A preliminary study of the effects of lexical tone and aspiration on articulatory : contact pressure associated with Cantonese plosives

Abstract

The current study investigated the relationship between Cantonese plosives and articulatory contact pressure. In particular, how lexical tone and aspiration may affect articulatory contact pressure in plosive production was examined. CV syllables formed by the unaspirated and aspirated bilabial and alveolar stops followed by the vowel /a/ produced at the six different Cantonese tones were obtained from thirty adult native Cantonese speakers. During the experiment, bilabial and alveolar contact pressure values were measured by using a pressure measuring system. Data revealed that both bilabial and alveolar contact pressures were significantly higher in unaspirated bilabial plosives. These findings are in line with the previous studies based on English voiced and voiceless bilabial stops. Yet, mean alveolar contact pressure was significantly higher for syllables of higher tone (Tones 1 - 3), but lower for syllables of lower tone (Tones 4 -6).