Spread Glottis Research Articles

Celtic in Greek characters and implications for Greek and Celtic phonology

Abstract This paper examines the use of the characters theta ⟨θ⟩ and khi ⟨χ⟩ in Transalpine Celtic inscriptions engraved in Greek characters. Since /th/ and /kh/, respectively, were not needed for Celtic, it is conventionally presumed that these characters were repurposed in these inscriptions, theta ⟨θ⟩ as the tau Gallicum phoneme and khi ⟨χ⟩ as the allophone [x] of the phoneme /k/ before /t/. It is argued that, in fact, the aspirated voiceless plosives of ancient Greek had become fricatives in southern Transalpine Gaul before the Celts of the region started employing Greek characters to engrave inscriptions in their language, and thus that theta ⟨θ⟩ and khi ⟨χ⟩ in Transalpine Celtic inscriptions were employed with their proximate phonemic values in Greek. We thus can determine a proximate terminus ante quem for the frication of the ancient Greek aspirated voiceless plosives in southern Transalpine Gaul, which leads to the prospect for Transalpine Celtic having contrasted its plosive series not via the Laryngeal feature [voice], but via [spread glottis].

On the representation of /h/ by Quebec francophone learners of English

The current study investigates whether some of the variation in h-production observed among Quebec francophone (QF) learners of English could follow from their at times assimilating /h/ to /ʁ/. In earlier research, we attributed variation exclusively to QFs developing an approximate (“fuzzy” or “murky”) representation of /h/ that is not fully reliable as a base for h-perception and production. Nonetheless, two previous studies observed via event-related potentials differences in QF perceptual ability, which may follow from the quality of the vowel used in the stimuli: /ɑ/ vs. /ʌ/ (detection vs. no detection of /h/). Before the vowel /ɑ/, /h/ exhibits phonetic properties that may allow it to be assimilated to and thus underlyingly represented as /ʁ/. If /h/ is at times subject to approximate representation (e.g., before /ʌ/) and at others captured as /ʁ/ (before /ɑ/), we would expect production of /h/ to reflect this representational distinction, with greater accuracy rates in items containing /ɑ/. Two-way ANOVAs and paired Bayesian t-tests on the reading-aloud data of 27 QFs, however, reveal no difference in h-production according to vowel type. We address the consequences of our findings, discussing notably why QFs have such enduring difficulty acquiring /h/ despite the feature [spread glottis] being available in their representational repertoire. We propose the presence of a Laryngeal Input Constraint that renders representations containing only a laryngeal feature highly marked. We also consider the possibility that, rather than having overcome this constraint, some highly advanced learners are “phonological zombies”: these learners become so adept at employing approximate representations in perception and production that they are indistinguishable from speakers with bona fide phonemic representations.

Acquisition of the feature [+spread glottis] in Icelandic.

The feature [+spread glottis] ([+s.g.]) denotes that a speech sound is produced with a wide glottal aperture with audible voiceless airflow. Icelandic is unusual in the degree to which [+spread glottis] is involved in the phonology: in /h/, pre-aspirated and post-aspirated stops, voiceless fricatives and voiceless sonorants. The ubiquitousness of the feature could potentially affect the rate and process of its acquisition. This paper investigates the development of [+s.g.] in Icelandic, both in general and in a range of contexts, in a cross-sectional study of 433 typically developing Icelandic-speaking children aged two to seven years. As a feature, [+s.g.] is acquired early in Icelandic, although specific sound classes lag behind due to other output constraints. Children reach mastery of [+s.g.] by age three except in word-initial post-aspirated stops and voiceless nasals. Findings are interpreted in light of the literature on the feature and its development.

Acoustic correlates of Burmese voiced and voiceless sonorants.

Voiceless sonorant consonants are typologically rare segments, appearing in only a few of the world's languages, including Burmese. In this study, Burmese sonorants and their adjacent vowels are investigated in an attempt to (1) determine what acoustic correlates distinguish voiced and voiceless sonorants and (2) determine whether there are multiple realizations of voiceless sonorants and, if so, establish what acoustic correlates distinguish them. In order to pursue these questions, a production study was carried out and target words were analyzed, demonstrating that Burmese voiceless sonorants have a spread glottis period resulting in turbulent airflow 78 % of the time. Findings from linear mixed-effects models showed that voiced and voiceless sonorants are significantly different in terms of duration of the sonorant, F0 of the sonorant, and strength of excitation measured over the following vowel. A linear discriminant analysis was able to predict voicing category with 86.7 % accuracy, with the duration of the spread glottis period being the best indicator of voicelessness, followed by the cues that were significant in the linear mixed-effects models. In cases when the spread glottis period is absent from voiceless sonorants, the sonorant only has correlates that are associated with voicelessness (such as F0 and strength of excitation) but not correlates that are associated with the spread glottis gesture (such as duration and harmonics-to-noise ratio). These results have implications both for our understanding of the acoustics of Burmese sonorants and for our understanding of voiceless sonorants more generally.

Laryngeal realism and the voicing contrast in Khuzestani Arabic stops

In laryngeal realism (LR), laryngeal specification of stops is explained by direct maps of cues (e.g. VOT) onto privative phonological laryngeal features [voice] or [spread glottis]. Phonetic realization of the segments and speakers’ ‘control’ (e.g. the degree of intervocalic voicing and speech rate manipulation effects on VOT duration) are used as diagnostics of phonological specification. Similar to some Arabic vernacular dialects (e.g. Qatari Arabic), Khuzestani Arabic in Iran presents a case where three voiced stops /b d ɡ/ are in contrast with voiceless stops /p t k/, but two voiceless guttural plosives /tˁ q/ have no voiced homorganic counterparts. In this paper we examine the phonetic realization of voicing in these stops at word-initial and intervocalic position, as well as the effects of speech rate manipulation on VOT and closure voicing. The data came from 12 native speakers recorded in Khorramshahr, Iran. Our findings suggest an over-specified voicing system in this Arabic variety. We found that voiced /b d ɡ/ were produced with voicing lead in initial position and complete closure voicing word medially, voiceless /p t k/ had long lag VOT, while guttural /tˁ q/ had short lag VOT. Speech rate manipulation revealed that only duration of (pre)voicing and duration of aspiration increased in slower speech. Also, f0, F1, and F2 were measured at vowel onset to evaluate the glottal state in production of stops. The results support the predictions of LR that voiced stops are specified by [voice], voiceless stops are [sg], while gutturals lack underlying specification for voice.

External photoglottography, intra-oral air pressure, airflow and acoustic data on the Korean fricatives /s’, s/

From simultaneous recordings of the external photoglottography, intra-oral air pressure (P_io), airflow and acoustic data from four native Seoul Korean speakers (2 male and 2 female), we have found that the two fricatives are not significantly different in glottal opening peak and airflow peak height either word-initially or word-medially and that the duration of aspiration is significantly reduced in word-medial /s/, compared to those in word-initial /s/, not in /s’/. We have also found that the duration of a high P_io plateau is significantly longer in /s/ than in /s’/ both word-initially and word-medially and that airflow resistance (R=P_io/U) at the onset and offset of a P_io plateau and at the time of airflow peak height is significantly higher in /s’/ than in /s/ across the contexts. However, the differences in P_io peak and F0 are not significant. In addition, the transition time to reach airflow peak height from the offset of a P_io plateau is found to be significantly longer in /s/ than /s’/ in both word-initial and word-medial positions. No significant differences in glottal opening peak and airflow peak height confirm that /s/ is specified as [–spread glottis] like /s’/. As for the other significant differences, we propose that /s/ is [–tense], and /s’/ [+tense].

The rarity of intervocalic voicing of stops in Danish spontaneous speech

Previous studies of the phonetics of Danish stops have neglected closure voicing. Danish is an aspiration language, but the aspirated stops /p t k/ are produced with shorter closure duration and less articulatory effort than the unaspirated stops /b d ɡ/. Furthermore, all Danish stops are characterized by some degree of glottal spreading during the closure. In this study, we use a corpus of Danish spontaneous speech (DanPASS) to investigate the intervocalic voicing—its distribution across the two laryngeal categories, whether it patterns as a lenition phenomenon, and whether the aerodynamic environment predicts its distribution. We find that intervocalic voicing is not the norm for either set of stops and is particularly rare in /p t k/. Voiced tokens are mostly found in environments associated with lenition. We suggest that the glottal spreading gesture found in all Danish stops is a phonological mechanism blocking voicing, which is probabilistically lost in spontaneous speech. This predicts our results better than relying on laryngeal features like [voice] or [spread glottis]. The study fills a gap in our knowledge of Danish phonetics and phonology, and is also one of the most extensive corpus studies of intervocalic stop voicing in an ‘aspiration language.’

SG] and Final Consonant Allophony in Tz'utujil

This paper considers two phenomena in Tz'utujil (Mayan) phonology: final sonorant devoicing and final aspiration of plain (pulmonic) stops and affricates. Both occur word-internally in coda position, as well as word-finally. I present an Optimality-Theoretic (OT) analysis which accounts for both of these phenomena via positional constraints on [spread glottis] ([SG]). This analysis also accounts for attested variation in final aspiration and devoicing across the Mayan language family and predicts an implicational relationship between final nasal devoicing, final sonorant devoicing, and final obstruent aspiration. Final sonorant devoicing is typologically rare and somewhat difficult to explain in terms of phonetic motivation. Tz'utujil may be able to provide insight into the typology of laryngeal features and the roles of contrast and phonetic pressures in phonology.

Fortis-lenis distinction of fricatives and plosives in Welsh – Phonetically distinctive factors

This paper continues a research project aimed at proving that the fortis-lenis distinction is more appropriate for studying the Welsh language than the voiced-voiceless divide. Previous analyses of articulatory timing revealed potentially distinctive features characteristic for Welsh plosives and fricatives. Even though the phonological features such as [spread glottis] or [voice] may be used both for distinguishing between the series of plosives and fricatives, the phonetic features responsible for the distinction are likely to differ due to the different phonetic nature of the manner of articulation and the position of fricatives and plosives (Honeybone 2005: 333–334). The aim of this paper is, therefore, to draw general conclusions from analysing the two sets of factors and find some universal features or characteristics of fortis and lenis obstruents in Welsh. Based on the previous studies, the importance of aspiration and voicing length are analysed in Welsh plosives. For fricatives, friction and voicing length are studied as potentially contrastive. The main hypotheses are that (i) phonetic voicing is not decisive in distinguishing between the two series of sounds in all places of articulation and (ii) other aspects of articulatory timing such as friction, aspiration length and hold phase duration appear to be more important in the fortis-lenis distinction and form a general pattern where the fortis sounds are generally longer than their lenis counterparts.

The aerodynamics of voiced stop closures

Experimental data combining complementary measures based on the oral airflow signal is presented in this paper, exploring the view that European Portuguese voiced stops are produced in a similar fashion to Germanic languages. Four Portuguese speakers were recorded producing a corpus of nine isolated words with /b, d, ɡ/ in initial, medial and final word position, and the same nine words embedded in 39 different sentences. Slope of the stop release (SLP), voice onset time (VOT), release and stop durations and steady-state oral airflow amplitude characteristics preceding and following the stop were analysed. Differences between independent groups (three different places of articulation and two vowel contexts) and correlations between variables were studied; generalised linear mixed effects models were developed to study the effects of VOT, SLP and the factors place of articulation and vowel context on the mean oral airflow. A classification of stop’s voicing was automatically extracted. Both SLP (p = .013) and VOT (p = .014) were significantly different for the three places of articulation. Weak voicing was observed for 57% of the stops. It is hypothesised that the high percentages of weakly voiced stops are a consequence of passive voicing and that the feature of contrast in Portuguese is privative [spread glottis].

The evolution of proto-Brit. *-/lth/ in Welsh

Abstract This paper argues that the evolution of proto-Brittonic final *-/lth/ > -/lθ/ > -/ɬt/ in Welsh is the result of the metathesis of the feature [spread glottis] from the final coronal fricative to the lateral approximant with well known concomitant phonetic changes that devoiced and fricated the lateral approximant while occluding the coronal fricative.

Speech Rate Effects on VOT in a 3-category Language: Evidence from Hakha Chin

This study probes the claim made under the Laryngeal Realism (Beckman et al. 2011/2013 among others), by investigating the effect of speech rate on VOT in Hakha Chin. The present study uses the diagnostics of changing the speech rate (Beckman et al. 2011), and examines whether it can be used to find the specified phonological features of a language with a three-way contrast, Hakha Chin. The Laryngeal Realism states that the phonological features are privative and that the aspirating language is specified with the feature [spread glottis], while the true voiced language is specified with the feature of [voice]. It has been widely known that the speech rate affects laryngeal stops asymmetrically, and LR authors argue this is because the phonological features are privative rather than binary (e.g. Kessinger & Blumstein 1997). Methodologically, it attempts to experimentally control the rate variation with the help of metronome (de Jong 2001). The present study observes that in Hakha Chin, at a slower rate, the VOT of the prevoiced stop and the aspirated stop increase, while the voiceless unaspirated does not, which support the claims of the LR, but with caveats due to speaker variations.

The effects of L1 AP-initial boundary tones and laryngeal features in Korean adaptation of Japanese plosives followed by a H or L vowel

The present study explores the magnitude of tonal effects and segmental voicing contrast in Korean categorization of Japanese plosives followed by a H or L vowel by conducting a perception experiment in which one hundred sixty native speakers of Seoul and Kyungsang Korean – eighty in each group (40 male and 40 female) – participated. The results have shown that, no matter whether they command a pitch-accent Kyungsang Korean or Seoul Korean which has no lexical pitch-accent, our subjects mostly categorized word-initial Japanese voiceless plosives as aspirated with the significant effect of H and word-medial voiceless plosives as either aspirated or fortis with no H/L effect. Their categorization of word-medial Japanese voiced plosives as lenis is not significantly affected by the H and L tonal difference, either, regardless of dialect differences. In their categorization of word-initial Japanese voiced plosives as lenis, however, the Seoul subjects favored L, and the Kyungsang subjects H.From the results, we propose that the Korean prosodic unit of Accentual Phrase (AP) and laryngeal features interact in the Seoul subjects’ categorization of word-initial Japanese plosives, such that the H/L tonal distinction is made in AP-initial position as enhancement with VOT primarily parsed for cues to the feature [±spread glottis]. As for their categorization of word-medial Japanese plosives with no tonal effect, we propose that closure duration is parsed for cues to the other feature [±tense]. The same proposal is made for the Kyungsang subjects’ categorization except for the H effect in word-initial Japanese voiced plosives.

Herskarien ustezko ahoskabetasun asimilazioa eta euskal herskari zaharren gauzatzea / The alleged voicelessness assimilation and the realization of old Basque stops

Euskaraz, herskari ahoskabe (hasperendun) batek jarraituriko herskari ahostun bat horren eraginez ahoskabetu daiteke. Tipologikoki arraroa den aldaketa hau ahoskabetasunaren asimilazio bezala deskribatua izan da. Honakoan, aldaketaren oinarria hasperenketan dagoela proposatzen dut. Analisi honek, aurrekoek ez bezala, herskarien hasperenketaren kokapen aldaketaren eta hots aldaketa galarazi zuten testuinguruen berri ematen du eta euskal herskari zaharren inguruko galdera berriak sortzen ditu. Herskarien egungo oposizioa ahostun vs. ahoskabe bezala deskribatzen dugu. Hala ere, autore gehienek sistema ezberdin bat berreraikitzen dute. Lan honetan, bi herskari serie berreraikitzen ditut: herskari ahoskabe hasperendunak ([spread glottis] ezaugarria dutenak) eta hasperenik gabeko serie bat (espezifikazio laringalik gabekoa), hitz hasieran hasperenik gabeko herskari ahoskabe bezala gauzatzen zena eta hitz erdian pasiboki ahostundu egiten zena.

Laryngeal Realism and early Insular Celtic orthography

One of the well-known features of early Insular Celtic orthographic practice is that <p t k b d g m> represent [p t k b d g m] in initial position, but [b d g β ð ɣ β/w̃] in post-vocalic position. Kenneth Jackson proposed that this system arose in Britain when Brittonic underwent lenition and British Latin did so, as well. That this is the correct scenario can hardly be doubted and is now received doctrine. But Jackson assumed that Brittonic and British Latin both contrasted their plosive series via the Laryngeal feature [voice], a view that cannot be maintained. This paper draws upon instrumental work conducted upon modern Celtic languages and adopts the approach to phonology known as Laryngeal Realism to propose that, in fact, initial <p t k b d g> in early Insular Celtic languages represent [ph th kh p t k], i.e., they were contrasted via the Laryngeal feature [spread glottis], precisely as in Scottish Gaelic, and that their orthographies are, likewise, directly comparable to Scottish Gaelic.

Effects of obstruent voicing on vowel F0: Implications for laryngeal realism

AbstractIt is sometimes argued that languages with two-way laryngeal contrasts can be classified according to whether one series is realized canonically with voicing lead or the other with voicing lag. In languages of the first type, such as French, the phonologically relevant feature is argued to be [voice], while in languages of the second type, such as German, the relevant feature is argued to be [spread glottis]. A crucial assumption of this position is that the presence of certain contextually stable phonetic cues, namely voicing lead or lag, can be used to diagnose the which feature is phono-logically active.In this paper, we present data on obstruent-intrinsic F0 perturbations (CF0) in two [voice] languages, French and Italian. Voiceless obstruents in both languages are found to raise F0, while F0 following (pre)voiced obstruents patterns together with sonorants, similar to the voiceless unaspirated stops of [spread glottis] languages like German and English. The contextual stability of this cue implies that an active de-voicing gesture is common to languages of both the [voice] and [spread glottis] types, and undermines the idea that a strict binary dichotomy between true voicing and aspirating languages can be reliably inferred based on properties of the surface phonetics.

Laryngeal Relativism predicts Italian

AbstractTwo-way laryngeal systems are classified by Laryngeal Realism into [voice] languages (or “L-systems”, e.g., Slavic, Romance) and [spread glottis] ([sg]; or aspiration) languages (or “H-systems”, e.g., the typical Germanic pattern). More recently, Cyran (2014) has proposed Laryngeal Relativism (LR), claiming that phonetic interpretation is arbitrary, and as a result, two phonetically identical systems, even two dialects of a language, may turn out to diverge phonologically. His example is Polish: while Warsaw Polish represents the typical [voice]/L-system, he analyses phonetically identical Cracow Polish as anH-system (counter to Laryngeal Realism’s uniform classification of Slavic languages).However, in the “classical” version of [sg] languages (e.g., English), no laryngeal activity in the form of any kind of spreading is attested, which suggests the absence of any source element and, instead, a dominant role of obstruency (|h|). We, therefore, arrive at a three-way typology:h-systems,H-systems andL-systems. At the same time, arbitrary phonetic interpretation in LR predicts the existence of, e.g.,h-systems with virtually no aspiration in the fortis series. We claim that this is indeed the characterisation of Italian. Using data from potential feature spreading situations, elicited in loanword and foreign accent settings, we show that Italian is anh-system, exhibiting no true laryngeal activity.

Pre-closure laryngeal properties as cues to the fortis–lenis plosive contrast in British varieties of English

Abstract The present study contributes to our understanding of the phonetic implementation of the fortis–lenis plosive contrast in British varieties of English via analyses of pre-aspiration and glottalisation. More specifically, we show that pre-aspiration and (pre-) glottalisation can and do function as correlates of the contrast in British English plosives in non-foot-initial position (latter vs ladder; mat vs mad ). This is in addition to rather than at the expense of the other traditionally discussed potential correlates, with the exception of word-final release duration, where the pre-closure laryngeal phenomena are more robust. We also provide evidence that listeners of a range of accents of British English use pre-aspiration as a cue to the contrast, exhibiting clear categorical perception effects (based on data from 19 listeners). We conclude that the gesture of spread glottis is not necessarily tied to the release phase of the plosive in the relevant varieties of British English but instead can be found prior to the release phase, or indeed both prior to as well as during the release phase itself. Our study thus contributes to the pool of languages known to use pre-closure laryngeal features functioning as correlates of and cues to phonological contrasts (see e.g. Clayton 2009; Kingston 1990; Silverman 1995).

Laryngeal Realism and the Prehistory of Celtic

AbstractThis paper examines the proto‐Celtic plosive system through the lens of Laryngeal Realism. Drawing upon phonetic data from contemporary Celtic languages and philological data from medieval Insular Celtic and ancient Continental Celtic languages, it concludes that the active Laryngeal feature in these languages is not [voice], but [spread glottis], and that this feature should be projected back to proto‐Celtic. Such an analysis allows for a much more straightforward analysis of the evolution of the early Celtic plosive system, and, in particular, allows for a non‐stipulative analysis of perhaps the best known of Celtic sound changes, the loss of proto‐IE*/p/, in simple aerodynamic terms. It is demonstrated, furthermore, that the loss of proto‐IE*/p/ cannot be explained by contact with pre‐Basque or Iberian, but, instead, was, in all likelihood, a natural development.

Predictions of Laryngeal Realism for breathy-voiced stops: Counter-evidence from Bangla

The Laryngeal Realism (LR) framework (Honeybone 2005, Beckman et al. 2013) argues that the breathy-voiced stops in the four-way stop systems are specified for multiple features: [voice] and [spread glottis] ([sg]). As a diagnostic of the specified features, Beckman et al. (2013) proposed that the acoustic cues for a specified feature be longer in slower speech. While predictions of the LR framework have been tested on two- and three-way stop systems using this technique, there has not been much on the four-way stop systems. This study presents evidence from Bangla and argues that the predictions of the LR framework apply variably for the breathy-voiced stops; [sg] is found to be the stronger candidate as the specified feature than [voice]. In slower speech, the cue for the breathy voicing (the lag-time) lengthened in the breathy-voiced stops. Contrarily, the acoustic cue for the [voice] feature (the prevoicing) was not affected by speech rate. Mixed-effects models confirmed that the effect of speech rate ...