Acoustic analysis of the English minimal pair  and 

Abstract

This paper presents partial results obtained through the acoustic analysis of the American English minimal pair [i] and [I], produced by native speakers of the language, as well as by speakers of Brazilian Portuguese. Taking into consideration the production features of those phonemes in the speech of each person in the investigated context, it will be possible to reflect about the acoustic and articulatory characteristics of them. Moreover, it will be observed whether the speakers involved in this research are capable of noticing and producing those phonemes adequately. The research will verify whether there is a tendency by Brazilian speakers of English to make a clear distinction or to pronounce one single sound for both phonemes.