Abstract
This study investigates the durational characteristics of three types of word-initial Korean plosives (fortis, lenis, aspirated), with a focus on the correlations between Closure duration (CD), Voice onset time (VOT), and the following vowel. Read speech of 15 native Korean speakers was recorded. The results show that (1) the VOT of aspirated plosives is as short as that of lenis plosives (even shorter in the case of velars), (2) CD plays a more important role in distinguishing Korean plosives than VOT, and (3) the durations of CD and VOT are dependent on one another in a complementary relationship. (4) In general, plosive duration influences vowel length (the longer the plosive, the shorter the vowel); particularly, (5) VOT is closely correlated with vowel length across place and manner of articulation. In sum, CD and VOT of Korean plosives influence each other and partially also the duration of the following vowel.
Choi, Yeongeun