Acoustic vowel space in pre‐/r/ contexts: Shetland and American English.

Abstract

The acoustic space available to vowel systems in pre‐/r/ contexts commonly differs from that of other phonetic contexts. In English this space has gradually shrunk, which relates to changes in the phonetic nature of /r/, having gone from more consonantal articulations (tap, trill) to approximant and often complex articulations that have a stronger effect on the production and perception of adjacent vowels (e.g., “bunched” and retroflex /r/). This paper contains an acoustic study of pre‐/r/ vowel systems in Shetland and American English. F1–F3 values were obtained from steady state vowel portions from words spoken in isolation. The acoustic vowel spaces and the positions of contrastive items within these are compared and discussed in relation to the phonetic nature of /r/ and its effects on vowel formants. In contrast to American English, Shetland maintains a trill or tap as the principal realization of /r/, and the full range of vowel contrasts found elsewhere is supported before /r/. As Shetland is one of the most conservative English dialects in this respect, the study may also offer some insight into the acoustic characteristics of English pre‐/r/ vowel systems of earlier periods and the pressures affecting such systems.