Allophones of Korean /l/: a classification using EMA

Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 2019

exhibits retracted tongue dorsum and low F2 frequencies compared to Korean [l], but is frequently asserted to be perceptually similar to Korean [l] and therefore difficult for Korean learners to acquire due to articulatory transfer. This study examines the articulatory and acoustic characteristics of Korean and English wordfinal laterals produced by Korean learners. Korean learners' productions of English [à] were systematically different from Korean [l], with retracted tongue dorsum and low F2 similar to L1 English [à]. The findings suggest Korean learners form a distinct phonetic category for English [à] rather than modifying an existing Korean category.

Korean Linguistics (vol. 15, iss. 1, pp. 7–49), 2013

This article presents new data on the contrast between the two voiceless coronal fricatives of Korean, variously described as a lenis/fortis or aspirated/fortis contrast. In utterance-initial position, the fricatives were found to differ in centroid frequency; duration of frication, aspiration, and the following vowel; and several aspects of the following vowel onset, including intensity profile, spectral tilt, and F1 onset. The between-fricative differences varied across vowel contexts, however, and spectral differences in the vowel onset especially were more pronounced for /a/ than for /i, ɯ, u/. This disparity led to the hypothesis that cues in the following vowel onset would exert a weaker influence on perception for high vowels than for low vowels. Perception data provided general support for this hypothesis, indicating that while vowel onset cues had the largest impact on perception for both high- and low-vowel stimuli, this influence was weaker for high vowels. Perception was also strongly influenced by aspiration duration, with modest contributions from frication duration and F0 onset. Taken together, these findings suggest that the ‘non-fortis’ fricative is best characterized not in terms of the lenis or aspirated categories for stops, but in terms of a unique representation that is both lenis and aspirated.

Journal of Phonetics, 1996

Harvard Studies in Korean Linguistics (vol. 12, pp. 137–150), 2008

This study examined the production of the two-way laryngeal contrast in Korean sibilant fricatives in two experiments covering low and high vowel environments. Acoustic analyses show that in a low vowel environment, the two fricatives differ from each other in fricative duration, aspiration duration, F1 onset, intensity buildup, and voice quality; however, the F1 and intensity differences disappear in a high vowel environment. In both environments, there are no differences in F0 onset, average intensity, or vowel length. In having a fricative contrast without a voiced member, Korean constitutes an exception to Jansen's (2004) laryngeal typology. This contrast seems to be typologically unique and can only be accommodated by the addition of an aspirated voiceless lenis category to the set of possible laryngeal classifications.

Although the segmental properties of Kyungsang Korean have been known to be distinct from those of standard Seoul Korean, the increased influence of Seoul Korean on the regional variety casts doubt on the homogeneity of the dialect. The current study investigated whether the acoustic properties of the vowels and fricatives in Kyungsang Korean are retained by both younger and older generations through a comparison with Seoul Korean. Results of acoustic analyses with 38 female Korean speakers differing in dialect (Kyungsang, Seoul) and age (older, younger) showed that the younger Kyungsang speakers did not maintain the vowel and fricative features unique to their regional dialect, but rather approximate those of standard Seoul Korean. In the acoustic study of vowels, measures of formant frequencies showed that the younger Kyungsang and Seoul speakers share seven vowels, which result from the split of /ʌ/–/-i/ in Kyungsang and the merger of /e/–/ε/ in Seoul Korean. In the acoustic study of fricatives, measures of fricative duration and center of gravity showed that while the two-way fricative contrast is less distinct for older Kyungsang speakers, younger speakers clearly distinguish the two fricatives similar to Seoul speakers. As a consequence of these generational changes in Kyungsang Korean, the six vowels and lack of a fricative contrast exhibited by older generations have given way to seven vowels and a clear distinction between fortis and non-fortis fricatives for younger generations. Based on the similarities in segmental properties between younger Kyungsang and Seoul speakers, it appears that the diachronic sound change is underway in South Kyungsang Korean under the influence of Seoul Korean.

Studies in Phonetics, phonology and Morphology, 2006

Kenstowicz, Michael and Chiyoun Park. 2006. Laryngeal Features and Tone in Kyungsang Korean: a Phonetic Study. Studies in Phonetics, Phonology and Morphology. Xx.x, xxx-xxx. F0 is one of the major phonetic correlates to the intensively studied laxtense-aspirated contrast in Korean obstruents. Numerous investigations of the standard Seoul dialect have shown that the vowels following tense or aspirated consonants have higher F0 than vowels following a lax or nasal consonant at the beginning of a phonological phrase. Unlike the Seoul dialect, the Kyungsang dialects have preserved the H vs. L lexical tonal contrasts of Middle Korean. This study investigates the reflexes of the laryngeal contrast in the Kyungsang dialect, where the F0 space is shared for the realization of a high vs. low tonal contrast as well as a voiced vs. voiceless laryngeal contrast in the preceding consonant.

Proceedings from the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Chicago Linguistic Society (pp. 31–45), 2009

This study reexamines the typologically unusual three-way laryngeal contrast in Korean among ‘lenis’, ‘fortis’, and ‘aspirated’ voiceless plosives in light of a recent proposal by Kim and Duanmu (2004) that the contrast is really among voiced, voiceless unaspirated, and voiceless aspirated categories. The results of a cross-linguistic perception experiment conducted with 24 native Korean speakers are generally consistent with Kim and Duanmu's analysis. The data show that Korean speakers are attuned to voicing in initial position, and this is naturally accounted for by a Korean laryngeal system containing a phonologically voiced category. However, the data also suggest that an important factor in Korean speakers' perception of the ‘lenis’ (~ voiced) plosives word-initially is aspiration. Thus, even if the ‘lenis’ series is analyzed as voiced, it differs in a fundamental way from the phonetic character of other languages' voiced plosives, a finding that severely weakens the cross-linguistic thrust of Kim and Duanmu's argument.

UC Berkeley Phonology Lab Annual Report (pp. 20–70), 2007

Four experiments were conducted to investigate the contrast between the two voiceless sibilant fricatives of Korean. The results of Experiment 1 show that before /a/, the two fricatives differ in total segment duration, aspiration duration, F1 onset, intensity buildup, and voice quality. The results of Experiment 2 indicate that while segmental duration is not a significant cue in perception, aspiration duration is; the most important cues, however, are qualities of the following vowel. Experiments 3 and 4 replicated Experiments 1 and 2 with the vowel /u/. The results of Experiment 3 confirm those of Experiment 1, except there is no difference in F1 onset or intensity buildup in the high vowel /u/. The results of Experiment 4 show a similar hierarchy of cues, but a much greater deviance from the vocalic cues, suggesting that F1 onset and intensity buildup play an important role in perception. Thus, in spite of consonantal cues distinguishing the fricatives, vocalic cues are dominant in their perception. In having a fricative contrast without a voiced member, Korean constitutes an exception to the laryngeal typology of Jansen (2004). The classification of the non-fortis fricative may require the addition of an aspirated voiceless lenis category to this typology.

Advances in Linguistics and Communication Studies

The main focus of this chapter is to present the articulatory description of English consonants and provide practical guidance on how to teach the consonant phonemes to ELLs. The chapter starts with the introduction of phonetics as a subfield of linguistics. The concepts such as phonemes, contrastive versus non-contrastive sounds, the branches of phonetics that study different aspects of human speech sounds, and two different types of phonemes—consonants and vowels—are introduced in this section. Next, the reader is familiarized with the International Phonetic Alphabet, which is a system of phonetic transcription. The chapter further presents the description of the vocal tract and explores the classification of English consonants according to their place and manner of articulation, and voicing. Some implications from the introduced phonetics theory for teaching phonics, phonemic awareness, and spelling to young ELLs, and pronunciation to adult English learners, as well as a set of r...