Aerodynamic and durational cues of phonological voicing in whisper

This paper presents analyses on the phonological voicing contrast in whispered speech, which is characterized by the absence of vocal fold vibrations. In modal speech, besides glottal vibration, the contrast between voiced and unvoiced consonants is realized by other phonetic correlates: e.g. consonant and pre-consonantal vowel durations, intraoral pressure differences. The analysis of these voicing cues shows they are well preserved in whispered speech. The results are consistent with previous studies supporting the perception of the voicing contrast even without physical voicing. Additionally, the patterns observed for Po during obstruents could reflect constraints connected to competing needs of intelligibility and of discretion in whisper.