• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.33-43
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• 2011

The present study investigates supralaryngeal articulatory characteristics of denti-alveolar (coronal) stops /t, $t^h$, $t^*$/ and /n/ in /aCa/ context in Seoul Korean. An Electromagnetic Articulograph (EMA, Carstens) was used to explore kinematics of the consonants by examining the kinematic data of the tongue tip (the primary articulator for the coronal consonants), along with some additional supplementary position data of the tongue body, the tongue dorsum and the jaw. The results showed that the constriction duration was the most robust articulatory correlates of the three-way stop contrast with a pattern of /t/$t^h$/$t^*$/. The contrast was further reinforced by the tongue body position (higher for /$t^h$, $t^*$/) and the tongue tip opening displacement (less displaced for /$t^h$, $t^*$/). The articulation of /n/ was quite similar to that of the lenis /t/ in terms of the constriction duration, and it was different from the oral stops in that it was produced with larger tongue tip displacement and lower jaw position than the oral stops, indicating its weak articulatory nature. The results are also discussed in comparison with those of bilabial stops with implications that the three-way contrast may be kinematically expressed differently depending on the physiological constraints imposed on the primary articulator (the tongue tip versus the lips). The present study, therefore, provides new articulatory (kinematic) data of denti-alveolar consonants in Korean, and demonstrates that the three-way stops, that have been known to differ primarily in their laryngeal settings, are indeed produced with kinematic distinctions at the supralaryngeal level.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.19-24
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• 2023

This study investigated acoustic (VOT) and articulatory characteristics of Korean velar stops in monosyllabic CV structures to examine how the three-way distinction is realized in the laryngeal and supralaryngeal domains and how the distinction is manifested in male versus female speakers' speech production. EMA data were collected from 22 speakers. In line with previous studies, male speakers preserved the three-way differentiation of velar stops (/k^*/</k/</k^h/) in terms of VOT while female speakers showed only a two-way distinction (/k^*/</k/=/k^h/). As for the kinematic characteristics, a clear three-way distinction was found only in male speakers' peak velocity measure in the C-to-V opening movement (/k^h/</k/</k^*/). For the other kinematic measures (i.e., articulatory closure duration, deceleration duration of the opening movement and the entire opening movement duration), male speakers showed only a two-way distinction between fortis and the other two stops. Female speakers did not show a three-way contrast in any kinematic measure. They showed a two-way distinction between lenis and the other two stops in C-to-V deceleration duration (/k^*/=/k^h/</k/), and a two-way distinction between fortis and lenis stops in the opening movement duration. An overall comparison of VOT and articulatory analyses revealed that the lenis-aspirated kinematic distinction is diminishing, driven by female speakers, in line with the loss of the lenis-aspirated distinction in VOT that could influence supralaryngeal articulation.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.119-127
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• 2010

Recently, we have launched a large-scale articulatory study to investigate how the three-way contrastive stops (i.e., lenis, fortis, and aspirated) in Korean are kinematically expressed (i.e., in terms of articulatory movement characteristics) in various contexts, using a magnetometer (Electromagnetic Articulography). In this paper, we report some preliminary results about how the three-way bilabial series /p,$p^h,p^*$/ produced in /Ca/ context in isolation are kinematically characterized not only during the lip closure but also during the following vocalic articulation. Some important notes could be made from the results. First, the degree of lip constriction (as measured by the lip aperture between the upper and lower lips) was smaller for the lenis /p/ and larger for the fortis/aspirated /$p^*,p^h$/, showing a two-way distinction during the closure. Second, the tongue lowering for the following vowel was more extreme after the lenis /p/ than after the fortis/aspirated /$p^*,p^h$/. Regarding this vocalic articulatory difference in the tongue height, we discussed the possibility that the articulatory tension associated with the fortis/aspirated stops is further reflected in the lingual vocalic movement maintaining the tongue position to a certain level for the following vowel /a/, while the lenis consonant does not impose such articulatory constraints, resulting in more tongue lowering. Finally, the temporal relationship between the release of the stop closure and the lowest tongue position of the following vowel remained constant, suggesting that CV coordination is invariantly maintained across the consonant type. This pattern was interpreted as supporting the view that the consonant and vowel gestures are coordinated in much the same way across languages.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.109-141
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• 2000

Acoustic and aerodynamic characteristics of Cheju consonants were examined with the focus on the well-known three-way distinction among stops (i.e., lenis, fortis, aspirated) and the two-way distinction between sand s*. Acoustic parameters examined for the stops included VOT, relative stop burst energy, Fo at the vowel onset, H1-H2, and H1-F2 at the vowel onset. For the fricatives s and s*, acoustic parameters were fricative duration, Fo, centroid of the fricative noise, RMS energy of the frication, H1-H2 and Hl-F2 at the onset of the following vowel. In investigating aerodynamics, intraoral pressure and oral flow were included for the bilabial stops. Results indicate that, although Cheju and Korean are not mutually intelligible, acoustic and aerodynamic properties of Cheju consonants are very similar in every respect to those of the standard Korean. Among other findings there are three crucial points worth recapitulating. First, stops are systematically differentiated by the voice quality of the following vowel. Second, stops are also differentiated by aerodynamic mechanisms. The aspirated and fortis stops are similar in supralaryngeal articulation, but employ a different relation between intraoral pressure and flow. Finally, our study suggests that the fricative s is better categorized as 'lenis' than as 'aspirated' in terms of its phonetic realization.