Abstract
Universal linguistic constraints seem to govern the organization of sound sequences in words. However, our understanding of the origin and development of these constraints is incomplete. One possibility is that the development of neuromuscular control of articulators acts as a constraint for the emergence of sequences in words. Repetitions of the same consonant observed in early infancy and an increase in variation of consonantal sequences over months of age have been interpreted as a consequence of the development of neuromuscular control. Yet, it is not clear how sequential coordination of articulators such as lips, tongue apex and tongue dorsum constrains sequences of labial, coronal and dorsal consonants in words over the course of development. We examined longitudinal development of consonant-vowel-consonant(-vowel) sequences produced by Japanese children between 7 and 60 months of age. The sequences were classified according to places of articulation for corresponding consonants. The analyses of individual and group data show that infants prefer repetitive and fronting articulations, as shown in previous studies. Furthermore, we reveal that serial order of different places of articulations within the same organ appears earlier and then gradually develops, whereas serial order of different articulatory organs appears later and then rapidly develops. In the same way, we also analyzed the sequences produced by English children and obtained similar developmental trends. These results suggest that the development of intra- and inter-articulator coordination constrains the acquisition of serial orders in speech with the complexity that characterizes adult language.
Highlights
Speech production is very complex; the central nervous system coordinates more than 100 muscles to control movements of jaw and soft tissues such as the lips and tongue [1,2]. This property enables us to perform an extraordinarily rapid sequence of action, that is, the production of dozens of syllables or phonemes in a single breath. This phenomenon is related to the serial order problem [3], which addresses how behaviors are sequenced without triggers from sensory feedback
The serial order in speech production has been a central issue in the phonological study that attempts to find universal structures that govern all human languages [4]
Aside from neuromuscular coordination, vocal tract anatomy in early development differs from those of adults in that infants’ vocal tracts are smaller than adults’, but they have a broader oral cavity, a tongue mass that is proportionally larger and more anterior, and a more gradually sloping pharyngeal tract [14]. Findings from these studies suggest that a neuromuscular coordination and the vocal tract anatomy constrain the development of phonotactics for words in a language
Summary
Speech production is very complex; the central nervous system coordinates more than 100 muscles to control movements of jaw and soft tissues such as the lips and tongue [1,2] This property enables us to perform an extraordinarily rapid sequence of action, that is, the production of dozens of syllables or phonemes in a single breath. Aside from neuromuscular coordination, vocal tract anatomy in early development differs from those of adults in that infants’ vocal tracts are smaller than adults’, but they have a broader oral cavity, a tongue mass that is proportionally larger and more anterior, and a more gradually sloping pharyngeal tract [14]. Findings from these studies suggest that a neuromuscular coordination and the vocal tract anatomy constrain the development of phonotactics for words in a language
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