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Individual Talker and Token Covariation in the Production of Multiple Cues to Stop Voicing

  • Meghan Clayards
Published/Copyright: June 9, 2017

Abstract

Background/Aims: Previous research found that individual talkers have consistent differences in the production of segments impacting the perception of their speech by others. Speakers also produce multiple acoustic-phonetic cues to phonological contrasts. Less is known about how multiple cues covary within a phonetic category and across talkers. We examined differences in individual talkers across cues and whether token-by-token variability is a result of intrinsic factors or speaking style by examining within-category correlations. Methods: We examined correlations for 3 cues (voice onset time, VOT, talker-relative onset fundamental frequency, f0, and talker-relative following vowel duration) to word-initial labial stop voicing in English. Results: VOT for /b/ and /p/ productions and onset f0 for /b/ productions varied significantly by talker. Token-by-token within-category variation was largely limited to speaking rate effects. VOT and f0 were negatively correlated within category for /b/ productions after controlling for speaking rate and talker mean f0, but in the opposite direction expected for an intrinsic effect. Within-category talker means were correlated across VOT and vowel duration for /p/ productions. Some talkers produced more prototypical values than others, indicating systematic talker differences. Conclusion: Relationships between cues are mediated more by categories and talkers than by intrinsic physiological relationships.Talker differences reflect systematic speaking style differences.


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*Meghan Clayards, Department of Linguistics, McGill University, School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, 2001 McGill College, 8th Floor, Montreal, QC H3A 1G1, (Canada), E-Mail meghan.clayards@mcgill.ca

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Received: 2015-07-29
Accepted: 2016-07-30
Published Online: 2017-06-09
Published in Print: 2017-12-01

© 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel

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