Tense voice without the high f0: the case of glottalized vowels in Zongozotla Totonac

Abstract

Prototypical creaky voice involves increased glottal constriction, lower periodicity, and lower f0. Keating et al. (2015, Proc. ICPhS) argue that other kinds of creaky voice manifest only some of these properties. For example, “tense voice” is constricted but has neither a low nor irregular f0. Although tense voice is usually produced with a high f0, the aforementioned authors suggest that tense voice can also occur with non-high f0. In this study, we argue that glottalized (also known as “laryngealized”;) vowels of Zongozotla Totonac qualify as such: they are produced with tense voice but with non-high f0. Zongozotla Totonac is a Totonac-Tepehua language spoken in the municipality of Zongozotla, Puebla, Mexico. We recorded eight speakers producing nine word pairs that contrast in terms of modal versus glottalized vowels. Compared to modal vowels, glottalized vowels show increased constriction, as indexed by lower spectral tilt and weaker voicing. However, glottalized and modal vowels do not differ in terms of f0 or periodicity. Taken together, the results suggest that glottalized vowels are produced with tense voice, for which the increase in constriction is criterial. This analysis has implications for understanding sound change in Totonac as well as for the taxonomy of creaky voice subtypes.