Articulatory and spectral characteristics of Cantonese vowels

The paper investigates the articulatory and spectral characteristics of the two sets of Cantonese vowels, the long [i: y: u: ε: œ: ⊐: a:] and medium-long [i y u ε œ ⊐ a], using EMA AG500 and CSL4500. Results show the acoustic consequences of up-down and front-back displacements in linguo-palatal constriction are non-linear, as what the quantal theory claims. Moderate displacements in constriction location and constriction size bring about large spectral changes. The level of sensitivity of formant frequencies to variations in articulation is lower in the high point vowels than the non-point vowels, indicating the quantal nature of the high point vowels in Cantonese. In general, for the point and non-point vowels in Cantonese, the variations in formant frequencies in relation to both variations of constriction location and constriction size are similar, which differ from the articulatory-acoustic relations in the English vowels where formant frequencies are relatively more sensitive to variations in constriction size than to constriction location.