• Speech Sciences
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.103-116
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• 2003

This study examines whether gender influences voice cessation time (voicing duration) of lax (voiced) obstruents. Females more frequently show a posterior glottal opening throughout a vibratory cycle and have larger open quotients and less vocal fold contact than males. The gender differences imply that females can yield less voicing in their speech. In line with this, we hypothesized that the male voice is more voiced than the female voice in intervocalic lax (voiced) obstruents. This hypothesis was supported by the results of the present experiment, i.e., males exhibited significantly longer voicing and higher percentage of voicing relative to consonant duration than females during the intervocalic lax obstruents /p, t, k, c/ of Korean. Based on the results and the literature review, it is further hypothesized that the vocal folds are more likely adducted for males while abducted for females. The experimental data also indicated that males speak faster than females.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.17-26
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• 1999

It has been claimed that Korean mid-vocalic voiceless unaspirated lax stops are phonetically realized with voicing throughout the oral closure phase. Acoustic measurements were undertaken to examine the claim with four Korean native speakers using /$V_1CV_2$/ words where the vowel ($V_1\;=\;V_2$) was /i, a, u/ and the C was voiceless unaspirated lax stops /p, t, k/. Findings: (1) During mid-vocalic stops /k/ and /p/ the vowel /u/ was accompanied generally by a significant increase in voice cessation time as percentage of the oral closure interval (PCT) than the vowel /a/, regardless of subjects, whereas in mid-vocalic alveolar stop /t/ the effects of vowels on PCT were subject-dependent, (2) The effects of vowels on PCT were significantly greater in mid-vocalic /k/ than /p/, regardless of subjects, (3) The mean PCT, averaged across six tokens, ranged from 17% to100%, giving overall mean 61% in which the standard deviation was ${\pm}30$, and (4) Overall % of the total of mid-vocalic unaspirated lax stops were produced with a substantial period of devocing and voicing lag. Considering these results, it is difficult to agree with the existing claims that Korean voiceless unaspirated lax stops are phonetically realized with voicing throughout the oral closure phase. Other phonetic variables, including the durations of pre/post-stop vowels, voice onset time, voice cessation time, and the duration of oral closure, were measured.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.113-130
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• 2002

Measurements were made of pressure rise time (PoRT), voice cessation time, flattened peak intraoral air pressure (Po), pressure static time (PoST), pressure-fall time and the duration of oral closure as four English speakers uttered isolated nonsense $V_{1}CV_{2}$ words containing /b/ and /p/ ($V_{1}=V_{2}$ and the V was /$\alpha$/), with stress on either $V_{1}orV_{2}$ alternately. The hypothesis tested was: The tense stop consonant. will be characterized either by a higher Po or a longer PoST, and/or by both against lax. Findings: (1) PoRT was significantly greater in /b/ than /p/, (2) the voiceless stop /p/ produced generally greater mean Po, averaged across five tokens, than its voiced counterpart /b/, but statistically insignificant, and (3) altogether, across stress, tokens and subjects, the difference in the calculated pressure static time (PoSTc), i.e., PoST + PoRT, between /p/ and /b/ was highly significant (p $\leq$ 0.003). Although further investigations remain to be taken, the results strongly supported the linguistic hypothesis of tense-lax distinction, with /b/ being lax and /p/ tense. Airflow resistance at the glottis and supraglottal air volume are assumed to be responsible for much of difference in PoRT between /p/ and /b/. The PoSTc reflecting, although indirectly, the respiratory efforts during the oral closure of a stop, was a convincing phonetic parameter of the consonantal tenseness based on respiratory efforts. The effects of stress on Po and PoSTc were inconsistent, and the shorter PoRT than consonantal constriction interval was always accompanied by Po and PoST.