Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T01:13:16.009Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Temporal acoustic correlates of the voicing contrast in European Portuguese stops

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2010

Marisa Lousada
Affiliation:
Escola Superior de Saúde da Universidade de Aveiro, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal [email protected]
Luis M. T. Jesus
Affiliation:
Escola Superior de Saúde da Universidade de Aveiro & Instituto de Engenharia Electrónica e Telemática de Aveiro, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal [email protected]
Andreia Hall
Affiliation:
Departamento de Matemática da Universidade de Aveiro e Centro de Investigação e Desenvolvimento em Matemática e Aplicações, Portugal [email protected]

Abstract

This study focuses on the temporal analysis of stops /p b t d k ɡ/ and devoicing analysis of voiced stops /b d ɡ/ produced in different word positions by six native speakers of European Portuguese. The study explores acoustic properties related to voicing. The following acoustic properties were measured: voice onset time (VOT), stop duration, closure duration, release duration, voicing into closure duration, duration of the preceding vowel and duration of the following vowel. Results suggested that when [b d ɡ] were devoiced, the acoustic properties stop duration, closure duration, duration of the following vowel, duration of the preceding vowel and duration of voicing into closure were relevant for the voicing distinction. Implications for research and practice in speech and language therapy are discussed. Further investigation is needed to find how the productions analysed in the present study were perceived by listeners, specifically productions of devoiced stops.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © International Phonetic Association 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ackermann, Hermann & Hertrich, Ingo. 1997. Voice onset time in ataxic dysarthria. Brain and Language 56 (3), 321333.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Andrade, Amália. 1980. Estudos experimentais aerodinâmicos, acústicos e palatográficos do vozeamento nas consoantes. Lisboa, Portugal: Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa.Google Scholar
Andrade, Amália. 1993. Estudo experimental de sequências de oclusivas em Português Europeu. IX Encontro Nacional da Associação Portuguesa de Linguística, Coimbra, Portugal, 1–15.Google Scholar
Andrade, Amália. 1994. Reflexões sobre o ‘e-mudo’ em Português Europeu. Congresso Internacional Sobre o Português, Lisboa, Portugal, vol. 2, 303344.Google Scholar
Andrade, Amália. 1995. Percepção de C ou CC oclusivas por ouvintes nativos do Português. XI Encontro Nacional da Associação Portuguesa de Linguística, Lisboa, Portugal, vol. 3, 153186.Google Scholar
Barroco, Mário, Domingues, Marta, Pires, Maria F., Lousada, Marisa & Jesus, Luis M. T.. 2007. Análise temporal das oclusivas orais do Português Europeu: Um estudo de caso de normalidade e perturbação fonológica (Temporal analysis of European Portuguese stops: a case study of normality and phonologically disturbance). Revista CEFAC 9 (2), 154163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brunner, Jana,Fuchs, Susanne, Perrier, Pascal & Kim, Hyeon-Zoo. 2003. Mechanisms of contrasting Korean velar stops: A catalogue of acoustic and articulatory parameters. ZAS – Papers in Linguistics 32, 1530.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caramazza, Alfonso & Yeni-Komshian, Grace. 1974. Voice onset time in two French dialects. Journal of Phonetics 2, 239245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Castro, São L. F. & Barbosa, Manuel F. S.. 1996. Estudo percepto-acústico do contraste de vozeamento em oclusivas portuguesas: Primeiros resultados. Psychologica 15, 159164.Google Scholar
Cho, Taehong & Ladefoged, Peter. 1999. Variation and universals in VOT: Evidence from 18 languages. Journal of Phonetics 27, 207229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cruz-Ferreira, Madalena. 1999. Portuguese (European). In IPA (eds.), Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, 126130. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Frota, Sónia. 2000. Prosody and focus in European Portuguese: Phonological phrasing and intonation. New York: Garland.Google Scholar
Fuchs, Susanne. 2005. Articulatory correlates of the voicing contrast in alveolar obstruent production in German. Ph.D. dissertation, Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh, UK.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huckvale, Mark,Brookes, David Michael, Dworkin, Leigh, Johnson, Michael, Pearce, David & Whitaker, Louise. 1987. The SPAR Speech Filing System. European Conference on Speech Technology, Edinburgh, 305308.Google Scholar
Jesus, Luis M. T. & Jackson, Philip J. B.. 2008. Frication and voicing classification. In Teixeira, António, Lima, Vera, Oliveira, Luís & Quaresma, Paulo (eds.), Computational processing of the Portuguese language, 1120. Berlin: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jesus, Luis M. T. & Shadle, Christine H.. 2002. A parametric study of the spectral characteristics of European Portuguese fricatives. Journal of Phonetics 30 (3), 437464.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jesus, Luis M. T. & Shadle, Christine H.. 2003. Devoicing measures of European Portuguese fricatives. In Mamede, Nuno J., Baptista, Jorge, Trancoso, Isabel & Nunes, Maria G. V. (eds.), Computational processing of the Portuguese language, 18. Berlin: Springer.Google Scholar
Keating, Patricia A.,Linker, Wendy & Huffman, Marie. 1983. Patterns in allophone distribution for voiced and voiceless stops. Journal of Phonetics 11, 277290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klatt, Dennis H. 1975. Voice onset time, frication, and aspiration in word-initial consonant clusters. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research 18 (4), 686706.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kluender, Keith R.,Diehl, Randy L. & Wright, Beverly A.. 1988. Vowel length differences before voiced and voiceless consonants: an auditory explanation. Journal of Phonetics 16, 153159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ladefoged, Peter. 2006. A course in phonetics, 5th edn. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth.Google Scholar
Lisker, Leigh & Abramson, Arthur S.. 1964. A cross-language study of voicing in initial stops: acoustical measurements. Word 20, 384422.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luce, P. & Charles-Luce, J.. 1985. Contextual effects on vowel duration, closure duration, and the consonant/ vowel ratio in speech production. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 78 (6), 19491957.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morris, Richard J. 1989. VOT and dysarthria: A descriptive study. Journal of Communication Disorders 22 (1), 2333.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ohala, John J. 1983. The origin of sound patterns in vocal tract constraints. In MacNeilage, Peter F. (ed.), The production of speech, 189216. New York: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, Gordon & Lehiste, Ilse. 1960. Duration of syllable nuclei in English. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 32 (6), 693703.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pinho, Cátia,Jesus, Luis M. T. & Barney, Anna. 2010. Aerodynamics of voiced stop production. In International Conference on Voice Physiology and Biomechanics, Madison, WI.Google Scholar
Platt, L. J.,Andrews, Gavin & Howie, Pauline M.. 1980. Dysarthria of adult cerebral palsy II. Phonemic analysis of articulation errors. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research 23, 4155.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rothenberg, Martin. 1968. The breath-stream dynamics of simple–released–plosive production (Bibliotheca Phonetica 6). Basel: Karger.Google Scholar
Sá Nogueira, Rodrigo. 1938. Elementos para um tratado de fonética Portuguesa. Lisboa: Centro de Estudos Filológicos.Google Scholar
Sá Nogueira, Rodrigo. 1941. Tentativa de explicação dos fenómenos fonéticos do Português. Lisboa: Livraria Clássica Editora.Google Scholar
Scott, Cheryl M. & Ringel, Robert L.. 1971. The effects of motor and sensory disruptions on speech: A description of articulation. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research 14, 819828.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van Alphen, Petra M. & Smits, Roel. 2004. Acoustical and perceptual analysis of the voicing distinction in Dutch initial plosives: the role of pre-voicing. Journal of Phonetics 32 (4), 455491.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van den Berg, Janwillem. 1958. Myoelastic-Aerodynamic theory of voice production. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research 1 (3), 227243.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Veloso, João. 1995. Aspectos da percepção das “oclusivas fricatizadas” do Português: Contributo para a compreensão do processamento de contrastes alofónicos. Provas de Aptidão Pedagógica e Capacidade Científica, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.Google Scholar
Viana, Maria C. 1984. Étude de deux aspects du consonantisme du portugais: fricatisation et dévoisement. Ph.D. dissertation, Université des Sciences Humaines de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.Google Scholar