The Weishan Yi language belongs to the western dialect of the Yi language,and it has contrastive lax and tense vowels.Tone plays an important role in the distinction of the lax and tense vowels in Weishan Yi language,as the distinction between the two kinds of vowels is only observed in syllables with the mid-level tone(33)and the low-falling tone(21).This study studies the lax and tense vowels in Weishan Yi language by examining acoustic parameters such as fundamental frequency,open quotient,and speed quotient.The fundamental frequency reflects the speed of vocal fold vibrations,while open quotient and speed quotient are indicative of the openness or closure of vocal folds.Based on the analysis of these parameters,it is found that the phonetic basis of lax and tense vowels in Weishan Yi language is changing.Speakers of different age groups employ different strategies in distinguishing lax vowels and their tense counterpart.Older speakers tend to use different types of vocal fold features(open quotient and speed quotient)to distinguish lax and tense vowels,while younger male speakers tend to cue in fundamental frequency to distinguish the two.Younger female speakers also start to use fundamental frequency for differentiation.
维普
万方数据