Reduction of the nasal diphthong in the word ‘não’ and the initial position of the intonational syntagma

In this paper, we analyze the different oral productions of the adverb não ‘no’ in two Brazilian Portuguese varieties. On the initial boundary of the intonational phrase, the nasal diphthong of the negation adverb can be reduced, which may lead to a phonological cliticization process. This process can be explained through phonological restrictions, as well the acoustic correlates of accent in Portuguese. The statistical, perceptive and auditory results indicate different phonological status for both functional words on the first position of the intonational phrase.

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Non-durational acoustic correlates of word-initial consonant gemination in Kelantan Malay: The potential roles of amplitude and f0

Journal of the International Phonetic Association ◽

10.1017/s0025100318000142 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 23-60

Author(s):

Mohd Hilmi Hamzah ◽

John Hajek ◽

Janet Fletcher

Keyword(s):

Native Speakers ◽

Initial Position ◽

Acoustic Parameters ◽

Rare Word ◽

Acoustic Correlates ◽

Closure Duration ◽

Disyllabic Words ◽

Consonant Gemination ◽

Manner Of Articulation ◽

Magnitude Difference

This study reports on non-durational acoustic correlates of typologically rare word-initial consonant gemination in Kelantan Malay (KM) by focusing on two acoustic parameters – amplitude and f0. Given the unusual characteristics of the word-initial consonant contrast and its potential maintenance in domain-initial environments, this study sets to examine the extent to which amplitude and f0 can potentially characterise such a contrast in KM in addition to the cross-linguistically established acoustic correlate of closure duration. The production data involved elicited materials from sixteen KM native speakers. RMS and f0 values were measured at the start of the vowel following stops and sonorants produced in isolation (i.e. utterance-initial position) and in a carrier sentence (i.e. utterance-medial position). Results indicate that the consonant contrast is reflected in systematic differences in (i) vowel onset amplitude and f0 following the target consonant and (ii) the ratios of amplitude and f0 across two syllables of disyllabic words. There are also effects of utterance position, manner of articulation and voicing type on the magnitude of contrast between singletons and geminates with utterance-initial voiceless stops generally showing the greatest magnitude difference. The conclusion is drawn that the KM word-initial singleton/geminate consonant contrast can be associated with a set of acoustic parameters alongside closure duration.

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VELAR VOICELESS STOP /K/ IN THE SELEMDZHA ACCENT OF THE EVENKI LANGUAGE

Theoretical and Applied Linguistics ◽

10.22250/2410-7190_2017_3_3_44_62 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 44-62

Author(s):

Olga N. Morozova ◽

Keyword(s):

Initial Position ◽

Current Paper ◽

Consonant Clusters ◽

Acoustic Features ◽

Acoustic Correlates ◽

Voiceless Stop ◽

Auditory Analysis

The current paper focuses upon articulatory and acoustic features of the Evenki velar voiceless stop /k/. Its allophones are researched in all word positions (initial, medial, final, and in consonant clusters). Auditory analysis and dynamic spectrography were used to determine and describe acoustic correlates of all allophones characteristic for /k/. These include aspirated, fricative (as a result of spirantization), uvular, palatized, implosive, and affricated ones. Affrication was characteristic for the Evenki /k/ only in word-initial position before front vowels.

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