Variability of less-noise consonants of the Plautdietsch language according to the parameter of voice participation

This article presents an experimental phonetic study of less-noise consonants (sonorants) in the Siberian variety of the Plautdietsch language, focusing on their variability regarding voicing. While these phonemes are traditionally classified as purely voiced, their actual realizations in this dialect demonstrate systematic deviations toward voicelessness. Utilizing distributive and instrumental methods, the study analyzes audio recordings from 13 native speakers in Neudachino (Novosibirsk Region), drawing from a corpus of 15,000 word tokens and 75,000 consonant realizations. The research identifies nine less-noise consonant phonemes: /m/, /r/, /r'/, /l/, /l'/, /n/, /n'/, /j/, and /ŋ/. Analysis reveals that none of these phonemes are realized as categorically voiced or voiceless. Rather, they exhibit a ratio of voiced to voiceless components, determined by positional and combinatorial factors. Intervocalic positions are characterized by the most stable voiced realizations across all phonemes. In contrast, in word-initial positions, most less-noise consonants show a predominance of voiced components, with the exception of /r/ and /r'/, which retain a high proportion of devoiced or damped segments. In preconsonantal positions, especially preceding voiceless obstruents, the share of voiceless components increases, while palatalized phonemes demonstrate greater stability of voicing components. Finally, the most consistent pattern occurs in word-final postvocalic positions, where all less-noise consonants undergo lengthening accompanied by a significant increase in voiceless or damped acoustic components.

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