The influence of phonetic-phonological context on voice onset time: a verification of data from three langage systems

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of place of articulation and vowel quality on the Voice Onset Time (VOT) of voiceless stop consonants /p/, /t/ and /k/ in word initial position. Ten Brazilian proficient learners of English and five native speakers of American English participated in this study, which verified production in Brazilian Portuguese (L1), American English (L1) and Brazilian learner’s English (L2).Results, based on the description of absolute and relative VOT values,point towards a tendency verified by previous studies of a direct correlation between place of articulation and VOT values: the further back the place of articulation, the longer VOT is going to be. As regards vowel quality effects, the frontness of the vowel following the stop was revealed as an important factor influencing VOT.