phonations, we need in turn to better understand the information provided by EGG signals: how do EGG pulse landmarks and EGG pulse shapes relate to each other and to the perception of phonation? In this connection, we will follow Mooshammer (2010) in applying Functional Data Analysis to EGG pulse shapes, and we will relate the components of the shapes obtained in this way to other EGG measures, as well as to perception. Thus our secondary goal is to contribute to the understanding of EGG measures of phonation type. II. BACKGROUND A. Languages Southern Yi, Bo, and Hani are Yi (also called Loloish) languages in the Tibeto-Burman family of the Sino-Tibetan phylum. The to both the whole Yi (Loloish) name “Yi” refers branch of languages and the Yi language, because it has the largest population in this language family branch. The Yi language branch includes perhaps fifty languages, geographically distributed in Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou provinces of China, and spoken by more than six million people (Ethnologue, 2012). Yi languages typically have a CV syllable structure, a seven-vowel system, a three-tone system (low, mid and high, noted as 21, 33 and 55), and two phonation registers: tense vs. lax. B. Production of phonation types The four types of non-modal phonations referred to in the previous section (breathy, creaky, lax and tense - ref. Figure 1) are defined with respect to modal phonation. In modal phonation, the vocal folds vibrate along their entire lengths, often with full closure,
phonations, we need in turn to better understand the information provided by EGG signals: how do EGG pulse landmarks and EGG pulse shapes relate to each other and to the perception of phonation? In this connection, we will follow Mooshammer (2010) in applying Functional Data Analysis to EGG pulse shapes, and we will relate the components of the shapes obtained in this way to other EGG measures, as well as to perception. Thus our secondary goal is to contribute to the understanding of EGG measures of phonation type. II. BACKGROUND A. Languages Southern Yi, Bo, and Hani are Yi (also called Loloish) languages in the Tibeto-Burman family of the Sino-Tibetan phylum. The name “Yi” refers to both the whole Yi (Loloish) branch of languages and the Yi language, because it has the largest population in this language family branch. The Yi language branch includes perhaps fifty languages, geographically distributed in Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou provinces of China, and spoken by more than six million people (Ethnologue, 2012). Yi languages typically have a CV syllable structure, a seven-vowel system, a three-tone system (low, mid and high, noted as 21, 33 and 55), and two phonation registers: tense vs. lax. B. Production of phonation types The four types of non-modal phonations referred to in the previous section (breathy, creaky, lax and tense - ref. Figure 1) are defined with respect to modal phonation. In modal phonation, the vocal folds vibrate along their entire lengths, often with full closure,