Patterns of VCV coarticulatory direction according to the DAC model

Abstract

?This paper provides support for the DAC model of coarticulation by showing that directionality patterns of vowel and consonant coarticulation in VCV sequences are inversely related. Thus, VCV sequences with dark [ɫ] exhibit more vowel-to-consonant anticipation than carryover, due to the salient consonant anticipatory effects blocking vowel carryover, whereas the opposite is the case for the alveolopalatals [ɲ] and [ʎ]. It is shown that differences in articulatory constraint at consonant onset and offset need to be taken into consideration in order to account for the relative salience of the anticipatory and carryover vowel effects in those VCV sequences. Manner of articulation requirements and lingual configuration characteristics determine trends in vowel coarticulatory direction in VCV sequences with relatively unconstrained dentals and alveolars. The implications of these experimental findings for predicting regularities in assimilatory processes and phonemic planning strategies are also addressed.