English Vowel Duration Research Articles

Production of English vowel duration by multilingual speakers of Namibian English

Production of English vowel duration by multilingual speakers of Namibian English

Perception of English and Catalan vowels by English and Catalan listeners: A study of reciprocal cross-linguistic similarity.

This study reports the results of two experiments aimed at assessing the perceived similarity between English and Catalan vowels and diphthongs. Perceived similarity judgements were elicited from speakers of both languages involved and were compared to first language identification data from the same speakers. In experiment 1, a group of 27 naive Catalan listeners performed a perceptual assimilation task in which they were asked to identify Catalan and English vowels in terms of native categories and provide a goodness of fit rating. In experiment 2, a group of native speakers of Southern British English performed an adaptation of the same task. The results showed that most non-native vowels were consistently perceived as instances of a given native category, with varying degrees of goodness of fit. In a few cases, assimilation scores were very high in both experiments, pointing to the possibility of near-identical or shared categories. A few asymmetrical mappings were found, which were linked to the influence of language-specific cues such as the role of vowel duration in English. These results emphasize the importance of contrasting native and non-native perception and the potential of reciprocal approaches for making predictions about non-native perception and second language development.

The effect of word-final stops’ voicing on the vowel duration and its relation with Korean speakers' english proficiency

It has been well known that the vowels preceding voiced stops are produced durationally longer than the vowels preceding voiceless stops in English. Based on this phonetic phenomenon, this research investigates to determine whether there is any relation between the Koreans' English proficiency and the difference in the ratio of the English vowel duration before the voiced stops to the English vowel duration before the voiceless stops. For analysis, the Korean-Spoken English Corpus (K-SEC, made in 2004) and the Rated Korean-Spoken English Corpus (Rated K-SEC, made in 2017) were utilized where the 32 Korean elementary school students from Seoul and Gyeonggi province articulated the target items such as bag/back and cab/cap. These speakers were categorized into one of the three different proficiency groups (Advanced, Intermediate, and Novice) according to their speaking ability. From the findings, native English speakers were found producing the vowels before the word-final voiced stops 1.421 times longer than the vowels before the word-final voiceless stops. Similarly, in the case of the Korean speakers, they produced the vowels before the word-final voiced stops longer than the vowels before the word-final voiceless stops. However, the study couldn't discover any possible relationship between their English proficiency and the ratio of the vowel duration before the word-final voiced stops to the vowel duration before the word-final voiceless stops in English (the ratio—Advanced: 1.275, Intermediate: 1.209 and Novice: 1.25).

The Effect of Stop Voicing on Vowel Duration in English and Korean CVCV Structure

The Effect of Stop Voicing on Vowel Duration in English and Korean CVCV Structure

Learning Phonology from Surface Distributions, Considering Dutch and English Vowel Duration

ABSTRACTIn learning language, children must discover how to interpret the linguistic significance of phonetic variation. On some accounts, receptive phonology is grounded in perceptual learning of phonetic categories from phonetic distributions drawn over the infant’s sample of speech. On other accounts, receptive phonology is instead based on phonetic generalizations over the words in the lexicon. Tests of these hypotheses have been rare and indirect, usually making use of idealized estimates of phonetic variation. Here we evaluated these hypotheses, using as our test case English and Dutch toddlers’ different interpretation of the lexical significance of vowel duration. Analysis of thousands of vowels of one Dutch and three English mothers’ speech suggests that children’s language-specific differences in interpretation of vowel duration are likely due to detection of lexically specific patterns, rather than bimodality in raw phonetic distributions.

A study on the vowel duration difference followed by phonetic contexts

Vowel duration in English serves as a cue to the voicing distinction of the following consonant, in a way that vowels preceding voiced consonants are longer than those preceding voiceless consonants. This study will examine the differences in vowel duration in various phonetic contexts produced by 8 Korean-speaking L2 learners of English in comparison with the differences produced by 4 native English speakers from the K-SEC corpus (Korean-Spoken English corpus). Specifically, we will test for the durational evidence of the influence of different manners of articulation and syllable positions on preceding or following vowels and investigate how the influence is phonetically realized by two language groups. Our hypotheses and predictions are as follows: 1) vowels are longer when preceded by consonants in coda position than when followed by the same consonants in onset position, 2) vowels are longer when preceded by nasals than when preceded by non-nasal consonants, and 3) Korean speakers produce the differences in vowel length to a smaller extent than native English speakers.Vowel duration in English serves as a cue to the voicing distinction of the following consonant, in a way that vowels preceding voiced consonants are longer than those preceding voiceless consonants. This study will examine the differences in vowel duration in various phonetic contexts produced by 8 Korean-speaking L2 learners of English in comparison with the differences produced by 4 native English speakers from the K-SEC corpus (Korean-Spoken English corpus). Specifically, we will test for the durational evidence of the influence of different manners of articulation and syllable positions on preceding or following vowels and investigate how the influence is phonetically realized by two language groups. Our hypotheses and predictions are as follows: 1) vowels are longer when preceded by consonants in coda position than when followed by the same consonants in onset position, 2) vowels are longer when preceded by nasals than when preceded by non-nasal consonants, and 3) Korean speakers produce the differe...

Mandarin Chinese Speakers’ Production of English Vowel Duration as a Function of Coda Voicing and Syllable Number

The current study compared native English-speaking adults’ and native Mandarin-speaking adults’ ability to produce context-specific vowel duration differences under the assumption that variability is higher in non-native language learners’ production. A total of twenty native Mandarin and English speakers produced real English words in a frame sentence multiple times. The mean vowel and consonant closure duration and vowel duration variability were analyzed. The results were that Mandarin Chinese speakers produced considerably smaller contrasts but greater temporal variability than English speakers in their production of individual words. The results indicated that the phonological knowledge of L1 is likely to interfere with the temporal patterns of L2 production.

Voice Onset Time (VOT) and Vowel Duration

This study investigates the effects of voicing of a preceding and following plosive on the Voice Onset Time (VOT) and vowel duration. The data consist of words with CVC segments, with the four groups of samples that represent both voiced and voiceless plosives, both for the ones following and preceding the vowels. The preliminary hypothesis is that voicing of following plosives affects the length of the vowels, indicated by the vowel duration, and VOT is affected by the voicing of thepreceding plosives, not the following plosives. To compare the effects of voicing on the lengths of the vowel duration and VOT, the sound files are analyzed using the Praat program. The results of this study show that the voicing of the following plosives affects the vowel duration, while the voicing of the preceding plosives does not affect the vowel duration. The results also show that it is the voicing of the C1 plosives that affect the VOT. The word-ending plosives do not affect the VOT of the preceding plosives.This study is on English vowel duration and VOT affected by the following and preceding stops. A further study can be done to compare the results of the effects with another language.DOI: https://doi.org/10.24071/llt.2012.150201

The Effects of Information on English Vowel Duration and Vowel Space

The Effects of Information on English Vowel Duration and Vowel Space

Imitation of English vowel duration upon exposure to native and non-native speech

AbstractThe study reproduces pilot work concerned with the imitation of English vowel duration by Polish learners (Zając 2013). Its aim was to expand on the findings of the previous study, i.e. determine if the magnitude of imitation may depend on the native/non-native status of the model talker and investigate whether the provision of explicit instructions to imitate at the beginning of the experiment affects convergence strategies of the participants. The dependent variable was the duration of three English front vowels analysed in shortening and lengthening contexts. The stimuli included pre-recorded English word pairs pronounced by a native and a non-native model talker. The experimental procedure consisted of three tasks: (1) reading the English word pairs displayed sequentially on a computer screen (baseline condition), producing the English words after exposure to (2) the native model talker’s voice and (3) the non-native model talker’s voice (shadowing conditions). The results show that the magnitude of imitation in the pronunciation of L2 learners may differ as a function of the model talker (native vs. non-native). The provision of explicit instructions to imitate at the beginning of the experimental procedure was found not to have a significant impact on the convergence strategies of the subjects.

Voice Onset Time (VOT) and Vowel Duration

This study investigates the effects of voicing of a preceding and following plosive on the Voice Onset Time (VOT) and vowel duration. The data consist of words with CVC segments, with the four groups of samples that represent both voiced and voiceless plosives, both for the ones following and preceding the vowels. The preliminary hypothesis is that voicing of following plosives affects the length of the vowels, indicated by the vowel duration, and VOT is affected by the voicing of thepreceding plosives, not the following plosives. To compare the effects of voicing on the lengths of the vowel duration and VOT, the sound files are analyzed using the Praat program. The results of this study show that the voicing of the following plosives affects the vowel duration, while the voicing of the preceding plosives does not affect the vowel duration. The results also show that it is the voicing of the C1 plosives that affect the VOT. The word-ending plosives do not affect the VOT of the preceding plosives.This study is on English vowel duration and VOT affected by the following and preceding stops. A further study can be done to compare the results of the effects with another language.

Voice Onset Time (VOT) and Vowel Duration

This study investigates the effects of voicing of a preceding and following plosive on the Voice Onset Time (VOT) and vowel duration. The data consist of words with CVC segments, with the four groups of samples that represent both voiced and voiceless plosives, both for the ones following and preceding the vowels. The preliminary hypothesis is that voicing of following plosives affects the length of the vowels, indicated by the vowel duration, and VOT is affected by the voicing of the preceding plosives, not the following plosives. To compare the effects of voicing on the lengths of the vowel duration and VOT, the sound files are analyzed using the Praat program. The results of this study show that the voicing of the following plosives affects the vowel duration, while the voicing of the preceding plosives does not affect the vowel duration. The results also show that it is the voicing of the C1 plosives that affect the VOT. The word-ending plosives do not affect the VOT of the preceding plosives.This study is on English vowel duration and VOT affected by the following and preceding stops. A further study can be done to compare the results of the effects with another language. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24071/llt.2012.150201

Stress and duration in three varieties of English

This paper investigates stress placement in the English of Spanish speakers, Nigerian English and Singapore English. This investigation reveals that they have in common several patterns of stress placement that are distinct from British or American English. We show that these patterns cannot be accounted for by transfer. A different explanation is suggested, one that explains the recurrent patterns in terms of English vowel duration. It is proposed that in determining stress in multisyllabic words, L2 speakers assess the duration of syllable nuclei and assign stress to the syllable containing the longest vowel. In contrast with transfer, which holds L2 speakers' first languages responsible, this proposal attributes the distinct patterns of stress placement to the target language, making possible a unified account of the shared patterns in the three varieties of English. As L2 speakers, regardless of their first languages, grapple with the same target language, it should have a similar effect, giving rise to the common patterns of stress placement in the three varieties of English.

Patterns of voicing-conditioned vowel duration in French and English

Because the variation in vowel duration conditioned by following obstruent voicing has been found to be much greater in English than in other languages, a phonological rule of vowel-lengthening has been proposed for English. This conclusion, however, has been based on studies that do not take into account a number of other factors which influence vowel duration. A comparison of vowel duration in English and French monosyllables shows that, particularly sentence-finally and medially under focus, when inter-language differences in final obstruent realization are taken into account, obstruent voicing has a substantial influence on vowel duration in both languages. In words occurring in unstressed medial position, the variation in vowel duration is much smaller, but equally so in both languages, once inter-language differences in prosodic structure and syllable structure are taken into account. These results suggest that languages universally exhibit fairly similar, physiologically conditioned, voicing-dependent variation in vowel durations. Under certain conditions of word length, syllabic structure, stress, position in word and utterance, and speaking tempo, voicing-induced differences are enhanced, while under others they are obscured. A general phonetic account in terms of timing control thus seems more appropriate than a language-specific phonological rule, even for a language like English.

Universal versus language‐specific aspects of voicing‐dependent vowel duration

All languages show vowels to be slightly longer before voiced obstruents. A phonological rule of vowel lengthening has been proposed for English because the variation seems to be much greater than in, say, French. This comparison, however, has been based on studies that do not control for word length, syllable structure, or for whether or not the languages have final devoicing. A comparison of voicing‐dependent vowel duration in English and French monosyllables shows that phrase finally and medially under focus, obstruent voicing is a significant factor influencing the duration of preceding vowels in both languages. In unfocused medial position, on the other hand, the difference between the durations as a function of consonant voicing is much smaller. Moreover, if differences in syllabification are taken into account, the languages are even more similar. That is, in French, consonants tend to be resyllabified with the following syllable, unlike in English. These results suggest that languages universally exhibit fairly similar physiologically conditioned voicing‐dependent variation in vowel durations. Under certain conditions, including word length, syllabic structure, stress, position in word, and utterance and speaking tempo, the difference is enhanced, while in others it is obscured. Thus a general phonetic account in terms of timing control is preferable to a language‐specific phonological rule.All languages show vowels to be slightly longer before voiced obstruents. A phonological rule of vowel lengthening has been proposed for English because the variation seems to be much greater than in, say, French. This comparison, however, has been based on studies that do not control for word length, syllable structure, or for whether or not the languages have final devoicing. A comparison of voicing‐dependent vowel duration in English and French monosyllables shows that phrase finally and medially under focus, obstruent voicing is a significant factor influencing the duration of preceding vowels in both languages. In unfocused medial position, on the other hand, the difference between the durations as a function of consonant voicing is much smaller. Moreover, if differences in syllabification are taken into account, the languages are even more similar. That is, in French, consonants tend to be resyllabified with the following syllable, unlike in English. These results suggest that languages universally ...

Effects of accent on vowel duration in Japanese

It has been known for some time that accent (i.e., lexical stress) is a major factor affecting vowel duration in English. An experiment was conducted to see whether accent has a similar effect in Japanese. Vowel durations were measured in tokens of minimally contrasting two‐syllable words uttered by several native speakers of standard (Tokyo) Japanese. The mean duration for accented vowels was only slightly longer than for unaccented vowels, and when lengths of V1 and V2 were plotted against each other, there was considerable overlap between the data point sets of pairs of contrasting words. It was concluded that accent has only a minimal effect on vowel duration in Japanese.

Voicing-dependent vowel duration in English and French: Monolingual and bilingual production

It is well established in English phonology that vowels preceding voiceless consonants are approximately two-thirds the duration of vowels preceding voiced consonants when these vowels occur in stressed prepausal environments. It is claimed that such a large voicing-dependent effect does not exist in certain other languages, such as French. However, in previous studies, the syllabic and phonemic structures of the stimuli used for cross-language comparison have not been held constant. Therefore, it was the purpose of this study to compare durational effects in English and French stimulus words having the same syllabic structure and, to the extent possible, the same phonemic structure. An additional issue of the study was the ability of bilinguals to utilize the English durational rule. Computer analysis of 854 stimulus words revealed that (1) there were larger context-dependent differences in preconsonantal vowel duration in English than in French, and (2) the English and French vowel duration ratios of French–English bilinguals were essentially like those of French monolinguals. However, the bilinguals’ English vowels were longer than their French vowels.

Dental flaps and vowel duration in English

This experimental investigated dental flaps and their effect upon preceding vowel duration in English. Twenty speakers read a randomized list of 40 disyllabic words, 20 with medial /d/. Most tokens of /t/ and /d/ were pronounced as flaps, as expected. The data, collected from spectrograms, included 1st and 2nd vowel duration, presence or absence of flap (as opposed to stop [t] or [d], duration of consonant, and extent of voicing during the flap. Our results provide evidence bearing on two phonological questions: (1) Does the rule which changes /t/ and /d/ to flaps (F) precede or follow the rule which lengthens vowels before voiced consonants (VL)? If VL precedes F, the vowels preceding flaps with underlying /d/ will have greater duration than flaps with underlying /t/. If F precedes VL, there will be no such difference. (2) Do underlying /t/ and /d/, in fact, give rise to the same voiced flap consonant, as is usually assumed? The data suggests that not all /t/ flaps and /d/ flaps are identical, nor are they necessarily voiced.

Another Look at Vowel Duration in English

Acoustic measurements show that some vowel contrasts in English involve differences both in formant pattern and duration, e.g., bit versus beat. An experimental study with synthetic speech stimuli varied both in duration and quality indicates that native speakers of American English are insensitive to durational differences in vowels and respond only to differences in formant patterns in the identification of such pairs. Certain non-native speakers of American English do, however, make perceptual judgments based on both vowel quality and length, and this correlates in an interesting way with their productions of the same contrasts. The results of this study provide a criterion for evaluating some current ideas about the nature of human phonetic ability.

Development of a Nonphonemic Feature in Child Speech—Differential Vowel Duration in English

The development of differential vowel duration was observed in six subjects (Ss) who were tape recorded at one month intervals from age 2 yr 0 months to 3 yr 0 months. The three vowels chosen for study before one voiceless and one voiced stop, and one voiceless and one voiced fricative, were the close lax vowel /ɪ/, and the close tense vowels /i/ and /u/. Children named the pictures for: /stɪk bɪb kɪs hɪz/, /fit sid tiθ piz/, /but fud gus ∫uz/, thus producing a “pontaneous” response. They also repeated the /i/ series of words which had been prerecorded on tape, thus producing an “elicited” (mimicked) response. The Ss were placed in a sound-proof booth and tape recordings were made of their responses. Vowel durations were measured from duplex oscillograms of these recordings. The results show that all children at age 2 yr 0 months demonstrated correct differential vowel duration according to the adult model under both types stimulus presentation. Even children who could not yet articulate voiced consonants in word final position (and substituted voiceless consonants instead) showed increased vowel duration where it should normally be found. Although minimal pairs were not used in this study, these results indicate that the nonphonemic feature of differential vowel duration may assume phonemic status for children at this stage in speech development.