An electropalatographic investigation of middorsum palatal stops in an adult with repaired cleft palate.

Abstract

Middorsum palatal stops are compensatory articulations that occur relatively frequently in cleft palate speech. This study used electropalatographic (EPG) and acoustic data to investigate /t/ and /k/ targets produced as middorsum palatal stops ([c]) by an adult with an articulation disorder associated with a repaired cleft palate. Two novel observations were made from the instrumental data. First, although /t/ and /k/ targets were judged by phonetically trained listeners as homophonous (i.e., both produced as [c]), the EPG data revealed that the place of articulation for the [c] produced for /t/ was more anterior than the place of articulation for the [c] produced for /k/. Second, production of palatal stops involved lateral release followed by a variable period of lateral friction. Measurements made from the instrumental data quantified the temporal extent of lateral friction during the aspiration period. These observations merit further systematic investigation in cleft palate speech, and the procedures reported in this study are considered appropriate for such future research.