• Speech Sciences
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.223-232
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• 2004

This study investigated and compared the acoustic characteristics of the Korean stop sound [k'] in three different phonological environments: the tensified lenis stop [k'] as observed in /prek+kaci/, the fortis stop /k'/ as in /pre+k'aci/, and the fortis stop /k'/ following an obstruent as in /prek+k'aci/. The specific research question was whether or not the tensified lenis stop shares all the acoustic features with the other two kinds of fortis stops. The acoustic measures adopted in this study were H1*-H2*, VOT, length of stop closure, and $F_0$. The major findings were that the three stops showed no significant difference in all the acoustic measures except the length of stop closure. The fortis stop /k'/ following an obstruent showed significantly longer duration of stop closure than the other two stops, both of which showed no significant difference. Based on these phonetic results, this study argued that, for the proper phonological description of post-obstruent tensification, the phonological feature [slack vocal folds] of a lenis stop should be changed into [stiff vocal folds, constricted glottis] that the fortis stops should have.

• Proceedings of the KSPS conference
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• 1996.10a
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• pp.482-487
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• 1996

Korean fortis consonant is not included in the consonantal inventory, but a result of phonetic implementation at the phonetic level, P. With the framework of Cognitive Phonology, a construction of Post Obstruent Tensification is proposed in such a way that rule-ordering is eliminated. This enables us to overcome methodological problems raised in former analyses of fortis under geminate hypothesis, and give a uniform account for three categories of fortis consonants. By assuming extrasyllabicity of verb-stem-final, consonant neutralization of fortis in the coda position is explained by the invisibility at the P-level. and, therefore. modification of Coda Neutralization rule is called for.