What is the most important acoustic cue that distinguishes between an unreleased final /p/ and an unreleased final /b/?

What is the most important acoustic cue that distinguishes between an unreleased final /p/ and an unreleased final /b/?

• A. Locus frequency of burst
• B. Voice onset time
• C. Vocal fundamental frequency
• D. Duration of the preceding vowel

Answer: (D)

The most important acoustic cue that distinguishes between an unreleased final /p/ and an unreleased final /b/ is the duration of the preceding vowel. In phonetics, the perception of voicing in stops is often influenced by the length of the vowel that comes before them. An unreleased final /b/ is typically preceded by a longer vowel compared to an unreleased final /p/. This difference in vowel duration provides listeners with crucial information about the voicing of the final stop, as longer vowels suggest a voiced consonant, while shorter vowels are associated with voiceless stops. By understanding this relationship, speech-language pathologists can better analyze and support clients with speech production difficulties, particularly in distinguishing between voiced and voiceless consonants in their speech. Other factors like voice onset time and locus frequency of burst are applicable in different contexts but are less significant in this specific scenario of unreleased stops.

The most important acoustic cue that distinguishes between an unreleased final /p/ and an unreleased final /b/ is the duration of the preceding vowel. In phonetics, the perception of voicing in stops is often influenced by the length of the vowel that comes before them. An unreleased final /b/ is typically preceded by a longer vowel compared to an unreleased final /p/. This difference in vowel duration provides listeners with crucial information about the voicing of the final stop, as longer vowels suggest a voiced consonant, while shorter vowels are associated with voiceless stops.

By understanding this relationship, speech-language pathologists can better analyze and support clients with speech production difficulties, particularly in distinguishing between voiced and voiceless consonants in their speech. Other factors like voice onset time and locus frequency of burst are applicable in different contexts but are less significant in this specific scenario of unreleased stops.