Is there conflation? An acoustic analysis of vowels in Japanese English
This article examines whether conflation, a term introduced by Nihalani, occurs among English vowels produced by four Japanese native speakers reading a short English text. On the basis of perceptual, acoustic, and statistical methods, it is argued that conflation is not key to understanding the str...
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| Format: | Article |
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Taylor & Francis
2020
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| _version_ | 1796962061722320896 |
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| author | Yamaguchi, Toshiko Chiew, Poh Shin |
| author_facet | Yamaguchi, Toshiko Chiew, Poh Shin |
| author_sort | Yamaguchi, Toshiko |
| collection | UM |
| description | This article examines whether conflation, a term introduced by Nihalani, occurs among English vowels produced by four Japanese native speakers reading a short English text. On the basis of perceptual, acoustic, and statistical methods, it is argued that conflation is not key to understanding the structure of vowels in Japanese English (JE). Having inspected vowel variants, we conclude the following. First, since conflation is not guaranteed, singular emphasis on suprasegmental features is untenable. Second, vowel space in JE tends to be centralized. As a result, speakers have more difficulty producing open back vowels. Third, the centralized vowel [a], substituted for five vowels (/æ/, /ə/, /ʌ/, /ɜ/, /ɑ/), is not statistically speaking a single sound. Fourth, JE speakers produce near-native vowels to different degrees. Statistical test results showed no significant difference between the pronunciation of the open-mid vowel [ʌ] produced by JE speakers and an American English speaker. © 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T06:03:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | um.eprints-24674 |
| institution | Universiti Malaya |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T06:03:26Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | um.eprints-246742020-06-05T02:50:55Z http://eprints.um.edu.my/24674/ Is there conflation? An acoustic analysis of vowels in Japanese English Yamaguchi, Toshiko Chiew, Poh Shin PE English This article examines whether conflation, a term introduced by Nihalani, occurs among English vowels produced by four Japanese native speakers reading a short English text. On the basis of perceptual, acoustic, and statistical methods, it is argued that conflation is not key to understanding the structure of vowels in Japanese English (JE). Having inspected vowel variants, we conclude the following. First, since conflation is not guaranteed, singular emphasis on suprasegmental features is untenable. Second, vowel space in JE tends to be centralized. As a result, speakers have more difficulty producing open back vowels. Third, the centralized vowel [a], substituted for five vowels (/æ/, /ə/, /ʌ/, /ɜ/, /ɑ/), is not statistically speaking a single sound. Fourth, JE speakers produce near-native vowels to different degrees. Statistical test results showed no significant difference between the pronunciation of the open-mid vowel [ʌ] produced by JE speakers and an American English speaker. © 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Taylor & Francis 2020 Article PeerReviewed Yamaguchi, Toshiko and Chiew, Poh Shin (2020) Is there conflation? An acoustic analysis of vowels in Japanese English. Asian Englishes, 22 (1). pp. 35-51. ISSN 1348-8678, DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/13488678.2018.1563665 <https://doi.org/10.1080/13488678.2018.1563665>. https://doi.org/10.1080/13488678.2018.1563665 doi:10.1080/13488678.2018.1563665 |
| spellingShingle | PE English Yamaguchi, Toshiko Chiew, Poh Shin Is there conflation? An acoustic analysis of vowels in Japanese English |
| title | Is there conflation? An acoustic analysis of vowels in Japanese English |
| title_full | Is there conflation? An acoustic analysis of vowels in Japanese English |
| title_fullStr | Is there conflation? An acoustic analysis of vowels in Japanese English |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is there conflation? An acoustic analysis of vowels in Japanese English |
| title_short | Is there conflation? An acoustic analysis of vowels in Japanese English |
| title_sort | is there conflation an acoustic analysis of vowels in japanese english |
| topic | PE English |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yamaguchitoshiko isthereconflationanacousticanalysisofvowelsinjapaneseenglish AT chiewpohshin isthereconflationanacousticanalysisofvowelsinjapaneseenglish |