Keywords
vowel pronunciation variation, shifts, mergers, language change diffusion
Abstract
American English vowels are variable in pronunciation
- ban vs. bat, too vs. boo
- feel vs. fill, [bæt] vs. [bæ̞̙ t]
We can categorize these differences:
Shifts:
- I pronounce /u/ fronter than my grandparents do.
- My students pronounce /æ/ as lower and more centralized than I do.
Mergers:
- For me, cot and caught are distinct; for 95% of my students, they’re homophones
- In Utah, feel and fill are often pronounced the same
Language change happens as some variants spread to more and more people.
Original Publication Citation
Joseph A. Stanley. “Enriching our understanding of language change with vowel formant trajectories.” Macquarie University Centre for Language Sciences (CLaS) Colloquium series. Sydney, Australia (delivered remotely). August 31, 2023.
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Stanley, Joseph A., "Enriching Our Understanding of Language Change With Vowel Formant Trajectories" (2023). Faculty Publications. 8005.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/8005
Document Type
Presentation
Publication Date
2023
Publisher
Macquarie University Centre for Language Sciences Colloquium series
Language
English
College
Humanities
Department
Linguistics
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