Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.13064/KSSS.2022.14.1.001

A study on English vowel duration with respect to the various characteristics of the following consonant  

Yoo, Hyunbin (Department of English Language and Literature, Yonsei University)
Rhee, Seok-Chae (Department of English Language and Literature, Yonsei University)
Publication Information
Phonetics and Speech Sciences / v.14, no.1, 2022 , pp. 1-11 More about this Journal
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the difference of vowel duration due to the voicing of word-final consonants in English and its relation to the types of word-final consonants (stops vs. fricatives), (partial) devoicing, and stop releasing. Addtionally, this study attempts to interpret the findings from the functional view that the vowels before voiced consonants are produced with a longer duration in order to enhance the salience of the voicing of word-final consonants. This study conducted a recording experiment with English native speakers, and measured the vowel duration, the degree of (partial) devoicing of word-final voiced consonants and the release of word-final stops. First, the results showed that the ratio of the duration difference was not influenced by the types of word-final consonants. Second, it was revealed that the higher the degree of (partial) devoicing of word-final voiced consonants, the longer vowel duration before word-final voiced consonants, which was compatible with the prediction based on the functional view. Lastly, the ratio of the duration difference was greater when the word-final stops were uttered with the release compared to when uttered without the release, which was not consistent with the functional view. These results suggest that it is not sufficient enough to explain the voicing effect by its function of distinguishing the voicing of word-final consonants.
Keywords
devoicing; release; voicing; vowel duration; word-final consonants;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 2  (Citation Analysis)
연도 인용수 순위
1 Cho, H. (2016). Variation in vowel duration depending on voicing in American, British, and New Zealand English. Phonetics and Speech Sciences, 8(3), 11-20.   DOI
2 Durvasula, K., & Luo, Q. (2012). Voicing, aspiration, and vowel duration in Hindi. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 132(3).
3 JASP Team (2021). JASP (version 0.16) [Computer software]. Amsterdam, Netherlands. Retrieved from https://jasp-stats.org/
4 Keating, P. A. (1985). Universal phonetics and the organization of grammars. In V. A. Fromkin (Ed.), Phonetics linguistics: Essays in honor of Peter Ladefoged (pp. 115-132). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.
5 Ladefoged, P., & Johnson, K. (2011). A course in phonetics (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth.
6 Sohn, H. S., & Lim, S. (2019). The effect of stop voicing on vowel duration in English and Korean CVCV structure. New Korean Journal of English Language & Literature, 61(2), 139-160.   DOI
7 Boersma, P., & Weenink, D. (2021). Praat: Doing phonetics by computer (version 6.1.51) [Computer program]. Retrieved from http://www.praat.org/
8 Peterson, G. E., & Lehiste, I. (1960). Duration of syllable nuclei in English. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 32(6), 693-703.   DOI
9 Rhee, S. C., Kang, S., Park, J., & Hwang, S. (2003, October). A study on the perception of POA and voicing in relation to the release and nonrelease in the English word-final stops. Proceedings of the KSPS Conference (pp. 43-49). Seoul, Korea.
10 Kim, S. (2010). Devoicing of word-final /z/ in English (Master's thesis). Chonnam National University, Korea.
11 Luce, P. A., & Charles-Luce, J. (1985). Contextual effects on vowel duration, closure duration, and the consonant/vowel ratio in speech production. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 78(6), 1949-1957.   DOI
12 Chen, M. (1970). Vowel length variation as a function of the voicing of the consonant environment. Phonetica, 22(3), 129-159.   DOI
13 Gonet, W., & Swiecinski, R. (2012). More on the voicing of English obstruents: Voicing retention vs. voicing loss. Research in Language, 10(2), 183-199.   DOI
14 Ladefoged, P., & Disner, S. F. (2012). Vowels and consonants (3rd ed.). Malden, MO: Wiley-Blackwell.
15 Yavas, M. (1997). The effects of vowel height and place of articulation in interlanguage final stop devoicing. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 35(2), 115.
16 Oh, E. (2012). Further issues on the duration differences in vowels due to the voicing of the following stops in English. Phonetics and Speech Sciences, 4(3), 85-92.   DOI