Interaction between Pitch Accent and Segment in North Kyeongsang Korean

Abstract

This paper examines the interaction between pitch accent and segment in North Kyeongsang Korean with respect to F0 peak scaling and alignment. In this study, F0 and time were measured at each segment of four-syllable phrases as well as the F0 peak of the phrase, and then the relative placement of the F0 peak was examined against the segmental environment. This study reveals that F0 peak is consistently delayed in this language such that the peak comes after the accented syllable offset. It also shows that the F0 peak is realized in a constant distance from the accented syllable offset so that as the syllable duration gets longer, the peak moves farther away from the syllable onset. Intrinsic F0 scaling is observed as well such that high vowels have a higher F0 than low vowels.