Conference Proceedings
Varietal differences in categorisation of /ɪ e æ/: A case study of Irish and Australian English listeners in Melbourne
Chloé Diskin, Debbie Loakes, Joshua Clothier, Julien Epps (ed.), Joe Wolfe (ed.), John Smith (ed.), Caroline Jones (ed.)
Proceedings of the 17th Australasian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology, | ASSTA | Published : 2018
Abstract
This paper presents results of a vowel categorisation task of front lax vowels in /hVt/, /hVl/ and /mVl/ contexts, by 12 native Australian English speakers and 10 Irish migrants residing in Melbourne. Results show significant differences in how listeners categorise these vowels, in five out of six phonetic contexts. Vowels suggested to be undergoing merger in Victoria, specifically /el-æl/, are not perceived as merged, indicating this phenomenon may be stratified and/or more age-graded than previously reported. Results show clear differences between listeners sharing an L1 but speaking different dialects, even when these dialects are in direct contact due to migration.