CO-ARTICULATORY VARIABILITY AND ARTICULATORY ACOUSTIC CORRELATIONS FOR CONSONANTS

This paper is an investigation of articulatory-acoustic correlations f or consonants differing in degree of articulatory constraint. Data on F2 and on dorsopalatal contact (electropalatographic, EPG) were collec ted for the sequences /iCi/ and /aCe/ with seven Catalan consonants di ffering in place and manner of articulation (velarised /l/, /n/, /fn/, /s/, /integral/, /k/, /p/). These consonants are characterised by dif ferent degrees of tongue dorsum constraint depending on their producti on requirements (dorsals > non-dorsals, fricatives > non-fricatives, e tc.). The results showed an inverse relationship between vowel-depende nt co-articulation and the degree of consonant-dependent articulatory constraint. F2 and dorsopalatal contact size were found to be positive ly correlated across consonants and speakers, and across consonants fo r each individual speaker. Correlation values were much lower for each consonant across speakers. These findings are discussed in the light of the acoustic theory of speech production and possible clinical appl ications are suggested.