Ontronding in wit en bruin Afrikaans

The aim of this presentation is firstly to describe the phenomenon of delabialization of abnormal front vowels in Afrikaans, concentrating on the language of a few white and brown native speakers, and secondly to shed some light on the theoretical implications of the findings. The temporal characteristics of the vowels in three separate reading tasks and the extent to which the language users are able to distinguish the intended rounded vs. unrounded vowels and diphthongs correctly in a perception experiment are central considerations. With the results of the experiments in mind, the focus will fall on whether there can be consideration of absolute neutralization of the opposition rounded : unrounded for these vowels and diphthongs. Finally, the results will be evaluated in the light of the lively debate that currently exists on the question of the possibility of absolute neutralization.