Erik W. Willis

Erik W. Willis

Associate Professor, Spanish and Portuguese

Director, Graduate Studies

Director, Hispanic Linguistics Program

Education

  • Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2003
  • M.A., Brigham Young University, 1997
  • B.A., Brigham Young University, 1994

Specializations

  • Spanish phonetics and phonology, Laboratory phonology, Variation

Selected publications

  • Garza, R., Willis, E. W &. Melero-García, F. (2024). More than occlusions: The role of segmental duration in perceiving the Spanish tap-trill contrast by Heritage speakers of Spanish. In M. Gradoville & S. McKinnon (Eds.), Recent Developments in Hispanic Linguistics. John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.41.05gar
  • Willis, E. W. (2024). Bachatéame, pero con la /s/: La hipercorrección de la /s/ implosiva en la bachata. Spanish in Context. https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/sic.22005.wil
  • Arróniz, S., & Willis, E. W. (2023). How to resolve the question? Dialectal variation of utterance types in Andalusian and Puerto Rican Spanish. In U. Penn Working Papers in Linguistics (pp. 21-30). University of Pennsylvania. https://repository.upenn.edu/entities/publication/ca12e9a4-2f52-43f3-9560-e5c8911a1a9b
  • Pollock, M., Willis, E. W., & Díaz-Campos, M. (2023). The perception of coda /ɾ/ and /l/ in Dominican Spanish: Diversity, geography, and sociolinguistic variation. Revista Internacional de Lingüística Iberoamericana, 21(2). https://doi.org/10.31819/rili-2023-214209
  • Pollock, M., Delgado-Diaz, G., Galarza, I., Diaz-Campos, M., & Willis, E. W. (2023). The emergence of sound change in two varieties of Spanish: A usage-based analysis of variable trill /r/ production in Caracas, Venezuela and Caguas, Puerto Rico. In T. J. S. Fernandez Cuenca & L. Miller (Eds.), Innovative Approaches to Research in Hispanic Linguistics: Regional, dialchronic, and learner profile variation. John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.38.05pol
  • Willis, E. W., & Ronquest, R. E. (2022). A socio-phonetic exploration of coda liquids and vocalization in Cibao Dominican Spanish. In M. Díaz-Campos (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Variationist Approaches to Spanish (pp. 207-230). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429200267-20
  • Willis, E. W., & Díaz-Campos, M. (2021). The perception of coda liquids in Dominican Spanish: Geographic and social variation. In L. A. Ortiz-López & E-M. Suárez Büdenbender (Eds.), Topics in Spanish Linguistic Perceptions (pp. 35-53). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003054979-4
  • Sedó, B., Schmidt, L. B., & Willis, E. W. (2020). Rethinking the phonological process of /s/ voicing assimilation in Spanish: An acoustic comparison of three regional varieties. Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics, 13(1), 167-217.  https://doi.org/10.1515/shll-2020-2027 
  • Nelson, E. J., Luetke, M. C., Kianersi, S., Willis, E. W., & Rosenberg, M. (2019). Knowledge and perceptions of Zika virus transmission in the community of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. BMC Infectious Diseases, 19(1), 1-9.  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-019-3952-0 
  • Long, A. Y., Shin, S. Y., Geeslin, K., & Willis, E. W. (2018). Does the test work? Evaluating a web-based language placement test. Language Learning & Technology, 22(1), 137–156. https://dx.doi.org/10125/44585
  • Willis, E. W., Delgado-Díaz, G., & Galarza, I. (2015). Contextualized voicing of the voiceless posterior fricative /h/ in Puerto Rican Spanish. In E. W. Willis, P. M. Butragueño, & E. H. Zendejas (Eds.), Selected proceedings of the 6th Conference on Laboratory Approaches to Romance Phonology (pp. 52-69). Cascadilla Proceedings Project. http://www.lingref.com/cpp/larp/6/paper3192.pdf
  • Bongiovanni, S., Long, A. Y., Solon, M., & Willis, E. W. (2015). The effect of short-term study abroad on second language Spanish phonetic development. Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics, 8(2), 243-283. https://doi.org/10.1515/shll-2015-0010 
  • Bradley, T. G., & Willis, E. W. (2012). Rhotic variation and contrast in Veracruz Mexican Spanish. Estudios de Fonética Experimental, 21, 43-74. https://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/experimentalphonetics/article/view/44188
  • Schmidt, L. B., & Willis, E. W. (2011). Systematic investigation of voicing assimilation of Spanish /s/ in Mexico City. In S. Alvord (Ed.), Selected proceedings of the 5th Conference on Laboratory Approaches to Romance Phonology (pp. 1-20). Cascadilla Proceedings Project. https://www.lingref.com/cpp/larp/5/paper2631.pdf
  • Flores, T., & Willis, E. W. (2011). La entonación noticiera de la República Dominicana. In A. M. Cestero Mancera, I. Molina Martos, & F. Paredes García (Eds.), La lengua, lugar de encuentro (pp. 95-103). Editorial Universidad de Alcalá.
  • Willis, E. W. (2010). Dominican Spanish intonation. In P. Prieto & P. Roseano (Eds.), Transcription of Intonation of the Spanish Language (pp. 123-153). Lincom GmbH. https://doi.org/10.1515/shll-2011-1109
  • Henriksen, N. C., & Willis, E. W. (2010). Acoustic characterization of phonemic trill production in Jerezano Andalusian Spanish. In M. Ortega-Llebaria (Ed.), Selected proceedings of the 4th Conference on Laboratory Approaches to Spanish Phonology 4 (pp. 115-127). Cascadilla Proceedings Project. http://www.lingref.com/cpp/lasp/4/abstract2372.html
  • Henriksen, N. C., Geeslin, K. L., & Willis, E. W. (2010). The Development of L2 Spanish Intonation During a Study Abroad Immersion Program in León, Spain: Global contours and final boundary movements. Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics, 3(1), 113-162.  https://doi.org/10.1515/shll-2010-1067 
  • Willis, E. W. (2009). The role of abstraction in Spanish phonology: A laboratory perspective. Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics, 2(1), 207-220. https://doi.org/10.1515/shll-2009-1043 
  • Willis, E. W. (2008). No se comen, pero sí se mascan: Variación de las vocales plenas en el español dominicano. In Actas del XV Congreso Internacional de la Asociación de Lingüística y Filología de América Latina (pp. 18-21). Retrieved from http://www.mundoalfal.org/indexe.htm and CD ISBN 978-9974-8002-6-7.
  • Willis, E. W., & Bradley, T. G. (2008). Contrast maintenance of taps and trills in Dominican Spanish: Data and analysis. In L. Colantoni & G. Steele (Eds.), Selected proceedings of the 3rd Conference on Laboratory Approaches to Spanish Phonology (pp. 87-100). Cascadilla Proceedings Project. http://www.lingref.com/cpp/lasp/3/paper1716.pdf
  • Willis, E. W. (2008). Tonal characteristics of pronominal interrogatives in Puebla Mexico Spanish. In P. Martín Butragueño & E. Herrera Zendejas (Eds.), Fonología instrumental (pp. 357-376). El Colegio de México.
  • Willis, E. W. (2007). Utterance signaling and tonal levels in Dominican Spanish declaratives and interrogatives. Journal of Portuguese Linguistics, 5/6(1), 179-202. https://doi.org/10.5334/jpl.149 
  • Willis, E. W. (2007). An Acoustic Study of the “Pre-aspirated Trill” in Narrative Cibaeño Dominican Spanish. Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 37(1), 33-49. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-international-phonetic-association/article/abs/an-acoustic-study-of-the-preaspirated-trill-in-narrative-cibaeno-dominican-spanish/1123EA84A9B1DEBF9E6077468CACD36A
  • Willis, E. W. (2006). Trill Variation in Dominican Spanish: An Acoustic Examination and Comparative Analysis. In N. Sagarra & A. J. Toribio (Eds.), Selected Proceedings of the 9th Hispanic Linguistics Symposium (pp. 121-131). Cascadilla Proceedings Project. https://www.lingref.com/cpp/hls/9/paper1372.pdf
  • Willis, E. W. (2005). An initial examination of Southwest Spanish vowels. Southwest Journal of Linguistics, 24(1-2), 185-199.
  • Willis, E. W. (2005). Tonal levels in Puebla Mexico Spanish declaratives and absolute interrogatives. In R. Gess & E. Rubin (Eds.), Theoretical and Experimental Approaches to Romance Linguistics (pp. 351-363). John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.272.21wil 
  • Willis, E. W. (2004). Dominican Spanish absolute interrogatives in broad focus. In T. Face (Ed.), Laboratory Approaches to Spanish Phonology (pp. 61-91). Mouton de Gruyter.
  • Willis, E. W. (2003). Prenuclear low tone alignment in Dominican Spanish. In M. J. Solé, D. Recasens, & J. Romero (Eds.), Proceedings of the 15th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (pp. 2941-2944). Futurgraphic.
  • Willis, E. W. (2002). Is there a Spanish imperative intonation revisited: Local considerations. Linguistics, 40(2), 347-374. https://doi.org/10.1515/ling.2002.015 

Current research projects

  • Utterance signaling through intonation
  • Trills in Veracruz, Mexican Spanish
  • Dominican Spanish (acoustic characterization)
  • Acquisition of L2 phonology