Synthetic Vowel Categorization and Dialectology

A series of synthetic vowel categorization tests were administered to subjects from four dialect regions; Western New York State, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Ontario (Canada). The aims of the experiment were (1) to establish the feasibility of using such tests in less than ideal testing environments; and (2) to test the hypothesis that differences in manner of categorization correlate with differences in dialect. The results of the experiment indicate that it is feasible to use such tests in less than ideal testing environments, thus opening up the possibility of applications in dialectology field work. Correlations between differences in dialect and differences in manner of categorization were found (1) in the categorization of the vowels of " add ", " tar ", and " odd " by Massachusetts subjects as compared to subjects from Western New York; (2) in the categorization of the vowels of " hat " and " hot " by subjects from Western New York as compared with Massachusetts subjects; and (3) in the poor performance in categorization of the contrast /ε/-/æ/ by subjects from Western New York as compared to other groups. The article concludes with a discussion of applications of synthetic vowel categorization tests to dialectology.