Fundamental frequency as a cue to postvocalic consonant voicing in production: Developmental data

Several studies by Lehiste have indicated that fundamental frequency (F0) contour affects perception of vowel length and of postvocalic consonant voicing; however, recent evidence from speech production showed no such relationship between F0 contour and voicing of postvocalic consonants [T. M. Gruenenfelder, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Suppl. 1 65, S8(A) (1979)]. The present study was designed to investigate F0 contours in relation to postvocalic consonant voicing in speech production from a developmental perspective. The experimental stimuli consisted of three minimal word pairs, which differed in the voicing feature of the postvocalic stop consonant. Subjects. as young as three years of age and with normal language and articulation skills and normal heating sensitivity, named the stimuli in single word productions. The F0 at the start of the vowel (F0s), F0 at the end of the vowel (F0e), and the change in F0 (ΔF0 = F0s − F0e) were calculated for each trial of all six stimuli for each speaker. Findings will be discussed with regard to the voicing feature of the postvocalic consonant, the minimal word pairs studied, and subject age. [Work supported by NIH.]