Articulatory Features, Energy, and Sound Pressure of the Voiceless Stop Sounds in English

Abstract

This study aims at investigating the articulatory features of the voiceless stop sounds in American English by the measurement of their acoustic realizations. The following questions will be answered: 1- to what extent the phonetic positions of the phonemes of interest affect the articulatory manifestation? 2- what are the implications of energy measurements of these phonemes according to their phonetic positions? 3- what is the pattern of energy distribution of these phonemes? 4- what is the correlation between energy and sound pressure level in the production of these phonemes? The representing positions of the voiceless stops in American English were chosen and measured by the Computer speech lab (CSL). The study ended up with the following results: 1- The energy of these phonemes is high in general although they differ from each other in magnitude according to their phonetic positions. 2- The pressure of these phonemes is low in general. Their minimum pressure is negative. 3- The correlation between energy and sound pressure level of these phonemes is contrasting in the sense that the more energy the less pressure. The comparison between aspirated and unaspirated manifestation of these phonemes shows that aspiration is not a crucial factor in increasing their energy although its effect on increasing the maximum pressure is clear.