration than those of focused constituents and (ii) the rightmost toned syllable is always the longest one in IF constructions. Conversely, Italian presents both pre-and post-focal compression. These results call into question the clear-cut classification of languages into syllable- and stress-timed types, opening interesting paths for future research.