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Can intrinsic vowel Fo be explained by source/tract coupling?
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|August 1, 1979
Summary
Vowel fundamental frequency (Fo) variations are not caused by acoustic interaction. Instead, coarticulatory anticipation of tongue and jaw movements influences Fo, especially in vowels with pharyngeal constriction.
Area of Science:
- Phonetics
- Acoustic phonetics
- Speech production
Background:
- Vowel fundamental frequency (Fo) correlates with vowel height.
- Acoustic interaction between vowel formants and vocal folds was hypothesized as a cause.
- Higher vowels have lower first formants, potentially increasing acoustic interaction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if acoustic interaction causes intrinsic vowel Fo differences.
- To explore the role of coarticulation in intrinsic vowel Fo variations.
- To examine the physical causes of intrinsic vowel Fo, specifically pharyngeal constriction.
Main Methods:
- Recorded consonant [m] in [umu] and [ama] utterances from ten speakers.
- Analyzed the fundamental frequency (Fo) of [m] allophones and following vowels.
- Investigated Fo changes at the beginning of vowels following Arabic pharyngeal approximants.
Main Results:
- Significant differences in Fo were found for [m] allophones in different vowel contexts.
- The Fo of [m] allophones did not significantly differ from the Fo of the subsequent vowel.
- Fo lowering was observed at the start of vowels following Arabic pharyngeal approximants.
Conclusions:
- Acoustic interaction does not appear to cause intrinsic vowel Fo differences.
- Coarticulatory anticipation of articulatory movements (tongue, jaw) influences [m] allophone Fo.
- Articulatory movements like tongue compression and pharyngeal constriction may lower vowel Fo.