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Languages with independently contrastive Voice Quality and Tone are rare, and the evidence base on them is limited. As a result, key hypotheses on how their phonetic realizations interact with one another and with the vowel system remain tentative. Against the background of this evidence base, it is worthwhile to conduct a production study in which Voice Quality, Tone, and Vowel Quality are orthogonally crossed. This paper presents the results of a comprehensive acoustic study on this configuration in Dinka (Nilo-Saharan, South Sudan). The study is based on 29 four-member minimal sets for Voice Quality (Modal vs. Breathy) and Tone (Low vs. High), across all seven of the Dinka vowels (/i, e, ɛ, a, ɔ, o, u/). These materials were elicited from eight speakers of the Bor South variety of Dinka. The results indicate that Voice Quality, Tone, and Vowel Quality each have their own primary correlate: phonation, F0, and formants, respectively. In addition, each distinction influences other phonetic parameters to a lesser extent. Importantly, the Voice Quality contrast is realized saliently on vowels in Low- and-High-toned syllables alike, and across the vocalic domain.
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Acoustic correlates of the Javanese heavy vs. light distinction: A large-scale corpus study
According to the influential continuum model of phonation, only voiced segments can be specified as creaky or breathy. The present study investigated many possible phonetic correlates of the laryngeal contrast in Javanese word-initial prevocalic stop consonants, drawing upon a spoken corpus of more than 180,000 utterances. The results indicate that the laryngeal contrast is cued by voice onset time (VOT) and several acoustic-phonetic properties of the following vowel, including the first formant (F1) in addition to voice source measurements such as H1*-H2* and cepstral peak prominence (CPP). Taken together these findings indicate that Javanese stops can be both voiceless and breathy, supporting a revision of the continuum model in which voicing and other aspects of phonation are decoupled.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1941593
- PAR ID:
- 10492903
- Editor(s):
- Skarnitzl, Radek; Volín, Jan
- Publisher / Repository:
- Guarant International
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the 20th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences
- ISSN:
- 2412-0669
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 843-847
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- laryngeal contrast, acoustic correlates, phonation type, Javanese, corpus phonetics
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Prague
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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