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KMID : 1022420160080040039
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Phonetics and Speech Sciences
2016 Volume.8 No. 4 p.39 ~ p.47
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Static and dynamic spectral properties of the monophthong vowels in Seoul Korean: Implication on sound change
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Kang Ji-Eun
Kong Eun-Jong
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Abstract
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While acoustic studies in the past decade documented a raised /o/ by showing their lowered first formants (F1) almost overlapped with those of high back vowel /u/, no consensus has been made in terms of how this /o/-raising affects the vowels as a system in Seoul Korean. The current study aimed to investigate the age- and gender-related differences of the relative distance among the vowels to better understand the influence of this on-going sound change on the vowel system. We measured the static and dynamic spectral characteristics (F1 and F2) of the seven Korean monophthong vowels /e a ? o u ? i/ in the spontaneous speech of Seoul Corpus, and depicted the patterns of 30 individual speakers (10 speakers in each group of teens, 20s and 40s) as a function of age and gender. The static spectral examination showed low F1 values of /o/ in the spontaneous speech corpus confirming the vowel /o/ raising, and also revealed greater F2 values of /u, ?/ suggesting their anterior articulations. The tendencies were stronger when the speakers were younger and female. The spectral trajectories further showed that the F1 and F2 between /o/ and /u/ were differentiated throughout the vowel mid-point although the trajectories gradually merged near the vowel mid point in the older male speakers’ productions. The acoustic evidence of contrast among /o, u, ?/ supports that the raised /o/ is not indicative of a merger with /u/ but rather implying a chain-like vowel shift in the Seoul Korean.
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KEYWORD
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sound change in Korean vowels, F1 and F2 trajectories, spontaneous speech, gender difference, age difference, sound, merger, vowel shift
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