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Vowel variation in English in the Eastern Caribbean

An acoustic phonetic study of monophthongs in Dominica, Grenada, and Trinidad

ORCiD logo with link | University of Münster
 | University of Münster
 | University of Münster
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Abstract
Several phonetic and phonological commonalities of English in the Caribbean have been described, yet the empirical basis for such claims remains uneven, with smaller territories particularly underrepresented. The present study examines sub-regional patterns of English vowel production within the Eastern Caribbean. We provide a comparative, cross-territorial acoustic phonetic analysis of English monophthongs in Dominica, Grenada, and Trinidad, drawing on data from 274 speakers and more than 90,000 vowel tokens. The results suggest that English in the Eastern Caribbean is characterized by a combination of some shared patterns and considerable cross-territorial differences: English in Dominica exhibits the strongest vowel merger tendencies, English in Grenada occupies an intermediate position, and English in Trinidad maintains the clearest distinctions between different high, back, and low vowels. These findings offer the first comparative acoustic evidence of vowel realizations in English in the Eastern Caribbean.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background and previous research
    • 2.1The sociolinguistic situation in Dominica, Grenada, and Trinidad
    • 2.2Vowel variation in English in the Eastern Caribbean
  • 3.Data and method
    • 3.1Data
    • 3.2Acoustic processing and analysis
    • 3.3Statistical analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Spectral position, spectral distance, and duration
    • 4.2Spectral overlap and dispersion
      • 4.2.1fleece-kit
      • 4.2.2goose-foot
      • 4.2.3nurse
      • 4.2.4trap-bath-start
      • 4.2.5thought-strut-lot
  • 5.Discussion and conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
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