THE ACOUSTICS OF CORONAL STOPS IN BRITISH ASIAN ENGLISH

Abstract

This study reports on an acoustic phonetic analysis of the realization of the coronal stop consonants /t/ and /d/ in British Asian English. These segments are often reported to be salient features of the variety, but have rarely been subjected to comprehensive acoustic analysis. The results demonstrate that, compared to ethnically White speakers, British Asian /t/ is characterized by shorter voice onset times, greater burst intensity, lower overall spectral energy, and a more compact burst spectrum. The acoustic measures suggest a louder and shorter burst with a more retracted place of articulation. Results for /d/ revealed no significant differences between ethnic groups.