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labial-velar stops is shorter than that of labials or velars. For Ibibio, the VOT of labial-
velar stops is actually negative. A preliminary investigation indicates that this pattern is
found in Mono as well. I examined six tokens each of word-initial , F, and F F F F from
Speaker K. I measured the interval from the release burst to the onset of voicing. For
and F, the release burst precedes the onset of voicing, and so by convention VOT is
positive. For F F, F F the onset of voicing precedes the release burst, and so VOT is negative.
An example of a positive VOT in which the release burst precedes the onset of
voicing is in Figure 8.26, which shows a spectrogram of the word =(@=( =(@=( =(@=( =(@=( ‘oil’. The period
from the release burst to the onset of voicing is indicated by the arrows.
Figure 8.26: Waveform and spectrogram of the word =(@=( =(@=( =(@=( =(@=( ‘oil’ (Speaker K).
An example of a negative VOT in which the onset of voicing precedes the release
burst is in Figure 8.27, which shows a spectrogram of the word F F F F ‘big hoe’. The
period from the onset of voicing to the release burst is indicated by the arrows.
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