Editing Singapore English (section)

=== Central and back vowels ===

* {{sc2|NURSE}}: The {{sc2|NURSE}} vowel {{IPA|en|ɜː}} is a [[mid central vowel]], {{IPAblink|ə}} or {{IPAblink|əː}}.<ref name="sea1" />
* {{sc2|STRUT}} and {{sc2|PALM}}: Usually, the vowels in ''luck'' and ''lark'' overlap are both open central{{nbsp}}{{IPAblink|ä}}. Speakers may maintain a length distinction, in which case the latter vowel is longer, though this is less likely in syllables closed by [[Voice (phonetics)|voiceless]] [[Plosive|stop]] consonants like ''p'', ''t'' and ''k''.<ref name="educatedsge">{{cite journal|first=Mary W. J.|last=Tay|title=The Phonology of Educated Singapore English|journal=English World-Wide|volume=3|issue=2|date=January 1982|pages=135–145|doi=10.1075/eww.3.2.02tay}}</ref><ref name="tan2010" /> Like all [[Checked and free vowels|free vowels]], the {{sc2|PALM}}/{{sc2|START}} vowel is generally longer{{nbsp}}{{IPAblink|äː}} in open syllables.<ref name="Bao Zhiming 1998 pp. 152-174" />
* {{sc2|FOOT}} and {{sc2|GOOSE}}: The {{sc2|FOOT}} vowel is generally quite high and back in Singapore English.<ref name="educatedsge" /> Like {{sc2|KIT}} and {{sc2|FLEECE}}, acoustic measurements show that there is significant overlap between the {{sc2|FOOT}} and {{sc2|GOOSE}} vowels, raising the possibility of a [[Phonological_history_of_English_close_back_vowels#FOOT–GOOSE_merger|{{sc2|FOOT}}–{{sc2|GOOSE}} merger]].<ref name="deterding1" /><ref name="lin2021" /><ref>{{cite conference|first1=Canaan Zengyu|last1=Lan|first2=Olga|last2=Maxwell|first3=Chloé|last3=Diskin-Holdaway|year=2024|editor1=Olga Maxwell|editor2=Rikke Bundgaard-Nielsen|title=Static and Dynamic Analyses of the Back Vowels /uː/ and /ʊ/ in Singapore English|journal=Proceedings of the Nineteenth Australasian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology (SST2024)|pp=57–61}}</ref> {{harvcoltxt|Tan & Low|2010|p=172}} demonstrate that the {{sc2|FOOT}} vowel is generally short and that the {{sc2|GOOSE}} vowel is associated with a longer average duration. While previous studies have categorised {{IPAc-en|uː}} as a back vowel {{IPAblink|u}} in Singapore English, more recent ones suggest that [[Fronting (sound change)#Vowel shifts|{{sc2|GOOSE}}-fronting]] is now prevalent among younger speakers, and that it is more accurate to classify this variant of {{IPAc-en|uː}} as a near-back {{IPAblink|u̟}} or centralised {{IPAblink|ü}} vowel.<ref name="deterding1" /><ref name="tan2010" /><ref name="lin2021">{{cite thesis |last=Lin |first=J. |year=2021 |title=The articulatory correlates of Singapore English vowels |degree=Master's |publisher=Nanyang Technological University |doi=10.32657/10356/155448|doi-access=free |hdl=10356/155448 }}</ref>
* {{sc2|GOAT}}: Like the {{sc2|FACE}} vowel, the vowel in {{sc2|GOAT}} has limited diphthongal movement over time for most speakers, so it is sometimes described as a monophthong {{IPAblink|o̞|o}} or {{IPAblink|o̞|oː}}.<ref name="deterding-measurements" /><ref name="educatedsge" /> {{harvcoltxt|Deterding|1996}} concludes that, though they may be classified as such, the {{sc2|FACE}} and {{sc2|GOAT}} vowels are not completely monophthongal, with all of the speakers in the study exhibiting some diphthongal movement in the articulation of these vowels.<ref>{{cite journal|first=David|last=Deterding|title=Diphthong Measurements in Singapore English|year=1996|journal=Proceedings of the Sixth Australian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology|pp=61–66|location=Adelaide}}</ref>
* {{sc2|LOT}} and {{sc2|THOUGHT}}: The {{sc2|LOT}} vowel is a [[Roundedness|rounded]], [[Open vowel|low]] [[back vowel]] {{IPAblink|ɔ|ɒ̝˖}}. The vowel in {{sc2|THOUGHT}}/{{sc2|COURT}} may be longer and closer to [[Cardinal vowels|cardinal]] {{IPAblink|ɔː}} and this tendency is stronger before [[Voice (phonetics)|voiced consonants]] and in open syllables — acoustic studies by {{Harvcoltxt|Deterding|2007a|pp=14–17}} show that speakers produce an allophone of the {{sc2|THOUGHT}} vowel that is higher and further back in words not closed by final consonants, like ''more'' and ''saw''. The {{sc2|THOUGHT}} vowel is otherwise the same as the {{sc2|LOT}} vowel for many speakers, resulting in [[Cot–caught merger|identical pronunciations for ''cot'' and ''caught'']] {{IPAblink|ɔ|ɒ̝˖}},<ref name="deterding1" /><ref name="tan2010" /> though newer studies suggest that there are older speakers who still maintain this distinction.<ref>{{cite book|first=Rebecca Lurie|last=Starr|chapter=Changing Language, Changing Character Types|title=Social Meaning and Linguistic Variation|year=2021|isbn=9781108578684|doi=10.1017/9781108578684.014|pp=315–337}}</ref>

==== Vowel in ''last'', ''half'', etc. ====
{{See also|Trap–bath split}}

For the vast majority of speakers, the words ''grass'', ''last'' and ''path'' are pronounced with the {{sc2|PALM}} vowel {{IPAc-en|ɑː}} {{IPAblink|ä}}—the ''a'' in ''father''—[[Trap–bath split|like most dialects]] from the south of England.<ref name="deterding1">{{cite book|first=David|last=Deterding|title=English in Southeast Asia: Literacies, Literatures and Varieties|year=2007a|pages=2–29|editor-first1=David|editor-last1=Prescott|editor-first2=Andy|editor-last2=Kirkpatrick|editor-first3=Isabel|editor-last3=Martin|editor-first4=Azirah|editor-last4=Hashim|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Press|location=Newcastle, UK|chapter=The Vowels of the Different Ethnic Groups in Singapore|isbn=978-1847182241}}</ref><ref name=starr2019>{{cite journal|first=Rebecca Lurie|last=Starr|title=Cross-dialectal Awareness and Use of the Bath-Trap Distinction in Singapore: Investigating the Effects of Overseas Travel and Media Consumption|journal=Journal of English Linguistics|volume=47|issue=1|year=2019|pages=55–88|doi=10.1177/0075424218819740}}</ref> Unlike some varieties of [[North American English]], ''aunt''{{nbsp}}{{IPA|en|ɑː}} and ''ant''{{nbsp}}{{IPA|en|æ}} do not sound the same in Singapore English. While speakers will generally use the {{sc2|PALM}} vowel{{nbsp}}{{IPAblink|ä}} in the words ''laugh'', ''ask'', ''half'', ''ex<u>a</u>mple'' and even some words that normally have {{IPA|en|æ}} in Southern English dialects, like ''plastic'' and ''elastic'', many speakers will use the {{sc2|TRAP}} vowel{{nbsp}}{{IPA|en|æ}}{{nbsp}}{{IPAblink|ɛ}} in ''gasp''.<ref name=tanyy2016 /><ref name=starr2019 /> Usage of the {{sc2|TRAP}} vowel{{nbsp}}{{IPA|en|æ}} in ''dance'' and ''can’t'' has also been reported, but this is generally rare.<ref name=tanyy2016 /><ref name=starr2019 />