Perceptual Cues to Voicing in Japanese

Differences in Cue Weighting for Singletons and Geminates

Abstract

Avoidance of voiced geminates is normally attributed to difficulties in speech production and perception. However, few studies have examined which acoustic correlates are responsible for perception of the voicing contrast in geminates. This study examines whether seven acoustic correlates (duration of preceding vowel (V₁), closure duration, presence/absence of closure voicing, duration of release burst, duration of following vowel (V₂), F0 of V₂, and F1 of V₂), which are assumed to be perceptual cues to voicing in singletons, are also responsible for perception of the voicing contrast in geminates. A perceptual experiment revealed that although the seven cues are indeed significant in singletons, closure duration and duration of the release burst are not significant in geminates. Closure voicing is the strongest cue both in singletons and geminates; however, its relative importance was greater in geminates than in singletons. These results suggest that cue weighting on perception of the voicing contrast is different for singletons and geminates.