The Effect of the Interval on VOT Modulation of Voiceless Stops in English

Oh, Mira; Lim, Jina

doi:10.30961/lr.2021.57.3.245

Lang. Res. 57(3):245-264

pISSN: 0254-4474, eISSN: 2586-7113

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30961/lr.2021.57.3.245

Article

어두 영어 무성 폐쇄음의 VOT 길이 조절에 대한 간격 효과

오미라¹, 임진아¹^,^†

The Effect of the Interval on VOT Modulation of Voiceless Stops in English

Mira Oh¹, Jina Lim¹^,^†

Author Information & Copyright ▼

¹전남대학교

¹Chonnam National University

^†Corresponding Author: E-mail: sleepy70@hanmail.net

ⓒ Copyright 2021 Language Education Institute, Seoul National University. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Received: Feb 27, 2021 ; Revised: Jun 10, 2021 ; Accepted: Sep 01, 2021

Published Online: Dec 31, 2021

ABSTRACT

This study aims to show that the VOTs of English stops are phonetically influenced by non-local segments. Eight native English speakers (4 females and 4 males) produced nonce words of the forms C1V1C2 and C1V1C2VC with variation in the voicing of C1 and C2. Phonetic analysis found, first, that voiceless C1-VOT shortening occurs regressively when followed by another voiceless stop across a vowel, but C2-VOT is not affected by C1. Second, VOT modulation in English voiceless stops is non-local in the sense that the Cs triggering VOT shortening need not be root-adjacent. Third, the interval, which is the distance between the intervening V1 and C2, plays a role in triggering C1-VOT shortening. These results support Walter’s (2007) claim that the VOT modulation in English results from the articulatory difficulty associated with repeating laryngeal cues within a short time. They will be discussed in light of phonetic proximity, particularly limits on the distance at which corresponding Cs may occur. Directionality will also be discussed regarding the target of VOT modulation in light of the avoidance of recurrent aspiration.

Keywords: VOT modulation; laryngeal co-occurrence restriction; regressive dissimilation; interval; articulatory difficulty

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