Fundamental frequency as an acoustic correlate of stop consonant voicing

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Abstract
Fundamental frequency (FO) and voice onset time (VOT) were measured in utterances containing voiceless aspirated /ph,th,kh/, voiceless unaspirated /sp,st,sk/, and voiced /b,d,g/ stop consonants. Although VOT was very similar for voiceless unaspirated and voiced stops, FO contours were nearly identical for voiceless unaspirated and voiceless aspirated stops, and both types of voiceless stops were associated with significantly higher FO values than were voiced stops. The FO contours in all contexts were generally falling; the data do not support a simple rise-fall dichotomy in FO at voicing onset as an invariant acoustic correlate of the voicing feature. The variations in FO as a function of voicing appear to be best accounted for by vocal cord tension rather than aerodynamic influences. The results are consistent with physiological data showing that the position of the hyoid bone and the height of the larynx influence the absolute value of FO.

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