Re: /p/ versus devoiced b?

> Date:         Tue, 30 Jan 2001 15:21:40 -0500
> From: Yoon Ha Lee <yl112@...>
> I guess it's one of those continuum things.  The difference between
> devoiced /b/ and unaspirated /p/ seems kinda small, and I have to be
> paying attention to tell the difference.
As someone else wrote, it's a question of voice onset time.

The sounds spelt <bdg> in Danish are usually described as unvoiced
unaspirated stops, at least by me --- but I suspect they are in fact
better called devoiced lenis. (I refuse to call them devoiced voiced,
though, that sounds silly).

French, on the other hand, has proper unvoiced unaspirated stops. To a
Dane, however, a French /p/ sounds like a variant of a Danish /b/ (and
a French /b/ sounds like a different variant of the same phoneme).

So, the way I've found to make my stops vaguely recognizable to a
Frenchman is to base both /b/ and /p/ on my Danish lenis stops, but
(subjectively) adding either glottal vibration or glottal closure (but
not an audible glottal release). It may not be how the French do it,
but it works as a trick.

Lars Mathiesen (U of Copenhagen CS Dep) <thorinn@...> (Humour NOT marked)