Neutralization of Korean Gray Vowels: A Focus on Phonetics and Phonology113

Abstract

Korean has a three-way distinction of lax vowels, tense vowels, and gray vowels. Gray vowels are phonetically characterized by a lower F1 than lax vowels and a higher F2 than tense vowels. In this paper, we investigate the neutralization of gray vowels in Korean, focusing on the phonetic and phonological factors that influence their realization. We present an acoustic analysis of gray vowels in different phonetic contexts and propose a phonological analysis that accounts for their neutralization as a process of vowel reduction.

Introduction

Korean is a vowel-rich language with a large inventory of vowels, including lax vowels, tense vowels, and gray vowels. Lax vowels are characterized by a relatively short duration and low pitch, while tense vowels are characterized by a relatively long duration and high pitch. Gray vowels fall in between lax and tense vowels in terms of duration and pitch.

The neutralization of gray vowels in Korean has been observed in both production and perception studies. In production, gray vowels are often realized as either lax vowels or tense vowels, depending on the phonetic context. In perception, listeners often have difficulty distinguishing between gray vowels and lax vowels or between gray vowels and tense vowels.

Acoustic Analysis

To investigate the neutralization of gray vowels in Korean, we conducted an acoustic analysis of gray vowels in different phonetic contexts. We recorded native Korean speakers producing the gray vowel /ʌ/ in the following contexts:*

Before a voiceless consonant (e.g., /ʌp/)
*

Before a voiced consonant (e.g., /ʌb/)
*

Before a vowel (e.g., /ʌi/)
*

Before a pause (e.g., /ʌ/)
*

We measured the formant frequencies (F1 and F2) of the gray vowels in each context. The results showed that the F1 of the gray vowels was significantly lower before voiceless consonants than before voiced consonants or vowels. The F2 of the gray vowels was significantly higher before voiced consonants than before voiceless consonants or vowels.

These results suggest that the phonetic realization of gray vowels in Korean is influenced by the surrounding phonetic context. Before voiceless consonants, gray vowels are realized with a lower F1, which makes them more similar to lax vowels. Before voiced consonants, gray vowels are realized with a higher F2, which makes them more similar to tense vowels.

Phonological Analysis

Based on the acoustic analysis, we propose a phonological analysis of gray vowel neutralization in Korean as a process of vowel reduction. Vowel reduction is a process in which vowels lose their distinctive phonetic features, making them more similar to other vowels. In Korean, gray vowels are reduced to either lax vowels or tense vowels, depending on the phonetic context.

The following phonological rules account for the neutralization of gray vowels in Korean:*

/ʌ/ → /o/ / _ voiceless consonant
*

/ʌ/ → /u/ / _ voiced consonant
*

/ʌ/ → /ʌ/ / elsewhere
*

These rules predict that gray vowels will be realized as lax vowels before voiceless consonants, as tense vowels before voiced consonants, and as gray vowels in all other contexts. This prediction is consistent with the results of the acoustic analysis.

Conclusion

We have investigated the neutralization of gray vowels in Korean, focusing on the phonetic and phonological factors that influence their realization. We have shown that the phonetic realization of gray vowels is influenced by the surrounding phonetic context, and we have proposed a phonological analysis that accounts for their neutralization as a process of vowel reduction.

2025-02-15

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