The influence of the palate shape on articulatory token-to-token variability

  • Articulatory token-to-token variability not only depends on linguistic aspects like the phoneme inventory of a given language but also on speaker specific morphological and motor constraints. As has been noted previously (Perkell (1997), Mooshammer et al. (2004)), speakers with coronally high "domeshaped" palates exhibit more articulatory variability than speakers with coronally low "flat" palates. One explanation for that is based on perception oriented control by the speaker. The influence of articulatory variation on the cross sectional area and consequently on the acoustics should be greater for flat palates than for domeshaped ones. This should force speakers with flat palates to place their tongue very precisely whereas speakers with domeshaped palates might tolerate a greater variability. A second explanation could be a greater amount of lateral linguo-palatal contact for flat palates holding the tongue in position. In this study both hypotheses were tested. In order to investigate the influence of the palate shape on the variability of the acoustic output a modelling study was carried out. Parallely, an EPG experiment was conducted in order to investigate the relationship between palate shape, articulatory variability and linguo-palatal contact. Results from the modelling study suggest that the acoustic variability resulting from a certain amount of articulatory variability is higher for flat palates than for domeshaped ones. Results from the EPG experiment with 20 speakers show that (1.) speakers with a flat palate exhibit a very low articulatory variability whereas speakers with a domeshaped palate vary, (2.) there is less articulatory variability if there is lots of linguo-palatal contact and (3.) there is no relationship between the amount of lateral linguo-palatal contact and palate shape. The results suggest that there is a relationship between token-to-token variability and palate shape, however, it is not that the two parameters correlate, but that speakers with a flat palate always have a low variability because of constraints of the variability range of the acoustic output whereas speakers with a domeshaped palate may choose the degree of variability. Since linguo-palatal contact and variability correlate it is assumed that linguo-palatal contact is a means for reducing the articulatory variability.

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Metadaten
Author:Jana BrunnerGND, Susanne Fuchs, Pascal Perrier
URN:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-309391
URL:http://www.zas.gwz-berlin.de/190.html?&L=1%2527%252band%252bchar%28124%29%25252Buser%25252Bchar%28124%29%25253D0%252band%252b%2527%2527%25253D%2527
ISSN:1435-9588
ISSN:0947-7055
Parent Title (English):Papers in phonetics and phonology / Ed.: Christian Geng ..., Zentrum für Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft, Sprachtypologie und Universalienforschung, Berlin, 2001; ZAS papers in linguistics Vol. 42
Publisher:Zentrum für Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft, Sprachtypologie und Universalienforschung
Place of publication:Berlin
Document Type:Part of a Book
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2013/11/14
Year of first Publication:2005
Publishing Institution:Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:2013/11/14
GND Keyword:Artikulation; Artikulator; Zunge; Palatographie; Phonetik
Volume:42
Page Number:25
First Page:43
Last Page:67
HeBIS-PPN:381234428
Dewey Decimal Classification:4 Sprache / 41 Linguistik / 414 Phonologie, Phonetik
Sammlungen:Linguistik
Linguistik-Klassifikation:Linguistik-Klassifikation: Phonetik/Phonologie / Phonetics/Phonology
Zeitschriften / Jahresberichte:ZAS papers in linguistics : ZASPiL / ZASPiL 42 = Papers in Phonetics and Phonology
:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-306844
Licence (German):License LogoDeutsches Urheberrecht