English Syllabic Consonants and the Influence of Dialect on Their Production among Speakers of SloveneRuparčič, Maja Ina (Avtor) Stopar, Andrej (Mentor) English syllabic consonantssyllablephoneticsGovernment PhonologyphonotacticsStyrian dialect groupPannonian dialect groupRovte dialect groupThe master’s thesis investigates the role that the speaker’s native dialect plays in the production of syllabic consonants in their L2, as well as the influence of consonant identity and word frequency on consonant syllabicity. The framework of Government Phonology serves as a theoretical basis for the analysis of syllabic consonants and L1 transfer effects on L2 syllable structure. The empirical study involved native speakers of different Slovene dialects pronouncing English words that contained potentially syllabic consonants. The participants were recorded and categorised based on whether their native dialects exhibited syllabic consonants (as was the case with the Styrian, Pannonian, and Rovte speakers) or not (as with the speakers belonging to the Upper Carniolan, Lower Carniolan, Carinthian, and Littoral dialect groups). The recordings were then analysed in Praat. The results confirmed that the speakers possessing syllabic consonants in their L1 generally produced syllabic consonants in English more frequently than the rest, which was ascribed to the influence of L1 phonotactics. Additionally, when the same speakers articulated a əC sequence rather than a syllabic consonant, their schwas were significantly longer than their peers’. Regarding consonant identity, /l̩/ was found to be more frequent than either /n̩/ or /m̩/, but no marked difference was observed between these last two consonants. Lastly, word frequency did not appear to impact consonant syllabicity. The findings contribute to the existing research chiefly by showing that the speaker’s first language affects consonant syllabicity in their L2. Acknowledging the complexity of the topic, the thesis proposes further investigation into unanswered questions, such as the direction of branching of Slovene syllabic consonants, and provides suggestions for future study.20242024-06-02 07:45:04Magistrsko delo/naloga158283sl