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The phonetic properties of the non-modal phonation in Shanghainese

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 July 2019

Jia Tian Open the ORCID record for Jia Tian [Opens in a new window]  and
Jianjing Kuang
Jia Tian
Affiliation:
Department of Linguistics, University of Pennsylvaniajiatian@sas.upenn.edu
Jianjing Kuang
Affiliation:
Department of Linguistics, University of Pennsylvaniakuangj@sas.upenn.edu
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Abstract

This study investigates the acoustic and articulatory properties of phonation contrast in Shanghainese, the most thoroughly studied Chinese Wu dialect. Although previous studies generally suggest that the non-modal phonation associated with the lower register in Shanghainese is relatively breathier, it is unclear whether it is ‘breathy voice’, ‘slack voice’ or ‘whispery voice’. This study aims to provide a better understanding of the phonetic realization of the non-modal phonation in Shanghainese. Simultaneous audio and electroglottographic recordings were made from 52 speakers born before 1980. Both acoustic and articulatory data confirmed that the non-modal phonation in Shanghainese is produced with relatively less glottal constriction and more aperiodic noise than the modal phonation. The novel finding of this study is that aperiodic noise plays a much more important role than spectral measures (i.e. indicators of glottal constriction) in the phonetic realization of the non-modal phonation. This property is distinct from the breathier voices in Gujarati, White Hmong and Southern Yi. These results suggest that the non-modal phonation in Shanghainese should be characterized as ‘whispery voice’, which is phonetically distinct from both ‘breathy voice’ and ‘slack voice’.

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Research Article
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Journal of the International Phonetic Association , Volume 51 , Issue 2 , August 2021 , pp. 202 - 228
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© International Phonetic Association 2019

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