Voice onset time in Spanish-English spontaneous code-switching

Research on the phonetics of code-switching has focused on voice onset time (VOT) and has

yielded mixed results regarding cross-language interaction, possibly due to differences in data used

(scripted vs. spontaneous speech) and populations examined (L1 vs. L2 dominant, early vs. late

bilinguals). Here VOT was measured in a corpus of spontaneous code-switching speech elicited

from a homogeneous group of early bilinguals in conversation with and without distraction

(completion of jigsaw puzzles). The distraction meant to increase cognitive load, a manipulation

that could affect phonetic realization. Both English and Spanish VOT were shorter at codeswitching

points than in comparable monolingual utterances. English VOT lengthened overall under

increased cognitive load (but remained shorter in code-switching as compared to the monolingual

context). These results support previous findings of VOT shortening in code-switching for both

English and Spanish, and confirm that the effect applies in the natural speech of early bilinguals.