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Carleton University

The Production and Perception of Vowel Height and Duration

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

High vowels are generally shorter than low vowels: there is a positive correlation between F1 and duration in English and cross-linguistically (Heffner 1937; Elert 1964; Äimä, 1918). This paper argues that the cross-linguistic height/duration correlation might be explained perceptually: high vowels inherently sound shorter than low vowels. Study 1 analyzed Chilean Spanish vowels to determine whether this correlation is physiological in nature or the result of linguistic rules, finding that the correlation is linguistically-specified. To account for the cross-linguistic occurrence of the correlation, Study 2 tested if speakers perceive shorter high vowels in a forced-choice perception task. Results indicate that high vowels indeed sound shorter, and that this vowel categorization ability is partially learned.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Cognitive Science (M.Cog.Sc.)
Level thesis:degree_level
Master's
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Cognitive Science
Grantor dc:publisher
Carleton University
Year dc:date.issued
2015

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Stone, Adam William

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • Copyright © 2015 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, research, scholarship, and teaching. Theses may only be shared by linking to Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be used without proper attribution to the author. No part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.
Language dc:language.iso
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/39270

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Carleton University
Base URL
carleton.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
related terms
citation

Stone, Adam William. The Production and Perception of Vowel Height and Duration. Master's thesis, Carleton University, 2015. https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14718/39270