Abstract
Phonetic and phonological variation in French spoken around the world has been well documented over the last few decades thanks to the Phonology of Contemporary French research project. However, little is known of the variety spoken on Mayotte Island, which was recently made a French department. This is despite its rich linguistic landscape, with two distinct languages: Shimaore, a Sabaki-Bantu language and Kibushi, an Austronesian language. For example, whereas French has upwards of 13 oral vowels and 4 nasal vowels, Shimaore has 5 oral vowels and 3 nasal vowels: a, i, u, e, o, , , and. It is unclear how Shimaore speakers adapt the complex and varying French vowel system, particularly for the mid vowels and considering the dy looks at mid vowels and nasal vowels spoken by eight speakers in Mayotte. It looks at the vowel space, overlap and distance.