Comparative Analysis of Acoustic Parameters of Soft Bilabial and Velar Plosives of Eastern and Western Bulgarian Type
Comparative Analysis of Acoustic Parameters of Soft Bilabial and Velar Plosives of Eastern and Western Bulgarian Type

Summary/Abstract: The main goal of this pilot study is to verify, using acoustic measurements, a probable difference in soft consonants between East and West Bulgarian types of articulation. The analyses are based on measurements of four acoustic parameters – consonant duration, F2 transition duration, F2 onset (Hz), and F2 offset (Hz). The comparison is made between velar /k, g/ and bilabial /b, p/ soft plosives with East and West articulation types in CjVC(S) isolated syllables. The results provide evidence that consonant duration is notably different between voiced and voiceless soft consonants, either velar or bilabial, in the western and eastern types of articulation; the median values of consonant duration also proved to be longer in the eastern-type soft plosives compared to the shorter duration of the western soft plosives. The F2 transition duration of [bj] and [pj] in both types of articulation correlates with the consonant duration – the longer the consonant, the shorter the F2 transition, and vice versa. The experiment also shows evidence of falling transitions following both eastern and western soft velar and bilabial plosives. Although not all parameter measurements show a clear difference between the eastern and western type of articulation, the results are sufficient to indicate important features of the soft consonants studied.

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