The effects of place of articulation and vowel height in the acquisition of English aspirated stops by Spanish speakers

Studies of first and second language acquisition have reported that in the acquisition of long lag (aspirated) stops, the effects of the place of articulation of the stop and the height of the following vowel may be significant. This paper examines these two variables in the acquisition of English long lag stops by Spanish speakers. Results indicate that the effects of the two variables are significant, and furthermore suggest a dominant effect of the place change over the change of vowel height.