VOWELS IN STANDARD AUSTRIAN GERMAN - Acoustics ...

Sylvia Moosmüller
different features to maintain an opposition. It should also be emphasized that a
neutralization of F1 (speaker sp180 and speaker sp127) leads to a lowering of the
formant of the unconstricted vowel /E/, and not to a rising of the F1 of the constricted
vowel /e/. In other words, the unconstricted vowels assimilates to the constricted one 78
in neutralization, and not the other way round.
However, given the non-linear relationship between articulation and acoustics,
different articulatory configurations might lead to the same acoustic output. In Standard
Austrian German, F2 of /i/ and /e/ might be affected. It has already been argued
(Chapter 3 and 4.4.1) that the pre-palatal location of /i/ leads to a shift in cavity
affiliation and, consequently, to a drastic rise in F3. It has also been argued, and it can
be read from Table 4.14, that F3 drops drastically as soon as constriction degree is
widened or constriction length is shortened. F3 of /e/ has, due to mid-palatal
constriction location and concomitant back cavity affiliation, a lower value than in /i/,
forming a center of gravity with F2 (see Figure 4.15). Since F3 of /i/ is relatively
unstable, and since F2 of /i/ either has lower values than /e/ or identical values to /e/, the
opposition of /i/ and /e/ might not be upheld over all speaking tasks and prosodic
positions. Therefore, it is necessary to test whether an acoustic overlap between /i/ and
/e/ takes place in any of the analyzed speaking tasks or prosodic positions. Tables 4.21 –
4.23 present the results.
F1 L L Rs Rs Rus Rus. Ss Ss Sus Sus
Sp012 269 316 284 331 317 376 330 373 337 364
Sp180 241 336 301 347 320 369 306 353 341 396
Sp082 – – 379 392 398 415 363 393 383 410
Sp129 – – 355 366 382 429 367 393 373 414
Sp126 – – 282 323 308 346 302 346 325 339
Sp127 – – 284 330 307 351 311 348 320 352
Table 4.21: Mean F1 values of /i/ and /e/ over all speaking tasks. Within each task, the value to
the left represents the vowel /i/, the value to the right the vowel /e/. Statistically
78 A fact that challenges the undershoot hypothesis, see also Chapter 5.
100