This thesis examines to what extent the long midvowels [eː], [oː], and [øː] are diphthongised in L1 Dutch and whether phonetic transfer of these diphthongisation patterns from L1 Dutch to L2 German...Show moreThis thesis examines to what extent the long midvowels [eː], [oː], and [øː] are diphthongised in L1 Dutch and whether phonetic transfer of these diphthongisation patterns from L1 Dutch to L2 German occurs. In order to collect data to answer the research questions, two recorded scripts, one in L1 Dutch and one in L2 German, from 29 participants between 18 and 25 years old are analysed. The script involves 15 words, five per phoneme, in both languages. These phonemes are measured for their vowel duration and the corresponding formant values for F1 and F2 at 25% and 75% of the vowel duration. In doing so, figures are constructed signifying a line of diphthongisation for each phoneme. Additionally, the data are analysed per word and per participant, and are compared to the average results of all participants together. The results suggest that the phonemes [eː], [oː], and [øː] are diphthongised in L1 Dutch and that phonetic transfer occurs as predicted by Flege’s (1988, 1990, 1991, 2007) Speech Learning Model.Show less
Dental fricatives are amongst the rarest speech sounds in the natural languages found in the world (Jekiel, 2012) and have disappeared from most Germanic languages (Laker, 2014). However, the...Show moreDental fricatives are amongst the rarest speech sounds in the natural languages found in the world (Jekiel, 2012) and have disappeared from most Germanic languages (Laker, 2014). However, the standard varieties of English still contain both the voiced and voiceless dental fricatives as phonemes. Although these phonemes are still common in e.g. Received Pronunciation (RP) and General American (GA) (Ladefoged & Maddieson, 1996), the dental fricatives are often replaced in other, non-standard varieties through processes such as th-fronting. The phenomenon of these contemporary changes in articulation has been studied, though a large portion of the research has been based mostly on sociolinguistic descriptions and discussing the phenomenon from this field’s paradigm (see e.g. Kerswill, 2003; Stuart-Smith et al., 2013) without thoroughly discussing other potential underlying phenomena that could cause the variation and change of dental fricatives in dialects: phonetic and phonological reasons, as an addition to sociolinguistic explanations, could provide a greater understanding of the factors of speech sound variation. This thesis explores some of the various ways the subfields of linguistics, historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, and phonetics, can work together to provide insights into the underlying factors influencing sound changes. By analysing the scientific literature concerning dental fricatives, the tentative conclusion was reached that, as dental fricatives do not have much phonemic function and are difficult to acquire and most Germanic languages have lost the dental fricatives, Britain could soon follow, especially if th-fronting loses its social stigma.Show less
