Horizontal diphthong shift in New Zealand English

Márton Sóskuthy*, Jen Hay, JAMES BRAND

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalConference proceeding article (ISSN)peer-review

Abstract

The diphthongs PRICE and MOUTH in New Zealand English have been characterised as showing ‘diphthong shift’and ‘glide weakening’. Like most analyses of diphthongs, previous studies have focussed on changes in the qualities of two temporally fixed targets: the nucleus and the offglide. We model changes in the full formant trajectories of PRICE and MOUTH over a period of 130 years. We first present results from Generalised Additive Models that reveal substantial ‘horizontal’restructurings in the timing of the trajectories alongside expected ‘vertical’shifts in nucleus and off-glide targets. We then use computational methods to capture these horizontal changes by identifying points of inflection in F1 and F2 trajectories. The timing of these inflection points moves significantly later for both vowels. We argue that changes in trajectory timing are a significantly overlooked aspect of changing diphthong production.
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of the International Phonetic Association
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Keywords

  • Diphthong contours
  • New Zealand English
  • Sound change
  • Generalised additive models

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