Dynamic targets in the acquisition of L2 English vowels

• Authors: Geoffrey Schwartz , Grzegorz Aperliński , Kamil Kaźmierski , Jarosław Weckwerth
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

This paper presents acoustic data on the dynamic properties of the FLEECE and TRAP vowels in the speech of two groups of Polish users of English. Results reveal that the more proficient group users, made up of teachers and professors with professional-level proficiency in English, produce more dramatic patterns of formant movement, reminiscent of native productions, than first year students. It is argued that vowel inherent spectra change (VISC) is an inherent aspect of English phonology, originated in interactions between vowels and neighboring consonants, and later generalized to the vowel system as a whole. By contrast, Polish is a language with a minimal role of VISC. Consequently, successful acquisition of L2 English vowels involves not only the mastery of vowels in F1-F2 space, but also formant trajectories over time.

Keywords

EN

Phonetics; Phonology; Vowel Inherent Spectral Change; L2 English

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Łódzki. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
• Journal: Research in Language
• Year: 2016
• Volume: 14
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 181-202

Dates

published

2016-06-30

Contributors

author

Geoffrey Schwartz

• Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań

author

Grzegorz Aperliński

author

Kamil Kaźmierski

author

Jarosław Weckwerth

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Identifiers

DOI

10.1515/rela-2016-0011