The production of American English vowels by native Japanese speakers in two different conditions

Abstract

Native Japanese speakers produced American English vowels /i, ɪ, ɛ, æ, ɑ, ʌ/ in two different conditions. First they read aloud one syllable words and non-words that contain these vowels on the word list. The vowels produced in this condition are believed to be what Japanese speakers believe typical of each English vowel. The Japanese speakers also reproduced English vowels uttered by native speakers. They were not told what vowel they would hear in each trial. The vowels produced in this way should be close to how each vowel sounds to the Japanese speakers, regardless of whether they correctly identify each vowel. The results revealed that in the “read aloud” conditions, /i/ and /ɪ/ are spectrally close, and so are /æ/ and /ʌ/ and in low central position. /ɑ/ is higher than /æ/ and /ʌ/. In “reproduction” condition, on the other hand, /i/ and /ɪ/ are spectrally more distant, and /æ/ is fronted. /ɑ/ and /ʌ/ spectrally closer than in “read aloud” condition. Taken together, it can be assumed that there is a discrepancy between how Japanese speakers believe English vowels sound and how English vowels actually sound to them.