Voice onset time and the realization of voiced stops in Kwak'wala

Although it has traditionally been described as contrasting ejective, voiceless aspirated, and voiced series of stops, there are no previous instrumental phonetic analyses of stop and affricate realizations in Kwak'wala. This study examines voice onset time in a single native speaker. VOT, the timing between the release of stop consonant closure and the onset of periodic voicing, has proven to be a reliable way of characterizing laryngeal state in the production of stops and affricates. In addition to providing a descriptive account, this study addresses several issues of broad phonetic interest, including the effects of context on VOT. Results also suggest that the realization of Kwak'wala voiced stops is more complex than previously thought: word-initial voiced stops tend to be produced without voicing, while intervocalic ones range from fully voiced to voiceless. This suggests a similar realization of stop voicing to English, which is characterized by an adduction of the vocal folds without mandatory vocal fold vibration. Data from more speakers is necessary to say whether this is typical across speakers, or the result of language transfer or obsolescence effects.