Voicing cues as a function of the tense/lax distinction in vowels

Abstract

Stop release and the presence or absence of a falling F 1 transition in the preceding vowel have been shown to be effective cues to [± voice] in post-vocalic, word-final stops in English. Speech production data was gathered to determine the predictability and interrelationship of these two cues. Spectrographic analysis indicates (1) that release is predicted by the tenseness of the preceding vowel, (2) that release seems to function as a segment cue, as well as a voicing cue, and (3) that the falling F 1 transition and stop release, when functioning as cues to [+ voice] in a post-vocalic, word-final stop, are in complementary distribution and vary according to the tenseness of the preceding vowel.