• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2012

Recent studies on acoustic correlates of stress in English compounds and English phrases have revealed the difference of changes in acoustic manifestation between English compounds and English phrases with different intonation patterns. However, little effort has been made to compare Korean compounds and Korean phrases in different intonational environments. Therefore, this study focuses on the analysis of acoustic characteristics of Korean compounds and Korean phrases produced in different intonational sentence patterns (Subject, Question, Clause-Final, and Statement-Final). Measurements of vowel duration, intensity (dB) and pitch (in semitones) were compared. The results of the experiment in which 30 native speakers of Korean pronounced Korean compounds and Korean phrases (obtained from $8{\times}30$ sentences) in controlled prosodic and intonational environments reveal clear patterns that distinguish Korean compounds from Korean phrases and support the evidence of acoustic salience for phrases. Duration differences turned out to be a significant cue to distinguish Korean compounds and Korean phrases in all but the Clause Final position. According to the size effect, duration ratio is the most reliable cue to distinguish Korean compounds and Korean phrases followed by the pitch differences between the first syllable and the second syllable and the intensity ratio. Implications for Korean and English intonation training were also discussed.

• Proceedings of the KSPS conference
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• 2000.07a
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• pp.364-364
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• 2000

It has been widely discussed in phonology that syllable structure of mother tongue influences one's acquisition of foreign language. However, the topic was hardly examined experimentally. So, we investigated effects of Korean syllable structure when Korean speakers pronounce English words, especially focusing on consonant strings that are not allowed in Korean. In the experiment, all the subjects are divided into 3 groups, that is, native, experienced, and inexperienced speakers. Native group consists of 1 male English native speaker. Experienced and inexperienced are each composed of 3 male Korean speakers. These 2 groups are divided by the length of residence in the country using English as a native language. 41 mono-syllable words are prepared considering the position (onset vs. coda), characteristic (stops, affricates, fricatives), and number of consonant. Then, the length of the consonant cluster is measured. To eliminate tempo effect, the measured length is normalized using the length of the word 'say' in the carrier sentence. Measurement of consonant cluster is the relative time period between the initiation of energy (onset I coda) which is acoustically representative of noise (consonant portion) and voicing. bar (vowel portion) in a syllable. Statistical method is used to estimate the differences among 3 groups. For each word, analysis of variance (ANDY A) and Post Hoc tests are carried out.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Telematics and Electronics
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.19-24
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• 1978

In this paper, the functional propertied of vibrotactile sense of skin were studied by means of psycophysical experiments with respect to frequency and waveform of mechanical vibration, two-point threshold, contactor size of stimulators. Furthermore, leased on the experimental result, a small vibrotactile stimulator made of piezoelectrc ireed vibrator array was proposed for a aid blind to recognition of the Korean letters. A tactile output image is presented by an 8 row$\times$1 column array of samall vibrator reeds with 200 Hz rectangular wave, the array fitting on a fore-finger. Under the control of the NOVA mini-computer, the bimorph reeds array could represent any of one of the 24 characters of the Korean vowel and consonant at the 8 positions from left to right on the array. Without learning effect, the identification test of the Korean characters by the designed experimental system was carried out. The average rate of correct response was 90%.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.191-205
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• 2000

The purpose of this study was undertaken to determine the effects of orthognathic surgery on speech. The hyposis stated herein is that functional behaviors of the dentofacial complex, such as speech production, may be adversely affected by deviations of a structural nature(especially, Class III malocclusion). Twenty adults with Class III malocclusion(13 female and 7 male) were studied preoperative, immediate postoperative and either 6 or 12 months postoperative lateral cephalograms. They had mandibular prognathism and had undergone mandible setback operation. The position of tongue, soft palate(Uvula), hyoid bone, respiratory track width, and pharyngeal depth were assessed on lateral cephalograms with 23 cephalometric variables, ANOVA, Paired t-tests and Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient tests were used to evalute the operative changes in all cephalometric parameters. A experienced speech and language pathologists performed narrow phonetic transcriptions of tape-recorded words and sentences produced by each of the ninth patients and the recording tapes were analyzed by phonetic computer program(Computerized Speech Lab(CSL) Model 4300BI(U.S.A.)) These judges also recorded their ratings of each patient's overall consonants, hypernasality, hyponasality, and articulation proficiency. The results obtained are as follows; 1. There were significant changes in distance of posterior pharyngeal wall to tongue (TI-TW2, TS-TW3) after the surgery at 6 months postoperatively(each p<0.01 p<0.05). 2. The posterior tongue point(TI, TS, PPT) moved posteriorly after surgery and remained to its changed position at 6 months postoperatively(p<0.05). The displacement of tongue was correlated with the movement of mandibular setback amount(p<0.05). The hyoid bone moved posteriorly superiorly after immediate postoperative period. There was significant changes in hyoid bone movement after immediated postoperative period(p<0.05), but returned to its original position during the follow-up period(p>0.05) 3. The soft palate was displaced posteriorly superiorly after immediated operative period and remained to its changed position at 6 months postoperatively(p<0.05). ANS-PNS-SPT angle increasing, PPU-PPPo distance narrowing was showed after surgery, and remained its appearance 6 months postoperatively(p<0.05). 4. There were significant changes in formant value and squre diagram of vowel sound after the orthognathic surgery and the follow-up period. There were significant changes in /ㅅ/sound and posterior tongue sound. 5. The posterior movement of tongue and the posteriosuperior movement of soft palate was correlated with mandibular setback amount after orthognathic surgery. On the vowel squre diagram, the author found that the place of articulation after operation moved downward, backward, upward. 6. In assessing speech abnormalities, dental occlusion should be considered as a contributing factor. The vast majority of subjects with preoperative misarticulations eliminated or reduced their errors following orthognathic surgery. There was significant difference in speech impovement between pre- and postoperation.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.77-102
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• 1994

Many studies have been made on the masticatory and esthetic effects of prosthodontic treatments, but few on the restoration of pronunciation, especially in complete denture wearers. The purpose of this study is to provide a basis that could be of help to the complete denture wearers' speech adaptation by analyzing the influence of the palatal coverage upon the duration of consonants and vowels with the method of experimental phonetics. For this study, metal plates and resin plates were made for 3 male subjects in their twenties, who have good occlusion, and do not have speech and hearing disorders. Then 8 Korean consonants and 4 Korean vowels were selected, systemically considering phonetic variants such as the place and manner of articulation, lenis/fortis, mutual effect of each phoneme, etc. They were combined into meaningless tested words in the form of /VCV/, and were included in the carrier sentences. Each informant uttered the sentences 1) without the plate, 2) with the metal plate, 3) with the resin plate. The recorded data were analyzed through the waveform of sounds and spectrogram by using the program SoundEdit, Signalize, Statview 512+for the Macintosh computer. The duration of each segment was measured by searching for the boundaries between the preceding vowels and consonants, and between the consonants and the following vowels. The study led to the conclusion that. 1. With the palatal plate, the duration of all the tested words increased and the duration increased more with the resin plate than with the metal plate. 2. With the palatal plate, the duration of all the preceding vowels, consonants, and following vowels increased, but the temporal structure of the tested words was maintained. 3. As for the manner of articulation, fricative /s/(ㅅ) was greatly influenced by both kinds of palatal plates. 4. As for the place of articulation, alveolar sounds /d/(ㄷ), /n/(ㄴ) were greatly influnced by the kinds of palatal plates, and the velar sounds /n/(ㅇ), /g/(ㄱ) were influenced by the platal plates, but the kind of the palatal plates did not show any significance. 5. As for the lenis/fortis, lenis was influenced more by the kind of the palatal plates. 6. As for the influence of vowels upon each segment in the tested words, palatal vowel /i/(ㅣ) had greater influence than pharyngeal vowel /a/(ㅏ), and following vowels than preceding vowels.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.19-25
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• 2021

It has been widely recognized that there are two varieties of lateral liquid /l/, which are light /l/ (a non-velarized allophone) and dark /l/ (a velarized allophone). However, this categorical view has been challenged in recent studies, both on articulatory and acoustic aspects. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether to consider /l/ velarization as a continuum in American English and provide supporting data. A spontaneous American English speech database called the Buckeye Speech Corpus was used for the material. The formant frequencies of /l/ in each syllable position were measured and analyzed statistically. The formant frequencies of /l/ in each syllable position, especially F2 values, were significantly different from each other. The results showed that there were other significantly different varieties of /l/ in American English, which support the continuum view on /l/ velarization. Regarding the effect of the adjacent vowel, the backness of the adjacent vowels was shown to affect the degree of /l/ velarization, regardless of the syllable position of the lateral liquid. This result will help provide a solid ground for the continuum view.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.277-297
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• 2023

This study attempted to find out how lexical decision of two-syllable words or pseudo-words is affected by syllabic information, such as syllable frequency, syllable (i.e. vowel) type, and presence of final consonant (i.e. batchim), through the analysis of the Korean Lexicon Project Database (KLP-DB). Hierarchical regression of RT data showed that lexical decision of words was influenced by the frequency of the first syllable, the syllable type of the first and second syllables, batchim for the first and second syllables, and also by the interaction of the two syllable types and the interaction of syllable frequency and batchim of the second syllable. For pseudo-words lexical decision was influenced by the frequency of the first and second syllables, syllable type of the first syllable, and batchim for the first and second syllables, and also by the interaction of the two syllable frequencies, the interaction of the two syllable types, and the interaction of syllable frequency and batchim of the first syllable. Word frequency had a strong effect on lexical decision of words, while syllabic information had a stable effect on the lexical decision of pseudo-words. These results indicate that syllabic information should be seriously considered in constructing word and pseudo-word lists and interpreting lexical decision time. Understanding the effect of syllabic information will also contribute to the understanding of word recognition process.

• MALSORI
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• no.56
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• pp.29-47
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• 2005

Investigating and comparing English vowels $/{\varepsilon}/\;and\;/{\ae}/$, and their-supposedly- corresponding vowels in Korean /ㅔ/ and /ㅐ/, this study addresses the following questions: Do Koreans pronounce/ㅔ/ and /ㅐ/ differently? Do they pronounce English $/{\varepsilon}/\;and\;/{\ae}/$ differently? And what is the relationship between the Korean vowels and the English vowels? Is the conventional correspondence (/ㅔ:${\varepsilon}/$, and /ㅐ/:${\ae)/$ appropriate? The results showed that 24 Korean male college students distinguish neither Korean /ㅔ/ and /ㅐ/ nor English $/{\varepsilon}/\;and\;/{\ae}/$, thus suggesting that their inability to distinguish the two vowels in their native tongue has an effect on their production of the English vowels. While not distinguishable within a language, Korean /ㅔ/ and /ㅐ/ still form a separate group from English $/{\varepsilon}/\;and\;/{\ae}/$. But Korean-Produced $/{\varepsilon}/\;and\;/{\ae}/$ are significantly different from American-produced $/{\varepsilon}/\;and\;/{\ae}/:$ Korean-produced $/{\varepsilon}/\;and\;/{\ae}/$ have much lower F1 and F2 than American-produced counterparts. Accordingly it is advised that, in learning English pronunciation, Korean students should be instructed to take the English vowel system as a separate system from Korean one, and thus, not to substitute Korean vowels for English vowels. And students should be provided with specific instructions on the articulatory differences between English vowels and Korean vowels. For example, Cey should be instructed to lower their jaws more for English $/{\varepsilon}/\;and\;/{\ae}/$ than for Korean /ㅔ/ and /ㅐ/.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.3-15
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• 2014

An articulatory study (using an Electromagnetic Articulography, EMA) was conducted to explore effects of prosodic boundary strength (Intonational Phrase/IP versus Word/Wd), and focus (Focused/accented, Neutral, Unfocused/unaccented) on the kinematic realization of /m/ in the coda (${\ldots}$am#i${\ldots}$) and the onset (${\ldots}$a#mi${\ldots}$) conditions in Korean. (Here # refers to a prosodic boundary such as an IP or a Wd boundary). Several important points have emerged. First, the boundary effect on /m/s was most robustly observed in the temporal dimension in both the coda (IP-final) and the onset (IP-initial) conditions, generally in line with cross-linguistically observable boundary-related lengthening patterns. Crucially, however, in contrast with boundary-related slowing-down effects that have been observed in English, both the IP-final and IP-initial temporal expansions of Korean /m/s were not accompanied by an articulatory slowing down. They were, if anything, associated with a faster movement in the lip opening (release) phase (into the vowel). This suggests that the mechanisms underlying boundary-related temporal expansions may differ between languages. Second, observed boundary-induced strengthening effects (both spatial and temporal expansions, especially on the IP-initial /m/s) were remarkably similar to prominence (focus)-induced strengthening effects, which is again counter to phrase-initial strengthening patterns observed in English in which boundary effects are dissociated from prominent effects. This suggests that initial syllables in Korean may be a common focus for both boundary and prominence marking. These results, taken together, imply that the boundary-induced strengthening in Korean is different in nature from that in English, each being modulated by the individual language's prosodic system. Third, the coda and the onset /m/s were found to be produced in a subtly but significantly different way even in a Wd boundary condition, a potentially neutralizing (resyllabification) context. This suggests that although the coda may be phonologically 'resyllabified' into the following syllable in a phrase-medial position, its underlying syllable affiliation is kinematically distinguished from the onset.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.25-32
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• 2017

Besides their effect on the f0 contour of the following vowel, Korean stops are undergoing a sound change in which a partial or complete consonantal merger on voice onset time (VOT) is taking place between aspirated and lax stops. Many previous studies on sound change have mainly focused on group-normative effects, that is, effects that are representative of the population as a whole. Few systematic quantitative studies of change in adult individuals have been carried out. The current study examines whether the sound change holds for individual speakers. It focuses on inter-speaker and intra-speaker variability on sound change in contemporary Korean. Speech data were collected for thirteen Seoul Korean speakers studying abroad in America. In order to minimize the possible effects of speech production, socio-phonetic factors such as age, gender, dialect, speech rate, and L2 exposure period were controlled when recruiting participants. The results showed that, for nine out of thirteen speakers, the consonantal merger is taking place between the aspirated and lax stop in terms of VOT. There were also intra-speaker variations on the merger in three aspects: First, is the consonantal (VOT) merger between the two stops is in progress or not? Second, are VOTs for aspirated stops getting shorter or not (i.e., the aspirated-shortening process)? Third, are VOTs for lax stops getting longer or not (i.e., the lax-lengthening process)? The results of remarkable inter-speaker and intra-speaker variability indicate a synchronous speech sound change of the stop system in contemporary Korean. Some speakers are early adopters or active propagators of sound change whereas others are not. Further study is necessary to see whether the inter-speaker differences exceed intra-speaker differences in sound change.