Acoustic Characteristics of Pre- and Post-vocalic /l/: Patterns from One Southern White Vernacular English. (June 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chung, Hyunju
• Is Part Of: Language and speech. Volume 65:Number 2(2022)
• Page Start: 513
• Page End: 528
• Publication Date: 2022-06
• Subjects: Lateral liquid -- American English dialect -- acoustic characteristics -- Southern American Vernacular English; Language and languages -- Periodicals; Speech -- Periodicals; Language disorders -- Periodicals; Speech disorders -- Periodicals; 401.9
• DOI: 10.1177/00238309211037368
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0023-8309

Abstract

This study examined acoustic characteristics of the phoneme /l/ produced by young female and male adult speakers of Southern White Vernacular English (SWVE) from Louisiana. F1, F2, and F2-F1 values extracted at the /l/ midpoint were analyzed by word position (pre- vs. post-vocalic) and vowel contexts (/i, ɪ/ vs. /ɔ, a/). Descriptive analysis showed that SWVE /l/ exhibited characteristics of the dark /l/ variant. The formant patterns of /l/, however, differed significantly by word position and vowel context, with pre-vocalic /l/ showing significantly higher F2-F1 values than post-vocalic /l/, and /l/ in the high front vowel context showing significantly higher F2-F1 values than those in the low back vowel context. Individual variation in the effects of word position and vowel contexts on /l/ pattern was also observed. Overall, the findings of the current study showed a gradient nature of SWVE /l/ variants whose F2-F1 patterns generally fell into the range of the dark /l/ variant, while varying by word position and vowel context.