Syllable-onset acoustic properties associated with syllable-coda voicing

This study investigates durational and spectral variation in syllable-onset /l/s dependent on voicing in the coda. 1560 pairs of (C)lVC monosyllables differing in the voicing of the final stop were read by 4 British English speakers. Onset /l/ was longer before voiced than voiceless codas, and darker (for 3 speakers) as measured by F2 frequency and spectral centre of gravity. Differences due to other variables (lexical status, isolation/carrier context, syllable onset, vowel quality and regional accent) are outlined. It is proposed that coda voicing is a feature associated with the whole syllable, phonetically implemented as a variety of properties spread throughout the syllabic domain. Implications for word recognition are outlined.