Date of Award
8-2021
Culminating Project Type
Thesis
Degree Name
English: Teaching English as a Second Language: M.A.
Department
English
College
College of Liberal Arts
First Advisor
Ettien Koffi
Second Advisor
Edward Sadrai
Third Advisor
Joy McKenzie
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Keywords and Subject Headings
vowel analysis intelligibility salvadoran linguistics masking
Abstract
This study focuses on English in El Salvador, which is a country located in Central America, and it presents information about the production of Salvadoran-accented English vowels by speakers of English in this country. Peña (2019) started studying Salvadoran-accented vowels in isolation. For this study, the vowels in running speech are analyzed. The participants of this study include English speakers from El Salvador. The information of Salvadoran-accented vowels, including the formats F0, F1, F2, F3, duration, and intensity, is compiled in this study. The focus of the study is to assess intelligibility levels within Salvadoran-accented vowels in running speech and to compare them with those produced by a native English speaker. For this study, 5775 tokens were utilized. F1 receives most of the attention because it plays a disproportionate role in intelligibility. According to Ladefoged and Johnson (2015:207), it controls 80% of the acoustic energy in vowels. Second, F2 is measured and analyzed because it gives precise information about the tongue movement in the production of vowels. Data analysis was also conducted for the rest of the correlates because they also contribute to getting an accurate representation of Salvadoran-accented vowels that can help determine how each vowel is pronounced. Data shows that Salvadorans have intelligibility issues with the kiss vowel [ɪ], the goat vowel [o], and the trap vowel [æ]. This study also provides the readers with conclusions and pedagogical implications for ESL/EFL teachers and researchers working with Salvadoran learners.
Recommended Citation
Martinez Diaz, Oscar, "Vowel Intelligibility of Salvadoran-Accented English Vowels in Running Speech" (2021). Culminating Projects in TESL. 37.
https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/tesl_etds/37
