Investigating the ‘‘trough:’’ Vowel dynamics and aerodynamics

Articulatory coordination in vowel–consonant–vowel utterances (V=/i a/, C=/p b/) was studied in 5 Swedish, 3 English, 2 German, and 3 French speakers. Electropalatographic records showed that the amount of transconsonantal V-to-V coarticulation was greater in German and French than in Swedish and English. For the symmetrical utterances /ipi/ and /ibi/, the EPG patterns displayed a marked ‘‘trough’’ (a temporary reduction of tongue height) associated with the stop closure in the Swedish and English, but not in the German and French speakers; the Swedish and English trough patterns were, however, differently timed. These observations are consistent with dynamic vowel features characteristic of the respective languages. In a second experiment, using a wider voice onset time range, three Swedish speakers produced words containing CV syllables (C=/p b t d k g/, V=/i o/ a ■ u/). VOT was controlled in terms of voicing, stress, word length, and position in the word. Formant data showed that the amount of F2 locus-to-target assimilation decreased as a function of voicing lag. This suggests that aerodynamic factors associated with aspiration affect anticipatory coarticulation patterns; specifically, it may affect trough patterns in symmetrical VCVs.