Locus equations are an acoustic expression of articulator synergy

Abstract

The study investigated the articulatory basis of locus equations, regression lines relating F2 at the start of a Consonant-Vowel (CV) transition to F2 at the middle of the vowel, with C fixed and V varying. Several studies have shown that consonants of different places of articulation have locus equation slopes that descend from labial to velar to alveolar, and intercept magnitudes that increase in the opposite order. Using formulas from the theory of bivariate regression that express regression slopes and intercepts in terms of standard deviations and averages of the variables, it is shown that the slope directly encodes a well-established measure of coarticulation resistance. It is also shown that intercepts are directly related to the degree to which the tongue body assists the formation of the constriction for the consonant. Moreover, it is shown that the linearity of locus equations and the linear relation between locus equation slopes and intercepts originates in linearity in articulation between the horizontal position of the tongue dorsum in the consonant and to that in the vowel. It is concluded that slopes and intercepts of acoustic locus equations are measures of articulator synergy.