Assessing Velar Gestures Timing in European Portuguese Nasal Vowels with RT-MRI Data

Abstract

European Portuguese (EP) nasal vowels are characterised by their dynamic nature entailing a gradual variation from an oral into a nasal configuration. The analysis of velar dynamics assumes a particular relevance for improving our understanding of nasal vowel production with an impact, e.g., on articulatory synthesis. Following on previous work, considering EMA and real-time magnetic resonance imaging (RT-MRI), at 14 fps, this study revisits the work regarding the characterisation of EP nasal vowels by analysing gesture timings considering articulatory data obtained from RT-MRI of the vocal tract at a higher frame rate (50 fps) and a larger number of speakers. The analysis, considering eleven EP speakers, characterises the duration of opening and closing velar gestures and explores synchronisation with the previous oral gesture (start-to-release lag) and the potential influence of vowel height in this regard.