Phonetics and Speech Sciences (말소리와 음성과학)

Korean Society of Speech Sciences (한국음성학회)
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Perceptual cues for /o/ and /u/ in Seoul Korean

서울말 /?/와 /?/의 지각특성

  • Received : 2020.05.09
  • Accepted : 2020.07.20
  • Published : 2020.09.30
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Abstract

Previous studies have confirmed that /o/ and /u/ in Seoul Korean are undergoing a merger in the F1/F2 space, especially for female speakers. As a substitute parameter for formants, it is reported that female speakers use phonation (H1-H2) differences to distinguish /o/ from /u/. This study aimed to explore whether H1-H2 values are being used as perceptual cues for /o/-/u/. A perception test was conducted with 35 college students using /o/ and /u/ spoken by 41 females, which overlap considerably in the vowel space. An acoustic analysis of 182 stimuli was also conducted to see if there is any correspondence between production and perception. The identification rate was 89% on average, 86% for /o/, and 91% for /u/. The results confirmed that when /o/ and /u/ cannot be distinguished in the F1/F2 space because they are too close, H1-H2 differences contribute significantly to the separation of the two vowels. However, in perception, this was not the case. H1-H2 values were not significantly involved in the identification process, and the formants (especially F2) were still dominant cues. The study also showed that even though H1-H2 differences are apparent in females' production, males do not use H1-H2 in their production, and both females and males do not use H1-H2 in their perception. It is presumed that H1-H2 has not yet been developed as a perceptual cue for /o/ and /u/.

서울말의 ᅩ/ᅮ가 모음 공간에서 융합하는 변화가 진행되고 있는 것이 많은 연구들에 의해 지적되어 왔다. 한편 ᅩ/ᅮ의 중복이 현저한 여성의 발화에서는 포먼트 대신 모음의 음질 (H1-H2)이 ᅩ/ᅮ를 구별하고 있는 것이 확인되었다. 본 고의 목적은 생성에 보이는 ᅩ/ᅮ 간의 H1-H2 차이가 지각에서도 유효한지를 확인하는 것이다. 지각에서도 H1-H2가 유효하게 기능하고 있다면 포먼트만으로는 설명이 어려운 여성의 ᅩ/ᅮ를 생성과 지각 모두에서 H1-H2로 정연하게 설명할 수 있을 것이다. 서울, 경기 출신의 대학생 35명을 대상으로 서울말 모어 화자가 단독발화한 ' 오'와 '우'를 사용하여 지각실험을 실시하였다. 자극음은 모두 여성의 발화로 모음 공간에서 상당한 중복을 보이는 182예이다. 생성과 지각의 관계를 보기 위해 자극음의 음향분석도 실시하였다. 정답률(바르게 지각한 동정률)은 평균 89%로 /ᅩ/가 86% (n=88), /ᅮ/가 91% (n=94)였다. 자극음의 음향분석에서 포먼트로 구별이 어려운 ᅩ/ᅮ의 경우 H1-H2가 유의하게 작용하고 있는 것이 확인되었다. 그러나 ᅩ/ᅮ의 지각에 H1-H2의 영향력은 매우 미미하며 ᅩ/ᅮ의 구별에는 남녀 모두 포먼트가 결정적인 역할을 하는 것으로 나타났다. 생성에서 H1-H2로 ᅩ/ᅮ를 구별하는 것은 여성의 발화로, 남성의 발화에서는 H1-H2가 아닌 포먼트로 구별된다. 남성의 발화에서도 H1-H2 차이가 ᅩ/ᅮ의 구별에 쓰인다면 지각에 있어서도 H1-H2가 주된 지각특성이 될 수도 있겠지만 적어도 현 단계에서 ᅩ/ᅮ의 지각에 H1-H2의 사용은 남녀 모두 아직 도입되지 않은 것으로 보인다.

Keywords

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