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Re: half voiced (was: Digest Deux)

From:Kristian Jensen <kljensen@...>
Date:Monday, November 5, 2001, 21:34
Someone wrote:
> I'll venture a short explanation to draw other more learned > citizens out. > Cosonants are usually voiced intervocalically and > word-finally. This is only "usually", however, since they can appear > voiceless. The main key in telling the difference between voiced and > voiceless stops in English is aspiration. Intervocalically and in > non-stressed positions is the only place where you're likely to find some > variation, and even then, some strings have been pulled, so that /t/ and > /d/ are always [4] (alveolar flap), so that there is no distinction. /g/ > is never voiced, apparently--only very rarely, and that has to do with > the aerodynamic voicing constraint. So the two velar stops in English > are [k] and [k_h]. When the issue of "half-voicing" comes up, what that > means is that is that the sound starts out voiced, but ends up being > voiceless, and this also has to do with the aerodynamic voicing > constraint. Say in the word "bad". You'd expect something like [b&:d], > but you end up with something more like [p&dt], where the consonant is > initially voiced, but (and this happens especially utterance finally) > when you come to the end, you tend to let the voicing go, and the end of > the [d] ends up being more like a [t]. You can verify this with sound > analysis software, such as PRAAT (the one I use).
Actually the <d> in "bad" is not so much "half-voiced" as it is weakly articulated. Its important to remember that another important perceptual cue is _articulatory strength_. English /p t k/ are fortis, while /b d g/ are lenis. This is most evident in syllable-final position. In some dialects, both series of stops are completely voiceless in syllable-final position. In these dialects, the perceptual cue lies in the length of the preceding sound. E.g. /b&d/ "bad" vs /b&t/ "bat" is [b&:t] vs [b&t] respectively (where [&:] is suppose to be half-length, not full-length). Another example is /&nd/ "and" vs /&nt/ "ant", which is [&n:t] vs [&nt] respectively (where [n:] is again half-length). So with regards to "half-voicing", the part of the final /d/ that sounds like is voiced is actually the slightly lengthened sound before /d/, while the part that sounds voiceless is actually the /d/ itself. Syllable-final /d/ in effect may therefore sound "half-voiced" to the untrained ear. Just thought I'd mention that since no one else has. -kristian- 8)