21.1272, Qs: Empirical Studies of the Effective Second Formant

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LINGUIST List: Vol-21-1272. Mon Mar 15 2010. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 21.1272, Qs: Empirical Studies of the Effective Second Formant

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1)
Date: 14-Mar-2010
From: Roy Becker-Kristal < roybecker at humnet.ucla.edu >
Subject: Empirical Studies of the Effective Second Formant
 

	
-------------------------Message 1 ---------------------------------- 
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:12:37
From: Roy Becker-Kristal [roybecker at humnet.ucla.edu]
Subject: Empirical Studies of the Effective Second Formant

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The effective second formant (F2', a perceptual correlate of F2, which, 
in front vowels, is influenced by F3 and possibly by F4) has been a 
known concept for decades. To my knowledge there are at least as 
many modeling studies for F2' (approximation of F2' based on vowel 
formant frequencies) as there are empirical studies (matching studies 
where subjects adjust F2 in a 2-formant vowel to match a multi-formant 
stimulus). I happen to be familiar with empirical F2' studies with 
speakers of only four languages: Swedish, French, Estonian and 
Latvian. I failed to find additional studies. 

>From these studies, it seems that language background affects F2': in 
the first three languages, where /i/ contrasts with /y/, F2' for /i/ is above 
F3, whereas in the latter, where there is no /y/, F2' is more 
'conservative,' somewhat below F3. This implies that more empirical 
cross-linguistic data on F2' are necessary in order to factor out L1-
confounds, if a valid approximation of "F2' baseline" is desirable.

Are people familiar with such studies with speakers of other 
languages? References and/or papers are welcome. Of course, I will 
post a summary of responses.

Thanks,
Roy Becker-Kristal
UCLA Linguistics 

Linguistic Field(s): Phonetics




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