Phonetics and Speech Sciences (말소리와 음성과학)

Korean Society of Speech Sciences (한국음성학회)
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Voice quality distinctions of the three-way stop contrast under prosodic strengthening in Korean

  • Jiyoung Jang (Hanyang Institute for Phonetics and Cognitive Sciences of Language, Hanyang University) ;
  • Sahyang Kim (Department of English Education, Hongik University) ;
  • Taehong Cho (Hanyang Institute for Phonetics and Cognitive Sciences of Language, Hanyang University)
  • Received : 2024.02.15
  • Accepted : 2024.03.08
  • Published : 2024.03.31
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Abstract

The Korean three-way stop contrast (lenis, aspirated, fortis) is currently undergoing a sound change, such that the primary cue distinguishing lenis and aspirated stops is shifting from voice onset time (VOT) to F0. Despite recent discussions of this shift, research on voice quality, traditionally considered an additional cue signaling the contrast, remains sparse. This study investigated the extent to which the associated voice quality [as reflected in the acoustic measurements of H1*-H2*, H1*- A1*, and cepstral peak prominence (CPP)] contributes to the three-way stop contrast, and how the realization is conditioned by prominence- vs. boundary-induced prosodic strengthening amid the ongoing sound change. Results for 12 native Korean speakers indicate that there was a substantial distinction in voice quality among the three stop categories with the breathiness of the vowel being the greatest after the lenis, intermediate after the aspirated, and least after the fortis stops, indicating the role of voice quality in the maintenance of the three-way stop contrast. Furthermore, prosodic strengthening has different effects on the contrast and contributes to the enhancement of the phonological contrast contingent on whether it is induced by prominence or boundary.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

We thank the Korean speakers who participated in the experiment. We are also extremely grateful to the editorial board and three anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback. This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2021S1A5C2A02 086884). A part of the present study was presented at the 19th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences as Jang et al. (2019).

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