Connected speech processes

Coarticulation

Suprasegmentals

What is coarticulation?

What is coarticulation?

• “An event in speech production in which adjustments of the speech production system are made simultaneously for two or more speech sounds” (Kent)

What is coarticulation?

• In other words, the features of speech elements will vary depending upon the context in which they are produced

Terms used that refer to this general concept

• Coarticulation

• Coproduction

• Contextual variation

Kinds of coarticulation

• A speech event can be influenced by a previous event

OR

• A speech event can be influenced by an upcoming event

Coarticulation

• Anticipatory (right-to-left) coarticulation– A segment’s features are influenced by

upcoming segment

S1 S2

Coarticulation

• Carryover (left-to-right) coarticulation– A segment’s features are influenced by a

previous segment

S1 S2

Examples of anticipatory coarticulation

• Lip protrusion has been observed three (or more) consonants in advance of a rounded vowel

• e.g. /stu/ (“stew”) will exhibit lip rounding through the /s/ and /t/

An (in)famous coarticulation study

Anticipatory coarticulation: Some implications from study of lip rounding

by

Fredericka Bell-Berti & Katherine Harris

Haskins Laboratory

New Haven CT

Published in JASA Vol 65(3) 1979

Examples of anticipatory coarticulation

• Velopharyngeal opening can occur two vowels in advance of a nasal consonant

• e.g. /an/ will exhibit V-P opening during the /a/

Examples of anticipatory coarticulation

• Jaw opening for an open vowel may be observed two consonants in advance of the vowel

Examples of carryover coarticulation

• Velopharyngeal opening can continue into a vowel following a nasal consonant

• e.g. /nat/ will exhibit V-P opening during the /a/

Why is there coarticulation?

• Articulators cannot make quantum leaps from one static position to another

Carryover coarticulation

A possible reason?

• Articulator are ‘sluggish’ and it takes time to move on to the next sound

Anticipatory coarticulation

A possible reason?

• Articulator are ‘sluggish’ and it takes time to move on to the next sound

Connected speech processes

Coarticulation

Suprasegmentals

Suprasegmentals

• Intonation

• Stress

• Duration

Intonation

• Manner in which Fo is varied to mark linguistic aspects of speech

• Fo/pitch contour

• Rise-fall pattern typical for declarative sentences

• Start-frequency - variable

• End-frequency - stable

Sound pressure waveform

Fo contour

start Foend Fo

Intonation

• End-frequency may be related to the physiology of phonation

• Completing a speech breath – Psg is lower ~ lower Fo

But, this doesn’t have to be the case…

Intonation

• Questions are marked by a rising Fo contour

• Can override patterns for linguistic purposes

Stress

• Not the kind of stress you get around exam time

• Stress is applied to parts of speech

• For example,– Lexical stress– Emphatic stress

Stress

• Stress typically marked by– Higher Fo– Higher intensity– Longer duration– Vowels will be more clearly articulated than

unstressed– Perception of stress will result from some

combination of these acoustic features

Duration

• The length of speech sounds

• Why are sounds as long as they are?– Physical requirements of their production– Phonetic distinction (i.e. vowel length)– Context in which they are produced– Overall rate of speech