Quantification of Tenseness in English and Japanese Tense-Lax Vowels: A Lagrangian Model with Indicator θ1 and Force of Tenseness Ftense(t)
Tatsuya Ishizaki
March 2025 

The concept of vowel tenseness has traditionally been examined through the binary distinction of tense and lax vowels. However, no universally accepted quantitative definition of tenseness has been established in any language. Previous studies, including those by Jakobson, Fant, and Halle (1951) and Chomsky and Halle (1968), have explored the relationship between vowel tenseness and the vocal tract. Building on these foundations, Ishizaki (2019, 2022) proposed an indirect quantification of vowel tenseness using formant angles (θ₁ and θF₁) and their first and second derivatives, dZ₁(t)/dt = lim tan θ₁(t) and d²Z₁(t)/dt² = d/dt lim tan θ₁(t). This study extends this approach by investigating the potential role of a force-related parameter in determining vowel quality. Specifically, we introduce a simplified model based on the Lagrangian equation to describe the dynamic interaction of the tongue and jaw within the oral cavity during the articulation of close vowels. This model provides a theoretical framework for estimating the forces involved in vowel production across different languages, offering new insights into the physical mechanisms underlying vowel articulation. The findings suggest that this force-based perspective warrants further exploration as a key factor in phonetic and phonological studies. This paper has already been submitted to arXiv.

Format:	[ pdf ]
Reference:	lingbuzz/008860 (please use that when you cite this article)
Published in:	lingbuzz, arxiv, Journal of Utsunomiya Kyowa University
keywords:	english, tenseness, vowel, formant frequency, lagrangian, phonology
Downloaded:	38 times

 

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