Voice-onset time in younger and older French-speaking Canadians

Abstract

Voice-onset time (VOT) production was measured in a group of 10 younger (average age 24 years) and 10 older French-speaking Canadian males (average age 67 years). Each subject produced 90 syllables (15 VOT measures for each of the stop consonants /p/, /t/, /k/ and /b/, /d/, /g/ in a CV environment). There was a significant interaction of age and voicing—that is the younger subjects had significantly more average difference in VOT between voiced and voiceless stops. Standard deviations were significantly greater in the older subjects for the voiced consonants and smaller for the voiceless consonants when compared to those for the younger subjects. These results are discussed in the light of the literature on the effects of ageing on VOT production.