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Segmental constraints limit the impact of communicative factors on English CV coarticulation
Wang, Chang Jongman, Allard
Wang, Chang
Jongman, Allard
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Abstract
Coarticulation, the temporal and spatial overlap of speech gestures, is a central source of variability in continuous speech. Previous research has shown that both segmental and global factors influence the degree of coarticulation. The Degree of Articulatory Constraint (DAC) model posits that the degree of coarticulation varies systematically with segment-specific articulatory constraints (Recasens, 1985; Recasens et al., 1997): highly articulatorily-constrained segments, such as palatals and fricatives, exhibit greater resistance to coarticulation, while less constrained segments, such as labials, are more susceptible. Global factors also shape coarticulatory patterns. Lindblom's (1990) H&H theory predicts reduced coarticulation in hyperarticulated clear speech, while faster speech rates increase coarticulation due to more overlap (Agwuele et al., 2009).
Little work has systematically tested how segmental constraints interact with style and rate across a wider set of consonants and vowels. The present study examines the interaction between segments, style and rate in English CV syllables. The main research question is whether highly constrained segments show smaller coarticulatory changes when style or rate varies. Ten American English speakers produced CV syllables (consonants: [k], [ʃ], [t], [s], [p], [b]; vowels: [i], [ɑ], [u]) in a carrier phrase under two style (casual vs. clear) and two rate (slow vs. fast) conditions. Standard deviations of F2 measured at CV transitions and vowel midpoints indexed consonant coarticulation across vowel contexts and vowel coarticulation across consonant contexts, respectively. with larger values signaling greater coarticulation.
Results confirmed main effects of Consonant in consonant coarticulation across vowels, of Vowel in vowel coarticulation across consonants, and of Style in vowel coarticulation. In consonant coarticulation, the most constrained fricatives [ʃ] and [s] showed greater coarticulatory resistance than less constrained consonants. In vowel coarticulation, the most constrained [i] was the most resistant, followed by [ɑ], with the least constrained [u] showing the strongest coarticulatory effects. Overall, casual speech elicited greater coarticulation in vowel coarticulation, while speech rate had no significant effect.
Crucially, a vowel × style interaction in vowel coarticulation indicated that a significant style-driven change was limited to the least articulatorily constrained [u]. This finding suggest that highly constrained segments were less affected by style shifts.
Our results provide support for the DAC model, showing that articulatory constraints systematically condition coarticulatory variation such that highly constrained segments like fricatives and [i] remained relatively stable, whereas less constrained segments were more susceptible to contextual influence. Global factors shaped coarticulation, with clear speech reducing coarticulation, while speech rate had little effect. Importantly, the vowel × style interaction demonstrates that the influence of global factors like style is not uniform but depends on the articulatory constraints of the particular segment. These findings highlight that coarticulation emerges from the interaction of local segmental constraints and broader communicative goals, refining our understanding of how both segment-specific and global factors jointly shape speech variability.
Description
This is the poster from a presentation given at the 30th Mid-Continental Phonetics and Phonology Conference (MidPhon 30) held at Indiana University Bloomington on 10/10/2025.
Date
2025-10-10
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University of Kansas
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WangC_2025.pdf
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Keywords
Coarticulation, Clear speech, Speech rate, Segmental constraint, Phonetic variability