Acoustic correlates of anticipatory and progressive [ATR] harmony processes in Ethiopian Komo

In this study, we investigated the acoustic correlates of the [ATR] feature in Komo using recordings from twelve native speakers collected in the field. Our aims were to describe the acoustic signature of the feature, evaluate acoustic evidence for the claim that both assimilatory processes indeed involve [ATR] spreading, and explore individual variability in the realization of the feature. The results of linear mixed effects models indicated that, in both processes, [+ATR] vowels featured lower F1 values, less periodicity, and a relatively pronounced first harmonic. The anticipatory process was also cued by duration differences while the progressive harmony featured a partial difference in spectral slope. As for individual strategies, random forest analysis revealed a great deal of variability in the relative importance of different correlates. While F1 dominated many of the acoustic profiles, some speakers relied primarily on voice quality or duration to signal the feature.
Source: Journal of Phonetics - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: research