Towards a mental representation of vowel height in SSBE speakers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36505/ExLing-2011/04/0024/000193Keywords:
phonetic symbolism, phonological perception, vowel heightAbstract
Debate in phonetics and phonology has focused on the cognitive foundation of distinctive feature theory, as well as on the definition of features themselves. Although the motor-acoustic feature of vowel height has been the object of close scrutiny, research on the vertical representation of vowels in the phonology of English remains inconclusive. By drawing on Sapir‘s work on phonetic symbolism, this paper investigates the understanding that SSBE speakers have of their own vowel space. It argues that their implicit knowledge of vowel height differences is best accounted for in terms of a three-tiered vertical axis.
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