Phonetic properties of [v] in Russian, Serbian and Greek

Abstract

This study examines the phonetic properties of the segment [v] in Greek, Serbian and Russian. [v] patterns phonologically like an obstruent in Greek but like a sonorant in Serbian; in Russian it patterns with both obstruents and sonorants. We test the hypothesis that cross-linguistic differences in the phonological status of [v] correlate with phonetic differences. We report on spectral and durational measures of [v] in four environments: word-initial stressed, word-initial unstressed, word-medial stressed and word-medial unstressed. Our results show an association between phonological patterning and phonetic realization. Greek tokens of [v] are produced with significantly more high-frequency spectral energy than those in Serbian, suggesting a relation between phonological status and phonetic realization in these two languages. Tokens of Russian [v] exhibit the same relationship to tokens of Greek [v] in word-initial stressed position; elsewhere, they are produced with relatively little high-frequency spectral energy. Furthermore, the effects of word position and syllable stress are found to be additive in Russian. These results are important because they support the notion that there exist interactions between the phonological status of a segment and its phonetic realization.