Phonetic preliminaries

By way of phonetic background to understanding certain features, two phonetic points need to be clarified. First, some features are characterized in terms of the “neutral position,” which is a configuration that the vocal tract is assumed to have immediately prior to speaking. The neutral position, approximately that of the vowel [ε], defines relative movement of the tongue.

Second, you need to know a bit about how the vocal folds vibrate, since some feature definitions relate to the effect on vocal fold vibration (important because it provides most of the sound energy of speech). The vocal folds vibrate when there is enough air pressure below the glottis (the opening between the vocal folds) to force the vocal folds apart. This opening reduces subglottal pressure, which allows the folds to close, and this allows air pressure to rebuild to the critical level where the vocal folds are blown apart again. The critical factor that causes the folds to open is that the pressure below the vocal folds is higher than the pressure above.

Air flows from the lungs at a roughly constant rate. Whether there is enough drop in pressure for air to force the vocal folds open is thus determined by the positioning and tension of the vocal folds (how hard it is to force them apart), and the pressure above the glottis. The pressure above the glottis depends on how effectively pressure buildup can be relieved, and this is determined by the degree of constriction in the vocal tract. In short, the configuration of the vocal folds, and the degree and location of constriction above the glottis almost exclusively determine whether there will be voicing.

If the pressure above and below the glottis is nearly equal, air stops flowing and voicing is blocked. So if the vocal tract is completely obstructed (as for the production of a voiceless stop like [k]), air flowing through the glottis rapidly equalizes the pressure below and above the glottis, which stops voicing. On the other hand, if the obstruction in the vocal tract is negligible (as it is in the vowel [a]), the pressure differential needed for voicing is easily maintained, since air passing through the glottis is quickly vented from the vocal tract.

A voiced stop such as [g] is possible, even though it involves a total obstruction of the vocal tract analogous to that found in [k], because it takes time for pressure to build up in the oral cavity to the point that voicing ceases. Production of [g] involves ancillary actions to maintain voicing. The pharynx may be widened, which gives the air more room to escape, delaying the buildup of pressure. The larynx may be lowered, which also increases the volume of the oral cavity; the closure for the stop may be weakened slightly, allowing tiny amounts of air to flow through; the velum may be raised somewhat to increase the size of the air cavity, or it may be lowered somewhat to allow small (usually imperceptible) amounts of air to pass through the nose. The duration of the consonant can be reduced – generally, voiced stops are phonetically shorter than corresponding voiceless stops.

Certain sounds such as vowels lack a radical constriction in the vocal tract, so it is quite easy to maintain voicing during such sounds, whereas with other sounds, specifically obstruents, voicing is difficult to maintain. Some accounts of this distinction, especially that of Chomsky and Halle (1968), refer to “spontaneous voicing,” which is grounded on the assumption that voicing occurs automatically simply by positioning the vocal folds in what we might call the “default” position. For sounds that involve a significant obstruction of the vocal tract, special actions are required for voicing. The features [sonorant] and [consonantal] directly relate to the obstruction in the vocal tract, which determines whether the vocal folds vibrate spontaneously.