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An acoustic study of Georgian stop consonants

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2010

Chad Vicenik
Chad Vicenik*
Affiliation:
Department of Linguistics, University of California, Los Angeles cvicenik@gmail.com
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Abstract

This study investigates the acoustic properties of ejective, voiced and voiceless aspirated stops in Georgian, a Caucasian language, and seeks to answer two questions: (i) Which acoustic features discriminate the three stop types? and (ii) Do Georgian stops undergo initial strengthening, and if so, is it syntagmatic or paradigmatic strengthening? Five female speakers were recorded reading words embedded in carrier phrases and stories. Acoustic measures include closure duration, voicing during the closure, voicing lag, relative burst intensity, spectral moment of bursts, phonation (H1-H2) and F0. Of these, voicing lag, voicing during the closure, mean burst frequency, H1-H2 and F0 could all be used to discriminate stop type, but stop types did not differ in closure duration or relative burst intensity. Georgian stops did show initial strengthening and showed only syntagmatic enhancement, not paradigmatic enhancement. Stops showed longer closure durations, longer voicing lags, and higher H1-H2 values in higher prosodic positions.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Phonetic Association , Volume 40 , Issue 1 , April 2010 , pp. 59 - 92
Copyright
Copyright © International Phonetic Association 2010

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