Abstract
Coarticulation, the influence of one speech sound on another in running speech, has been suggested as an index of speech motor control. Therefore, proficient and stable coarticulation could be a diagnostic tool in language assessment and speech-language pathology. In the present study coarticulation was investigated in Spanish-English bilingual adults to determine whether velar-vowel coarticulation patterns differ in English versus Spanish. Velar-vowel coarticulation was measured in six Spanish-English bilingual university students. Participants recited sentences in blocks of English, Spanish, and a mix of both languages. Each sentence included a target word starting with /k/ + vowel. Tongue movement was recorded using a sub-mental ultrasound probe held in a stabilizing helmet. Ultrasound images were analyzed to identify tongue posture following procedures of Frisch & Wodzinski (2016, Journal of Phonetics, doi: 10.1016/j.wocn.2016.01.001). The results indicate a pattern similar to that found for Interspeech Posture in French-English bilinguals (Wilson & Gick, 2014, Journal of Speech, Language, Hearing Research, doi: 10.1044/2013JSLHR-S-12-0345). Some bilinguals showed a single pattern for both languages while others produced distinct velar postures between English and Spanish.
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