Prosodic-structural effects on voice quality associated with Korean three-way stop contrast

Abstract

The present study examines the effect of prosodic structure on voice quality associated with the Korean three-way stop contrast (lenis, aspirated, fortis). While the three-way contrast has been known to be signaled primarily by an interaction between VOT and F0, the focus of this study is to explore to what extent the voice quality difference observable in the following vowel would contribute to the three-way stop contrast, and how the realization is conditioned by prominencevs. boundary-induced prosodic strengthening. Results of twelve young native Korean speakers suggest that the difference in voice quality remains largely significant between the three stop categories, indicating the role of voice quality in the maintenance of the stop contrast. Furthermore, prosodic strengthening shows different effects on the contrast, dending on whether the source comes from prominence or boundary. Some implications will also be discussed in relation to the on-going tonogenetic sound change in Korean.