Generational changes in the acoustic properties of word-initial stops in the North Gyeongsang dialect*

Changes in the acoustic properties of Korean word-initial stops have been studied primarily in the Seoul dialect. However, some studies have revealed that similar changes are also occurring in the Gyeongsang dialect. Specifically, as in the Seoul dialect, younger speakers tend to exhibit a smaller voice onset time (VOT) difference between lenis and aspirated stops, while the F0 difference depending on the type of stop tends to increase. Nevertheless, the specific process of this change has not yet been sufficiently examined. This study aims to investigate how the acoustic properties of word-initial stops in the North Gyeongsang dialect have changed across generations by analyzing speakers from successive generations born between the 1950s and the 2000s. The results show that VOT values for lenis stops increase in younger generations, leading to a gradual convergence between the VOT of lenis and aspirated stops. In addition, younger speakers exhibit lower F0 values for lenis stops, and the differences in F0 across tonal categories are also reduced. Furthermore, this study identified the period when these changes in VOT and F0 began, and examined the specific process through which the acoustic properties of word-initial stops in the North Gyeongsang dialect have progressed.