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Articulatory settings and L2 English coronal consonants
Abstract
Background/aims : We explore the potential contribution of Articulatory Settings (AS) theory to L2 speech production research, testing the hypothesis that L2 segmental speech learning should involve a gradual, overall shift in both place and constriction degree, simultaneously affecting all consonants of a series as opposed to a set of parallel but unrelated changes in learners’ production of individual sounds. Methods: We conducted an electropalatography study of four francophone learners’ production of French and English word-initial and -medial /t d s z n l/ via carrier-sentence reading tasks. Results : L1–L2 differences in tongue shape are more common than those in constriction location, first and foremost for sonorants, and, thus, our results are not completely consistent with AS theory’s claims. Conclusions : AS theory provides a potentially rich framework for exploring the L2 speech learning of consonantal phenomena including low-level L1–L2 differences in place of articulation. We propose that the observed lack of systematic between-language articulatory differences could be attributed to a number of factors to be explored in future research, such as the targeting of voicing and manner differences before the adjustment of small place differences as well as individual patterns of entrenchment of L1 articulatory routines.
... One of the few models that makes a direct reference to L2 sound production, is Honikman's (1964) Articulatory Settings theory (see Colantoni et al., 2021, for a current application of the theory). ...
... Therefore, one could think that the greater the degree of bilingualism one speaker might show, the more distinct systems the speaker will show; whereas the more dominant a speaker is in one language, the more gestural features they will show in that language. In a recent study where Colantoni et al. (2021) apply Honikman's theory to L2 speech. Part of their data contradicts what the hypothesis would predict, and they allude this to the fact that L2 speech shows inherent variability and that the type of segment being produced might pose distinct sets of difficulties for learners. ...
... Part of their data contradicts what the hypothesis would predict, and they allude this to the fact that L2 speech shows inherent variability and that the type of segment being produced might pose distinct sets of difficulties for learners. Colantoni et al. (2021) contribute to the application of AP to the L2 as well, and point out that "we propose that attunement to the most common gestural patterns in a speaker's first language makes subsequent attunement to different patterns in the target language more difficult given that speakers typically have much less experience producing the latter " (p. 32). ...
This dissertation investigates language-specific acoustic and aerodynamic phenomena in language contact situations. Whereas most work on second language and bilingual phonology has focused on individual consonants and vowels, this project examines patterns of coarticulation in the two languages of Spanish-English and French-English bilingual speakers. These include speakers whose first language is either Spanish, French or English, and are late second-language acquirers, and heritage speakers of Spanish, who are early second-language acquirers. I focus on subtly different coarticulation patterns between English and Spanish, including the extent to which vowels are nasalized in contact with nasal consonants (Chapter 2), are lengthened before voiced consonants (Chapter 3), and whose quality is affected before voiced consonants (Chapter 4). Whereas the existence of such effects can be taken as universal, the degree to which they are implemented varies from language to language, presumably contributing to what defines a ‘native accent.’ My work thus presents a novel method to investigate coarticulatory patterns. The theoretical question that I address in my dissertation is whether bilingual speakers can establish distinct coarticulatory patterns in their two languages in ways that are similar to those of monolinguals of the two languages.
A related question is to what extent learning both languages in childhood (as in the case of heritage speakers) facilitates separating the two phonetic systems. In Chapter 2, I study coarticulatory vowel nasalization in Spanish and English using pressure transducers and Generalized Additive Mixed Models to observe how nasal airflow changes over time. In Chapter 3, I focus on vowel length as a cue for voicing of the following consonant in two Romance languages (Spanish, French) and English, which show opposite patterns. Chapter 4 is about vowel formant displacement patterns across time and the effect of vocalic length in Spanish and English. In Chapter 5, I present a new phonological model, “The Bilingual Coarticulatory Model”, which describes coarticulation as malleable and adjustable cross-linguistically in bilingual speakers that possess a higher level of linguistic proficiency.
Results show that properties pertaining to vowel quality are easier to acquire than durational properties, which would go against some of the L2 literature on the acquisition of vowels. Native speakers of Spanish show native-like nasalization values in L2 English, yet only when the syllabic structure of sequences is shared. Heritage speakers show native-like results in both languages with regard to nasalization, and L1En speakers show an adjustment of onset of nasalization but not of degree of nasalization. Regarding duration, heritage speakers were the only group to completely separate the two coarticulatory systems, as the other groups showed cross-linguistic influence. Finally, regarding the dynamics of vowel formants, speakers transfer L1 patterns to the L2. Linguistic proficiency in the L2 was a significant factor to acquire coarticulatory patterns. In the case of heritage speakers, different findings were found depending on the variable under study.
... achievable, and Flege and Bohn (2021) indicate that when the status of categories across languages is dissimilar, the formation of new categories will be more accessible, especially among early bilingual speakers who currently show high levels of L2 proficiency (for evidence that different patterns of vowel nasalization are perceived to be different see Beddor, 1993Beddor, , 2009and Beddor & Krakow, 1999). Further, bilingual speakers have been found to (partially) acquire foreign segment-to-segment timing strategies (Colantoni et al. 2021;Zsiga, 2011). Considering the theoretical assumptions, these are the research questions and predictions of the current study: ...
Segment-to-segment timing overlap between Vowel-Nasal gestures in /VN/ sequences varies cross-linguistically. However, how bilingual speakers may adjust those timing gestures is still unanswered. Regarding timing strategies in a second language (L2), research finds that native (L1) strategies can be partially transferred to the L2, and that higher L2 proficiency promotes a more successful phonetic performance. My goal is to answer whether highly proficient bilingual speakers can adjust their L1 coarticulatory settings in their L2 and to observe whether their L2 accentedness level plays a role in ultimate attainment. Ten native speakers of Spanish (L1Sp) who were highly proficient L2 English speakers participated in Spanish and English read-aloud tasks. A control group consisting of 16 L1 English speakers undertook the English experiment. Aerodynamic data were collected using pressure transducers. Each participant produced tokens with nasalized vowels in CVN# words and oral vowels in CV(CV)# words. Four linguistically trained judges (two per target language) evaluated a set of pseudo-randomized sentences produced by the participants containing words with nasalized vowels and rated the speech on a 1 (heavily accented) to 9 (native-like) Likert scale. Measurements for onset and degree of overall nasality were obtained. Results indicate the L1Sp group can accommodate gestural timing strategies cross-linguistically as they exhibit an earlier nasality onset and they increment nasality proportion in L2 English in a native-like manner. Additionally, a positive correlation between greater vowel nasality degree and native-like accentedness in the L2 was found, suggesting L2 timing settings might be specified in higher spoken proficiency levels.
... A theory that considers sound articulation and includes non-monolingual populations is Honikman's (1964) Articulatory Settings Theory. Honikman considers that speakers possess complete motor speech control at the time of speech production in each of the Colantoni et al. (2021) and Wilson and Gick (2014) implemented this theory to their own respective groups of bilingual speakers. The latter corroborated the idea that higher L2 proficiency correlated with greater articulatory control in the L2. ...
Gestural timing overlap between a vowel and subsequent nasal consonant results in the vowel being articulatorily nasalized. Research has shown that such degree of coarticulation varies cross-linguistically (e.g., English exhibits a greater gestural timing overlap than Spanish). This phenomenon has mainly been investigated in monolingual samples, and with only a small number of studies focusing on second and heritage language gestural timing patterns of nasality; the role of bilingualism in this respect is thus an open question, which is the focus of the current study. Sixteen second-generation US-born heritage bilinguals participated in this experiment. Their degree of bilingualism was assessed via the Bilingual Language Profile. They completed two separate read-aloud tasks: one in Spanish (heritage language) and one in English (second language). Simultaneous oral and nasal airflow were collected via pressure transducers from words that included phonetically oral and nasalized vowels. Results indicate that heritage bilinguals increment the degree of vocalic nasalization from Spanish to English. Nevertheless, their degree of bilingualism did not yield statistical significance in phonetic performance. The current study is the first one implementing aerodynamic methods with a heritage bilingual population and presents data for the possibility to possess two segment-to-segment timing strategies in heritage grammars.
Bilingualism and the study of speech sounds are two of the largest areas of inquiry in linguistics. This Handbook sits at the intersection of these fields, providing a comprehensive overview of the most recent, cutting-edge work on the sound systems of adult and child bilinguals. Bringing together contributions from an international team of world-leading experts, it covers all aspects of the speech perception, production and processing of bilingual individuals, as well as surveying cross-linguistic influences on the phonetics and phonology of bilingualism. The thirty-five chapters are divided into thematic areas covering the theoretical foundations and methodological approaches employed to investigate bilingual speech, overviews of major findings and developments in child and adult bilingual phonology and phonetics, descriptions of the major areas of research within the speech perception, production and processing of the bilingual individual, and examinations of various predictors of cross-linguistic influence and variables affecting the outcomes of bilingual speech.
Speech Sound Disorders (SSDs) is a generic term used to describe a range of difficulties producing speech sounds in children (McLeod and Baker, 2017). The foundations of clinical assessment, classification and intervention for children with SSD have been heavily influenced by psycholinguistic theory and procedures, which largely posit a firm boundary between phonological processes and phonetics/articulation (Shriberg, 2010). Thus, in many current SSD classification systems the complex relationships between the etiology (distal), processing deficits (proximal) and the behavioral levels (speech symptoms) is under-specified (Terband et al., 2019a). It is critical to understand the complex interactions between these levels as they have implications for differential diagnosis and treatment planning (Terband et al., 2019a). There have been some theoretical attempts made towards understanding these interactions (e.g., McAllister Byun and Tessier, 2016) and characterizing speech patterns in children either solely as the product of speech motor performance limitations or purely as a consequence of phonological/grammatical competence has been challenged (Inkelas and Rose, 2007; McAllister Byun, 2012). In the present paper, we intend to reconcile the phonetic-phonology dichotomy and discuss the interconnectedness between these levels and the nature of SSDs using an alternative perspective based on the notion of an articulatory “gesture” within the broader concepts of the Articulatory Phonology model (AP; Browman and Goldstein, 1992). The articulatory “gesture” serves as a unit of phonological contrast and characterization of the resulting articulatory movements (Browman and Goldstein, 1992; van Lieshout and Goldstein, 2008). We present evidence supporting the notion of articulatory gestures at the level of speech production and as reflected in control processes in the brain and discuss how an articulatory “gesture”-based approach can account for articulatory behaviors in typical and disordered speech production (van Lieshout, 2004; Pouplier and van Lieshout, 2016). Specifically, we discuss how the AP model can provide an explanatory framework for understanding SSDs in children. Although other theories may be able to provide alternate explanations for some of the issues we will discuss, the AP framework in our view generates a unique scope that covers linguistic (phonology) and motor processes in a unified manner.
Much of what is known about the outcome of second language acquisition and bilingualism can be summarized in terms of inter-individual variability, plasticity and age. The present review looks at variability and plasticity with respect to their underlying sources, and at age as a modulating factor in variability and plasticity. In this context we consider critical period effects vs. bilingualism effects, early and late bilingualism, nativelike and non-nativelike L2 attainment, cognitive aging, individual differences in learning, and linguistic dominance in bilingualism. Non-uniformity is an inherent characteristic of both early and late bilingualism. This review shows how plasticity and age connect with biological and experiential sources of variability, and underscores the value of research that reveals and explains variability. In these ways the review suggests how plasticity, variability and age conspire to frame fundamental research issues in L2 acquisition and bilingualism, and provides points of reference for discussion of the present Frontiers in Psychology Research Topic.
Second language learning outcomes are highly variable, due to a variety of factors, including individual differences, exposure conditions, and linguistic complexity. However, exactly how these factors interact to influence language learning is unknown. This article examines the relationship between these three variables in language learners.
Native English speakers were exposed to an artificial language containing three sentence patterns of varying linguistic complexity. They were randomly assigned to two groups—incidental and instructed—designed to promote the acquisition of implicit and explicit knowledge, respectively. Learning was assessed with a grammaticality judgment task, and subjective measures of awareness were used to measure whether exposure had resulted in implicit or explicit knowledge. Participants also completed cognitive tests.
Awareness measures demonstrated that learners in the incidental group relied more on implicit knowledge, whereas learners in the instructed group relied more on explicit knowledge. Overall, exposure condition was the most significant predictor of performance on the grammaticality judgment task, with learners in the instructed group outperforming those in the incidental group. Performance on a procedural learning task accounted for additional variance. When outcomes were analyzed according to linguistic complexity, exposure condition was the most significant predictor for two syntactic patterns, but it was not a predictor for the most complex sentence group; instead, procedural learning ability was.
Maximum likelihood or restricted maximum likelihood (REML) estimates of the
parameters in linear mixed-effects models can be determined using the lmer
function in the lme4 package for R. As for most model-fitting functions in R,
the model is described in an lmer call by a formula, in this case including
both fixed- and random-effects terms. The formula and data together determine a
numerical representation of the model from which the profiled deviance or the
profiled REML criterion can be evaluated as a function of some of the model
parameters. The appropriate criterion is optimized, using one of the
constrained optimization functions in R, to provide the parameter estimates. We
describe the structure of the model, the steps in evaluating the profiled
deviance or REML criterion, and the structure of classes or types that
represents such a model. Sufficient detail is included to allow specialization
of these structures by users who wish to write functions to fit specialized
linear mixed models, such as models incorporating pedigrees or smoothing
splines, that are not easily expressible in the formula language used by lmer.
Language experience systematically constrains perception of speech contrasts that deviate phonologically and/or phonetically from those of the listener's native language. These effects are most dramatic in adults, but begin to emerge in infancy and undergo further development through at least early childhood. The central question addressed here is: How do nonnative speech perception findings bear on phonological and phonetic aspects of second language (L2) perceptual learning? A frequent assumption has been that nonnative speech perception can also account for the relative difficulties that late learners have with specific L2 segments and contrasts. However, evaluation of this assumption must take into account the fact that models of nonnative speech perception such as the Perceptual Assimilation Model (PAM) have focused primarily on naive listeners, whereas models of L2 speech acquisition such as the Speech Learning Model (SLM) have focused on experienced listeners. This chapter probes the assumption that L2 perceptual learning is determined by nonnative speech perception principles, by considering the commonalities and complementarities between inexperienced listeners and those learning an L2, as viewed from PAM and SUA. Among the issues examined are how language learning may affect perception of phonetic vs. phonological information, how monolingual vs. multiple language experience may impact perception, and what these may imply for attunement of speech perception to changes in the listener's language environment.
Previous work has shown that monolingual French and English speakers use distinct articulatory settings, the underlying articulatory posture of a language. The present study reports an experiment investigating articulatory settings in bilingual speakers. We first test the hypothesis that in order to sound native-like, bilinguals must use distinct language-specific articulatory settings in monolingual mode. Then, we test the hypothesis that in bilingual mode, a bilingual's articulatory setting is identical to the monolingual-mode setting of one of their languages.
Eight French-English bilinguals each read 90 English and 90 French sentences, and their inter-speech posture (ISP) was measured using optical tracking of the lips/jaw and ultrasound imaging of the tongue.
Results show that bilingual speakers who are perceived as native in both languages exhibit distinct language-specific ISPs, and those who are not perceived as native in one or more languages do not. In bilingual mode, bilinguals use an ISP that is equivalent to the monolingual-mode ISP of their currently most-used language. The most balanced bilingual used a French lip ISP but an English tongue-tip ISP.
Results support the claim that bilinguals who sound native in each of their languages have distinct articulatory settings for each language.
In this article, I discuss a linguistic model for explaining second-language (L2) sound perception, which is a phenomenon that has commonly been modelled within the disciplines of phonetics and psycholinguistics. This linguistic model will be applied to the learning of SIMILAR L2 sounds. This L2 learning scenario refers to the acquisition of the knowledge involved in the perception of L2 sounds that are phonologically equivalent but yet phonetically different from the acoustically closest sounds in the learner's first language (L1). In the introduction, I argue, based on phonetic and psycholinguistic grounds, that speech perception is a language-specific phenomenon that should be brought into the domain of phonological modelling. Additionally, I propose a number of characteristics which incorporate phonological, phonetic, and psycholinguistic modelling and which should be found in a comprehensive and explanatory adequate model for sound perception. In § 2, I demonstrate that the Linguistic Perception (LP) model complies with these criteria. Crucially, I show that the L1 acquisition component of the LP model is shown to constitute a successful proposal for the mechanisms involved in learning to perceive L1 sounds. In § 3, I show how the L2 version of the LP model successfully describes, explains, and predicts the learning of SIMILAR L2 sounds. Specifically, the model predicts that listeners are optimal perceivers of their native language and that beginning L2 learners start with a copy of their L1 optimal perception. These two predictions are confirmed by the perception of /æ/ and // by monolingual Canadian English (CE) and Canadian French (CF) listeners and by the L2 perception of beginning CE learners of CF. Further, the model predicts that learners will adjust their initial L2 perception by means of the same mechanism used by L1 learners. This developmental prediction is confirmed by the gradual shifting of the category boundary between /æ/ and // in CE learners of CF. Finally, the L2LP model hypothesizes that both L1 and L2 can be optimal because they are handled by two separate grammars. The data demonstrate that CE learners of CF have differential perception systems for their L1 and L2. In sum, it is shown that this model provides the currently most comprehensive description, explanation, and prediction of L2 sound perception. It successfully incorporates an L2 phenomenon which was commonly regarded as phonetic or psycholinguistic within the domain of phonology, a modelling proposal which follows the tradition started by Escudero and Boersma (2004).
While it is well known that languages have different phonemes and phonologies, there is growing interest in the idea that languages may also differ in their ‘phonetic setting’. The term ‘phonetic setting’ refers to a tendency to make the vocal apparatus employ a language-specific habitual configuration. For example, languages may differ in their degree of lip-rounding, tension of the lips and tongue, jaw position, phonation types, pitch range and register. Such phonetic specifications may be particularly difficult for second language (L2) learners to acquire, yet be easily perceivable by first language (L1) listeners as inappropriate. Techniques that are able to capture whether and how an L2 learner’s pronunciation proficiency in their two languages relates to the respective phonetic settings in each language should prove useful for second language research. This article gives an overview of a selection of techniques that can be used to investigate phonetic settings at the articulatory level, such as flesh-point tracking, ultrasound tongue imaging and electropalatography (EPG), as well as a selection of acoustic measures such as measures of pitch range, long-term average spectra and formants.
This volume explores how a second language is acquired and what learners must do in order to achieve proficiency. The paperback edition is a collection of original essays that approaches second language acquisition from a linguistic rather than a sociological, psychological, or purely pedagogical perspective. A wide range of viewpoints and approaches is represented. The essays in this book provide an incisive analysis of how a second language is acquired and what the second language learner must do mentally to achieve proficiency in another language. The chapters are arranged topically from those covering the broad area of theories of acquisition to those focusing specifically on syntax, semantics, pragmatics, lexicon, and phonology in another language.
This article seeks to illuminate the degree of position-based
variation observed in the acquisition of new segments in a second language
and to explain such variability as the consequence of phonetic
constraints; this approach contrasts with much previous research that has
used typological markedness to the same end. Specifically, it is proposed
that learners will have the least difficulty acquiring sounds that involve
novel combinations of voicing and manner in positions that favor the
phonetic implementation of these sounds. Moreover, on the assumption that
not all parameters can be mastered simultaneously, it is predicted that
learners will first acquire aspects of a segment's articulation that
are perceptually salient and articulatorily easier. The data come from a
study of the acquisition of French
by 20 intermediate- and advanced-proficiency English-speaking learners of
French. Acoustic analysis of the data reveals asymmetries that favor
accuracy with manner in onsets versus more targetlike realization of
voicing in codas, in which devoicing exists in the input. Beyond
demonstrating the role of phonetic principles in determining
position-based variation, the findings contribute to our understanding of
the acquisition of new consonantal contrasts by providing empirical
evidence from a non-Germanic language to bear on this line of inquiry.
This study investigated acoustic-phonetics of coronal stop production by adult simultaneous bilingual and monolingual speakers of Canadian English (CE) and Canadian French (CF). Differences in the phonetics of CF and CE include voicing and place of articulation distinctions. CE has a two-way voicing distinction (in syllable initial position) contrasting short-and long-lag VOT; coronal stops in CE are described as alveolar. CF also has a two-way voicing distinction, but contrasting lead and short-lag VOT; coronal stops in CF are described as dental. Acoustic analyses of stop consonants for both VOT and dental/alveolar place of articulation are reported. Results indicate that simultaneous bilingual as well as monolingual adults produce language-specific differences, albeit not in the same way, across CF and CE for voicing and place. Similarities and differences between simultaneous bilingual and monolingual adults are discussed to address phonological organization in simultaneous bilingual adults.
Theoretical and descriptive work on Spanish phonetics and phonology has been largely based on Peninsular varieties. This study uses electropalatography (EPG) to investigate articulatory characteristics of coronal consonant contrasts in Argentine and Cuban Spanish. Simultaneous EPG and acoustic data were collected from five speakers from Buenos Aires (Argentina) and three speakers from Havana (Cuba) reading sentences with various syllable-initial coronal consonants corresponding to the orthographic <t, ch, n, ñ, s, z, ll, y, l, r>. As a control, the same data were collected from a single speaker of Peninsular Spanish from Madrid. As expected, the main distinction in both varieties was made between anterior and posterior coronal consonants ((denti-)alveolars vs. (alveolo-)palatals) and reflected the historical merger of the sounds represented by and . At the same time, the results revealed some consistent differences between the two varieties in the location of the constriction and the amount of linguopalatal contact for most coronal consonants. First, the coronal consonants produced by the Argentine speakers were overall considerably more fronted and more constricted than the corresponding consonants produced by the Cuban speakers. Second, <ll, y> were produced as a fronted alveolo-palatal fricative by the Argentine speakers, and as an approximant by the Cuban speakers. Inter-speaker variation was observed within the varieties in the articulation of some consonants, namely in the Argentine alveolo-palatal fricative and nasal (<ll, y> and <ñ>), and the Cuban alveolo-palatal affricate .
The article reports on the fourth study in a series of four designed to test the prediction that a nativelike accent is unattainable for those who start to acquire an SL after the close of the critical period. Sentences read out by late learners, who acquired Dutch in an immersion setting, were rated for accent by native speakers of Dutch. The results from this study, in combination with those from three previous studies, suggest that, in spite of the claims of the critical period hypothesis, late learners can achieve a nativelike accent in an SL, and that a combination of input, motivational, and instructional factors may compensate for the neurological disadvantages of a late start.
This paper describes technical and methodological advances in the development of a procedure for measuring changes in accuracy and stability of linguapalatal (tongue-palate) contact patterns during a course of visual feedback therapy using electropalatography (EPG). The procedure is exemplified by a case in which therapy was aimed at resolving a pattern of velar fronting whereby phonetic targets /k, g, / had abnormal alveolar placement (t, d, n). The EPG remediation and assessment procedure can be implemented using recording, feedback and analysis software designed for the purpose.
Formant frequency data for /l/ in 23 languages/dialects where the consonant may be typically clear or dark show that the two varieties of /l/ are set in contrast mostly in the context of /i/ but also next to /a/, and that a few languages/dialects may exhibit intermediate degrees of darkness in the consonant. F2 for /l/ is higher utterance initially than utterance finally, more so if the lateral is clear than if it is dark; moreover, the initial and final allophones may be characterized as intrinsic (in most languages/dialects) or extrinsic (in several English dialects, Czech and Dutch) depending on whether the position-dependent frequency difference in question is below or above 200/300Hz. The paper also reports a larger degree of vowel coarticulation for clear /l/ than for dark /l/ and in initial than in final position. These results are interpreted in terms of the production mechanisms involved in the realization of the two /l/ varieties in the different positional and vowel context conditions subjected to investigation.
The H&H theory is developed from evidence showing that speaking and listening are shaped by biologically general processes. Speech production is adaptive. Speakers can, and typically do, tune their performance according to communicative and situational demands, controlling the interplay between production-oriented factors on the one hand, and output-oriented constraints on the other. For the ideal speaker, H&H claims that such adaptations reflect his tacit awareness of the listener’s access to sources of information independent of the signal and his judgement of the short-term demands for explicit signal information. Hence speakers are expected to vary their output along a continuum of hyper- and hypospeech. The theory suggests that the lack of invariance that speech signals commonly exhibit (Perkell and Klatt 1986) is a direct consequence of this adaptive organization (cf MacNeilage 1970). Accordingly, in the H&H program the quest for phonetic invariance is replaced by another research task: Explicating the notion of sufficient discriminability and defining the class of speech signals that meet that criterion.
Electropalatographic data for several front lingual consonants, i.e., the dental /t/, the alveolars /n, l, s, r/ and the alveolopalatals /t∫, ∫, ʎ, ɲ/, show differences in constriction anteriority among Catalan dialects varying in the progression Valencian > Eastern, with the Majorcan dialect occupying an intermediate position. These differences do not conform to speaker- dependent differences in palate morphology and, to the extent that they operate on a varied range of consonants, may be attributed to base of articulation. Deviations from this pattern are associated with manner of articulation and symmetry demands. A specific dialect- dependent relationship between tongue dorsum contact and constriction fronting is interpreted assuming the existence of less laminal, more apical dental and alveolar stops, and less dorsal, more laminal alveolopalatals, in Valencian than in the other two dialects. These data are interpreted in terms of the articulatory characteristics for different tongue front settings which have been proposed in the literature.
A series of experiments shows that Spanish learners of English acquire the ship-sheep contrast in a way specific to their target dialect (Scottish or Southern British English) and that many learners exhibit a perceptual strategy found in neither Spanish nor English. To account for these facts as well as for the findings of earlier research on second language (L2) speech perception, we provide an Optimality Theoretic model of phonological categorization that comes with a formal learning algorithm for its acquisition. Within this model, the dialect-dependent and L2-specific facts provide evidence for the hypotheses of Full Transfer and Full Access. a
Underlying the apparent diversity shown by thousands of mutually incomprehensible languages of the world, there is a remarkable, elegant and principled unity in the way that these languages exploit the phonetic resources of speech. It is these principles that Professor Laver sets out to describe in this major new textbook. Assuming no previous knowledge of the subject, it is designed for readers who wish to pursue the study of phonetics from an initial to an advanced stage, equipping them with the necessary foundations for independent research. The book moves from a discussion of general concepts to a total of eleven chapters on phonetic classification, and it includes discussion of other issues such as the relationship between phonetics and phonology. There are illustrations from over 500 of the world's languages. Principles of Phonetics will be required reading for all serious students of speech and language.
The variation that a speech sound undergoes under the influence of neighbouring sounds has acquired the well-established label coarticulation. The phenomenon of coarticulation has become a central problem in the theory of speech production. Much experimental work has been directed towards discovering its characteristics, its extent and its occurrence across different languages. This book is a major study of coarticulation by a team of international researchers. It provides a definitive account of the experimental findings to date, together with discussions of their implications for modelling the process of speech production. Different components of the speech production system (larynx, tongue, jaw, etc.) require different techniques for investigation and a whole section of this book is devoted to a description of the experimental techniques currently used. Other chapters offer a theoretically sophisticated discussion of the implications of coarticulation for the phonology-phonetics interface.
This article is Part II of a general overview of current methods in articulatory phonetics research (which also consists of Part I “Research methods in articulatory phonetics I: Introduction & studying oral gestures”). The article begins by examining methods employed by phoneticians to investigate laryngeal and nasal gestures—speech‐related configurations of the glottis and the lowering/raising the velum for nasal/oral consonants and vowels. This is done by reviewing the methods of electroglottography, endoscopy, photoglottography, and measurements of airflow and air pressure. The article further examines magnetic resonance imaging and radiography (X‐rays)—the methods employed to investigate the entire vocal tract. The review is concluded with the methods of video recording and optical tracking, as used to study manual gestures in speech and sign language. Each methodological section contains a review of relevant journal publications illustrating the application of the method, as well as references to further readings. The article concludes with an overview of current developments and trends in instrumental articulatory phonetics, and highlight issues requiring further research.
The first description of voice quality production in forty years, this book provides a new framework for its study: The Laryngeal Articulator Model. Informed by instrumental examinations of the laryngeal articulatory mechanism, it revises our understanding of articulatory postures to explain the actions, vibrations and resonances generated in the epilarynx and pharynx. It focuses on the long-term auditory-articulatory component of accent in the languages of the world, explaining how voice quality relates to segmental and syllabic sounds. Phonetic illustrations of phonation types and of laryngeal and oral vocal tract articulatory postures are provided. Extensive video and audio material is available on a companion website. The book presents computational simulations, the laryngeal and voice quality foundations of infant speech acquisition, speech/voice disorders and surgeries that entail compensatory laryngeal articulator adjustment, and an exploration of the role of voice quality in sound change and of the larynx in the evolution of speech. © John H. Esling, Scott R. Moisik, Allison Benner and Lise Crevier-Buchman 2019.
The purpose of this study was to quantitatively contrast the articulatory settings of two Dutch dialects. Tongue movement data during speech were collected on site at two high schools (34 speakers) in the Netherlands using a portable electromagnetic articulography device. Comparing the tongue positions during pauses in speech between the two groups revealed a clear difference in the articulatory settings, with significantly more frontal tongue positions for the speakers from Ubbergen in the Southeast of the Netherlands compared to those from Ter Apel in the North of the Netherlands. These results provide quantitative evidence for differences in articulatory settings at the dialect level.
This study investigated whether individual differences in cognitive functions, attentional abilities in particular, were associated with individual differences in the quality of phonological representations, resulting in variability in speech perception and production. To do so, we took advantage of a tone merging phenomenon in Cantonese, and identified three groups of typically developed speakers who could differentiate the two rising tones (high and low rising) in both perception and production [+Per+Pro], only in perception [+Per–Pro], or in neither modalities [–Per–Pro]. Perception and production were reflected, respectively, by discrimination sensitivity d′ and acoustic measures of pitch offset and rise time differences. Components of event-related potential (ERP)—the mismatch negativity (MMN) and the ERPs to amplitude rise time—were taken to reflect the representations of the acoustic cues of tones. Components of attention and working memory in the auditory and visual modalities were assessed with published test batteries. The results show that individual differences in both perception and production are linked to how listeners encode and represent the acoustic cues (pitch contour and rise time) as reflected by ERPs. The present study has advanced our knowledge from previous work by integrating measures of perception, production, attention, and those reflecting quality of representation, to offer a comprehensive account for the underlying cognitive factors of individual differences in speech processing. Particularly, it is proposed that domain-general attentional switching affects the quality of perceptual representations of the acoustic cues, giving rise to individual differences in perception and production.
In the present study electromagnetic articulography (EMA) was used to address the question whether articulatory settings are related to foreign-accentedness of speech in Polish speakers of English. The analysis concerns positions of articulators in speech-ready postures assumed shortly before producing an utterance. The objectives of the study are the following: (i) to obtain direct measurement data that could allow for a more detailed description of articulatory settings characteristic of Polish; (ii) to measure and describe articulatory settings in Poles while speaking English (iii) to compare the differences between settings adopted while speaking Polish and English by speakers with near-native English pronunciation and by speakers whose English pronunciation is heavily accented. The conducted experiment confirms the existence of language-specific articulatory settings and their influence on the degree of foreign-accentedness in Polish speakers of English.
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The traditional morpheme order studies in second language acquisition have tried to demonstrate the existence of a fixed order of acquisition of English morphemes, regardless of the second language learner's background. Such orders have been taken as evidence of the preprogrammed nature of language acquisition. This article argues for a process-based, dynamic explanation of development, in which each developmental step is based on the dynamic interaction of all processes involved. Due to the complexity of these interactions, the developmental process cannot be predetermined and fixed. Although stages of development like the acquisition order of morphemes are commonly observed as a grand sweep effect at the group level, these stages may be meaningless at the level of the individual language learner. This paradox shows we can only make the observations that our method allows us. If we are interested in grand sweep effects that may be generalizable to large populations of learners, we will have to carry out group studies with representative samples that can be analyzed using Gaussian statistics based on the normal distribution. But if we are interested in how an individual learner progresses over time as a result of changing variables in a changing context, we will have to conduct longitudinal studies and use nonlinear methods of analysis.
Voice quality settings can be used to characterize ESL students' accents and to help non-native speakers of English improve their pronunciation. The concept of voice quality settings is discussed, drawing from the descriptive phonetic methodology of Abercrombie, Laver, Honikman, and Esling. A broad model of the voice quality setting of one variety of English spoken in North America is described, and settings in other languages are identified. Finally, suggestions for making students aware of their own settings are presented.
This study examined whether high-variability auditory training on natural speech can benefit experienced second-language English speakers who already are exposed to natural variability in their daily use of English. The subjects were native French speakers who had learned English in school; experienced listeners were tested in England and the less experienced listeners were tested in France. Both groups were given eight sessions of high-variability phonetic training for English vowels, and were given a battery of perception and production tests to evaluate their improvement. The results demonstrated that both groups learned to similar degrees, suggesting that training provides a type of learning that is distinct from that obtained in more naturalistic situations.
This paper has two major objectives: (1) to summarise Processability Theory, a processing-oriented approach to explaining language development and (2) to utilise this theory in the comparison of development in LI and L2 acquisition. Proponents of the Fundamental Difference Hypothesis (between L1 and L2) assume that L1 development can be explained with reference to Universal Grammar (UG) which, in their view, is inaccessible to L2 learners. Instead, they claim that a second language develops on the basis of language processing strategies.
I will show that the fundamentally different developmental paths inherent in first and second language acquisition can both be explained on the basis of the same language processing mechanics (as specified in Processability Theory). I will demonstrate that the developmental differences between L1 and L2 are caused by the qualitatively different early structural hypotheses which propagate through the acquisition process. The concept of “propagation of structural features” will be viewed as “generative entrenchment,” a logical-mathematical concept, which has proved to be highly productive in examining other kinds of developmental processes.
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This fourth article in a series presenting the results of a computer-assisted analysis of a tape-recorded corpus of upper-class French conversations deals with the distribution and frequency of occurrence of phonemes in that language. Statistics are given for all phonemes in word-initial and word-final positions, together with grand totals for all positions, and for consonant clusters, as they occur within words and as they are created by word juncture. The numerical results are interpreted in the context of several prevalent notions about French.
The term ‘articulatory setting’ first appeared in English phonetic literature in a much-cited article by Beatrice Honikman (1964). The link between this term and a set of synonyms used by a range of 19th century European scholars was amply demonstrated by Laver (1978). By examining a few of the many sources available, this article seeks to show, as Laver’s article did not, that the phenomenon that Honikman discusses has been almost continuously present in German phonetic literature from Sievers (1876) onward, and that British scholars in the 20th century failed to take account of this. As a result, the concept was entirely absent from British phonetic literature from about 1909 until 1964. Against this background the article also seeks to establish possible direct sources for Honikman’s ideas.
SUMMARY
'Articulatory setting' is a modern term for the component of a speaker's voice quality that derives from a habitual muscular adjustment (such as tending to keep the tongue low in the mouth). The general concept of settings, as long-term tendencies underlying the momentary segmental and suprasegmental articulations of speech, however, has been the subject of discussion in writings on phonetics since the middle of the 17th century. The article explores aspects of the historical development of the concept, particularly with regard to the aspect of voice quality that characterizes the pronunciation of different languages, usually referred to as 'basis of articulation'. The writings of Wallis, Wilkins, Holder and Cooper in the 17th century, Bayly, Herries and Webster in the 18th, Sweet in the 19th, and Heffner, Honikman and Abercrombie in the 20th, are discussed.
RÉSUMÉ
L'expression de 'disposition articulatoire' (articulatory setting) est une notion moderne désignant, chez un locuteur donné, la composante du timbre qui résulte des adaptations musculaires habituelles (par exemple la tendance à garder la langue en position basse). Le concept général de 'disposition', ou ensemble des tendances durables sous-jacentes aux articulations segmentales et suprasegmentales du discours, fait, en revanche, l'objet de discussion dans des écrits de phonétique depuis le milieu du XVIIe siècle. Le présent article explore certains aspects de l'histoire du concept, en particulier pour ce qui concerne le timbre caractéristique de la prononciation d'une langue généralement appelé 'base d'articulation'. Nous y passons en revue les écrits de Wallis, Wilkins, Holder et Cooper au XVIIe siècle, Bayly, Herries et Webster au XVIIIe, Sweet au XIXe, Heffner, Honikman et Abercrombie au XXe siècle.
Electropalatography (EPG) is a highly effective tool for speech research and for the diagnosis and treatment of a range of speech disorders. The technique requires an EPG palate to be custom made for each user. The manufacture of the palate is both costly and time consuming and inhibits wider uptake of the technique. This paper undertakes a thorough re-examination of all aspects of EPG palate design including criteria for selecting the number and location of contacts, materials properties, costs and safety issues. Palate design over the last 30 years is reviewed and a new design (the Articulate palate) is proposed based on the findings, which minimizes cost while maximizing comfort, safety, convenience, reliability and accuracy.
This article examines the extent of differences between second language (L2) learners in their abilities to identify L2 consonants and provides evidence for linguistic generalization from one consonant to other consonants. It distinguishes among different sorts of models of the relationship between segments: (a) segmentally specific models in which each segment is treated separately and (b) generalized featural models in which segments that share features are treated as a group. It also examines (c) ordered models in which one segment might rely on another previously existing one. The article presents the results of an experiment with 40 Korean learners of English identifying English obstruents in different prosodic locations, and it examines the pattern of variation in perceptual accuracy across the listeners. Results indicate that manner perception varies from person to person as a unit, regardless of the segment, suggesting a single generalized featural skill. Voicing identification, however, does not vary as a unit across the different prosodic positions, suggesting different skills that are applicable to different prosodic positions and are acquired separately. There is also evidence for an implicational relationship between pairs of segments that differ in markedness, providing some evidence for an ordered model; however, such patterns are not pervasive across different contrasts.
The difference between French and English speakers' production of the coronal consonants /t, d, n, l, s, z/ has traditionally been thought to involve place of articulation (dentalvs. alveolar) and/or point of constriction on the tongue (laminalvs. apical). In addition, these six consonants are usually placed in the same column of the consonant chart and assumed to have the same place of articulation within a given language. A palatographic and linguagraphic investigation of 21 French speakers and 20 American English speakers shows that there is more individual variation in both languages than had previously been supposed. This is true both between speakers and between consonants. The study shows that speakers within one language may not all produce the coronal consonants at the same place of articulation on the palate or with the same point of constriction on the tongue. It is also clear that the place of articulation and apicality of the coronal lateral, and to a lesser extent the coronal fricatives, may not pattern with that of the stop consonants. Analysis of acoustic recordings made simultaneously with the palatograms and linguagrams is forthcoming.
This study examines the effect of prosodic position on segmental properties of Korean consonants /n, t, th, t*/ along the articulatory parameters peak linguopalatal contact and stop seal duration, and several acoustic parameters. These parameters were compared in initial position in different domains of the Korean prosodic hierarchy. The first result is that consonants initial in higher prosodic domains are articulatorily stronger than those in lower domains, in the sense of having more linguopalatal contact. Second, there is a strong correlation between linguopalatal contact and duration (both articulatory and acoustic), suggesting that “strengthening” and “lengthening” is a single effect in Korean. We interpret this relation as one of undershoot: in weaker positions, consonants are shorter and undershoot contact targets. The different consonant manners of Korean can be characterized as varying in both duration and contact in this way. Third, there is another, less consistent, kind of lengthening and strengthening specific to Korean, namely that tense and aspirated consonant oral articulations can be longer and stronger word-medially than word-initially. Fourth, the acoustic properties VOT, total voiceless interval, %voicing during closure, nasal energy minimum, and to a lesser extent stop burst energy and voicing into closure, were found to vary with prosodic position and, in some cases, to correlate with linguopalatal contact. They could thus potentially provide cues to listeners about prosodic structure.