An aerodynamic study of aspirated and unaspirated consonants in Mongolian

Abstract

The difference between aspirated and unaspirated consonants in Mongolian is usually interpreted as being strong or weak. It is generally believed that the airflow of unaspirated [p] [t] [k] is stronger than that of aspirated [ph] [th] [kh]. With the help of experimental phonetics methods, the article has got such acoustic parameters as over-glottal pressure and airflow amount of Mongolian stops and affricates. Through the comparative analysis, the article holds that the difference between aspiration and unaspiration in Mongolian consonants lies not only in the different amount and pressure of the airflow in obstruction release, but also the time differences in the very release.