Understanding voice quality variation by attending to multiple phonetic dimensions: The rise of creaky voice in California

While many phonological variables can be captured by single acoustic correlates, others must be described along several dimensions. This paper examines multiple properties of creaky voice to facilitate an understanding of phonatory variation. We evaluate the ideology that creak is most prevalent among young women using replicable, automated methods on a large, socially diverse sample. We take three approaches to quantifying creak: binary classification, measures of glottal constriction, and periodicity. Results indicate that creak originates in phrase-final position and spreads to earlier positions characterized by high glottal constriction, regardless of gender. Gender differences arise phrase-finally, where young men (like women) are less periodic but show decreased glottal constriction (in contrast to women). Overall, even though young women creak the most, young men and older women produce comparable degrees of glottal constriction. Each approach is differently informative, and analyses that rely on just one could yield partial understandings.