Abstract
<jats:p>This article investigates the intonation of calling tunes in the context of language contact between Judeo-Spanish and Bulgarian. Based on recordings of 17 bilingual speakers of Judeo-Spanish (all dominant in Bulgarian) and a control group of 14 Bulgarian monolinguals, we analysed the production of calling phrases in three pragmatic contexts: neutral, positive, and negative. Acoustic analysis included measurements of fundamental frequency, phrase and syllable duration, and vowel formant structure. The data were examined using hierarchical cluster analysis, multivariate analysis of variance, conditional inference trees, and linear mixed-effects models. The results demonstrate that both languages employ a similar inventory of calling contours, yet their distribution differs according to context, gender, and linguistic variety. The negative context is characterised by a single dominant contour, while the neutral and positive contexts show greater variability. Furthermore, it was found that final syllables in calling phrases are consistently lengthened and resist vowel reduction, in contrast to the general phonological pattern of Bulgarian. The study contributes to the description of Bulgarian Judeo-Spanish as a critically endangered variety and to the broader understanding of the intonation of calling phrases in language contact. It highlights that into-national categories are stable in shape but exhibit considerable flexibility in distribution and use, depending on pragmatic and sociolinguistic factors.</jats:p>