Vowel-to-vowel coarticulation
Bob McMurray, Jennifer Cole, Cheyenne Munson, and Gary Linebaugh
Speakers vary their vowel sounds when speaking, but rather than being random these variations happen
systematically depending on many contextual factors. The other vowels that are pronounced in proximity to the
target vowel are one such factor. For example, we expect the /ε/ in wet eagle to be fronted and
raised compared to the /ε/ in wet oxen. /ε/ and /ʌ/ in
particular may undergo coarticulation from many directions because of their central position in vowel space,
shown at right.
Our research aims to demonstrate the systematic production of vowel-to-vowel coarticulation accross word boundaries. For instance, the vowel in wet will be produced slightly different when pronounced in the phrase "wet eagle" than in the phrase "wet octopus." The figure below is from a production study in which speakers pronounced words with /ε/ and /ʌ/ vowels followed by, or in the context of, words containing /i/, /æ/, and /ɑ/ vowels. The figure shows the effect of context on the targets.
As in the place assimilation research, we also hope to show that adult listeners are sensitive to this vowel-to-vowel coarticulation and that they can use this information to help them predict upcoming words in an eye-tracking task.
Presentations:
Cole, J. S., Linebaugh, G., Munson, C., & McMurray, B. (2007, October).
Vowel-to-vowel coarticulation across words in English: Acoustic evidence.
Paper presented at the 13th Mid-Continental Workshop on Phonology. Columbus, OH.
abstract
Cole, J., McMurray, B., Linebaugh, G., & Munson, C. (2007, October). Parsing acoustic variability as a mechanism for feature abstraction. Paper presented at Where do Features Come From? Phonological Features in the Brain, the Mouth, and the Ear. Paris, France.