Acoustical analysis of Canadian French word-final vowels in varying phonetic contexts

Abstract

This study analyzed Canadian French (CF) vowels /i y ø e ɛ o u a/ in word-final position. Of particular interest was the stability of /e-ɛ/; although some dialects of French have merged /e-ɛ/ to /e/ in word-final context, this contrast is maintained in CF. The present study investigated the stability of this contrast in various preceding phonetic contexts and in lexical vs morphological contrasts. Results showed that the contrast was maintained by all four speakers, although to varying degrees.