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Abstract
This dissertation investigates the differential weighting of auditory cues in perception and production of four American English vowel contrasts /i/ and //, /u/ and //, // and //, and // and // by Russian-English bilinguals. Its primary goal is to investigate the role of native (Russian) phonology in the acquisition of new acoustic cues specifically vowel duration and spectral differences in a second language (English). Literature suggests it is more difficult to acquire more complex vowel systems in a second language; for second language learners of English, the tense/lax contrast, as well as other contrasts between vowels adjacent in the vowel space and distinguished via both spectral and duration cues, are particularly challenging, and non-native speakers, including native speakers of Russian, differ from natives by attuning more to duration than spectral cues. However, many unanswered questions remain about the role of cue weighting in adults acquisition of vowel systems with larger inventories in second languages. Despite evidence that acquisition patterns vary not only by first language but also by contrast, few studies that examine this issue study more than one vowel pair (typically /i - /), and very few study native-Russian learners of English. The present dissertation addresses this understudied language pairing and examines both perception and production of four vowel contrasts, focusing on one specific regional variety of American English. While native English talkers in the present study made a perceptible duration distinction between all four contrasts tested, the Russian-English bilinguals did so only between the high vowel pairs, and their accuracy varied by vowel, contrast, and individual in both perception and production. Perception and production ability correlated on some vowels and contrasts, with perception ability generally exceeding production ability; however, due to the difficulty of comparing perception and production accuracy, it is not possible to conclude that these data offer strong support for the Perception-Production link. The Russian-English bilinguals did not appear to be acquiring a local variety, although it is possible that some talkers with low AOA, high LOR, and extensive cultural experience (including education) in Georgia may have acquired a local rather than generalized standard.