• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.53-64
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• 2021

It is known that the voicing contrast for Japanese word-initial stops is primarily realized as differences in the voice onset time (VOT). However, recent studies have reported that voiced stops are more often produced with a positive VOT than with a negative VOT among the younger generation nationwide. It is also known that post-stop F0 is associated with the stop contrast, but the degree of F0 use differs from region to region. This study explores whether the difference in post-stop F0 functions as a perceptual cue to the stop contrast along with VOT. Fifty-five college students who are native listeners from four different regions participated in two or three perception tests. The results show that VOT is a primary cue to the voiced-voiceless distinction of word-initial stops, but that the effect of post-stop F0 on the stop contrast is marginal. The post-stop F0 is involved in perception only when VOT is ambiguous, such that a sound with high F0 is more often perceived as a voiceless stop, but not vice versa. The results of this study indicate that the acoustic parameters associated with the stop contrast are not the same in production and perception, and suggest that other factors such as context, which is not an acoustic characteristic, may also be involved in the stop contrast.

• Journal of Digital Contents Society
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1101-1107
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• 2017

This study explored the effect of ASR-based pronunciation instruction, using a mobile platform, on EFL learners' pronunciation development. Particularly, this quasi-experimental study focused on whether using mobile ASR, which provides voice-to-text feedback, can enhance the perception and production of target English consonants minimal pairs (V-B, R-L, and G-Z) of Korean EFL learners. Three intact classes of 117 Korean university students were assigned to three groups: a) ASR Group: ASR-based pronunciation instruction providing textual feedback by the mobile ASR; b) Conventional Group: conventional face-to-face pronunciation instruction providing individual oral feedback by the instructor; and the c) Hybrid Group: ASR-based pronunciation instruction plus conventional pronunciation instruction. The ANCOVA results showed that the adjusted mean score for pronunciation production post-test on the Hybrid instruction group (M=82.71, SD =3.3) was significantly higher than the Conventional group (M=62.6, SD =4.05) (p<.05).

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.131-138
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• 2015

The initial syllables of a pair of Sino-Korean words are generally differentiated in their meaning by either short or long durations. They are realized differently by the dialect and generation of speakers. Recent research has reported that the temporal distinction has gradually faded away. The aim of this study is to examine whether college students with Kyungsang dialect made the distinction temporally using a statistical method of Mixed Effects Model. Thirty students participated in the recording of five pairs of Korean words in clear or casual speaking styles. Then, the author measured the durations of the initial syllables of the words and made a descriptive analysis of the data followed by applying Mixed Effects Models to the data by setting gender, length, and style as fixed effects, and subject and syllable as random effects, and tested their effects on the initial syllable durations. Results showed that college students with Kyungsang dialect did not produce the long and short syllables distinctively with any statistically significant difference between them. Secondly, there was a significant difference in the duration of the initial syllables between male and female students. Thirdly, there was also a significant difference in the duration of the initial syllables produced in the clear or casual styles. The author concluded that college students with Kyungsang dialect do not produce long and short Sino-Korean syllables distinctively, and any statistical analysis on the temporal aspect should be carefully made considering both fixed and random effects. Further studies would be desirable to examine production and perception of the initial syllables by speakers with various dialect, generation, and age groups.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.53-65
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• 2014

The current research examines whether pitch contour shapes in North Kyungsang pitch accent contrasts provide a phonetic dimension for phonological discreteness in a mimicry task. Two pitch accent continua resynthesized were created for HH vs. HL and HH vs. LH. To confirm a phonetic dimension for accounting for pitch accent categories in North Kyungsang Korean, the mimicries of speakers of two dialects (i.e., North Kyungsang & South Cholla) were compared. One of the findings showed that, for North Kyungsang speakers, the range of mean f0 peak times was a phonetic dimension undergoing a continuous shift within a stimulus continuum for both HH vs. HL and HH vs. LH. On the other hand, for South Cholla speakers, there were no apparent shifts around categorical boundaries for either HH vs. HL or HH vs. LH. Regarding individual mimicries on f0 peak timing, there are many variations. For HH vs. LH, three North Kyungsang speakers showed a discrete pattern reflecting a shift in phonological categories, but for HH vs. HL, there was no such distinction showing a categorical shift, though there were statistically significant differences for two speakers. Interestingly, one of the North Kyungsang speakers showed a continuous phonetic dimension for both HH vs. HL and HH vs. LH. Lastly, the f0 valley timing did not exhibit a discrete or gradient phonetic dimension for speakers of either dialect. On the basis of these results, what is interesting is that the tonal target such as high tone in North Kyungsang pitch accent categories within the autosegmental-metrical (AM) theory may be realized within individual cognitive systems for representing the interaction of perception and production.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.89-97
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• 2006

The stop consonants in Korean are classified into three types according to the manner of articulation as unaspirated (UA), slightly aspirated (SA) and heavily aspirated (HA) stops. Both the UA and the HA types are always voiceless in any environment. Generally, the voice onset time (VOT) could be measured spectrographically from release of consonant burst to onset of following vowel. The VOT of the UA type is within 20 msec of the burst, and about 40-50 msec in the SA and 50-70 msec in the HA. There have been many efforts to clarify properties that differentiate these manner categories. Umeda, et $al^{1)}$ studied that the fundamental frequency at voice onset after both the UA and HA consonants was higher than that for the SA consonants, and the voice onset times were longest in the HA followed by the SA and UA. Han, et $al^{2)}$ reported in their speech synthesis and perception studies that the SA and UA stops differed primarily in terms of a gradual versus a relatively rapid intensity build-up of the following vowel after the stop release. Lee, et $al^{3)}$ measured both the intraoral and subglottal air pressure that the subglottal pressure was higher for the HA stop than for the other two stops. They also compared the dynamic pattern of the subglottal pressure slope for the three categories and found that the HA stop showed the most rapid increase in subglottal pressure in the time period immediately before the stop release. $Kagaya^{4)}$ reported fiberscopic and acoustic studies of the Korean stops. He mentioned that the UA type may be characterized by a completely adducted state of the vocal folds, stiffened vocal folds and the abrupt decreasing of the stiffness near the voice onset, while the HA type may be characterized by an extensively abducted state of the vocal folds and a heightened subglottal pressure. On the other hand, none of these positive gestures are observed for the SA type. Hong, et $al^{5)}$ studied electromyographic activity of the thyroarytenoid and posterior cricoarytenoid (PCA) muscles during stop production. He reported a marked and early activation of the PCA muscle associated with a steep reactivation of the thyroarytenoid muscle before voice onset in the production of the HA consonants. For the production of the UA consonants, little or no activation of the PCA muscle and earliest and most marked reactivation of the thyroarytenoid muscle were characteristic. For the SA consonants, he reported a more moderate activation of the PCA muscle than for the UA consonant, and the least and the latest reactivation of the thyroarytenoid muscle. Hong, et $al^{6)}$ studied the observation of the vibratory movements of vocal fold edges in terms of laryngeal gestures according to the different types of stop consonants. The movements of vocal fold edges were evaluated using high speed digital images. EGG signals and acoustic waveforms were also evaluated and related to the vibratory movements of vocal fold edges during stop production.