Effects of gemination and voicing on f0 in Italian across varying speaking rates

This study examines whether Italian geminate consonants influence the fundamental frequency (f0) of adjacent vowels and how such effects interact with voicing-related Cf0 perturbations. Audio and articulatory data from 23 speakers show that vowels following geminates have slightly higher f0 than those following singletons, regardless of voicing. No effect was found on preceding vowels. f0 differences remained stable across speaking rates and articulatory cues. A positive correlation was found between f0 and intensity, consistent with a mechanical, aerodynamic basis for the effect. However, some individual patterns show correlations between f0 and other properties, which may indicate controlled enhancements. The findings are consistent with a hybrid account on which both articulatory contingencies and speaker-specific enhancements may influence co-intrinsic pitch.