• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.95-103
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• 2009

We investigated the perceptual structure of Korean consonants by analyzing the confusion among consonants in various vowel contexts. The 36 CV syllable types combined by 18 consonants and 2 vowels (/i/ and /u/) were presented with masking noises or in degraded intensity. The confusion data were analyzed by the INDSCAL (Individual Difference Scaling), ADCLUS (Additive Clustering) and the probability of the transmitted information. The results were compared with those of a previous study with /a/ vowel context (Bae and Kim, 2002). The overall results showed that the laryngeal features-aspiration, lax and tense-are the most salient features in the perception of Korean consonant regardless of vowel contexts, but the perceptual saliency of place features varies across vowel conditions. In high vowel (front and back vowel) contexts, sibilant consonants were perceptually salient compared to in low vowel contexts. In back vowel contexts, grave (labial and velar) consonants were perceptually salient. These findings imply that place features and vowel features strongly interact in speech perception as well as in speech production. All statistical measures from our confusion data ensured that the perceptual structure of Korean consonants correspond to the hierarchical structure suggested in the feature geometry (Clements, 1991). We discuss the link between speech perception and production as the basis of phonology.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Telematics and Electronics B
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• v.32B no.1
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• pp.147-153
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• 1995

In this paper, we propose the position- and size-independent handwritten on-line Korean character recognition system using multilayer neural networks which are trained with error back-propagation learning algorithm and the features of Hanguel consonants and vowels. Starting point, end point, and three vectors from starting point to end point of each stroke of characters inputted from mouse or tablet are applied as inputs of neural networks. If double consonants and vowels are separated by single consonants and vowels, all consonants and vowels have at most four strokes. Therefore, four neural networks learn the consonants and the vowels having each number of strokes. Also, we propose the algorithm of separating the consonants and vowels and constructing a character.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.1
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• pp.83-101
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• 1997

This paper aims at exploring a putative positional neutralization produced at the phonetics/phonology interface. It was designed to determine whether Korean intervocalic laryngeal consonants are phonetically distant from geminates, plain consonants, or laryngeal consonants in consonant clusters. It was found that the contrast between laryngeal singletons and geminates was neutralized intervocalically, and that both of these were patterned with heteroganic consonant sequences rather than with plain singletons.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.47-54
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• 2013

The aim of this study was to analyze consonant articulation errors produced by 90 speakers with cerebral palsy (CP). Phonetic transcriptions were made for 37 single-word utterances containing 70 phonemes: 48 initial consonants and 22 final consonants. Errors of substitution, omission, and distortion were analyzed using a confusion matrix paradigm showing the visualization of error patterns. Results showed that substitution errors in initial and final consonants were most frequent, followed by omission and distortion. Consonant omission occurred more frequently on final consonants. In both initial and final consonants, the within-place errors were more prominent than the within-manner errors. The current results suggest that consonant confusion matrices for dysarthric speech may provide useful information for evaluating speech intelligibility and developing automatic speech recognition system of adults with CP associated dysarthria.

• Proceedings of the KSPS conference
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• 2000.07a
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• pp.189-198
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• 2000

/$t{\partial}n$/, /$d{\partial}n$/, /$t{\partial}l$/ and /d{\partial}l$/, on the one hand, are the typical phonemes of syllabic consonants. On the other hand, /${\int}{\partial}n$/ most plausibly gives rise to the syllabic consonants. /$t{\partial}r$/ and /$d{\partial}r/ can he syllabic. However, because lip-rounded consonants strengthen the character of consonantal phonemes, they are not so appropriate. Apart from phonemes, some familiar words also could be almost always syllabic. From the historical perspective, we can say that the position of syllabic consonants is typically the second syllables of two-syllabic words and 1.hat the underlying schwa does not always exist. In terms of the syllable structure, the syllables which include syllabic consonants are totally different from both stressed syllables and the other unstressed syllables.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.35
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• pp.293-314
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• 2014

This paper aims to contrast phonology of Korean and Thai in terms of language universality. Considering consonants, both languages having 21 typologically most plausible consonants display high universality in the number of consonants. However, Thai shows higher universality in regards to their substance, i.e. it differs from Korean when it comes to the structure of plosives and fricatives. Both Korean and Thai show similarities regarding the plosives due to the fact that both languages possess three contrastive consonants. However, the Thai plosives consist of plain voiced, plain voiceless and aspirated voiceless sounds that have higher universality than the Korean plosives which are plain voiced, plain voiceless and aspirated voiceless. In case of vowels, both Korean with its 10 vowels and Thai with its 9 vowels show lower universality when it comes to the total number of vowels. However, all of those vowels belong to the list of most plausible vowels which makes their universality higher in substance. In respect of syllable structure, Korean with its CVC type shows a moderately complex structure while Thai with its CCVC type has a complex structure. The coda may consist of only one consonant in each language but onset is composed of one consonant in Korean, and two consonants in Thai. The contrastive study of similarities and differences between Korean and Thai in terms of phonology will help not only understand the two languages but also provide useful information for increasing the efficacy of Korean language education for Thai learners of Korean whose number is rapidly increasing.

• Proceedings of the KSPS conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.230-233
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• 2007

In the literature on the tense consonants in Korean, it has been proposed that this consonant is underlyingly represented by a single consonant (the singleton hypothesis) and that it is represented by a sequence of two lenis consonants (the geminate hypothesis). One piece of the empirical evidence supporting the geminate hypothesis is that the closure duration of tense consonants in intervocalic position is more than twice as long in comparison with their lenis counterparts. In this paper, we report on the closure duration of three types of plosives in various phonotactically permitted contexts in Korean. The results of the measurement show that the duration of the tense consonants in post-sonorant contexts is reduced by a third in comparison with that of the intervocalic ones. These temporal differences suggest that the measurement of closure durations in intervocalic position alone is not sufficient to sustain the geminate hypothesis.

• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.866-878
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• 2014

On Korean websites, people often use several Korean vowels or consonants solely, which is the way to express emotion. This way of expression has scarcely been examined seriously, though it is one of the most popular online slangs. This is an exploratory study that reveals how and how much these expressions are used on social media. Data crawling technique was used as a way to examine the usage of vowels and consonants in ordinary situations. 6 'Facebook pages' popular among Korean users are selected, and about 2.5 million comments are collected from posts in those pages. 10 expressions, including 'ㅋ(K)', 'ㅎ(H)', 'ㅜ(U)', are counted and analyzed from the collected texts of comments. As a result, several patterns of using vowels and consonants are found. Especially, 'ㅋ(K)' is used much more frequently than other vowels or consonants, and used more continually. It is also found that the patterns of using vowels or consonants in writing comments changes as the mood of posts or the characteristics of Facebook pages.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.175-185
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to investigate the acoustic durations of Korean vowels followed by either voiced or voiceless consonants. Six healthy adult speakers (2 females and 4 males) recorded nonsense syllables in which voiced (/b, d, g/) or voiceless (/p', t', k', $p^{h},t^{h},k^{h}$) consonants follow three different vowels (/i, a, u/) embedded in a carrier phrase. Results showed that vowels preceding voiced consonants (e.g., haba) were significantly longer in duration than those preceding voiceless consonants (e.g., hiP' a or $hip^{h}a$). Also vowels were longer in duration when occurring before velar-stops than before bilabial-stop and dental-stops. Finally, the duration of the low vowel (/a/) was substantially longer than that of the high vowels (/i, u/). These findings may be applicable to speech synthesis or therapy.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.139-151
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• 2005

Previous studies have shown that Korean students have difficulty identifying some English consonants which are not in the Korean sound inventory. The aim of this study was to examine the accuracy rate of English consonants correctly identified by 130 college students in order to find out which English consonants were difficult for the students to perceive. The subject's task was to identify one of the minimal pairs played in a quiet laboratory classroom. 100 minimal pairs consisted of syllables with various onsets or codas: stops, fricatives, affricates, liquids and nasals. Results were as follows: First, the average score of the English major group was significantly higher than that of the non-English major group. Second, there was a similar distribution in the rank order of minimal pairs sorted by the accuracy rate between the two groups. Third, the accuracy rate systematically decreased as each score range decreased. Fourth, the students showed higher accuracy in the perception of liquids than that of the stop-fricative contrast. Fifth, the accuracy score in onset position was higher than in coda position. Finally, the students still had problem telling voiced consonants from voiceless ones, especially in coda position. It would be desirable to extend the present research to middle or high school students to fundamentally resolve those listening problems.