Stroboscopic-cine MRI study of the phasing between the tongue and the larynx in the Korean three-way phonation contrast

The purpose of the present study was to explore the movements of the tongue and the larynx as well as the state of glottal opening during the production of the Korean consonants /t, th, t', ts, tsh, ts'/. Values of displacement for the tongue and vertical larynx movements as well as glottal opening were obtained from midsagittal and transverse data of two native speakers and coronal data from one of the two speakers in our stroboscopic-cine MRI experiments. The results of our MRI data showed two independent systematic patterns involving-(a) concomitant tongue and larynx movements and (b) glottal opening-in achieving the same goal of producing the three-way phonation contrast in these consonants. These findings provide substantive evidence for motor coordination of the tongue and the larynx. Based on the results of our MRI experiments, we discuss further theoretical implications for the representation of these Korean consonants as well as for the place of articulation of Korean affricates.