Voice quality types and uses in North American English

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Phonetics
• Sociolinguistics

Background:

• Voice quality encompasses characteristics of vocal fold vibration during phonation.
• Linguists categorize voicing into five types: voiceless, breathy, modal, creaky, and constricted voiceless.
• This research focuses on breathy, modal, and creaky voice qualities, examining their acoustic and social dimensions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the distribution and phonetic correlates of creaky voice in North American English.
• To explore the role of voice quality in segmental and social factors, including gender indexing.
• To contribute to the understanding of the sociolinguistic functions of voice quality.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of voice quality parameters including glottal aperture, vocal fold stiffness, and thickness.
• Examination of acoustic features such as pitch, spectral tilt, and noise.
• Correlational analysis of phonetic and social factors influencing creaky voice.

Main Results:

• A correlation was identified between vowel height and the occurrence of creaky voicing.
• Evidence suggests men use voice quality to index gender in conversational speech.
• Creaky voice, though not contrastive, serves various discourse, pragmatic, and social functions.

Conclusions:

• Voice quality is a complex phenomenon influenced by physiological and linguistic factors.
• Creaky voice plays a significant role in the phonology and sociolinguistics of North American English.
• Further research into the sociolinguistic uses of voice quality is warranted.