Item 00010 - The Vowel Space of Pangasinan

Abstract: Languages in the Philippines, though almost all belonging to the Austronesian language family, have unique ways on how sounds and sound patterns are realized. The number of phonemic sounds varies in each language. The Pangasinan language, according to Richard Benton (1971), has five significant vowel phonemes namely /a/, / ɛ /, / ǝ /, /i/ and / ᴐ / or / ʊ / , and 13 consonant phonemes. The quality of these phonemes changes depending on the phonetic environment. This study used a scientific approach in describing the vowels of Pangasinan according to their acoustic properties and depending on the environments they are found. These environments include stressed and unstressed positions. A software program was utilized to analyze the individual characteristics of these vowels. In general, this study contributes to the production and development of educational materials in teaching the Pangasinan language to its native speakers, and even to interested second language learners.