Stress Effects on Stop Bursts in Five Languages

Abstract

This study examines the effects of stress on the stop burst in five languages differing in number of places of articulation, as reflected in burst duration, spectral centre of gravity, and spectral standard deviation. The languages studied are English (three places of articulation /p t k/), the Indonesian language Makasar (four places /p t c k/), and the Central Australian languages Pitjantjatjara, Warlpiri (both five places /p t ʈ c k/), and Arrernte (six places /p t̪ t ʈ c k/). We find that languages differ in how they manifest stress on the consonant, with Makasar not showing any effect of stress at all, and Warlpiri showing an effect on burst duration, but not on the spectral measures. For the other languages, the velar /k/ has a "darker" quality (i.e., lower spectral centre of gravity), and/or a less diffuse spectrum (i.e., lower standard deviation) under stress; while the alveolar /t/ has a "lighter" quality under stress. In addition, the dental /t̪ / has a more diffuse spectrum under stress. We suggest that this involves enhancement of the features [grave] and [diffuse] under stress, with velars being [+grave] and [-diffuse], alveolars being [-grave], and dentals being [+diffuse]. We discuss the various possible spectral effects of enhancement of these features. Finally, in the languages with five or six places of articulation, the stop burst is longer only for the palatal /c/ and the velar /k/, which have intrinsically long burst durations, and not for the anterior coronals /t̪ t ʈ/, which have intrinsically short burst durations. We suggest that in these systems, [burst duration] is a feature that separates these two groups of consonants.

Acoustic Realization and Inventory Size: Kannada and Malayalam Alveolar/Retroflex Laterals and /ɻ/

“…Tabain et al (2016a) found that there was a large gap between F1 and the higher formants in the Australian laterals, which are impressionistically described as relatively "clear." Such a large gap is considered a characteristic of the lateral "ringing" sound, and the fact that the gap was between F1 and F2, rather than F2 and F3, led Tabain et al (2016a) to suggest that the primary antiresonance for the lateral is at a much lower frequency than had previously been proposed (see Tabain et al, 2016a, for further discussion of the different acoustic models). This antiresonance arises from a side branch to the main airflow (which is along the sides of the tongue for lateral consonants), with the side branch created by the pocket of air trapped along the midline behind the portion of the tongue forming the central constriction.…”

“…This particular range was chosen for the study of Tabain et al (2016d) study because the range below 1 kHz is dominated by voicing, and because preliminary explorations had suggested that the frequency range above 5 kHz did not add much information. However, while Tabain et al (2016a) only presented CoG and SD measures, we present all 4 of the standard spectral moments in the present study, given that we are also examining the retroflex (postalveolar) rhotic of Malayalam, and as such we wanted to give a more complete overview of the /ɭ/ vs. /ɻ/ contrast in this language.…”

“…As part of a larger cross-linguistic study of spectral cues to place of articulation across different consonant manner classes (for stop burst spectra, see Tabain et al, 2016a, and for nasal murmur, see Tabain et al, 2016b), Tabain et al (2016a) examined the lateral "ring" using spectral moment measures calculated in the 1-to 5-kHz range, and also using formant measures. Consistent with results for both stop bursts and nasals, the spectral centre of gravity (CoG -or first spectral moment) was found to be lower for retroflexes than for alveolars (although less relevant for the present study, the CoG was highest for the palatal consonant).…”

A Preliminary Ultrasound Study of Nasal and Lateral Coronals in Arrernte

“…All vocalic and prosodic contexts were included. In particular, it should be noted that no attempt was made to separate the apicals (alveolar or retroflex) according to prosodic context: the apical contrast is in principal neutralized in wordinitial position [7,17], and the retroflex is more prototypically retroflex when it is in unstressed position [18]. Tongue spline data were sampled at the acoustic onset, midpoint, and offset of the consonant.…”

Formant Measures of Vowels Adjacent to Alveolar and Retroflex Consonants in Arrernte: Stressed and Unstressed Position

“…a more posterior release for the retroflex as compared to the alveolar [16]). When analyzed according to prosodic context [17], there is some evidence that the spectral centre of gravity is higher for the alveolar in a strong prosodic context than in a weak prosodic context, suggesting a more forward release of the alveolar preceding a stressed vowel.…”