A cross-linguistic acoustic study of fricatives

Abstract

This work presents results of an acoustic study of fricatives in 7 languages (Aleut, Chickasaw, Hupa, Montana Salish, Scottish Gaelic, Toda, and Western Apache), all of which contrast fricatives made at several places of articulation. Measurements of the frequency of spectral peaks and centroid frequencies indicate many similarities between the languages in the acoustic properties defining the fricatives. Some of the principal findings are the following. Alveolar sibilants typically have the highest spectral peak and centroid frequency. Lateral and palatoalveolar fricatives have spectral peaks and centroids intermediate in frequency between alveolar sibilants and backer fricatives. Among the back fricatives, peaks and centroids of uvulars are characteristically lower than those of velars. Rounding of back fricatives induces further lowering of peaks and/or centroids. Contrasts in backness and rounding among the back fricatives are also associated with differences in F2 of the following vowels: F2 values are lower following uvulars than velars, and lower following rounded than unrounded fricatives. Labiodental fricatives typically have flat spectra with poorly defined spectral peaks. Finally, the contrast between lateral fricatives and palatoalveolar sibilants is variably realized, depending on language and speaker, as a difference in the location of spectral peaks and/or centroid frequency.