Consonant Types or Something Else: How to Classify the Stops in Wu and Korean in a Framework of Phonation Types?
Xiaonong Zhu · Bulletin of Chinese Linguistics · 2011
The measure of voice onset time (VOT) is far from sufficient for consonant classification, especially when we encounter stops in hundreds of Asian languages such as Korean and Wu Chinese. As a matter of fact, this is not a problem of consonants, but a problem of phonation types. In order to classify a dozen or so consonant types (not just three, as determined by VOT), we developed a phonation-mode system containing six types and thirteen sub-types. Moreover, in the perspective of this system the world's languages can be divided into two categories: 'cool' and 'hot'.