Non-assimilatory vowel raising in a variety of Brazilian Portuguese : effects of coarticulation of CV sequences and vowel dispersion

Este artigo trata da motivação fonética do alçamento sem motivação aparente das vogais médias pretônicas /e, o/ (desconto ~ d[i]sconto, c[o]stela ~ c[u] stela) no português brasileiro. Realizase análise quantitativa (LABOV, 1972) em dados de fala da variedade de Porto Alegre, com que se confirmam os efeitos favorecedores de consoantes palatais, velares, labiais precedentes ou seguintes no alçamento das médias, registrados na literatura (KLUNCK, 2007; CRUZ, 2010; MONARETTO, 2013). A inspeção acústica de dados e o exame de literatura sobre coarticulação (GOLDSTEIN; BYRD; SALTZMAN, 2006) sugerem que o alçamento seja processo variável condicionado por múltiplos fatores, entre eles a coarticulação de sequências CV e a dispersão vocálica (MADDIESON, 1984; LINDBLOM, 1986).This paper discusses non-assimilatory vowel raising of the pretonic mid vowels /e, o/ (d[e]sconto ~ d[i]sconto ‘discount’, c[o]stela ~ c[u]stela ‘rib’) in Brazilian Portuguese. A quantitative analysis (LABOV, 1972) of speech data from Porto Alegre confirms the favoring effects of preceding and following palatal, velar, labial consonants on mid vowel raising as previously attested (KLUNCK, 2007; CRUZ, 2010; MONARETTO, 2013). The acoustic inspection of the data and the review of the literature on coarticulation (GOLDSTEIN; BYRD; SALTZMAN, 2006) suggest that mid vowel raising is a variable process conditioned by multiple factors, including CV coarticulation and vowel dispersion (MADDIESON, 1984; LINDBLOM, 1986)

A tentative argument for regional quality targets in assimilating schwa

Amerikanenglannin redusoitunut švaa-vokaali tuotetaan puheessa laadultaan huomattavan monimuotoisena. Kirjallisuudessa ei kuitenkaan vallitse selkeää käsitystä siitä, mitkä tekijät ehdollistavat tätä švaan laatuvaihtelua, ja etenkin sen mahdollinen sosiaalinen ulottuvuus on jäänyt aiemmissa tutkimuksissa varsin vähälle huomiolle. Tässä tutkielmassa pyritäänkin selvittämään, millainen vaikutus puhujan alueellisella murteella on hänen tuottamansa švaan akustiikkaan. Tutkimukseen valittiin 21 informanttia muutamista Yhdysvaltain eteläisistä ja läntisistä osavaltioista. Informanttien haastattelunauhoitteista poimittiin analyysiin yhteensä 433 švaan F1- ja F2-formanttiarvot siten kuin ne esiintyivät sanassa the. Analyysissä havaittiin, että eteläisten puhujien švaat keskittyivät vokaalien [u,U] tuntumaan, kun taas läntisten informanttien švaat asettuivat vokaalien [i,u] väliin. Tulokset antoivat aihetta kysyä, onko eteläinen švaa sulautunut takavokaaleihin [u,U]. Kysymystä varten suoritettiin jatkotutkimus, johon valittiin yksi ensimmäisen tutkimuksen eteläisistä puhujista. Puhujalta mitattiin 66 švaan ja 45 [U]:n formantit. Näitä tarkastellessa löydettiin tilastollista viitettä siitä, että puhujan švaa oli saattanut sulautua vokaaliin [U]. Tulostensa pohjalta tutkielma ehdottaa, että the-sanassa esiintyvässä amerikanenglannin švaassa saattaa toteutua puhujan alueellista murretta mukaileva tavoitevaihe siitä huolimatta, että tämä vokaali on samanaikaisesti huomattavasti kontekstiinsa assimiloitunut. Tavoitevaihe näyttäisi lähtökohtaisesti sijoittuvan F2:ssa vokaalialueen keskelle, ollen kuitenkin eteläisten puhujien kohdalla altis siirtymään taaemmas kohti vokaalilaatuja [u,U].Siirretty Doriast

Velar–vowel Coarticulation in a Virtual Target Model of Stop Production

Velar–vowel coarticulation in English, resulting in so-called velar fronting in front vowel contexts, was studied using ultrasound imaging of the tongue during /k/ onsets of monosyllabic words with no coda or a labial coda. Ten native English speakers were recorded and analyzed. A variety of coarticulation patterns that often appear to contain small differences in typical closure location for similar vowels was found. An account of the coarticulation pattern is provided using a virtual target model of stop consonant production where there are two /k/ allophones in English, one for front vowels and one for non-front vowels. Small differences in closure location along the palate between productions within each context are the result of the trajectory of movement of the tongue from the vowel to vowel through the virtual target beyond the limit of the palate. The overall pattern is thus seen as a combination of a large planned allophonic difference between consonant closure targets and smaller phonetic differences for each particular vowel quality that are the result of coarticulation

Involvement of the speech production system in prediction during comprehension: an articulatory imaging investigation

This thesis investigates the effects in speech production of prediction during speech comprehension. The topic is raised by recent theoretical models of speech comprehension, which suggest a more integrated role for speech production and comprehension mechanisms than has previously been posited. The thesis is specifically concerned with the suggestion that during speech comprehension upcoming input is simulated with reference to the listener’s own speech production system by way of efference copy. Throughout this thesis the approach taken is to investigate whether representations elicited during comprehension impact speech production. The representations of interest are those generated endogenously by the listener during prediction of upcoming input. We investigate whether predictions are represented at a form level within the listener’s speech production system. We first present an overview of the relevant literature. We then present details of a picture word interference study undertaken to confirm that the item set employed elicits typical phonological effects within a conventional paradigm in which the competing representation is perceptually available. The main body of the thesis presents evidence concerning the nature of representations arising during prediction, specifically their effect on speech output. We first present evidence from picture naming vocal response latencies. We then complement and extend this with evidence from articulatory imaging, allowing an examination of pre-acoustic aspects of speech production. To investigate effects on speech production as a dynamic motor-activity we employ the Delta method, developed to quantify articulatory variability from EPG and ultrasound recordings. We apply this technique to ultrasound data acquired during mid-sagittal imaging of the tongue and extend the approach to allow us to explore the time-course of articulation during the acoustic response latency period. We investigate whether prediction of another’s speech evokes articulatorily specified activation within the listener’s speech production system The findings presented in this thesis suggest that representations evoked as predictions during speech comprehension do affect speech motor output. However, we found no evidence to suggest that predictions are represented in an articulatorily specified manner. We discuss this conclusion with reference to models of speech production-perception that implicate efference copies in the generation of predictions during speech comprehension

The involvement of the speech production system in prediction during comprehension

This thesis investigates the effects in speech production of prediction during speech comprehension. The topic is raised by recent theoretical models of speech comprehension, which suggest a more integrated role for speech production and comprehension mechanisms than has previously been posited. The thesis is specifically concerned with the suggestion that during speech comprehension upcoming input is simulated with reference to the listener’s own speech production system by way of efference copy.Throughout this thesis the approach taken is to investigate whether representations elicited during comprehension impact speech production. The representations of interest are those generated endogenously by the listener during prediction of upcoming input. We investigate whether predictions are represented at a form level within the listener’s speech production system. We first present an overview of the relevant literature. We then present details of a picture word interference study undertaken to confirm that the item set employed elicits typical phonological effects within a conventional paradigm in which the competing representation is perceptually available. The main body of the thesis presents evidence concerning the nature of representations arising during prediction, specifically their effect on speech output. We first present evidence from picture naming vocal response latencies. We then complement and extend this with evidence from articulatory imaging, allowing an examination of pre-acoustic aspects of speech production.To investigate effects on speech production as a dynamic motor-activity we employ the Delta method, developed to quantify articulatory variability from EPG and ultrasound recordings. We apply this technique to ultrasound data acquired during mid-sagittal imaging of the tongue and extend the approach to allow us to explore the time-course of articulation during the acoustic response latency period. We investigate whether prediction of another’s speech evokes articulatorily specified activation within the listener’s speech production systemThe findings presented in this thesis suggest that representations evoked as predictions during speech comprehension do affect speech motor output. However, we found no evidence to suggest that predictions are represented in an articulatorily specified manner. We discuss this conclusion with reference to models of speech production-perception that implicate efference copies in the generation of predictions during speech comprehension

AN ARTICULATORY-ACOUSTIC INVESTIGATION OF TIMING AND COORDINATION IN THE FLUENT SPEECH OF PEOPLE WHO STAMMER

This thesis investigates Wingate’s Fault-Line hypothesis (1988) which suggests that disfluencies in people who stammer (PWS) result from a deficit in transition from consonant to vowel (CV) thereby implying that stammering as a motor-control disorder would affect transitions even when not perceptually salient. To test this proposal, we explored the perceptually fluent speech of PWS using instrumental analysis (ultrasound and acoustic) to determine the underlying pervasiveness of disfluencies in this group as compared to people who do not stammer (PNS). Following fluency screening of recorded utterances, we applied acoustic and articulatory analysis techniques to perceptually fluent utterances of 9 PWS and 9 typical speakers in order to identify indicators of disfluency in the transition from syllable onsets to the following vowel. Measures of acoustic duration, locus equation and formant slope offer insights into timing and degree of coarticulation. The articulatory ultrasound tongue imaging technique moreover provides kinematic information of the tongue. A novel technique was applied to dynamically analyse and quantify the tongue kinematics in transition. This allowed us to treat the perceptually fluent speech of PWS as an ongoing time-situated process. Both acoustic and articulatory findings indicate by-group differences in timing, whereby PWS are overall slower and more variable in the execution of CV transitions when compared to typical speakers (PNS). The findings from both instrumental approaches also indicate differences in coordination, suggesting that PWS coarticulate to a lesser extent than PNS. Overall, these findings suggest that PWS exhibit a global deficit in CV transition that can be observed in perceptually fluent as well as stammered speech. This is in keeping with the predictions of Wingate’s Fault-Line hypothesis. iv The fact that the conclusions from the acoustic and articulatory measures are coherent, shows that acoustic measures may be sufficient to act as a proxy for articulatory measures