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Lexical frequency and voice assimilation.

Mirjam Ernestus1, Mybeth Lahey, Femke Verhees

  • 1Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Radboud University Nijmegen, Wundtlaan 1, 6525 XD Nijmegen, The Netherlands. mirjam.ernestus@mpi.nl

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|August 31, 2006
PubMed
Summary

Word frequency influences speech production, leading to more voice assimilation in higher-frequency Dutch words. Speakers reduce articulatory effort, causing acoustic changes that signal increased assimilation based on word frequency.

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Area of Science:

  • Linguistics
  • Phonetics
  • Speech Science

Background:

  • Word frequency is known to affect acoustic duration and vowel reduction.
  • Previous research suggests frequency influences speech production, but its role in voice assimilation requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effect of word frequency on regressive voice assimilation in Dutch.
  • To determine if acoustic cues mediate the relationship between word frequency and voice assimilation.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of clusters from a corpus of read Dutch speech.
  • Perceptual evaluation of voice assimilation in words of varying frequencies.
  • Acoustic analysis of cluster duration, glottal vibration, and release noise duration.

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Main Results:

  • Higher-frequency words were more often perceived as assimilated (voiced or voiceless) compared to lower-frequency words.
  • Acoustic cues, including decreased cluster duration and glottal vibration, and increased release noise duration, correlated with word frequency.
  • Frequency effects on assimilation were mediated by acoustic signal changes, not independent of them.

Conclusions:

  • Word frequency significantly impacts voice assimilation in Dutch, promoting more assimilation in frequent words.
  • Speakers reduce articulatory effort for high-frequency words, leading to acoustic modifications that influence voice assimilation.
  • Acoustic cues play a crucial role in how word frequency affects the perception of voice assimilation.