Van Rooy, Bertus, and Gerhard B. Van Huyssteen. 2000. “The vowels of BSAE: current knowledge and future prospects.” South African Journal of Linguistics:15-33.
Van Rooy & Van Huyssteen 2000
Abstract
The vowels of Black South African English (BSAE) are investigated in this article. Available research findings are summarised and presented alongside new data from two experiments. The results indicate that BSAE differs widely from 'White' (Respectable) South African English as far as monophthongs and diphthongs are concerned. The major monophthong characteristics of BSAE are the neutralisation of the tense/lax contrast; the absence of central vowels and the absence of vowel reduction in unstressed syllables. The research literature present contradictory claims about diphthongs. They are reported to become sequences of two vowels or monophthongs. New evidence reported here show a much stronger preference for monophthongisation than for diphthongs with two clear acoustic targets. Some directions for future research are offered in the concluding section.
Written in:
English
Dealing with:
English
Keywords
Black South African English, BSAE, phonology, vowel
Afrikaans keywords
fonologie, Swart Suid-Afrikaanse Engels, SSAE, vokaal