The laryngeal characterization of Korean fricatives: Stroboscopic cine-MRI data

As a follow-up study to our earlier work on Korean coronal stops (i.e., plosives and affricates) (Kim, Honda, & Maeda, 2005), the present study attempts to examine how the fortis and the non-fortis fricatives are laryngeally characterized in Korean and how the laryngeal characterization of the fricatives can be incorporated in terms of features. For these purposes, we conducted stroboscopic cine-MRI experiments and investigated glottal width, tongue (apex/blade) position, tongue apex-glottal phasing, glottal height and pharyngeal width during the production of the two types of fricatives. The results of our MRI data show that the non-fortis fricative has a much smaller glottal width than the aspirated stops /th, tsh/ at release onset position as well as during frication both word-initially and word-medially, being similar to the lenis coronal stops in glottal opening, and that aspiration noise occurs during transitions from a fricative to a vowel and from a vowel to a fricative, regardless of the phonation types of fricatives. It is also found that the laryngeal characteristics of the fricatives are captured by the coordination of the tongue and larynx movements with glottal opening as in the coronal stops. Based on the MRI findings, we propose that the non-fortis fricative is laryngeally characterized as lenis (/s/), not aspirated (/sh/) and that glottal opening and concomitant tongue/larynx movements are articulatory bases of the features [±spread glottis] and [±tense], respectively, in the fricatives as in the coronal stops. It is concluded that the lenis fricative is specified as [−spread glottis, −tense] and the fortis fricative as [−spread glottis, +tense] like lenis and fortis coronal stops.

► Stroboscopic cine-MRI experiments were conducted to investigate Korean fricatives. ► We examined glottal width and height, pharyngeal width, and tongue (apex/blade) position. ► Tongue apex-glottal phasing was also examined. ► MRI findings show that Korean has the lenis fricative (/s/), not aspirated (/sh/). ► The /s/ is specified as [−s.g., −tense] and the fortis (/sˈ/) as [−s.g., +tense].