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Kymograph tracings of English plosives
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Michael Ashby & John Maidment
Introducing Phonetic Science
Chapter 6: Voice II
Chapter Summary
In this chapter we look at aspects of the timing of vocal
fold vibration. VOT is the interval between the release of a plosive and
the onset of vocal vibration and is an important cue for the listener in
determining whether the plosive belongs in the voiced or voiceless
category. Most languages make use of a two-way distinction according to VOT.
The chapter also introduces the notion of aspiration, a feature of plosives
which have a long VOT. Looking more closely at the details of voicing in
English we consider the topic of devoicing and look at the conditions under
which so-called voiced consonants may be without vocal fold vibration for at
least part of their duration. This leads to the introduction of the terms
fortis and lenis as possible alternatives to the terms voiceless and
voiced. Finally, we look at phonation types, identifying modal (normal)
voice and a number of audibly different kinds of vocal fold vibration which
may be used distinctively by certain languages and in many languages as
signals of the attitude of the speaker. The most important conclusion to be
drawn from this chapter is that the voicing of consonants is not simply a
matter of the presence or absence of vocal vibration.
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