The effects of linguistic context on temporal and F0 properties of speech

Abstract

Research examining acoustic properties of speech frequently use isolated syllables or syllables embedded in carrier phrases for analysis. Although it has been argued that these contexts represent rather limited speech situations [N. Umeda, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 70, 350–355 (1981)], it is not clear that the influences of these contexts on speech are comparable. In order to determine the effect of these contexts on several acoustic properties of speech, three male subjects recorded repetitions of voiceless aspirated /ph,th,kh/ and voiced /b,d,g/ stops in combination with the vowels /i,e,u,o,a/ in both isolated CVC syllables and CVC syllables embedded in carrier phrases. Fundamental frequency (F0) was measured for the first five glottal periods and voice onset time (VOT) was determined for each utterance. The three acoustic properties selected for purposes of comparison were VOT, the percent decrease in F0 from the first to second glottal period, and the absolute value of F0 for the first five glottal periods. The results revealed that the greatest differences in VOT between isolated syllables and syllables produced in carrier phrases were for voiceless stops, i.e., 37 ms or greater across place of articulation, whereas for the F0 properties variation between these contexts was greatest for voiced stops. In general, however, the findings for F0 were similar in direction to results obtained in fluent reading. [Work supported in part by NINCDS.]