Structured Speaker Variability in Spontaneous Japanese Stop Contrast Production

Tanner, J., Sonderegger, M. and Stuart-Smith, J. (2019) Structured Speaker Variability in Spontaneous Japanese Stop Contrast Production. In: International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS 2019), Melbourne, Australia, 5-9 Aug 2019, pp. 666-670. ISBN 9780646800691

Abstract

Studies of speaker variability in the realisation of stop voicing contrasts have demonstrated that differences across speakers are highly structured both within and across phonetic categories. These studies have focused on languages with similar voicing systems in scripted speech; it remains unclear how stop realisation varies in spontaneous speech more generally. This study examines speaker variability in two acoustic cues to stop voicing–Voice Onset Time and Voicing During Closure–in a corpus of spontaneous Japanese, a language undergoing change in its voicing contrast. Whilst speakers vary in both measures, this variability is highly structured: speakers with less aspirated stops are more likely to initiate voicing during the closure. However, no corresponding relationship is observed between how the two cues are used to mark the contrast. These findings extend previous work to demonstrate the structure of speaker variability in spontaneous speech.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Stuart-Smith, Professor Jane
• Authors: Tanner, J., Sonderegger, M., and Stuart-Smith, J.
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > English Language and Linguistics
• ISSN: 0241-0669
• ISBN: 9780646800691
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2019 Australasian Speech Science and Technology Association Inc.
• First Published: First published in Sasha Calhoun, Paola Escudero, Marija Tabain & Paul Warren (eds.) Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, Melbourne, Australia 2019 pp. 666-670
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license

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