Abstract
Deletion of certain final plosives is a phonological characteristic of American black dialect. This study reports physiological observations on the production mechanisms for such consonant deletion. Videofluoroscopic (x-ray) speech data were obtained for monodialectical speakers of black dialect, who were among subjects serving as normal controls in a study of head and neck cancer patients. Nonsense phrases of the form h ə CVC were spoken when cued by a precisely articulated live voice verbal model, uttered by a speaker of General American dialect. Some speakers of black dialect “omitted” the final plosives in this situation. Insights on production mechanisms affecting vowel transitions and glottalization of final consonants are reported based on tongue and hyoid bone activity in the final VC transition. [Work supported by NIH, Grant No. CA-43838.]
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