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Standard Vowel Systems of English, German, and Dutch: Variation in Norm
Author(s): Ernst-August Müller (Author)
- Publisher: Peter Lang AG
- Publication Date: 31 May 2012
- Edition: New
- Language: English
- Print length: 202 pages
- ISBN-10: 9783631632703
- ISBN-13: 9783631632703
Book Description
This is the first book-length study that, from a typological perspective, deals with the latest phonological changes which have affected the spoken standards of the three major West Germanic languages and offers a uniform theoretical analysis of the phenomena. It is primarily intended for professional linguists, but is also geared toward language instructors and students who want to acquaint themselves with these mainly vocalic developments in the pronunciation norms. The study is empirically grounded in personal auditory observations, which in many instances, however, have been verified elsewhere by instrumental acoustic evidence. For each of the three languages, including the American and British English standards, two vowel systems are described and explained: a conventional and slightly dated system, certain features of which younger speakers are inclined to consider somewhat stilted or outmoded, and a more modern and progressive system that incorporates substantive changes and seems to be favored by younger speakers. While a hypothesis is briefly put forward on the common sociopolitical causes of the recent changes, the main phonological finding relates to the role of vowel quantity. In the progressive systems of the three languages, segmental vowel length proves to be a secondary phonological parameter correlating with a specific phonotactic property of the sound.
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Ernst-August Müller, Dr. phil., is a retired senior lecturer of English linguistics and phonetics. He taught at the University of the Saarland (Saarbrücken), Free University of Berlin, and Rice University Houston (Texas). His main academic interests include English, Dutch and German phonology, language variation, standardization, and typology.
