Central vowels in Central Arrernte: A spectrographic study of a small vowel system

Abstract

In this study we examine the formant and duration patterns of the two central vowels, /ə/ and /ɐ/, in the Australian language Central Arrernte. The contrast between these two central vowels is minimal: there is no contrast in initial position, nor in final position. In medial position, /ə/ is higher in the vowel space and shorter in duration. /ə/ is not affected by metrical stress, although there is a tendency for /ɐ/ to be lower and/or longer for some speakers in this condition. Coarticulatory effects of adjacent consonants are observed at the vowel midpoint for both vowels, although /ə/ shows more variance according to consonant context. It is argued that the main function of the vowel in Central Arrernte is to provide formant cues for the adjacent consonants, given that this language is particularly rich in places of articulation.