A study of vowels /ɛ/ and /ɪ/ in African American English and standard American English

<p>This study examines the vowels /ɪ/ as in tin and /ɛ/ as in ten in African American English (AAE) and Standard American English (SAE) spoken in the Detroit, Michigan area. I first analyzed the acoustic properties of a number of speech samples to determine vowel quality and duration measurements. I then performed speech perception tests using the same speech samples. My analyses support and contradict claims about AAE and SAE, particularly with respect to speaker participation in vowel shifts such as the Northern Cities Shift (NCS), Southern Shift (SS), and pin-pen merger. My investigation of AAE and SAE vowels also showed discrepancies between acoustic characteristics and the perception of the target vowels. My thesis contributes to the exploration of the broader connection between acoustic properties and speech perception as well as to the study of the space where linguistic research intersects with human social interactions.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Open Access Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English Language and Literature

Year dc:date.available

2015

Author dc:creator

• Stefanski, Lindsay

Contributors dc:contributor

• Beverley Goodman
• T. Daniel Seely

• African American English
• Education
• Language
• Perception
• Vowels
• Arts and Humanities
• English Language and Literature

Repository record dc:identifier

https://commons.emich.edu/theses/873

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:commons.emich.edu:theses-2254