We investigate whether child-directed speech (CDS) contains a higher proportion of canonical pronunciations compared to adult-directed speech (ADS), focusing on Korean noun stem-final obstruent variation. In a word-teaching task, we observed that mothers use a higher rate of canonical pronunciation when addressing infants than when addressing…

This study aims to explore and tackle different phenomena of syllable structure and syllabification patterns in Jordanian Arabic (JA). The study compares and contrasts the permissible syllable structures in different Jordanian dialects. It also presents a comprehensive analysis of how speakers of different Jordanian dialects tackle the consonantal…

Optimality theory (OT) is the latest model of phonology which views the language acquisition process as a way of reordering universal constraints provided by Universal Grammar (UG) according to the language-specific grammar. It, therefore, presents a more promising model towards language universalities. This study aims to utilize the OT framework…

When it comes to learning an additional language, it is important that teachers prepare students to communicate with different speakers, respecting and understanding the different English-accented speeches around the world. This article helps English teachers from different parts of the world embrace language variation in their lessons,…

This sociophonetic study examines affricate variation through a continuous lens using diachronic data from Caracas Spanish. We investigate the relationship between frication and occlusion period duration in affricate segments across two steps. First, we present a phonetic characterization of the dependent variable and its variants. Second, we…

This study combines qualitative and quantitative methods to explore 15 English program (EP) students' attitudes toward English varieties and how they negotiate social meanings and construct their identity through stylistic practices in classroom discourse and English as a lingua franca (ELF) interactions. Through a verbal guise test,…

This research paper explores the morphophonemic variations of the morpheme {N} in the Javanese language, a member of the Austronesian language family. The study aims to comprehensively analyze the various phonological and morphological processes that affect the realization of the {N} morpheme in different linguistic contexts. The research employs…

The paper is an in-depth study of how the principles and rules of the metrical theory of phonology have found their way to apply to Iraqi Arabic words and expressions. Iraqi lexical items have amassed evidence illustrating that both foot and stress are the hub of phonological designs of parametric prominence entailed in mapping and building up…

Although recent research suggests that gains are made in the acquisition of dialectal features during study abroad, the few studies that have been conducted on this topic in Spanish-speaking contexts have focused primarily on features characteristic of Spain. This article examines the L2 acquisition of phonological features characteristic of…

This study investigates the acquisition of sociophonetic competence by English as a foreign language learners in production and perception. Adult learners of English completed speaking, listening, and questionnaire tasks, aimed at assessing their acquisition of sociolinguistic constraints on (ING). First, they were interviewed and read 30…

Dialects vary in their allophonic patterns, which can affect listeners' phonological and lexical representations. I explore how different exposure to dialect-specific allophonic patterns for two vowels in American English, /ae ai/, affects listeners' lexical processing behaviors across three perception tasks: perceptual similarity, priming, and…

Many Aboriginal Australian communities are undergoing language shift from traditional Indigenous languages to contact varieties such as Kriol, an English-lexified Creole. Kriol is reportedly characterised by lexical items with highly variable phonological specifications, and variable implementation of voicing and manner contrasts in obstruents…

A list of 350 words that deviate in pronunciation from the standard English pronunciation of these words has been suggested in the present study. To highlight the deviant pronunciation of these words from the standard pronunciation, a wordlist based on observation has been suggested. Transcription of the words according to the British, American,…

Rhythm metrics can detect second language development of target-like speech rhythm but interpretation of the results from metrics in learners' speech is problematic because the mapping of metrics to underpinning phonological features is indirect. We investigate speech rhythm in first language (L1) Arabic / second language (L2) English, which…

Speech is extremely variable along many different dimensions. One source of variability listeners often encounter is accented speech, in which phonological units can systematically differ from the listener's native categories. This dissertation presents five experiments testing how listeners adapt to accent-based phonological variability,…