Temporal properties of the nasals and nasalization in Cantonese

This paper is an investigation of the temporal properties of the nasals and vowel nasalization in Cantonese by analyzing synchronized nasal and oral airflows. The nasal airflow volume for the vowels in both oral and nasal contexts and for the syllable-final nasals Z,l+ ,m+ ,M\ were also obtained. Results show that (i) the vowel duration in the (C)VN syllables is negatively correlated with the duration for the following nasals Z,l+ ,m+ ,M\; (ii) the vowel duration in the (C)VN syllables is positively correlated with the duration of nasalization; (iii) the vowel duration in the (C)VN syllables is positively correlated with the nasal airflow volume for the vowel and for the nasalized portion; (iv) the degree of nasalization is inversely correlated with the tongue height of the vowel; and (v) the nasal duration is positively correlated with the total nasal airflow volume for the nasals.