Voiceless Stop Research Articles

Voiceless Stop Consonant Modelling and Synthesis Framework Based on MISO Dynamic System

AbstractA voiceless stop consonant phoneme modelling and synthesis framework based on a phoneme modelling in low-frequency range and high-frequency range separately is proposed. The phoneme signal is decomposed into the sums of simpler basic components and described as the output of a linear multiple-input and single-output (MISO) system. The impulse response of each channel is a third order quasi-polynomial. Using this framework, the limit between the frequency ranges is determined. A new limit point searching three-step algorithm is given in this paper. Within this framework, the input of the low-frequency component is equal to one, and the impulse response generates the whole component. The high-frequency component appears when the system is excited by semi-periodic impulses. The filter impulse response of this component model is single period and decays after three periods. Application of the proposed modelling framework for the voiceless stop consonant phoneme has shown that the quality of the model is sufficiently good.

Kashaya [asp] assimilation and dissimilation by correspondence

An aspirated stop in a Kashaya prefix becomes a plain voiceless stop by dissimilation when the root begins with an aspirate; but it also assimilates to an unaspirated stop in the same position. The OCP cannot help with assimilation, so I propose a unified analysis of the two phenomena within Agreement by Correspond­ence (Rose & Walker 2004, Bennett 2013). Unlike somewhat similar cases in the literature with both assimilation and dissimilation, here there is no structural difference. I posit a conjoined constraint that penalizes an initial aspirate in a correspondence relation; the rest follows from standard ABC assumptions.

Interaction of drift and distinctiveness in L1 English-L2 Japanese learners

Dynamic L2 effects on L1 phonetics appear in experienced and novice second language learners, raising the question of what linguistic and cognitive factors determine their occurrence, degree, and direction (assimilatory versus dissimilatory). Unlike Chang (2012), our longitudinal data from voiceless stops in early L1 English:L2 Japanese learners show primarily dissimilatory increase in English VOTs, an effect found most strongly early in their first semester. Assimilatory L1 drift toward the lower VOTs of L2 Japanese may be disfavored because a decrease in English voiceless stop VOT could threaten the L1 contrast between long and short lag stops. Furthermore, dissimilatory VOT increase on voiceless stops allows English speakers to distinguish phonetically similar L1 and L2 voiceless stops (e.g., Flege and Eefting 1987). These two principles predict that our voiced stop data could show increased L1 prevoicing (an assimilatory effect that would not endanger the English voicing contrast), while also displaying non-identical prevoicing/short-lag values for L1 and L2 voiced stops (separating the languages, as for Huffman and Schuhmann’s (2016) English-Spanish learners). Overall, our data suggest that L1 changes in early L2 learning can be dissimilatory, and that phonetic properties of L1 and L2 contrasts affect how L1 values restructure during early L2 acquisition.Dynamic L2 effects on L1 phonetics appear in experienced and novice second language learners, raising the question of what linguistic and cognitive factors determine their occurrence, degree, and direction (assimilatory versus dissimilatory). Unlike Chang (2012), our longitudinal data from voiceless stops in early L1 English:L2 Japanese learners show primarily dissimilatory increase in English VOTs, an effect found most strongly early in their first semester. Assimilatory L1 drift toward the lower VOTs of L2 Japanese may be disfavored because a decrease in English voiceless stop VOT could threaten the L1 contrast between long and short lag stops. Furthermore, dissimilatory VOT increase on voiceless stops allows English speakers to distinguish phonetically similar L1 and L2 voiceless stops (e.g., Flege and Eefting 1987). These two principles predict that our voiced stop data could show increased L1 prevoicing (an assimilatory effect that would not endanger the English voicing contrast), while also displayi...

Effects of consonant voicing on vocalic segment duration across resonants and prosodic boundaries

Most languages, and especially English, reduce the duration of vocalic segments before voiceless obstruents relative to voiced ones. Previous studies examined this effect for final singleton consonants in tauto- and heterosyllabic contexts within a word. Here, monosyllabic words are examined for the effect both across resonants (e.g., “code”/”coat” vs. “cold”/”colt”) and across word boundaries and stress conditions (e.g., “no CODE”/”NO code” vs. “no GOAD”/”NO goad”). Preliminary results showed a typical effect for singleton stops, with vocalic segment reduced 33.6% for the voiceless stop. Vocalic segments were somewhat reduced with an intervening resonant (26.4%) but the resonance itself was more reduced (57.3%); vocalic segment and resonance were approximately the same duration as the vocalic segments alone in singleton syllables. The vocalic segment of “no” decreased slightly with following voiceless stop (8.2% when unstressed, 10.2% when stressed); this was smaller than other studies’ effect across syllable boundaries within words. The results indicate that the word and syllable structure impose timing effects of different magnitudes on both vowels and resonants due to voicing of an adjacent stop. It is surprising that the effect occurs across word boundaries and further that stress makes little difference. [Work supported by NIH grant DC-002717.]

Spectral Coefficient Analyses of Word-Initial Stop Consonant Productions Suggest Similar Anticipatory Coarticulation for Stuttering and Nonstuttering Adults.

A longstanding hypothesis about the sensorimotor mechanisms underlying stuttering suggests that stuttered speech dysfluencies result from a lack of coarticulation. Formant-based measures of either the stuttered or fluent speech of children and adults who stutter have generally failed to obtain compelling evidence in support of the hypothesis that these individuals differ in the timing or degree of coarticulation. Here, we used a sensitive acoustic technique-spectral coefficient analyses-that allowed us to compare stuttering and nonstuttering speakers with regard to vowel-dependent anticipatory influences as early as the onset burst of a preceding voiceless stop consonant. Eight adults who stutter and eight matched adults who do not stutter produced C1VC2 words, and the first four spectral coefficients were calculated for one analysis window centered on the burst of C1 and two subsequent windows covering the beginning of the aspiration phase. Findings confirmed that the combined use of four spectral coefficients is an effective method for detecting the anticipatory influence of a vowel on the initial burst of a preceding voiceless stop consonant. However, the observed patterns of anticipatory coarticulation showed no statistically significant differences, or trends toward such differences, between the stuttering and nonstuttering groups. Combining the present results for fluent speech in one given phonetic context with prior findings from both stuttered and fluent speech in a variety of other contexts, we conclude that there is currently no support for the hypothesis that the fluent speech of individuals who stutter is characterized by limited coarticulation.

Acquisition of English Consonant Clusters by Korean Children: Focusing on Speech Error Analysis

The aim of this study is to investigate production of consonant clusters by Korean young children from three to six years old. Fifty-three Korean children participated in an imitation production task and their speech productions were transcribed. In order to examine the process of acquisition their speech errors were analyzed and divided into 5 types: consonant deletion, epenthesis, substitution, coalescence and combination. The results of transcription and error analysis are as follows: 1) As the children are getting old, the number of consonant deletion in consonant cluster is decreasing. 2) Among the five different error types, vowel insertion is the most frequent, and it is more frequent in the voiced stop and liquid clusters than in the voiceless stop and liquid clusters. 3) Velars, the first consonant in the clusters, tend to replaced by bilabials, whereas the second consonant, liquids are likely to be substituted with glides. 4) /p/and /r/ can coalesce into /ʃ/. 5) More than one types of errors can be combined and produced in the consonant clusters. Based on the results of this study, some implications for the acquisition of consonant clusters were drawn.

Postnasal Devoicing in Nasioi

The investigation of the prohibition on sequences consisting of a nasal followed by a voiceless stop across languages has yielded a productive analytical approach to typology in phonology. Assuming phonetically grounded constraints banning these sequences makes the strong prediction that there should be no symmetrical process of postnasal devoicing. This paper presents evidence from Nasioi to challenge this claim, where sequences of nasals followed by voiceless stops are favored structures. The Nasioi pattern of postnasal devoicing is placed in a larger South Bougainville context, where it is shown that there are slight, but notable, differences across the consonant inventories and processes relevant to postnasal phenomena.

ЗАДНЕЯЗЫЧНЫЙ ГЛУХОЙ СМЫЧНЫЙ /K/ В СЕЛЕМДЖИНСКОМ ГОВОРЕ ЭВЕНКИЙСКОГО ЯЗЫКА

The current paper focuses upon articulatory and acoustic features of the Evenki velar voiceless stop /k/. Its allophones are researched in all word positions (initial, medial, final, and in consonant clusters). Auditory analysis and dynamic spectrography were used to determine and describe acoustic correlates of all allophones characteristic for /k/. These include aspirated, fricative (as a result of spirantization), uvular, palatized, implosive, and affricated ones. Affrication was characteristic for the Evenki /k/ only in word-initial position before front vowels.

Long Term Effect of Phonetic Instruction on the Production of /p/ by EFL Arab Learners: an Exploratory Study

Most previous studies, that have examined the effect of explicit pronunciation instruction on foreign language speech, have focused on the short term effect of explicit pronunciation instruction, usually measured immediately after instruction. For this reason, it is not yet clear whether the attested benefit from pronunciation instruction can be sustained for a long time after instruction. The current study attempted to explore the long term effect of phonetic instruction on the production of the English bilabial voiceless stop /p/ by Arab learners of English as foreign language (EFL, henceforth). Nine Arab EFL learners were assigned to two groups, control and experimental. The experimental group received phonetic instruction on how to produce the English sound /p/, whereas the control group did not. The production of the English sound /p/ was elicited from all the learners in both groups, once before the instruction and once after 11 weeks of the instruction. Two experienced native English instructors were asked to judge whether the students produced /p/ or /b/. The results generally showed no benefit from the phonetic instruction on the delayed production of /p/ by the EFL Arab learners. Although the results do not seem encouraging for pronunciation instruction, it is difficult to reach a conclusion with regard to pronunciation instruction due to the small sample size used in the current exploratory study, and to the difficulty to generalize the results on /p/ to all other sounds. Future studies may use larger sample sizes and include more sounds in their instruction methods.

Long Term Effect of Phonetic Instruction on the Production of /p/ by EFL Arab Learners: An Exploratory Study

Most previous studies, that have examined the effect of explicit pronunciation instruction on foreign language speech, have focused on the short term effect of explicit pronunciation instruction, usually measured immediately after instruction. For this reason, it is not yet clear whether the attested benefit from pronunciation instruction can be sustained for a long time after instruction. The current study attempted to explore the long term effect of phonetic instruction on the production of the English bilabial voiceless stop /p/ by Arab learners of English as foreign language (EFL, henceforth). Nine Arab EFL learners were assigned to two groups, control and experimental. The experimental group received phonetic instruction on how to produce the English sound /p/, whereas the control group did not. The production of the English sound /p/ was elicited from all the learners in both groups, once before the instruction and once after 11 weeks of the instruction. Two experienced native English instructors were asked to judge whether the students produced /p/ or /b/. The results generally showed no benefit from the phonetic instruction on the delayed production of /p/ by the EFL Arab learners. Although the results do not seem encouraging for pronunciation instruction, it is difficult to reach a conclusion with regard to pronunciation instruction due to the small sample size used in the current exploratory study, and to the difficulty to generalize the results on /p/ to all other sounds. Future studies may use larger sample sizes and include more sounds in their instruction methods.

A refutation of Song’s (2014) explanation of the ‘stop coda problem’ in Old Chinese

Song (2014) draws renewed attention to the problem of groups of Chinese words in which the character used to write one of the words has a stop final reading in Middle Chinese but the character used to write another of the words has an open syllable reading in Middle Chinese, although the two seem to have a shared a rime in Old Chinese. She offers a new solution employing the reconstruction of voiced and voiceless stop finals in the shared ancestor of Chinese and Tibetan. Every step in Song’s reasoning is faulty and nearly every claim she makes about Tibetan is false. Haudricourt long ago solved the ‘stop coda problem’ (1954).

Distinct patterns of imprecise consonant articulation among Parkinson’s disease, progressive supranuclear palsy and multiple system atrophy

Distinct speech characteristics that may aid in differentiation between Parkinson’s disease (PD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and multiple system atrophy (MSA) remain tremendously under-explored. Here, the patterns and degree of consonant articulation deficits across voiced and voiceless stop plosives in 16 PD, 16 PSP, 16 MSA and 16 healthy control speakers were evaluated using acoustic and perceptual methods. Imprecise consonant articulation was observed across all Parkinsonian groups. Voice onset time of voiceless plosives was more prolonged in both PSP and MSA compared to PD, presumably due to greater severity of dysarthria and slower articulation rate. Voice onset time of voiced plosives was significantly shorter only in MSA, likely as a consequence of damage to cerebellar structures. In agreement with the reduction of pre-voicing, MSA manifested increased number of voiced plosives misclassified as voiceless at perceptual evaluation. Timing of articulatory movements may provide important clues about the pathophysiology of underlying disease.

The Phonetic Characteristics in Patients of Bilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis Without Tracheotomy.

ObjectivesPatients with bilateral vocal fold paralysis (BVFP) theoretically have difficulty producing voiceless consonants. However, perceptual studies have revealed clear production of voiceless consonants with good articulation scores in nontracheostomized patients. The purpose of this study was to clarify the production of voiceless stops during articulation in patients with BVFP compared to normal speakers.MethodsThe perceptual, acoustic, and aerodynamic characteristics of patients with BVFP and those with normal speech were investigated with special reference to voiceless stop consonants. Test words were prepared to place the stop consonants in different phonological environments, and were all nonsense words.ResultsThe patients with BVFP perceptually produced the three types of stops successfully. However, they acoustically varied voice onset time to produce phonetically representative stops but decreased voice onset time of /ph/ and /p/ compared to those of normal speakers. These patients may properly control air pressure to produce the three types of stop consonants similar to normal speakers.ConclusionThe patients with BVFP realized the distinctions between the three types of stops similar to the normal speakers. Although vocal mobility was absent in the patients with BVFP, voice onset time, vowel duration, closure duration, and air pressure were similar to those of normal speakers.

The VOT Category Boundary in Word-Initial Stops: Counter-Evidence Against Rate Normalization in English Spontaneous Speech

Some languages, such as many varieties of English, use short-lag and long-lag VOT to distinguish word- and syllable-initial voiced vs. voiceless stop phonemes. According to a popular view, the optimal VOT category boundary between the two types of stops moves towards larger values as articulation rate becomes slower (and speech segments longer), and listeners accordingly shift the perceptual VOT category boundary. According to an alternative view, listeners do not shift the VOT category boundary with a change in articulation rate, because the same category boundary remains optimal across different rates of articulation in normal speech, although a shift in the optimal boundary location can be induced in the laboratory by instructing speakers to use artificially extreme articulation rates. In this study we compared the effectiveness of rate-independent VOT category boundaries applied to word-initial stop phonemes in spontaneous English speech, against the effectiveness of Miller et al.’s (1986) rate-dependent VOT category boundary applied to laboratory speech. The effectiveness of the two types of category boundaries were comparable, when spontaneous speech data were controlled for factors other than articulation rate. Our results suggest that perceptual VOT category boundaries need not shift with a change in articulation rate under normal circumstances.

Relationship between voicing perception and auditory brainstem responses to stop consonants

A number of psychophysical studies have suggested that auditory temporal resolution is related to the voicing boundaries of stop consonants. For example, hearing-impaired listeners with poor temporal resolution have difficulty perceiving voiceless stop consonants. However, there is little neurophysiological evidence for the existence of a relationship between voicing boundaries and auditory temporal resolution. The auditory brainstem response (ABR) is suited to investigations of this relationship because it has proved useful in assessments of auditory temporal processing and speech processing. We conducted a speech identification task using synthesized /da/-/ta/ stimuli in which we varied the voice onset time from 3 to 15 ms in 2 ms steps. There were two types of /da/-/ta/ stimuli whose aspiration noise exhibited high or low power. ABR were measured for the some stimuli across voicing boundaries. The aspiration noises with higher power displayed shorter voicing boundaries and longer peak-to-peak latency between ABR onset responses to the leading noise and vowel parts. This finding suggests that the perception of voicing reflects subcortical temporal processing. [Work supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant No. 25240023.]

Generalization in VOT imitation: Feature adaptation or acoustic-phonetic covariation?

After hearing instances of a word initial voiceless stop with lengthened VOT (e.g., long-[ph]), speakers lengthen their VOTs in unheard words beginning with the same stop ([ph]) and, critically, in words beginning with a different stop ([kh]; Nielsen, 2011). This pattern of generalized phonetic imitation has previously been attributed to talker adaptation at the level of distinctive features or gestural organization. Implicit in these accounts is the assumption that talkers implement the same feature or gesture in a uniform way: generalization from long-[ph] to long-[kh] is an effective and rational adaptation strategy only if VOT values for different stops covary across talkers. Building on previous findings (e.g., Theodore, 2009; Chodroff & Wilson, 2015), we establish that covariation is robust in the laboratory speech of Nielsen (2011). In baseline productions, the mean VOTs of [ph] and [kh] were almost perfectly correlated across participants (r = 0.97, p <.001). Following familiarization the correlat...

A Phonetic Study of English Front Vowels Produced by Korean Learners of English

This study investigates how Korean learners of English (KLE) produce English front vowels. The production of eight female KLE was analyzed using Praat and VoiceSauce and was then compared with that of native English speakers. An acoustical analysis of English vowels reveals three findings. First, KLE produced English front vowels differently from native English speakers in the rate of vowel duration according to both the number of syllables and the voicing of the following consonant. Second, KEL neither differentiated between /i/ and /ɪ/, nor /ɛ/ and /æ/. Third, vowel shortening before a voiceless stop in Korean influences the higher rate of vowel shortening before a voiceless stop in English.

VOT production by Spanish heritage speakers in a trilingual context

ABSTRACTIn several studies it is highlighted that the early acquisition of a language in the home results in phonetic and phonological benefits, and that it is not uncommon for early learners to achieve native-like pronunciation in their heritage language. However, most of these studies have been carried out with bilinguals. The present contribution aims at extending the research focus to trilingual teens, and more specifically to Spanish heritage speakers (HSs), schooled mainly in English, and taking part in a French immersion programme. How do they manage the task of learning a third phonological system? We set out to explore whether and to what extent these sequential trilinguals can produce native-like speech in all of their languages. To this end, we recorded a group of Spanish HSs while completing three picture-naming tasks (in English, Spanish, and French), which led to the production of monosyllabic and disyllabic words with a voiceless stop in stressed onset position. Our results show that they tend to produce monolingual-like stops in their dominant languages, Spanish and English, but seem to fail to do so in French. In our discussion, we resort to language dominance and context of acquisition to shed light on our findings.

Voice onset time and global foreign accent in German–French simultaneous bilinguals during adulthood

Aims and objectives: In this study, we investigated crosslinguistic influence in the phonetic systems of simultaneous bilinguals (2L1s) during adulthood. Methodology: Specifically, we analyzed the voice onset time (VOT) of the voiceless stop /k/ in the spontaneous speech of 14 German–French bilinguals who grew up in France or Germany. We looked at both languages, first comparing the groups, second comparing their VOT to their global accent. Data and analysis: The material consisted of interviews, lasting for about half an hour. Findings/conclusions: Most 2L1s showed distinct VOT-ranges in their two languages, even if they were perceived to have a foreign accent in the minority language of their childhood environment. We conclude that the phonetic systems of 2L1s remain separate and stable throughout the lifespan. However, the 2L1s from France had significantly shorter VOTs in German than the 2L1s from Germany, and their speech was overall more accented. These findings are discussed with respect to the role of intra- and extra-linguistic factors. Originality: Our study adds a new perspective to existing VOT studies of bilinguals by using naturalistic speech data and by comparing two groups of 2L1s who have the same language combination but grew up in different countries, which allows us to evaluate the impact of their childhood environment on VOT development. Significance/implications: Language exposure during childhood seems to be beneficial for pronunciation during adulthood.

Aspects of English Voiceless Stop Aspiration after a Consonant: A Corpus Study.

Aspects of English Voiceless Stop Aspiration after a Consonant: A Corpus Study.