Segmental speech timing at the phoneme and syllable levels in English and Afrikaans speaking white South African children

Abstract

Two aspects of segmental timing were acoustically measured in the speech production of 30 English and 30 Afrikaans speaking white South African children. These were VOT and medial stop closure duration in VCV nonsense syllables. In addition, medial vowel duration in CVC nonsense syllables was measured in English speakers. Comparisons were made between younger (mean age 4.25 years) and older (mean age 6.5 years) subjects in each language group. Graphical statistical methods revealed certain trends in the data. English speakers employed short- and long-lag VOT for voiced and voiceless stops while Afrikaans speakers used two short-lag categories. Contextually determined right-to-left timing effects were identified which were in agreement with the literature, with different rates of acquisition of medial stop closure duration rules being observed between the language groups.