The production of voicing in Namibian English stops by speakers of Khoekhoegowab

Authors

• Katja Haapanen University of Turku https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9757-0178
• Antti Saloranta University of Turku https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1302-3792
• Kimmo U. Peltola University of Turku https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1214-6536
• Henna Tamminen University of Turku https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1845-0854
• Lannie Uwu-khaeb University of Turku in Windhoek, Namibia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6070-8444
• Maija S. Peltola University of Turku https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1639-2363

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30660/afinla.132034

Keywords:

English, Namibian English, speech production, stop consonants, voicing

Abstract

This study examines whether Namibian English spoken by L1 Khoekhoegowab speakers has word-initial stop voicing contrasts, and how they might be realized in freely produced speech. The data consists of English interviews collected from nine speakers of Namibian English. For analysis, a total of 365 words beginning with a stop-vowel sequence were extracted from the interviews, and analyzed for voice onset time (VOT). To examine the realization of voicing, the extracted words are divided into voiced and voiceless categories based on their phonological voicing in other varieties of English and their VOTs are compared statistically. The VOTs of voiceless stops are significantly longer than those of voiced stops. The results suggest a short-lag vs. aspiration contrast in word-initial stops in Namibian English and provide new information about the phonetic features of Namibian English consonants.