The present study examined the perception of English tense-lax vowel pairs by adult Saudi English as a second language (ESL) learners. More specifically, it looked at the effect of experience and length of exposure to the target language on the perception of these vowels. Thirty-eight male Saudi participants were recruited for the purpose of this study and were divided into two groups based on their level of proficiency and length of residence in the US, referred to as the experienced group and the inexperienced group, respectively. The research instrument contained four tense-lax vowel pairs, including /i/-/ɪ/, /e/-/ɛ/, /u/-/ʊ/, and /o/-/ɔ/. In order to control for the effect of the environment, all of the vowels were embedded in /hVd/ contexts as illustrated by the following examples: heed (/i/), hid (/ɪ/), hayed (/e/), head (/ɛ/), hawed (/ɔ/), hoed (/o/), hood (/ʊ/), and who'd (/u/). Native-speaker recordings of each vowel token were used to test participants’ perception accuracy. The recordings included both male and female voices. According to the statistics provided by the t-tests, there were significant differences in the perception of five out of the eight vowels that were examined in this study. In all five cases, the experienced group had a significantly better perception accuracy. The vowel that showed the highest magnitude of difference between the experienced and inexperienced students was the tense mid front vowel /e/ with an effect size of 1.5. It was followed by the lax high back vowel /ʊ/ with an effect size of 1.08. The third in magnitude of difference was the lax mid front vowel /ɛ/ (effect size = 1.02), followed by the lax mid back vowel /ɔ/ (effect size = 0.79), and finally the tense mid back vowel /o/ (effect size = 0.72). On the other hand, vowels that did not show significant differences between the two groups were the tense and lax high front vowels /i/ and /ɪ/ and the tense high back vowel /u/. However, although the experienced group showed a significantly higher level of perception accuracy in five out of the eight tense-lax vowel contrasts, the participants in this group reached the 80% accuracy level with only two vowels: /i/ and /e/. On the other hand, the inexperienced group did not show mastery of any of the eight vowels as their perception accuracy scores were below 80%. In terms of related theories, some of the results supported the Perceptual Assimilation Model (Best, 1994), the Speech Learning Model (Flege, 1995), and the Markedness Differential Hypothesis (Eckman, 1977), whereas other findings provided contradictory evidence. Overall, this study concluded that experience and exposure had a positive effect on Saudi ESL speakers’ perceptions of the tense-lax vowel contrasts in English. Even though this effect was not the same for all vowel contrasts, it carried the implication that perception accuracy can be facilitated through systematic training and practice.

O fenômeno de sândi vocálico externo apresenta três realizações possíveis: a elisão, a degeminação e a ditongação. Este trabalho tem como proposta analisar o fenômeno de ditongação como processo de resolução de hiato em fronteira de palavras (camisa usada ~ cami[zaw]sada), baseado na amostra da cidade de Lages, em Santa Catarina, incluída no banco de dados do projeto VARSUL (Variação linguística na região sul do Brasil). O embasamento teórico se apoia em Bisol (1996, 2002 e 2005) para a descrição do processo; em Labov (2008) para fundamentos de teoria da variação; além de teorias fonológicas, como Fonologia Prosódica e Fonologia Lexical. Os objetivos específicos são os que seguem: a) identificar, em nossa amostra, fatores linguísticos que possam favorecer ou bloquear a aplicação da ditongação como processo de sândi externo; b) a partir dos resultados obtidos, corroborar ou não resultados de pesquisas já realizadas a respeito deste processo; c) ampliar a compreensão do fenômeno e oferecer subsídios para uma descrição geral do processo do sândi externo e do português falado no sul do Brasil. As hipóteses que procuramos confirmar são as seguintes: a) quanto à tonicidade, o contexto ideal para a aplicação da ditongação é o de atonicidade máxima (casa escura ~ ca[zaj]scura) (conforme Bisol, 1996; Bisol, 2002); b) o contexto interno à frase fonológica é mais favorecedor na aplicação do fenômeno (velho exemplo ~ velh[we]zemplo) (conforme Bisol, 1996). A análise estatística dos dados foi realizada pelo pacote de programas VARBRUL/GoldvarbX. A amostra, constituída de 16 informantes, mostrou, dentre outros fatores, que a ditongação crescente e a ditongação decrescente têm diferentes contextos favorecedores em relação ao acento e à categoria das vogais e têm contextos favorecedores semelhantes em outras variáveis em comum. Para a ditongação, confirmamos nossas hipóteses: a atonicidade máxima e o contexto interior à frase fonológica se mostraram favorecedores. A seleção das variáveis relevantes não foi idêntica para as duas realizações. / The external vowel sandhi phenomenon presents three possible ways of realization: the elision, the degemination and the diphthongization. This work analyzes the diphthongization phenomenon as a gap resolution process in words boundary (camisa usada ~ cami[zaw]sada) based on the sample of the city of Lages, Santa Catarina, included in the project database VARSUL (linguistic variation in southern Brazil). The theoretical basis is Bisol (1996, 2002 and 2005) for the description of the process; Labov (2008) for the variation theory fundamentals; and Brescancini (2005) for variational research methodology. The specific objectives are the following: a) to identify, in our sample, linguistic factors that may favor or block the application of external vowel sandhi processes; b) from the results obtained, to prove or disprove results of previous studies regarding this process; c) to increase the understanding of the phenomenon and provide support for a general description of the process of external sandhi and Portuguese spoken in southern Brazil. The hypotheses we intend to confirm are the following: a) the ideal context for the three external sandhi processes is an unstressed vowel + an unstressed vowel (casa escura ~ ca[zaj]scura) (as Bisol, 1996; Bisol, 2002; Ludwig-Gayer, 2008; Vianna, 2009); b) the internal context to phonological phrase is more favorable to the application of the phenomenon (velho exemplo ~ velh[we]zemplo) (as Bisol, 1996). Statistical analysis of data was performed by VARBRUL / GoldvarbX software. The sample consisted of 16 informants showed that rising diphthongization and decreased diphthongization have different favorable contexts related to stress and vowel category, and they have similar favorable contexts in same variables. Related to diphthongization, we confirmed our hypotheses: the sequence of unstressed vowels and the phonological phrase are favorable to the process. The selection of the variable was not exactly the same for both processes.

O fenômeno de sândi vocálico externo apresenta três realizações possíveis: a elisão, a degeminação e a ditongação. Este trabalho tem como proposta analisar o fenômeno de ditongação como processo de resolução de hiato em fronteira de palavras (camisa usada ~ cami[zaw]sada), baseado na amostra da cidade de Lages, em Santa Catarina, incluída no banco de dados do projeto VARSUL (Variação linguística na região sul do Brasil). O embasamento teórico se apoia em Bisol (1996, 2002 e 2005) para a descrição do processo; em Labov (2008) para fundamentos de teoria da variação; além de teorias fonológicas, como Fonologia Prosódica e Fonologia Lexical. Os objetivos específicos são os que seguem: a) identificar, em nossa amostra, fatores linguísticos que possam favorecer ou bloquear a aplicação da ditongação como processo de sândi externo; b) a partir dos resultados obtidos, corroborar ou não resultados de pesquisas já realizadas a respeito deste processo; c) ampliar a compreensão do fenômeno e oferecer subsídios para uma descrição geral do processo do sândi externo e do português falado no sul do Brasil. As hipóteses que procuramos confirmar são as seguintes: a) quanto à tonicidade, o contexto ideal para a aplicação da ditongação é o de atonicidade máxima (casa escura ~ ca[zaj]scura) (conforme Bisol, 1996; Bisol, 2002); b) o contexto interno à frase fonológica é mais favorecedor na aplicação do fenômeno (velho exemplo ~ velh[we]zemplo) (conforme Bisol, 1996). A análise estatística dos dados foi realizada pelo pacote de programas VARBRUL/GoldvarbX. A amostra, constituída de 16 informantes, mostrou, dentre outros fatores, que a ditongação crescente e a ditongação decrescente têm diferentes contextos favorecedores em relação ao acento e à categoria das vogais e têm contextos favorecedores semelhantes em outras variáveis em comum. Para a ditongação, confirmamos nossas hipóteses: a atonicidade máxima e o contexto interior à frase fonológica se mostraram favorecedores. A seleção das variáveis relevantes não foi idêntica para as duas realizações. / The external vowel sandhi phenomenon presents three possible ways of realization: the elision, the degemination and the diphthongization. This work analyzes the diphthongization phenomenon as a gap resolution process in words boundary (camisa usada ~ cami[zaw]sada) based on the sample of the city of Lages, Santa Catarina, included in the project database VARSUL (linguistic variation in southern Brazil). The theoretical basis is Bisol (1996, 2002 and 2005) for the description of the process; Labov (2008) for the variation theory fundamentals; and Brescancini (2005) for variational research methodology. The specific objectives are the following: a) to identify, in our sample, linguistic factors that may favor or block the application of external vowel sandhi processes; b) from the results obtained, to prove or disprove results of previous studies regarding this process; c) to increase the understanding of the phenomenon and provide support for a general description of the process of external sandhi and Portuguese spoken in southern Brazil. The hypotheses we intend to confirm are the following: a) the ideal context for the three external sandhi processes is an unstressed vowel + an unstressed vowel (casa escura ~ ca[zaj]scura) (as Bisol, 1996; Bisol, 2002; Ludwig-Gayer, 2008; Vianna, 2009); b) the internal context to phonological phrase is more favorable to the application of the phenomenon (velho exemplo ~ velh[we]zemplo) (as Bisol, 1996). Statistical analysis of data was performed by VARBRUL / GoldvarbX software. The sample consisted of 16 informants showed that rising diphthongization and decreased diphthongization have different favorable contexts related to stress and vowel category, and they have similar favorable contexts in same variables. Related to diphthongization, we confirmed our hypotheses: the sequence of unstressed vowels and the phonological phrase are favorable to the process. The selection of the variable was not exactly the same for both processes.

From the early stage of Optimality Theory (OT) (Prince, Alan and Paul Smolensky (1993): Optimality Theory: Constraint Interaction in Generative Grammar. [ROA: 537-0802: http://roa.rutgers.edu], McCarthy, John J. and Alan Prince (1995). Faithfulness and reduplicative identity. In Jill Beckman, Laura W. Dickey and Suzanne Urbanczyk (eds.) Papers in Optimality Theory. Amherst, MA: GLSA. 249-384), a number of analyses have been proposed to account for vowel harmony in the OT framework. However, because of the diversity of the patterns attested cross-linguistically, no consensus has been reached with regard to the OT treatment of vowel harmony. This, in turn, raises the question whether OT is a viable phonological theory to account for vowel harmony; if a theory is viable, a uniform account of the diverse patterns of vowel harmony should be possible.The main purpose of this thesis is to discuss the application of five different OT approaches to vowel harmony, and to investigate which approach offers the most comprehensive coverage of the diverse vowel harmony patterns. Three approaches are the main focus: feature linking with SPREAD (Padgett, Jaye (2002). Feature classes in phonology. Language 78. 81-110), Agreement-By-Correspondence (ABC) (Walker, Rachel (2009). Similarity-sensitive blocking and transparency in Menominee. Paper presented at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Linguistic Society of America. San Francisco), and the Span Theory of harmony (McCarthy, John J. (2004). Headed spans and autosegmental spreading. [ROA: 685-0904: http://roa.rutgers.edu]). The applications of these approaches in the following languages are considered: backness and roundness harmony in Turkish and in Yakut (Turkic), and ATR harmony in Pulaar (Niger-Congo). It is demonstrated that both feature linking and ABC analyses are successful in offering a uniform account of the different types of harmony processes observed in these three languages. However, Span Theory turns out to be empirically inadequate when used in the analysis of Pulaar harmony. These results lead to the conclusion that there are two approaches within OT that can offer a uniform account of the vowel harmony processes. This also suggests that OT is viable as a phonological theory.

The goal of this thesis is to provide a detailed description and analysis of vowel-consonant interaction in Mandarin. Vowel-consonant interactions in Mandarin have been described and analyzed in the literature, but there is little agreement on the exact nature of the interactions, and no acoustic studies have been done to confirm impressionistic transcriptions. The data and analysis in this thesis show that vowel-consonant interaction is extensive in both Northern and Southwestern Mandarin, but the nature and degree of the interactions varies based on vowel, context (onset vs. coda), and dialect. In this thesis, I provide an acoustic analysis and a theoretical account of vowel-consonant interactions in two different dialects of Mandarin that vary in their degree of interaction: the Northern dialect of eastern Hebei (similar to the Beijing dialect) and the Southwestern dialect of northeast Sichuan. The data analyzed was collected from native speakers of both dialects at Sichuan Normal University in Chengdu, and the analysis focuses on comparisons of the F1 and F2 of vowels in various onset and coda contexts. The theoretical account attempts to determine whether vowel-consonant interaction in Mandarin is best classified as a phonological process (e.g. assimilation) or a phonetic process (e.g. co-articulation). I explore possible analyses of the data under multiple theoretical frameworks, including serial rule-based phonology and Optimality Theory (OT), and compare the effectiveness of these analyses to a co-articulation account. Traditionally, sound change phenomena are assumed to be either phonological or phonetic in nature. However, a detailed examination of the data collected reveals an unexpectedly large variety of vowel-consonant interaction effects. The effects range from subtle coarticulatory adjustments that can only be detected instrumentally to large magnitude differences that can be represented by a change in phonological features. The results of this study show that vowel-consonant interaction in Mandarin is even more extensive than previously documented, and that the line between phonetic and phonological processes may be more arbitrary than we like to believe.

No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an auditor's past musical training and experience on the intelligibility of selected vowel sounds at differential pitch levels. The specific problems of the study were to investigate the effects of extensive vocal music training, extensive non-vocal music training, and limited or no music training on an auditor's ability to discriminate accurately selected vowel sounds performed at various pitch levels. The effects of pitch and vowel sound on auditor recognition of vowel sounds in singing and the ability of each singer to be intelligible to auditors was also investigated.

Vowel equalization is a technique that can be used by singers to achieve a more balanced vocal tone. The technique balances corresponding front and back vowels, which share approximate tongue heights, and also balances high and low vowels in a more neutral or centralized lingual posture. Formants are resonance peaks that define each specific vowel. This study measured shifts in the first and second formants (F1 and F2) of the vowels /e, i, ɑ, o, u/ following training in vowel equalization. Prior to the training, the vowel formants were measured in amateur 15 college-aged singers. They sang the first two stanzas of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and then sustained each vowel for approximately 2 seconds. Following a 15-minute instruction in the vowel equalization technique, the singers repeated the exercises and the formants were re-measured. Shifts in F1 and F2 represent changes in lingual placement within the oral cavity. Vowel equalization pulls the lingual posture of a particular vowel to a more neutral or central position. While singing, a neutral placement is perceived as a pleasing balance between bright and dark tones. This study showed that following training the singers' formant values changed in a manner reflective of a more central tongue posture. These findings support the suggestion that the vowel equalization technique does indeed alter the articulation of sung vowels, shifting the formants to produce the desired chiaroscuro or balance between bright and dark sounds.

No description available.