The effect of word frequency on the timecourse of tonogenesis in Seoul Korean

Seoul Korean is currently undergoing a tonogenetic sound change wherein the traditional consonantal VOT cue has been replaced by the previously intrinsic f0 of the following vowel. This study makes use of a recently available apparent-time corpus of speech to examine how this change has unfolded across the lexicon. In particular, we examine the effect of word frequency to determine whether the origin of the change can be found in reduction of high frequency (presumably hypo-articulated) words, or enhancement of low frequency (presumably hyperarticulated) words. Our results suggest that tonogenesis in Seoul Korean originated in words with high frequency, indicating a likely reduction-driven sound change. Furthermore, we find a parallel change between VOT and f0 over time, which signals that the loss of the VOT contrast proceeds in tandem with the enhancement of the f0 contrast, largely consistent with theories of adaptive behaviour of sound change.