VOWELS IN STANDARD AUSTRIAN GERMAN - Acoustics ...

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Vowels in Standard Austrian German
Figure 4.1 reveals that the /e/ – vowels dominate the Austrian German vowel system,
followed by the /i/ – vowels and the /a/ – vowels. Dividing the vowels according to two
stress levels, the /e/ – vowels, with 21.9%, lose their predominant position for the
stressed vowels and are relegated to the third place after the /a/ – vowels and the /i/ –
vowels (with 26.3% and 25.5% respectively). In unstressed positions, however, they
come first and, with 34.4%, outclass the /a/ – vowels and the /i/ – vowels by more than
10% (24% and 22.7% respectively). The /u/ – vowels and the /o/ – vowels are evenly
distributed over stress positions: 9.8 % and 8% for the /u/ – vowels in stressed and
unstressed positions, and 11.7% and 9.6% for the /o/ – vowels.
features:
The 14 vowels are usually discriminated according to the following distinctive
Tongue height [±high]: /i:, ç, y:, Y, u:, ï, o:, O/ vs. /e:, E, ë:, ê/ vs. /a, A:/
Tongue position [±front]: /i:, ç, y:, Y, e:, E, ë:, ê, a/ vs. /u:, ï, o:, O, A:/
Lip position [±round]: /u:, ï, o:, O, y:, Y, ë:, ê / vs. /i:, ç, e:, E, a, A:/
Tenseness [±tense]: /i:, y:, e:, ë:, u:, o:, A:/ vs. /ç, Y, E, ê, ï, O, a/
The last of the four categories has been and still is the subject of extensive controversy.
First of all, it is not quite clear what the exact articulatory correlates to tenseness should
be. Is it tenseness of the vocal tract walls, or tenseness of lip articulation triggering a
more spread or more protruded articulation of the tense vowels as compared to the lax
vowels? Is it tenseness of the tongue, resulting in a tighter constriction and a longer
constriction area for the tense vowels as compared to their lax counterparts? Or does
tenseness correlate with settings of the pharyngeal region, resulting in an advancement
of the tongue root as has been described for several African languages like Igbo
(Ladefoged 1964), Akan (Tiede 1996), Degema (Fulop et al. 1998), Maa (Guion et al.
2004)?
The observed opposition might also be the result of distinctive jaw position, the
tense vowels being more closed than their lax counterparts. In this case, the feature