Vowel Devoicing in Khalkha Mongolian: Effects of Vowel Type and Phonological Environment

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Vowel devoicing is a common phenomenon across languages. Vowels can be devoiced in Khalkha Mongolian by the following aspirated consonant; aspiration is realized as preaspiration, rendering the preceding vowel breathy or devoiced. However, it is unknown under what conditions and how frequently vowel devoicing occurs in Mongolian. This study examined the relationship between vowel devoicing frequency and phonological conditions and analyzed how vowel devoicing can be interpreted in Mongolian. The production experiment and acoustic analysis revealed the following facts. Firstly, vowel devoicing in Mongolian does not occur consistently even when conditions are fulfilled, meaning that it is a redundant phenomenon motivated phonetically. Secondly, the consonant preceding a vowel affects vowel devoicing; vowels are even more frequently devoiced between two aspirated consonants compared to when the preceding consonant is unaspirated. Thirdly, fricatives also cause vowel devoicing in Mongolian, indicating that they can be regarded as aspirated, although the vowel devoicing rate is lower when the following consonant is a fricative than when it is an aspirated stop or affricate. Lastly, the frequency of devoicing varies depending on the vowel type; i is the most frequently devoiced and ɵ is the least frequently devoiced, probably because i is a high and unmarked vowel, while ɵ is a marked vowel in Mongolian. In addition, the low vowel a is also frequently devoiced, suggesting that high and low vowels can be devoiced based on different mechanisms.

Journal

  • 北方言語研究

    北方言語研究 14 51-63, 2024-03-20

    Japan Association of Northern Language Studies

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