Labio-palatalization in Twi: Contrastive, quantal, and organizational factors producing an uncommon sound

The authors propose that the typologically uncommon combination of labial a nd palatal constriction in Twi has arisen from a convergence created by gen eral patterns of coarticulation of consonants and vowels. This convergence has been systematized in a (consonantal) acoustic dimension partially indep endent from the original (vocalic) dimensions of contrast for which the rou nding and palatal articulations were specified. These conclusions are based on an examination of distributional patterns, palatograms of the articulat ion of secondarily articulated consonants, and acoustic analyses. Contrasti veness and quantal considerations can be seen as contributing to the occurr ence of typologically odd sounds, provided one keeps in mind how an articul atory gesture functions within a language's contrastive system.*