Glottal correlates of the word stress and the tense/lax opposition in German

Abstract

The influence of word stress and tense/lax vowel opposition on the phonation process in German was investigated. A set of stimulus words in which tense and lax vowels occur in both stressed and unstressed positions was read by ten speakers of German. The phonation behaviour was investigated using the electroglottographic (EGG) signal recorded by a laryngograph. The EGG signal was segmented and described using a set of timing and shape parameters. To compare the results with the literature, the analysis concentrates on the open and speed quotients. ANOVA (analysis of variance) shows that the main correlates of stress are the increase of fundamental frequency and the increase of closing and opening slope steepness of the EGG signal. The open and speed quotients depend primarily on other factors, like the speaker's sex or vowel type. Tenseness causes small changes in the open quotient, but the effect often interacts with stress.