Coarticulation

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Coarticulation

• LIN 3201

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Coarticulation

• Articulation at two different places
  simultaneously
• May be essential to the nature of the sound
  itself
• w (voiced labial-velar approximant), ?
  (voiced labial-palatal approximant)
• Or environmental, resulting of the production of
  that sound in an environment of other sounds
• k rounder, with slight lip rounding, before u

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The key to coarticulation is that

• TWO DIFFERENT ARTICULATIONS OCCUR AT THE SAME TIME

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Well be most concerned with the different types
of

• ESSENTIAL COARTICULATION

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Essential Coarticulation

• In the nature of the sound itself
• Type 1 Coordinate Structures
• Two equal articulations
• produced at the same time
• Type 2 Secondary Articulations
• One articulation is imposed onto another, with
  one articulation
• subordinate to the other

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• Coarticulation can involve two sounds of the same
  rank, (Coordinate)
• such as kp (2 stops)
• Or two sounds of different ranks (Secondary),
• such as tw (stop approximant)

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NOTE On the Ranking of Consonant Strictures

• To talk about coarticulation,
• we must first talk about the ranking
• of consonant strictures.
• Rank is from most closed, most constricted
• to most open, least constricted
• Stop gt Trill gt Fricative gt
• Approximant gt Vowel

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TYPE 1 - Coordinate Structures OR Double
Articulations

• Equal sounds, of same rank (with same degree of
  stricture), produced at the same time
• Stop-stop
• gb, kp (have tie bar underneath to connect
  them)
• West African languages Sherbro gbí all
• Fricative-fricative
• ?x written as ?
• Exists in some dialects of Swedish skjorta
  ?or?a shirt
• Harder to produce because of maintenance of air,
  very rare
• Approximant-approximant
• More common
• English, w French ? huit ?it eight

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TYPE 2 Secondary Articulations

• Imposition of one sound, of one rank, imposed on
  another
• Primary stricture usually has more stricture
  secondary has less
• Secondary stricture is usually an approximate

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In other words

• The primary consonant being produced will
  generally be a stop or a fricative,
• tj, sj, kw
• while the secondary consonant being produced
  will be a sound with less stricture, like an
  approximant
• tj, sj, kw

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Major types of Secondary Coarticulation

• All are transcribed with diacritics
• Labialization hold tongue at w while
  producing primary articulation w
• Palatalization hold tongue at i while
  producing primary articulation j
• Velarization hold tongue at velar approximant,
  ? while producing primary articulation ?
• Pharyngealization pushing back of tongue as
  downwards and as backwards as possible, as if
  swallowing while producing primary
  articulation ?
• Nasalization generally coarticulation with
  vowels made by sending air through nasal cavity
  while producing primary articulation

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Keep in mind

• Some of these distinctions can seem very subtle,
  or difficult to distinguish
• Sample from English
• Palatalized lj vs. Velarized l?
• Palatalized before j, before vowels lj
• ljif leaf m?lj ?n million
• Velarized word medially and finally l?
• fijl? feel

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Sequences
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Sequence VS. Coarticulation

• Instead of being produced simultaneously,
• like coarticulated sounds,
• sequences
• consist of two or more sounds
• produced right after one another
• that function as a single unit
• in that language

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Types of Sequences

• Homorganic Sequences
• produced with the same speech organs,
• i.e. at the same place of articulation
• Geminates two identical or nearly identical
  consonant sounds
• Italian tt Arabic tt or ll
• Affricates stop released as homorganic
  fricative (central or lateral)
• German ts in tsajt time
• Navajo tsah needle and t?ah ointment

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Types of Sequences, cont.

• Plosion stop released as lateral approximant or
  homorganic nasal, where that approximant or nasal
  generally functions as syllable nucleus
  diacritic for syllable nucleus ?
• English nasal plosion bejk?? bacon, s?dn?
  sudden
• English lateral plosion l??l? little,
  m??l? middle
• Pre-nasalized Stops nasal followed by
  homorganic stop
• mb, nd