The roles of distinctive and redundant features in the production of the short A and E vowel contrast by L1 German speakers of English

TL;DRAbstract

This dissertation examined the roles of the distinctive feature of vowel height and the nondistinctive features of duration, word-final [t] and [d], and attention to speech in promoting L1 German speakers, production of the Short A and E contrast. Short A and E are the vowels in the words bat and bet. The L1 German speakers, production of the English Short A and E contrast was also examined to determine whether the speakers had learned the phonemes Short A and E. The subjects of this study are 20 L1 German speakers in Germany who had studied English for a mean of eight years. These subjects produced Short A and E words ending in /t/ and /d/ in a word list, a reading passage and a word game task. The words were recorded, judged for accuracy by native English listeners and measured for height and duration. The research questions were: (1) Do L1 German speakers produce a contrast between Short A and E? (2) Does the distinctive feature of vowel height promote L1 German speakers' production

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