A kinematic study of the labial and mandibular movements during production of Cantonese bilabial plosives

This study examined the possible effects of aspiration and vowel context on labial and mandibular gestures during production of Cantonese bilabial plosives /p/ and /p^h/. Thirty adult native Cantonese speakers were recruited in the study. Participants were asked to read aloud VCV sequences upon spoken examples presented in random fashion. Kinematic data describing the movements of upper and lower lips, and lower jaw were obtained using Electromagnetic Articulography (EMA). Results revealed a significant aspiration effect on the vertical velocities of lower lip and jaw movements, and such effect was consistent across all vowel contexts. However, results did not reveal any significant aspiration effect, except some effects for vowel context in the anteroposterior displacements and velocities during upper and lower lips movements. The findings appear to confirm the hypothesis of muscular force as the main driving force in facilitating the production of unaspirated bilabial plosive /p/. Yet, the mechanism governing the lip opening for aspirated cognate /p^h/ may require further examination.published_or_final_versionSpeech and Hearing SciencesBachelorBachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science

An ultrasound study of lingual coarticulation in children and adults

There have been a number of studies which compared coarticulatory patterns in children and adults, but these studies have produced conflicting results, particularly with respect to anticipatory lingual coarticulation. This study used articulatory measures derived from ultrasound imaging, in order to establish any differences between child and adult coarticulatory patterns, and to quantify the degree of variability in children's and adults' productions. The participants were four adults and four normally developing children aged 6 to 9 years, all speakers of Standard Scottish English. The data were the syllables /i/, /u/ and /a/, in the carrier phrase It's a -_ Pam- (ten repetitions). Synchronised ultrasound and acoustic data were recorded using the Queen Margaret University ultrasound system. Extent of consonantal coarticulation and within-speaker variation in child and adult productions were compared according to a new ultrasound-based measure of coarticulation. A significantly greater amount of anticipatory lingual coarticulation was found in children than in adults. Much within-group variability was observed, in both age groups. Within-speaker variability was significantly greater in children than in adults. These results are in agreement with some previous studies. Possible reasons are discussed for some of the contradictions in the literature on child and adult coarticulation.casl[1]. E.H. Buder. Experimental phonology with acoustic phonetic methods: formant measures from child speech. In B. Bernhardt, J. Gilbert, & D. Ingram (Eds), Proceedings of the UBC International Conference on Phonological Acquisition. Cascadilla Press, Somerville, 254-265, 1996. [2]. W.F. Katz & S. Bharadwaj. Coarticulation in fricativevowel syllables produced by children and adults: a preliminary report. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 15:139-143, 2001. [3]. W.F. Katz, C. Kripke, & P. Tallal. Anticipatory coarticulation in the speech of adults and young children: acoustic, perceptual, and video data. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 34:1222-1232, 1991. [4]. R.D. Kent, R.D. The segmental organization of speech. In P.F. MacNeilage (Ed.), The Production of Speech. Springer-Verlag, New York, 57-89, 1983. [5]. L. Nijland, B. Maassen, S. Van der Meulen, F. Gabriels, F.W. Kraaimaat, & R. Schreuder. Coarticulation patterns in children with developmental apraxia of speech. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 16:461-483, 2002. [6]. S. Nittrouer, M. Studdert-Kennedy, & R.S. McGowan. The emergence of phonetic segments: evidence from the spectral structure of fricative-vowel syllables spoken by children and adults. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 32:120-132, 1989. [7]. S. Nittrouer, M. Studdert-Kennedy, & S.T. Neely. How children learn to organize their speech gestures: further evidence from fricative-vowel syllables. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 39:379-389, 1996. [8]. J. Sankaranarayanan, H. Samet, & A. Varshney. A fast all nearest neighbour algorithm for applications involving large point-clouds. Computers & Graphics, 31:157-174, 2007. [9]. J.A. Sereno, A.R. Baum, G. Cameron Marean, & P. Lieberman. Acoustic analyses and perceptual data on anticipatory labial coarticulation in adults and children. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 81:512-519, 1987. [10]. K.A. Siren & K.A. Wilcox. Effects of lexical meaning and practiced productions on coarticulation in children's and adults' speech. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 38:351-359, 1995. [11]. H.M. Sussman, K.A. Hoemeke, & H.A. McCaffrey. Locus equations as an index of coarticulation for place of articulation distinctions in children. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 35:769-781, 1992. [12]. A.E. Thompson & T.J. Hixon. Nasal air flow during normal speech production. Cleft Palate Journal, 16:412- 420, 1979. [13]. Y. Vazquez Alvarez and N. Hewlett. The trough effect: an ultrasound study. Phonetica, 65:105-121, 2007. [14]. N. Zharkova. Quantification of coarticulatory effects in several Scottish English phonemes using ultrasound. QMU Speech Science Research Centre Working Papers, WP-13, 2007pub243pu

An EPG and ultrasound study of lingual coarticulation in vowel-consonant sequences

While EPG registers the location and amount of tongue-palate contact, ultrasound can capture most of the tongue contour. Previous studies have not systematically quantified lingual coarticulation using EPG and ultrasound simultaneously. This study used both techniques for analysing vowel-consonant coarticulatory effects. Four speakers of Scottish English produced /VC/ sequences with the consonants /p, f, t, s, l, r, k/ and the vowels /a, i/. The difference between each consonant in the two vowel contexts was computed using an EPG measure and an ultrasound measure. Additionally, temporal coarticulation was analysed, using EPG data. A significant positive correlation was observed between the two measures, with labial consonants, followed by /r/, having the highest values. The two techniques also provided complementary data on lingual coarticulation. The velar stop was more coarticulated on the EPG measure than on the ultrasound measure, because EPG registered a shift in closure location across vowel contexts, while ultrasound captured the close proximity of the tongue root across the vowel contexts. The sibilant was more coarticulated on the ultrasound measure than on the EPG measure, because ultrasound, unlike EPG, registered vowel-dependent difference in the tongue root. Combined EPG and ultrasound data would be useful in future studies of coarticulation.casl[1]. P. Bacsfalvi, B.M. Bernhardt, & B. Gick. Electropalatography and ultrasound in vowel remediation for adolescents with hearing impairment. Advances in Speech-Language Pathology, 9, 36-45, 2007. [2] L. Davidson. Coarticulation in contrastive Russian stop sequences. In Proceedings of the 16th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, 417-420, 2007. [3]. E. Farnetani. V-C-V lingual coarticulation and its spatio-temporal domain. In W.J. Hardcastle and A. Marchal (Eds), Speech Production and Speech Modelling. Kluwer Academic, The Netherlands, 93-110, 1990. [4]. F. Gibbon and K. Nicolaidis. Palatography. In W. Hardcastle & N. Hewlett (Eds), Coarticulation: Theory, Data and Techniques. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 229-245, 1999. [5]. M. Gordon, R. Kennedy, D. Archangeli, & A. Baker. Distributed effects in coarticulation: an ultrasound study. [Oral presentation at Ultrafest IV, New York, USA, 28- 29 September 2007.] [6]. J.S. Perkell. Physiology of Speech Production: Results and Implications of a Quantitative Cineradiographic Study. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1969. [7]. J. Scobbie, S. Wood, & A. Wrench. Advances in EPG for treatment and research: an illustrative case study. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 18, 373-389, 2004. [8]. M. Stone. A guide to analyzing tongue motion from ultrasound images. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 19, 455-502, 2005. [9]. M. Stone, A. Faber, L.J. Raphael, & T.H. Shawker. Cross-sectional tongue shape and linguopalatal contact patterns in [s], [], and [l]. Journal of Phonetics, 20, 253- 270, 1992. [10]. M. Stone & A. Lundberg. Three-dimensional tongue surface shapes of English consonants and vowels. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 99, 3728-3737, 1996. [11]. M. Stone & E. Vatikiotis-Bateson. Trade-offs in tongue, jaw, and palate contributions to speech production. Journal of Phonetics, 23, 81-100, 1995. [12]. Y. Vazquez Alvarez and N. Hewlett. The trough effect: an ultrasound study. Phonetica, 65:105-121, 2007. [13]. S. Wodzinski and S. Frisch. Ultrasound study of velar-vowel coarticulation. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 120:3373-3374, 2006. [14]. A. Wrench. Articulate Assistant Advanced: ultrasound module. [Oral presentation at Ultrafest IV, New York, USA, 28-29 September 2007.] [15]. N. Zharkova. Quantification of coarticulatory effects in several Scottish English phonemes using ultrasound. QMU Speech Science Research Centre Working Papers, WP-13, 2007pub251pu

An ultrasound study of lingual coarticulation in children and adults: Full Research Report ESRC End of Award Report, RES-000-22-2833

SwindonThe aims of this project were to establish how children's patterns of coarticulation differ from adults', and to attempt to explain the observed coarticulatory patterns, as well as the nature and the degree of variability found in children and adults.caslArticulate Instruments Ltd (2007). Articulate Assistant Advanced User Guide: Version 2.07 . Edinburgh, UK: Articulate Instruments Ltd. Articulate Instruments Ltd (2008). Ultrasound Stabilisation Headset Users Manual: Revision 1.13 . Edinburgh, UK: Articulate Instruments Ltd. Assmann, P.F. & Katz, W.F. (2000). Time-varying spectral change in the vowels of children and adults. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 108, 1856-1866. Boucher, K.R. (2007). Patterns of Anticipatory Coarticulation in Adults and Typically Developing Children. Unpublished Master's Thesis, Brigham Young University. Buder, E.H. (1996). Experimental phonology with acoustic phonetic methods: formant measures from child speech. In B. Bernhardt, J. Gilbert, & D. Ingram (Eds), Proceedings of the UBC International Conference on Phonological Acquisition. Somerville : Cascadilla Press. Pp. 254-265. Davidson, L. (2007). Coarticulation in contrasting Russian stop sequences. Proceedings of ICPhS 2007, Saarbr_cken, 6-10 August 2007. Pp. 417-420. Flege, J.E. (1988). Anticipatory and carry-over nasal coarticulation in the speech of children and adults. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 31, 525-536. Fowler, C.A. & Brancazio, L. (2000). Coarticulation resistance of American consonants and its effects on transconsonantal vowel-to-vowel coarticulation. Language and Speech, 43, 1-41. Gibbon, F.E. (1999). Undifferentiated lingual gestures in children with articulation/phonological disorders. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 42, 382-397. Gick, B., Bacsfalvi, P., Bernhardt, B. M., Oh, S., Stolar, S. & Wilson, I. (2008). A motor differentiation model for liquid substitutions: English /r/ variants in normal and disordered acquisition. Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, 1, 060003, 1-9. Goffman, L., Smith, A., Heisler, L. & Ho, M. (2008). The breadth of coarticulatory units in children and adults. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 51, 1424-1437. Gooze, J., Murdoch, B., Ozanne, A., Cheng, Y., Hill, A. and Gibbon, F. (2007). Lingual kinematics and coordination in speech-disordered children exhibiting differential versus undifferentiated lingual gestures. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 42, 703-724. Green, J.R., Moore, C.., Higashikawa, M. & Steeve, R.W. (2000). The physiologic development of speech motor control: lip and jaw coordination. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 43, 239-255. Hardcastle, W. & Hewlett, N. (Eds) (1999). Coarticulation: Theory, Data and Techniques. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. To cite this output: Zharkova, Natalia et al (2009). An ultrasound study of lingual coarticulation in children and adults: Full Research Report ESRC End of Award Report, RES-000-22-2833. Swindon: ESRC RES-000-22-2833 30 Hardcastle, W. & Tjaden, K. (2008). Coarticulation and speech impairment. In M.J. Ball, M.R. Perkins, N. M_ller & S. Howard (Eds), The Handbook of Clinical Linguistics. Oxford: Blackwell. Pp. 506-524. Katz, W.F., Kripke, C. & Tallal, P. (1991). Anticipatory coarticulation in the speech of adults and young children: acoustic, perceptual, and video data. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 34, 1222-1232. Kent, R.D. (1983). The segmental organization of speech. In P.F. MacNeilage (Ed.), The Production of Speech. New York: Springer-Verlag. Pp. 57-89. Kent, R.D. & Forner, L.L. (1980). Speech segment durations in sentence recitations by children and adults. Journal of Phonetics, 8, 157-168. Kocjan_i_, T. (2008). Ultrasound investigation of tongue movements in syllables with different onset structure. In R. Sock, S. Fuchs & Y. Laprie (Eds), Proceedings of the 8th International Seminar on Speech Production 2008, Strasbourg, France, 8-12 December 2008. Pp. 237-240. K_hnert, B. & Nolan, F. (1999). The origin of coarticulation. In W. Hardcastle & N. Hewlett (Eds), Coarticulation: Theory, Data and Techniques. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 7-30. Lawson, E., Stuart-Smith, J. & Scobbie, J.M. (2008). Articulatory insights into language variation and change: preliminary findings from an ultrasound study of derhoticization in Scottish English. In K. Gorman (Ed.), University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics, 14.2: Papers from New Ways of Analyzing Variation 36, 102-110. Lee, S., Potamianos, A. & Narayanan, S. (1999). Acoustics of children's speech: developmental changes of temporal and spectral parameters. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 105, 1455-1468. Nijland, L., Maassen, B., Van der Meulen, S., Gabriels, F., Kraaimaat, F.W. & Schreuder, R. (2002). Coarticulation patterns in children with developmental apraxia of speech. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 16, 461-483. Nijland, L., Maassen, B., Van der Meulen, S., Gabriels, F., Kraaimaat, F.W. & Schreuder, R. (2003a). Planning of syllables in children with developmental apraxia of speech. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 17, 1-24. Nijland, L., Maassen, B. & Van der Meulen, S. (2003b). Evidence of motor programming deficits in children diagnosed with DAS. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, 46, 437-450. Nittrouer, S. (1993). The emergence of mature gestural patterns is not uniform: evidence from an acoustic study. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 36, 959- 972. Nittrouer, S., Estee, S., Lowenstein, J.H. & Smith, J. (2005). The emergence of mature gestural patterns in the production of voiceless and voiced word-final stops. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 97, 351-364. To cite this output: Zharkova, Natalia et al (2009). An ultrasound study of lingual coarticulation in children and adults: Full Research Report ESRC End of Award Report, RES-000-22-2833. Swindon: ESRC RES-000-22-2833 31 Nittrouer, S., Studdert-Kennedy, M. & McGowan, R.S. (1989). The emergence of phonetic segments: evidence from the spectral structure of fricative-vowel syllables spoken by children and adults. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 32, 120-132. Nittrouer, S., Studdert-Kennedy, M. & Neely, S.T. (1996). How children learn to organize their speech gestures: further evidence from fricative-vowel syllables. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 39, 379-389. Recasens, D. (1999). Lingual coarticulation. In W. Hardcastle & N. Hewlett (Eds), Coarticulation: Theory, Data and Techniques. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 80-104. Riely, R.R. & Smith, A. (2003). Speech movements do not scale by orofacial structure size. Journal of Applied Physiology, 94, 2119-2126. Scobbie, J., Wrench, A., van der Linden, M. (2008). Head-probe stabilisation in ultrasound tongue imaging using a headset to permit natural head movement. In R. Sock, S. Fuchs & Y. Laprie (Eds), Proceedings of the 8th International Seminar on Speech Production 2008, Strasbourg, France, 8-12 December 2008. Pp. 373-376. Sereno, J.A., Baum, A.R., Cameron Marean, G. & Lieberman, P. (1987). Acoustic analyses and perceptual data on anticipatory labial coarticulation in adults and children. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 81, 512-519. Sereno, J.A. & Lieberman, P. (1987). Developmental aspects of lingual coarticulation. Journal of Phonetics, 15, 247-257. Sharkey, S. & Folkins, J. (1985). Variability of lip and jaw movements in children and adults: implications for the development of speech motor control. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 28, 3-15. Siren, K.A. & Wilcox, K.A. (1995). Effects of lexical meaning and practiced productions on coarticulation in children's and adults' speech. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 38, 351-359. Smith, A. (in press). Development of neural control of orofacial movements for speech. In W. Hardcastle & J. Laver (Eds), The Handbook of Phonetic Sciences, 2nd edition. Smith, A. & Goffman, L. (1998). Stability and patterning of speech movement sequences in children and adults. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 41, 18-30. Stone, M. (2005). A guide to analyzing tongue motion from ultrasound images. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 19, 455-502. Sussman, H.M., Hoemeke, K.A. & McCaffrey, H.A. (1992). Locus equations as an index of coarticulation for place of articulation distinctions in children. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 35, 769-781. Thompson, A.E. & Hixon, T.J. (1979). Nasal air flow during normal speech production. Cleft Palate Journal, 16, 412-420. To cite this output: Zharkova, Natalia et al (2009). An ultrasound study of lingual coarticulation in children and adults: Full Research Report ESRC End of Award Report, RES-000-22-2833. Swindon: ESRC RES-000-22-2833 32 Vazquez Alvarez, Y. & Hewlett, N. (2007). The trough effect: an ultrasound study. Phonetica, 65, 105-121. Walsh, B. & Smith, A. (2002). Articulatory movements in adolescents: evidence for protracted development of speech motor control processes. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 45, 1119-1133. Whalen, D.H., Iskarous, K., Tiede, M., Ostry, D., Lehnert-LeHouillier, H., Vatikiotis- Bateson, E., & Hailey, D. S. (2005). The Haskins Optically Corrected Ultrasound System (HOCUS). Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 48, 543-553. Wodzinski, S. & Frisch, S. (2006). Ultrasound study of velar-vowel coarticulation. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 120, 3373-3374. Wrench, A. & Scobbie, J. (2008). High-speed cineloop ultrasound vs. video ultrasound tongue imaging: comparison of front and back lingual gesture location and relative timing. In R. Sock, S. Fuchs & Y. Laprie (Eds), Proceedings of the 8th International Seminar on Speech Production 2008, Strasbourg, France, 8-12 December 2008. Pp. 57-60. Zharkova, N. (2007a). An Investigation of Coarticulation Resistance in Speech Production Using Ultrasound. Unpublished PhD thesis, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. Zharkova, N. (2007b). Quantification of coarticulatory effects in several Scottish English phonemes using ultrasound. QMU Speech Science Research Centre Working Papers, WP-13. Zharkova, N. & Hewlett, N. (2009). Measuring lingual coarticulation from midsagittal tongue contours: description and example calculations using English /t/ and /_/. Journal of Phonetics, 37, 248-256. Zharkova, N., Hewlett, N. & Hardcastle, W. (2008a). Analysing coarticulation in Scottish English children and adults: an ultrasound study. Canadian Acoustics, 36: Proceedings of the Acoustics Week in Canada 2008, 158-159. Zharkova, N., Hewlett, N. & Hardcastle, W. (2008b). An ultrasound study of lingual coarticulation in children and adults. In R. Sock, S. Fuchs & Y. Laprie (Eds), Proceedings of the 8th International Seminar on Speech Production 2008, Strasbourg, France, 8-12 December 2008. Pp. 161-164. Zharkova, N., Hewlett, N. & Hardcastle, W.J. (Motor Control, submitted). Coarticulation as an indicator of speech motor control development in children: an ultrasound study. Ziegler, W. & Maassen, B. (2007). The role of the syllable in disorders of spoken language communication. In B. Maassen, R.D. Kent, H.F.M. Peters, P. van Lieshout & W. Hulstijn (Eds), Speech Motor Control in Normal and Disordered Speech. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pp. 415-448.pub3342pu

Dutch Rhotic Allophony, Coda Weakening, and the Phonetics-Phonology Interface

Evidence is presented that suggests that articulation should be considered separately from acoustics (or the auditory impression) in investigations of the interface between phonetics and phonology. We use Ultrasound Tongue Imaging to show that onset and coda versions of Dutch /r/ can have secondary articulations, categorical allophones, and subtle or covert articulations which have few acoustic implications. Covert rhotic (retroflex) articulation was observed in one speaker, who displayed acoustic derhoticisation. We also consider this finding in relation to ongoing work in Scottish English.caslpub2745pu

Articulation of the Japanese Moraic Nasal: Place of Articulation, Assimilation, and L2 Transfer

The moraic nasal /N/ in Japanese has been transcribed in multiple ways, but very few studies have examined its articulation. The nature of its assimilation has often been described in phonology, but again, very few articulatory investigations have been conducted. Also, while a first language (L1) effect on second language (L2) production has been discussed for some phonemes, there is no good research on the effect of Japanese /N/ on L2 English syllable-final nasals. This dissertation investigates the articulation of the moraic nasal /N/ in Japanese using an ultrasound articulatory imaging technique to assess 1) its place of articulation, 2) patterns of place assimilation to the following segment, and 3) the effect of L1 /N/ on L2 English syllable-final nasal production. Eight native speakers of Japanese participated. Their productions of Japanese words and English words were analyzed acoustically and articulatorily. The results showed that the place of articulation for utterance-final /N/ following the vowel /a/ varied across native speakers of Japanese from alveolar to uvular, which is compatible with previous descriptions of /N/ in intervocalic position. Patterns of place assimilation of the moraic nasal to a following segment were not always categorical, and a gesture for the target of the moraic nasal, while varying among individuals, sometimes remained depending on the phonological environments. This suggests that the assimilation takes place not only at the phonological level but also at the phonetic level, even if the assimilation is considered to be obligatory. An effect of L1 /N/ on the production of word-final nasals in L2 English was observed, although the degree of the effect varied across speakers. In conclusion, these findings enhance our understanding of the articulatory characteristics of the moraic nasal /N/ in Japanese, providing a firmer basis for phonological and phonetic arguments. The findings should also encourage further investigation and discussion of the phonological and phonetic behavior of /N/

Syllabic /l/ in Slovak and the effect of prosodic emphasis

Der Unterschied zwischen Vokalen und Konsonanten ist nicht allein anhand ihrer akustischen und artikulatorischen Merkmale festzulegen. Während insbesondere offene Vokale mit ihrem weit offenen Mundraum und Plosive mit einem vollständigen Verschluss zwei Extrempositionen einer Skala belegen, ist es schwieriger zu begründen, warum Approximanten zur Klasse der Konsonanten gehören, werden sie doch gelegentlich auch Halbvokale genannt. Der Unterschied zwischen Vokalen und Konsonanten ist zusätzlich mit ihrer Position innerhalb der Silbe und damit verbundenen Funktion gekoppelt. Da in den meisten Fällen Konsonanten um einen vokalischen Nukleus gegliedert sind, ist es oft nicht möglich die beiden direkt miteinander zu vergleichen. Nicht selten wird behauptet, dass Vokale die Prosodie tragen, während Konsonanten eher zur lexikalischen Verarbeitung beitragen. In dieser Hinsicht ist Slowakisch eine sehr untersuchungswerte Sprache, da die Konsonanten /l/ und /r/ auch im Nukleus einer betonten Silbe stehen können. In dieser Arbeit wurde mithilfe akustischer und artikulatorischer Aufnahmen untersucht, wie Satzakzent auf Silben mit konsonantischen Nuklei realisiert wird. Dabei beschränkten wir uns auf /l/ als konsonantischen Nukleus, mit Ausnahme in Kapitel 2, in dem beide silbischen Konsonanten in Betracht gezogen wurden. Silbische Konsonanten sind typologisch keine Seltenheit. Jedoch ist in den meisten Sprachen der Kontext in dem sie auftreten können phonotaktisch eingeschränkter, verglichen mit vokalischen Nuklei. Im Deutschen sind silbische Konsonanten postlexikalisch und entstehen durch Vokalreduktion in unbetonten Silben und stellen eine Aussprachevariation dar. So kann das Verb reden sowohl als [redǝn], also mit einer Schwa+Konsonant-Endung als auch als [redn̩], also einem silbischen Konsonanten realisiert werden. Wie schon oben erwähnt sind silbische Konsonanten des Slowakischen keine Folge von Vokalreduktion in flüssiger Sprache sondern Bestandteil des Lexikons. Wie Vokale können sie sowohl in betonten als auch unbetonten Silben auftreten, weisen einen phonologischen Längenkontrast auf wenn sie im Silbennukleus stehen und unterliegen den selben morpho-phonologischen Regeln, die die Veränderung der Nukleuslänge auslösen. Artikulatorisch weisen /r/, als auch /l/, das im Slowakischen dunkel ist, zusätzlich zur primären Zungenspitzengeste eine ausgeprägte Zugenrückenbewegung auf. Dadurch, dass diese Geste, ähnlich wie Vokale, keine enge Konstriktion bildet und sich langsamer bewegt, wird sie in der Literatur auch als ‘vokalische’ Geste bezeichnet. Es stellt sich also die Frage, ob genau diese Geste eine wichtige Rolle in der prosodischen Modulation spielt. Im Slowakischen wird der Satzakzent mit erhöhter F0 auf der betonten Silbe markiert. Zusätzlich können Segmente einer akzentuierten Silbe oder eines akzentuierten Wortes durch Längung verstärkt werden. Es wurde zunächst im Kapitel 2 überprüft, ob diese zum gleichen Maße sowohl auf Silben mit vokalischen als auch konsonantischen Nuklei beobachtet werden können. Dies konnte bestätigt werden. In akzentuierten Silben können an Vokalen auch Qualitätsunterschiede beobachtet werden. Die Sonoritätshyphothese (Beckman, Edwards, & Fletcher, 1992) besagt, dass unter Akzentuierung Kiefer und Zungenposition gesenkt werden, damit der Mundraum weiter geöffnet ist und eine höhere Sonorität entstehen kann. Die Hyperartikulationshypothese (De Jong, 1995) besagt, dass unter Akzentuierung die Merkmale des jeweiligen Lautes bestärkt werden. Für offene Vokale bedeutet das in beiden Fällen eine tiefere Zunge und ein tieferer Kiefer und damit verbunden ein offenerer Mundraum unter Akzentuierung. Für die apikale Geste des /l/ hingegen geraten die Vorhersagen der beiden Hypothesen in Konflikt. Einerseits sagt die Sonoritätshypothese, ungeachtet des Lautes der im Nukleus steht, einen weiten Vokaltrakt unter Akzentuierung voraus. Für /l/ bedeutet das eine Schwächung der apikalen Verengung. Die Hyperartikulationshypothese andererseits sagt eine deutlichere Verengung im vorderen Mundbereich durch die apikale Geste voraus. Eine ausgeprägtere dorsale Geste führt hingegen nicht notwendigerweise zur Verengung des vorderen Vokaltrakts wodurch die Vorhersagen der beiden Hypothesen im Einklang sind. Im Kapitel 3 wurden die Zungenbewegungen, die mittels Ultraschall aufgenommen wurden, sowie die Formantdaten untersucht. Da die apikale Verengung in vielen Fällen in den Ultraschallaufnahmen nicht sichtbar war, wurde der Bereich dahinter untersucht. Zum Vergleich wurde auch der vokalische Nukleus /e/ untersucht. Für /l/ wurde entgegen der Erwartungen kein Effekt von Satzakzent auf die Zungenrückengeste festgestellt. Der vordere Zungenbereich wurde während des Anlautplosivs gesenkt und im Laufe des akustisch ermittelten /l/ konnte unter Akzentuierung eine Aufwärtsbewegung der Zunge beobachtet werden. Wir interpretierten diese dynamische Bewegung als eine Umpositionierung der Zunge. Die so erlangte Zungenform erlaubt vermutlich einen größeren lateralen Luftstrom bei Beibehaltung der apikalen Verengung. Die Zungenbewegung von /e/ wies einen sogenannten ‘trough-effect’ auf. Sowohl bei vokalischen als auch konsonantischen Nuklei konnte im akzentuierten Fall ein höherer F1 beobachtet werden, der darauf hindeutet, dass der Kiefer gesenkt wurde und dadurch der Mundraum geweitet wurde. Unsere Daten deuten darauf hin, dass es nicht die ‘vokalische’ dorsale Geste ist, die im Falle des silbischen Konsonanten die Prosodie trägt. Zur Prosodie gehört auch der Aufbau von Vokalen und Konsonanten zu Silben. So beobachteten unter anderem Sproat and Fujimura (1993) und Krakow (1999) für das amerikanische Englisch den systematischen Unterschied von /l/ in verschiedenen Silbenpositionen. Im Anlaut wurde /l/ mit einer deutlichen apikalen Verengung aber weniger ausgeprägten dorsalen Geste artikuliert, während im Auslaut die apikale Geste geschwächt war und dafür eine deutliche Rückwärtsbewegung des Zungendorsums sichtbar war. Auch die zeitliche Koordination der beiden Gesten zueinander unterscheidet sich, und so sind die apikale und dorsale Geste im Anlaut synchron zueinander, während im Auslaut die apikale Geste der dorsalen folgt. Generell zeichnet sich die Silbe durch bestimmte zeitliche Koordination von Anlaut und Auslaut mit dem Nukleus aus (Browman & Goldstein, 1988; Nam, Goldstein, & Saltzman, 2009). Für das Slowakische wurde in einer Studie von Pouplier and Beňuš (2011) gezeigt, dass der zeitlich Abstand zwischen einem Konsonanten und der apikalen Geste des /l/ oder /r/ größer ist, wenn /l/ oder /r/ im Nukleus stehen. In ihrer Studie wurde jedoch die dorsale Geste nicht genauer untersucht. Im Kapitel 4 wurde der Einfluss des Satzakzentes und der Silbenposition auf die beiden Gesten von /l/ untersucht. Unsere Erwartung war, dass vor allem für /l/ im Nukleus im akzentuierten Fall der Abstand vom vorangehenden Konsonanten und der apikalen Geste erweitert wird. So kann die ‘vokalische’ Geste zum Vorschein treten, was auch zur höheren Sonorität führt. Die Resultate deuteten darauf hin, dass /l/ im Anlaut und Auslaut sich zwar vom /l/ im Nukleus unterscheidet, dieser Unterschied sich aber auf den stärkeren Einfluss des Vokal im Nukleus zurückführen lässt. Im Gegensatz zum Englischen konnte auch keine systematische Veränderung der Koordination der beiden Gesten in unterschiedlichen Silbenpositionen festgestellt werden. Auch der zeitliche Abstand von der apikalen Geste zum benachbarten Konsonanten wurde unter Akzentuierung nicht signifikant vergrößert. Wir schlossen daraus, dass im Slowakischen die ‘vokalische’ dorsale Geste anders als im Englischen keine aktive prosodische Funktion trägt. Im Gegenzug konnte gezeigt werden, dass /l/ mit seiner ‘konsonantischen’ Eigenschaft als Prosodieträger fungieren kann

The 'trough effect': an ultrasound study

Bilabial stops often show a lowering of the tongue in symmetrical VCV sequences. The causes of this phenomenon, sometimes called the ‘trough effect’, are unknown. However, it could have important implications for the study of time-varying aspects of speech events. Ultrasound is a non-invasive technique that has allowed us to image the shape of the tongue in real time and measure the actual tongue displacement that occurs in the C of a VCV sequence. Five repetitions of symmetrical V1CV2 sequences with the bilabial stops /b, p/ were obtained from 10 British English speakers. Results showed not only differences in the direction and degree of the tongue displacement but also differences in the tongue contour configuration between subjects. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of ultrasound as a technique in phonetic research, making possible the analysis of tongue surface movement for large amounts of data from multiple subjects

Quantification of coarticulatory effects in several Scottish English phonemes using ultrasound.

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