1 Phonation Types in Marathi: An Acoustic - KU ScholarWorks

259 Pages·2010·15.5 MB·English

by  Kelly Berkson

Phonation Types in Marathi: An Acoustic Investigation

By

Copyright 2013

Kelly Harper Berkson

Submitted to the graduate degree program in Linguistics and the Graduate Faculty of the
University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy.

________________________________
Co-Chair Dr. Jie Zhang

________________________________
Co-Chair Dr. Allard Jongman

________________________________
Dr. Joan Sereno

________________________________
Dr. Harold Torrence

________________________________
Dr. Raymond Pierotti

________________________________
Dr. Geetanjali Tiwari

Date Defended: December 7, 2012
1
The Dissertation Committee for Kelly Harper Berkson
certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation:

Phonation Types in Marathi: An Acoustic Investigation

________________________________
Co-Chair Dr. Jie Zhang

________________________________
Co-Chair Dr. Allard Jongman

Date Approved: December 7, 2012

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Abstract

This dissertation presents a comprehensive instrumental acoustic analysis of phonation
type distinctions in Marathi, an Indic language with numerous breathy voiced sonorants and
obstruents. Important new facts about breathy voiced sonorants, which are crosslinguistically
rare, are established: male and female speakers cue breathy phonation in sonorants differently,
there are an abundance of trading relations, and—critically—phonation type distinctions are not
cued as well by sonorants as by obstruents.
Ten native speakers (five male, five female) were recorded producing Marathi words
embedded in a carrier sentence. Tokens included plain and breathy voiced stops, affricates,
nasals, laterals, rhotics, and approximants before the vowels [a] and [e]. Measures reported for
consonants and subsequent vowels include duration, F0, Cepstral Peak Prominence (CPP), and
corrected H1-H2*, H1-A1*, H1-A2*, and H1-A3* values. As expected, breathy voice is
associated with decreased CPP and increased spectral values.
A strong gender difference is revealed: low-frequency measures like H1-H2* cue breathy
phonation more reliably in male speech, while CPP—which provides information about the
aspiration noise included in the signal—is a more reliable cue in female speech. Trading
relations are also reported: time and again, where one cue is weak or absent another cue is strong
or present, underscoring the importance of including both genders and multiple vowel contexts
when testing phonation type differences. Overall, the cues that are present for obstruents are not
necessarily mirrored by sonorants.
These findings are interpreted with reference to Dispersion Theory (Flemming 1995;
Liljencrants & Lindblom 1972; Lindblom 1986, 1990). While various incarnations of Dispersion
Theory focus on different aspects of perceptual and auditory distinctiveness, a basic claim is that
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one requirement for phonological contrasts is that they must be perceptually distinct: contrasts
that are subject to great confusability are phonologically disfavored. The proposal, then, is that
the typology of breathy voiced sonorants is due in part to the fact that they are not well
differentiated acoustically. Breathy voiced sonorants are crosslinguistically rare because they do
not make for strong phonemic contrasts.

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Acknowledgements

My first thank you goes to the Marathi consultants who were generous with their time,
energy, input, and good humor. Anything I learned I owe to them, and I am thankful beyond
measure. Special thanks to Namrata Barve and Priyanka Raut, without whom I never would have
started working with Marathi. Thank you also to Abhijeet Barve, Narayani Barve, Vijay Barve,
and Priyamvada Prabhu.
I am immensely grateful to my co-advisors, Dr. Allard Jongman and Dr. Jie Zhang, for
the myriad ways in which they supported me during the writing of this dissertation. Their
critiques, commentary, and genuine enthusiasm for the project kept me engaged and carried me
forward when my own energy flagged. I owe you both a debt that goes beyond words, and I can
only hope that I am able to pay it forward.
Thank you also to my other committee members—Dr. Raymond Pierotti, Dr. Joan Sereno,
Dr. Geetanjali Tiwari, and Dr. Harold Torrence—who asked me questions that made me think
harder and produce better work. Throughout this process I felt challenged in all the best ways
and supported in all the most important ways. It was a true honor and privilege to work with you
all, and I only wish that every graduate student could be graced with such a committee.
My colleagues in the Linguistics Department—Rania Agarbeh, I Nyoman Aryawibawa,
José Alemán Bañón, Turki Binturki, Kristi Bond, Philip Duncan, Hiba Gharib, Pedro Mateo,
Mircea Sauciuc, Khady Tamba, and Mahire Yakup—were with me from the beginning. They,
along with Dr. Alison Gabriele and Dr. Sara Rosen, offered critical support along the way. My
classmates and colleagues in LING 850 provided important insights as I wrestled with data and
with presentations. I am particularly grateful to Goun Lee, Hyunjung Lee, Maite Martínez-
García, and Mahire Yakup. Stephen Politzer-Ahles deserves special mention, as well, for
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technical support, coding assistance, and general awesomeness. Thank you, all, for unending
patience and support.
It should also be said that a dissertation is both a solo and a group endeavor: although I
wrote this document, and am solely responsible for any errors, it would not exist without the love
and support I received from my friends and family during its creation. Abigail Berkson, Diane
Helen Harper, H. Neil Berkson, Heather Bandalo, Ilene Lang, William G. Johnson, my beloved
aunts and uncles, and my Art of Living and Lawrence families: thank you, on so many levels.
Finally, I am also grateful to the Marathi language for being my constant companion over
these last years. Ashok Kelkar wrote the following dedication in his 1958 dissertation on

Marathi: I could never say it better.

“To

The Marathi language
It was a pleasure to work
with you, although I must
confess that your messiness
sometimes infuriated me.
There never was, however,
a dull moment!”

As always: all that is well done benefitted from the help of those I have mentioned. Any
mistakes are mine alone.

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Table of Contents

1
  Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1

1.1
  Overview of the present study ....................................................................................... 3

1.2
  Major themes that emerge in the present study ............................................................. 6

1.3
  Significance of the present work .................................................................................... 8

1.4
  Overview of the dissertation .......................................................................................... 8

2
  Setting the stage: Background information and previous research ..................................... 10

2.1
  An overview of sonorants and obstruents .................................................................... 10

2.2
  An overview of phonation types .................................................................................. 12

2.3
  Breathy voice in Indic and beyond: A review of previous findings ............................ 14

2.4
  Duration ....................................................................................................................... 22

2.4.1
  Consonant Duration .................................................................................................. 22

2.4.2
  Post-release measures: VOT, NOT, ACT, and the PVI ............................................ 24

2.4.3
  Vowel Duration ......................................................................................................... 35

2.5
  Fundamental Frequency ............................................................................................... 36

2.6
  Spectral Measures ........................................................................................................ 38

2.6.1
  H1-H2 ....................................................................................................................... 43

2.6.2
  H1-A1, H1-A2, H1-A3 ............................................................................................. 46

2.6.2.1
  H1-A1 .................................................................................................................... 47

2.6.2.2
  H1-A2 .................................................................................................................... 49

2.6.2.3
  H1-A3 .................................................................................................................... 51

2.7
  Cepstral Peak Prominence ........................................................................................... 52

2.8
  Broad review ................................................................................................................ 56

2.9
  An overview of Marathi ............................................................................................... 58

3
  Overview of the Present Study – Methods and Procedures ................................................ 62

3.1
  Participants ................................................................................................................... 62

3.2
  Materials ...................................................................................................................... 63

3.3
  Recording and token presentation ................................................................................ 66

3.4
  Data analysis ................................................................................................................ 67

3.5
  Intervals measured ....................................................................................................... 69

3.6
  Predictions .................................................................................................................... 69

3.7
  Statistical analyses ....................................................................................................... 71

4
  Duration Results .................................................................................................................. 73

4.1
  Consonant Duration ..................................................................................................... 75

4.2
  Pre-Vocalic Interval ..................................................................................................... 81

4.3
  Vowel Duration ............................................................................................................ 85

4.4
  A brief recap of duration results .................................................................................. 88

5
  Fundamental Frequency Results ......................................................................................... 90

5.1
  Fundamental frequency in voiced consonants ............................................................. 91

5.2
  Fundamental frequency in vowels ............................................................................... 96

5.3
  F0 recap ...................................................................................................................... 105

6
  Spectral Measure Results .................................................................................................. 107

6.1
  H1-H2c Results .......................................................................................................... 107

6.1.1
  H1-H2c – consonant results .................................................................................... 108

6.1.2
  H1-H2c – vowel results .......................................................................................... 115

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6.1.3
  H1-H2c recap .......................................................................................................... 125

6.2
  H1-A1c ....................................................................................................................... 127

6.2.1
  H1-A1c – consonant results .................................................................................... 128

6.2.2
  H1-A1c – vowel results .......................................................................................... 134

6.2.3
  H1-A1c recap .......................................................................................................... 145

6.3
  H1-A2c ....................................................................................................................... 147

6.3.1
  H1-A2c – consonant results .................................................................................... 148

6.3.2
  H1-A2c – vowel results .......................................................................................... 153

6.3.3
  H1-A2c recap .......................................................................................................... 161

6.4
  H1-A3c ....................................................................................................................... 163

6.4.1
  H1-A3c – consonant results .................................................................................... 164

6.4.2
  H1-A3c – vowel results .......................................................................................... 169

6.4.3
  H1-A3c recap .......................................................................................................... 175

6.5
  Cepstral Peak Prominence ......................................................................................... 177

6.5.1
  CPP – consonant results .......................................................................................... 178

6.5.2
  CPP – vowel results ................................................................................................ 187

6.5.3
  CPP recap ................................................................................................................ 194

7
  An overview of all results ................................................................................................. 196

8
  Discussion ......................................................................................................................... 200

8.1
  The present results in relation to previous findings ................................................... 202

8.2
  Trading relations ........................................................................................................ 204

8.3
  Gender differences ..................................................................................................... 213

8.4
  Sonorants and obstruents ........................................................................................... 225

9
  Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 234

References ............................................................................................................................... 237

Appendix A – Demographic Data ........................................................................................... 244

Appendix B – Wordlist ........................................................................................................... 246

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List of Figures
Figure 1
  The Glottal Continuum ........................................................................................ 16

Figure 2
  Illustration of breathy voiced obstruent: waveform and spectrogram of the word
[bʱat], ‘rice’ .......................................................................................................... 18

Figure 3
  Sample waveforms of four stop-types in Marathi ................................................ 20

Figure 4
  Illustration of NOT beginning and endpoints in [khas], ‘special’ ........................ 27

Figure 5
  Measurement of ACT in [pʰaʈa], ‘fork (in the road)’ .......................................... 28

Figure 6
  Clear ACT, missing ACT: two waveforms of the [bʱ] in [bʱat], ‘rice’ ................ 31

Figure 7
  Waveform and spectrogram of [bʱat], ‘rice’ ........................................................ 32

Figure 8
  Waveform and spectrograms of modal and breathy voiced stops ....................... 40

Figure 9
  Illustration of H1, H2, A1, A2, and A3 on spectra generated from the modal and
breathy voice sources shown in Figure 8 ............................................................. 41

Figure 10
  Illustration of CPP measures from modal and breathy voiced tokens ................. 54

Figure 11
  Marathi consonant chart ....................................................................................... 59

Figure 12
  Marathi consonants recorded in the present study ............................................... 63

Figure 13
  Full syllable duration (consonant, PVI, vowel) by phonation type, obstruency, and
voicing .................................................................................................................. 74

Figure 14
  Consonant duration by obstruency, voice, and phonation type ........................... 77

Figure 15
  Duration of sonorants and voiced obstruents in word-initial position ................. 79

Figure 16
  Medial consonant durations by obstruency, voice, phonation type, and place of
articulation ........................................................................................................... 80

Figure 17
  PVI durations by obstruency, voice, breath, and place of articulation ................ 82

Figure 18
  PVI durations by obstruency, voice, breath, and vowel context .......................... 84

Figure 19
  Time course of F0 (in Hz) in voiced consonants ................................................. 92

Figure 20
  Time course of F0 across voiced consonants by vowel context – male data ....... 94

Figure 21
  Time course of F0 across voiced consonants by word position ........................... 95

Figure 22
  Time course of F0 across vowels after voiced consonants by obstruency and
phonation type ...................................................................................................... 98

Figure 23
  Time course of F0 across vowels after obstruents by voice (post hoc) ............... 99

Figure 24
  Time course of F0 across [a] and [e] (post hoc) ................................................ 102

Figure 25
  Time course of F0 across vowels by word position (post hoc) .......................... 104

Figure 26
  Time course of H1-H2c across sonorants by phonation type and gender .......... 109

Figure 27
  Time course of H1-H2c across sonorants by breath, place, and gender ............ 111

Figure 28
  Time course of H1-H2c across sonorants by phonation type and word position113

Figure 29
  H1-H2c across syllables by gender (sonorant data only) ................................... 115

Figure 30
  H1-H2c across vowels after voiced segments by phonation type and obstruency116

Figure 31
  H1-H2c across vowels after obstruents by voice – male data ........................... 118

Figure 32
  H1-H2c across [a] and [e] by phonation type and obstruency ........................... 121

Figure 33
  H1-H2c across vowels after voiced segments by phonation type, obstruency, and
word position ..................................................................................................... 124

Figure 34
  H1-A1c values across sonorants by gender ....................................................... 129

Figure 35
  H1-A1c of sonorants by phonation type and place of articulation .................... 130

Figure 36
  H1-A1c values across sonorants by breath, vowel context, and gender ............ 132

Figure 37
  H1-A1c across syllables by gender (sonorant data only) ................................... 134

Figure 38
  H1-A1c in vowels after obstruents by phonation type and voice ...................... 135

Figure 39
  H1-A1c in vowels after voiced consonants by obstruency and breath .............. 137

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Figure 40
  H1-A1c in vowels after voiced consonants by phonation type and obstruency –
female data, with error bars ............................................................................... 138

Figure 41
  H1-A1c in [a] and [e] after voiced consonants by phonation type, obstruency, and
gender ................................................................................................................. 141

Figure 42
  H1- A1c after voiced consonants by breath, obstruency, and word position .... 143

Figure 43
  H1-A2c across sonorants by consonant phonation type and gender .................. 149

Figure 44
  H1-A2c across sonorants by consonant phonation type and vowel context ...... 151

Figure 45
  H1-A2c across syllables by gender (sonorant data only) ................................... 152

Figure 46
  H1-A2c across vowels after obstruents by consonant phonation type and voice154

Figure 47
  H1-A2c across vowels after voiced segments by consonant phonation type and
obstruency .......................................................................................................... 155

Figure 48
  H1-A2c across [a] and [e] following voiced segments by consonant phonation type
and gender .......................................................................................................... 157

Figure 49
  H1-A2c values across vowels following voiced segments by consonant phonation
type, word position, and gender ......................................................................... 158

Figure 50
  H1-A3c across sonorants by phonation type and gender ................................... 165

Figure 51
  H1-A3c values across sonorants by phonation type, place of articulation, and vowel
context ................................................................................................................ 166

Figure 52
  H1-A3c across syllables by gender (sonorant data only) ................................... 169

Figure 53
  H1-A3c across vowels after obstruents by consonant phonation type and voice170

Figure 54
  H1-A3c across vowels after voiced segments by consonant phonation type and
obstruency .......................................................................................................... 172

Figure 55
  H1-A3c values in vowels after voiced segments by consonant phonation type and
word position ..................................................................................................... 173

Figure 56
  H1-A3c in vowels after voiced segments by consonant phonation type, vowel
context, and gender ............................................................................................ 174

Figure 57
  Time course of CPP across voiced segments by phonation type and obstruency178

Figure 58
  Time course of CPP across voiced obstruents ................................................... 180

Figure 59
  Time course of CPP across sonorants by phonation type and gender ............... 181

Figure 60
  CPP across sonorants ~ vowel context and word position (female data) .......... 183

Figure 61
  CPP across sonorants by phonation type and place of articulation (female data)185

Figure 62
  CPP across full syllables by obstruency ............................................................ 187

Figure 63
  CPP in vowels after obstruents by breath, voice, and gender ............................ 188

Figure 64
  CPP in vowels after voiced consonants by breath, obstruency, and gender ...... 190

Figure 65
  CPP across vowels after voiced consonants ~ vowel contexts .......................... 191

Figure 66
  CPP across vowels after voiced consonants ~ word positions .......................... 193

Figure 67
  F0 across syllables by gender, phonation type, and obstruency ........................ 216

Figure 68
  H1-H2c across syllables by gender (sonorant data only) ................................... 217

Figure 69
  H1-A1c across syllables by gender (sonorant data only) ................................... 218

Figure 70
  CPP across syllables by gender and obstruency ................................................ 219
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