An Acoustic Analysis of Vowel Variation in New World English

An examination of acoustical variations in vowel configurations in a wide variety of dialects of English in the Western Hemisphere. It discusses the vowel sounds called phonemes and describes the variants of each dialect. There are special chapters on dialects such as Native American English.

An Acoustic Analysis of Vowel Variation in New World English examines acoustical variations in vowel configurations in a wide variety of dialects of English found in the Western Hemisphere. While the work opens with an introduction on the methods and aims of the study, the following chapter immediately moves to a detailed discussion of distinctive vowel sounds called phonemes, characterizing each variant of sound listed within the cited reference literature. The remaining chapters provide explanatory descriptions of the variants of each dialect, reviewing past research specific to that dialect. While the United States English, Canadian English, and Caribbean varieties are featured in various chapters throughout the work, individual chapters are devoted to African-American, Mexican-American, and Native American English, emphasizing not only ethnic variation but delving into the historical development of each dialect. This monograph is an essential reference on vowel variation for all sociolinguists, phoneticians, phonologists, creolists, and historical linguists.