School of Languages and Linguistics - Research Publications

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    Tracking vowel categorization behaviour longitudinally: a study across three x three year increments (2012, 2015, 2018)
    Loakes, D ; Escudero, P ; Clothier, J ; Hajek, J ; Calhoun, S ; Escudero, P ; TABAIN, M ; Warren, P (Australasian Speech Science and Technology Association Inc., 2019)
    Longitudinal data provide a unique opportunity to address questions around language change, and speaker/listener behaviour. Processing behaviour is considered subject to change over time, but it remains an open question as to over what time period incremental changes might occur. This study compares responses to a forced-choice listening test over three x three-year increments (2012, 2015, 2018), from a set of the same ten mainstream Australian English listeners. The listeners are from a small town (Warrnambool, Australia), where crucially, a distinction between /el/-/æl/ is lost for many. Here we focus on the contrasts between /ɪ e æ/ in /hVt/ and /CVL/ environments. Despite our predictions, overall results show that the increments, which span six years in total, are too small for any changes to arise. This study contributes to our understanding of longitudinal processing behaviour, showing overall consistency across 2012-2018, even in the context of a merger in-progress.
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    Sociophonetic variablity of postvocalic /t/ in Aboriginal and mainstream Australian English
    Loakes, D ; McDougall, K ; Clothier, J ; Hajek, J ; Fletcher, J ; Epps, J ; Wolfe, J ; Smith, J ; Jones, C (ASSTA, 2018)
    This paper analyses post-vocalic /t/ variability in controlled speech across two groups, both L1 Aboriginal English and mainstream Australian English speakers. Data were collected in Warrnambool, a small community in western Victoria (Australia). While both Aboriginal English and mainstream Australian English speakers used canonical aspirated [tʰ] a range of other variants were observed. The Aboriginal English group used a greater number of variants overall, and tended toward “glottal” variants (full glottal stops, pre-glottalised stops, and ejective-like stops) whereas the mainstream Australian group preferred so-called “breathy” variants (affricates, fricatives); we attribute this to sociophonetic variability, potentially linked with voice quality and glottal timing. Overall, the study highlights some previously undocumented variation both within L1 Aboriginal English, and between L1 Aboriginal English and mainstream Australian English.
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    Identifying /el/-/æl/: A comparison between two regional Australian towns
    Loakes, D ; Hajek, J ; Clothier, J ; Fletcher, J ; Hay, J ; Parnell, E (University of Canterbury, 2014)
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    Short vowels in L1 Aboriginal English spoken in Western Victoria
    LOAKES, D ; Fletcher, J ; Hajek, J ; Clothier, J ; Volchok, B ; Carignan, C ; Tyler, MD (Causal Productions, 2016-12-16)