Lingual Constriction Research Articles

Sociophonetic Investigation of the Spanish Alveolar Trill /r/ in Two Canonical-Trill Varieties.

The "hyper-variation" present in rhotic sounds makes them particularly apt for sociophonetic research. This paper investigates the variable realization of the voiced alveolar-trill phoneme /r/ through an acoustic analysis of unscripted speech produced by 80 speakers of Spanish. Although the most common phonetic variant of /r/ contained two lingual constrictions, we find substantial inter-speaker variation in our data, ranging from zero to five lingual contacts. The results demonstrate that the variation in Spanish results from a systematic interaction of factors, deriving from well-documented processes of consonantal lenition (e.g., weakening in unstressed syllables) in addition to processes inherent to the trill's articulation (e.g., high-vowel antagonism). Importantly, speaker sex displayed the strongest effect among all the predictors, which leads us to consider the role of sociolinguistic factors, in addition to possible biomechanical differences, on /r/ production. We contextualize the findings within a literature that theorizes rhotic consonants as a single class of sounds despite remarkable patterns of cross-language and speaker-specific variation.

Frequency and anatomic variability of the mandibular lingual foramina: a cone-beam CT study

BackgroundTo evaluate the distribution of lingual foramina (LF) and their correlation with demographic characteristics and mandible width, shape, and bone thickness in Caucasian Italian patients subjected to cone-beam CT (CBCT).MethodsCBCTs were reviewed to assess the number of all LF, midline and lateral LF. We also assessed the relationship of the number of lateral LF with gender and mandibular width, shape, and bone thickness using the Chi Square test. A p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results Three-hundred patients (180 males; age range: 21–87 years) were included. The highest frequency per patient was of 2 LF (97/300, 32.3%), followed by 3 (81/300, 27%) and 4 (53/300, 17.7%). No LF were observed in 2/300 patients (0.7%), while the highest number was of 8 LF in one patient. The highest frequency of midline LF per person was of 2 LF (57.3%, 172/300), while the highest number per person was 5 LF in one patient (0.3%). The highest frequency of midline LF located above and below the genial tubercle was of 1 in 197/300 patients (65.7%) and in 169/300 patients (56.3%), respectively. Concerning lateral LF, the highest frequencies were of 0 (113/300, 37.7%) and of 1 (112/300, 37.3%). We did not observe any significant difference of the number of midline and lateral LF based on gender (P = .438 and P = .195, respectively) or mandible width (P = .069 and P = .114, respectively). The mandible shape was normal in 188 cases, with facial constriction in 42, lingual constriction in 54, and hour glass constriction in 16. The mean bone thickness was 10.76 mm in the symphysis, 10.92 mm in the right hemiarches, and 10.68 in the left hemiarches. No significant differences in the distribution of LF were observed also based on mandibular shape and bone thickness (both with P > .05).ConclusionsWe have shown the high variability of number and anatomic distribution of LF in an Italian group of patients subjected to CBCT without reporting any association with gender and mandible width, shape, and bone thickness.

The missing link in Spanish heritage trill production

AbstractWhile heritage language phonology has attracted a great deal of attention, little is known about the development of heritage phonological grammars. This study examines the production of the Spanish trill /r/ by school-aged (9-10 years) and adult heritage speakers. Results showed that the adult heritage speakers produced the trill in a more target-like manner than the child heritage speakers, although half of them diverged from non-heritage native baselines reported in other studies. Further analysis of the distribution of trill variants suggests that heritage Spanish trill development occurs in the order of single lingual constriction → frication → multiple lingual constrictions. However, instead of abandoning variants of early stages, some adult heritage speakers kept them in their trill inventories, demonstrating increased variability. Our findings indicate that 9- to 10-year-old heritage speakers are still in the process of developing heritage phonological grammars and even during adulthood their grammars may not reach stability.

Articulatory tongue shape analysis of Mandarin alveolar-retroflex contrast.

As existing descriptions are likely too narrow to reflect a broader range of articulatory variability in Mandarin production, this study is undertaken to explore qualitative and quantitative tongue shape analysis in Mandarin sibilants. Tongue movement data are collected from 18 adult Mandarin speakers producing six sibilants in three vowel contexts. Acoustic information is also analyzed to establish the articulatory-acoustic correspondence. In addition to the common retroflex and bunched shapes, the results discovered a humped shape (e.g., a single, posterior lingual constriction) in most of Mandarin retroflex tokens. This shape is one variant of North American English /r/, but yet identified in Mandarin production. The humped shape adds to the literature and expands existing descriptions of Mandarin retroflex tongue configurations. Despite the shape differences, the general many-to-one articulatory-acoustic mappings also holds true for Mandarin retroflexes. However, while curvature analyses based on Cartesian coordinates significantly differentiated contrastive shapes in retroflex production, these analyses were not equally reliable in separating the alveolar-retroflex distinction, likely due to individual differences. The tongue contour changes in the place contrast were instead quantified by calculations with polar coordinates. The preliminary findings on Mandarin retroflexes are discussed in terms of vocal tract morphology, with possible lip protrusion.

The late acquisition of coarticulatory patterns associated with English liquid articulation

The late acquisition of liquids is well documented and attributed to the simultaneous anterior and posterior lingual constrictions required. But adult-like segmental production also entails the acquisition of coarticulatory patterns. Liquids are interesting in this regard because they have exceptionally strong effects on their surround, including long-distance anticipatory effects. The current study investigated the development of these effects in 5-year-old, 8-year-old, and adult speech using a previously validated perceptually based measurement technique (Redford et al., 2018). Ten participants per age-group produced minimal pair words with /r/ and /l/ onsets in sentences with several unstressed function words preceding the target liquid. Overall results indicated longer distance anticipatory effects for /r/ than /l/. Two group differences were also identified: anticipatory coarticulation of /l/ was equal to /r/ in 5-year-old speech, and greater than anticipatory coarticulation of /l/ in 8-year-old or adult speech. The results indicate distinct timing patterns for English /r/ and /l/. We suggest that the greater anticipatory coarticulation of /l/ observed in 5-year-olds’ speech may indicate its default articulation in a running speech context, and that the development of its adult-like articulation therefore requires learning to inhibit extensive pre-posturing. [Work funded by NIH grant No. R01HD087452.]The late acquisition of liquids is well documented and attributed to the simultaneous anterior and posterior lingual constrictions required. But adult-like segmental production also entails the acquisition of coarticulatory patterns. Liquids are interesting in this regard because they have exceptionally strong effects on their surround, including long-distance anticipatory effects. The current study investigated the development of these effects in 5-year-old, 8-year-old, and adult speech using a previously validated perceptually based measurement technique (Redford et al., 2018). Ten participants per age-group produced minimal pair words with /r/ and /l/ onsets in sentences with several unstressed function words preceding the target liquid. Overall results indicated longer distance anticipatory effects for /r/ than /l/. Two group differences were also identified: anticipatory coarticulation of /l/ was equal to /r/ in 5-year-old speech, and greater than anticipatory coarticulation of /l/ in 8-year-old or a...

Deconstructing Heritage Language Dominance: Effects of Proficiency, Use, and Input on Heritage Speakers’ Production of the Spanish Alveolar Tap

This study considers language dominance as a composite of proficiency, use, and input, and examines how these constructs in Spanish influence heritage speakers’ production of Spanish alveolar taps. Two aspects of Spanish tap production were examined: lingual constriction rates and the degree of lingual constriction. Multiple measures associated with Spanish proficiency, use, and input were reduced to a smaller number of dimensions using principal component analysis, and the effects of the components on heritage speakers’ tap production were analyzed using mixed effects modeling. The overall findings suggest that dominance in Spanish may not have an effect on the degree of lingual constriction of heritage speakers’ taps, but it does have an effect on how frequently heritage speakers produce taps with lingual constriction. Spanish use and input were found to be the main contributors to heritage speakers’ target-like production of taps.

3D dynamic MRI of the vocal tract during natural speech.

To develop and evaluate a technique for 3D dynamic MRI of the full vocal tract at high temporal resolution during natural speech. We demonstrate 2.4 × 2.4 × 5.8 mm3 spatial resolution, 61-ms temporal resolution, and a 200 × 200 × 70 mm3 FOV. The proposed method uses 3D gradient-echo imaging with a custom upper-airway coil, a minimum-phase slab excitation, stack-of-spirals readout, pseudo golden-angle view order in kx -ky , linear Cartesian order along kz , and spatiotemporal finite difference constrained reconstruction, with 13-fold acceleration. This technique is evaluated using in vivo vocal tract airway data from 2 healthy subjects acquired at 1.5T scanner, 1 with synchronized audio, with 2 tasks during production of natural speech, and via comparison with interleaved multislice 2D dynamic MRI. This technique captured known dynamics of vocal tract articulators during natural speech tasks including tongue gestures during the production of consonants "s" and "l" and of consonant-vowel syllables, and was additionally consistent with 2D dynamic MRI. Coordination of lingual (tongue) movements for consonants is demonstrated via volume-of-interest analysis. Vocal tract area function dynamics revealed critical lingual constriction events along the length of the vocal tract for consonants and vowels. We demonstrate feasibility of 3D dynamic MRI of the full vocal tract, with spatiotemporal resolution adequate to visualize lingual movements for consonants and vocal tact shaping during natural productions of consonant-vowel syllables, without requiring multiple repetitions.

Evidence for active cavity expansion through advanced lingual place of constriction in voiced geminates

Geminate voicing requires both active and passive cavity expansion in order to delay the equalization of subglottal and supraglottal pressure (Ohala 1983, Ham 2001). Studies report differences in stop closure duration (Lahiri & Hankamer 1988) and pre-geminate vowel duration as cues to the laryngeal contrast. Following Schroeder (1967), Mermelstein (1967), and Iskarous (2010), we present results from formant transitions in the VC:V context and the anti-symmetric Fourier component coefficient, an = -2 (Fn-fn)/fn, to partially recover the area function of the vocal tract behind the geminate constriction. Voiced geminates exhibit significantly higher and positive coefficient values than their voiceless counterparts which implies that measured Fn values for voiced geminates are lower than their neutral tract formant values. This finding indicates that voiced geminates have a more anterior constriction compared to their voiceless counterparts. Without ruling out the role of passive cavity expansion through the cheek muscles, we conclude that in order to delay the pressure equalization the lingual constriction in voiced geminates is maintained at an anterior location compared to voiceless geminates in Bangla. Results from the slopes of first order F2 locus-equations are also presented to measure the differences in coarticulatory resistance between the voiced and voiceless geminates.Geminate voicing requires both active and passive cavity expansion in order to delay the equalization of subglottal and supraglottal pressure (Ohala 1983, Ham 2001). Studies report differences in stop closure duration (Lahiri & Hankamer 1988) and pre-geminate vowel duration as cues to the laryngeal contrast. Following Schroeder (1967), Mermelstein (1967), and Iskarous (2010), we present results from formant transitions in the VC:V context and the anti-symmetric Fourier component coefficient, an = -2 (Fn-fn)/fn, to partially recover the area function of the vocal tract behind the geminate constriction. Voiced geminates exhibit significantly higher and positive coefficient values than their voiceless counterparts which implies that measured Fn values for voiced geminates are lower than their neutral tract formant values. This finding indicates that voiced geminates have a more anterior constriction compared to their voiceless counterparts. Without ruling out the role of passive cavity expansion through the ...

Effect of Domain Initial Strengthening on Vowel Height and Backness Contrasts in French: Acoustic and Ultrasound Data.

Phonetic variation due to domain initial strengthening was investigated with respect to the acoustic and articulatory distinctiveness of vowels within a subset of the French oral vowel system /i, e, ɛ, a, o, u/, organized along 4 degrees of height for the front vowels and 2 degrees of backness at the close and midclose height levels. Acoustic and lingual ultrasound data were examined to characterize the production of vowels in intonational phrase initial position, compared with intonational phrase medial position, for 4 speakers. Formant values and estimates of lingual constriction location and degree differed according to the prosodic position independent of vowel duration, with a higher F1 for /a/, a higher F2 for /ɛ/, a backer constriction for /o/ and /a/ but a fronter constriction for /ɛ/, and a narrower constriction for /e, ɛ, u, o/ but a wider constriction for /a/. For most speakers, these variations enlarge the acoustic and/or articulatory distance between members of the pairs /e-ɛ/, /ɛ-a/, /u-o/, /i-u/, and /e-o/ but reduce the distinction within the pair /i-e/. These changes in intonational phrase initial position are vowel dependent and frequently contribute to augmenting the phonetic distinctiveness between vowels contrasting along the height and backness dimensions.

C-V coarticulation in consonants with multiple lingual constrictions

C-V coarticulation in monosyllabic words containing initial click consonants and /i:/ vowels is investigated in Mangetti Dune !Xung with 114 fps lingual ultrasound and acoustic data collected using the CHAUSA method [Miller and Finch (2011)]. The 114 fps rate yields an image of the tongue every 9 ms (+/−4.5 ms). Vowels following clicks have three lingual gestures involving the tongue tip/blade (TT), tongue body (TB), and tongue root (TR). TT and TB constrictions carried over from the clicks merge into a single vowel constriction at consonant specific rates. The second formant (F2) distinguishes each word type through the vowel midpoint. In regression analyses, TBCL and TRCL best predict F2 for alveolar click initial words, while TTCL best predicts F2 for dental/palatal click initial words. The more open constriction is acoustically inert. In the palatal click initial word, both constrictions are equally close for some speakers, and the gestures undergo blending [Browman and Goldstein (1990)]. I argue that these patterns are prosodically controlled. Dental and palatal clicks have TB and TR gestures associated with the syllable onset. In alveolar clicks, the right edge of TB and TR gestures are aligned to the right edge of the first mora.

The acquisition of voiceless sibilant fricatives in children speaking Mandarin Chinese

The current study aims to describe Mandarin-speaking children's acquisition of voiceless sibilant fricatives, /s/, /ʂ/, and /ɕ/, as assessed by acoustics. Forty children, aged 2–5, participated in a word repetition task. The stimuli were fricative-initial words that are familiar to children. Children's speech sound productions were recorded and analyzed spectrally. Two acoustic parameters were obtained: the centroid frequency calculated over the middle 40-ms slice of the fricative noise spectrum and onset F2 frequency, the second formant frequency taken at the onset of the vowel following target fricatives. Centroid frequency indexes where the major lingual constriction is made in the oral cavity and is inversely related to the length of the front resonating cavity during the articulation of voiceless sibilant fricatives. Onset F2 frequency indexes how the major constriction is made and is sensitive to the lingual posture during constriction. These two parameters have been demonstrated to capture adults' fricative distinctions successfully. The results indicated an early separation between /ʂ/ and the other two fricatives in the centroid dimension, and an early separation between /ɕ/ and other two fricatives in the onset F2 dimension, The results suggested that children gradually implement their motor control in different articulation/acoustic dimensions.

The palatoglossal sphincter in French uvular /r/.

Speech production models have typically defined lingual constrictions in terms of tongue motion relative to unmoving opposing surfaces, such as the palate or teeth. While such a model may apply well to hard structures such as the palate, it is not clear that this appropriately characterizes constrictions involving soft structures such as the velum and uvula. Anatomically, the uvula and velum constitute the upper surface of a muscular sphincter including the palatoglossus muscles laterally and the tongue below. The present study tests whether uvular constrictions may be better described as actions of this palatoglossal sphincter, analogous to the lips, velopharyngeal port, or epilaryngeal tube. We tested this proposal by measuring the response of the velum/uvula during production of French uvular /r/ in an x‐ray film [Munhall et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 98(2), 1222–1224 (1995)]. Preliminary findings indicate that, as seen with other sphincters, speakers exhibit a variety of different mechanisms for forming constrictions, but all show active involvement of the palatoglossal arch, in addition to the tongue, in producing the uvular constriction. Modifications to speech production models to accommodate these findings will be discussed. [Work supported by the NSERC.]

How well does Invisalign work? A prospective clinical study evaluating the efficacy of tooth movement with Invisalign

The purpose of this prospective clinical study was to evaluate the efficacy of tooth movement with removable polyurethane aligners (Invisalign, Align Technology, Santa Clara, Calif). The study sample included 37 patients treated with Anterior Invisalign. Four hundred one anterior teeth (198 maxillary and 203 mandibular) were measured on the virtual Treat models. The virtual model of the predicted tooth position was superimposed over the virtual model of the achieved tooth position, created from the posttreatment impression, and the 2 models were superimposed over their stationary posterior teeth by using ToothMeasure, Invisalign's proprietary superimposition software. The amount of tooth movement predicted was compared with the amount achieved after treatment. The types of movements studied were expansion, constriction, intrusion, extrusion, mesiodistal tip, labiolingual tip, and rotation. The mean accuracy of tooth movement with Invisalign was 41%. The most accurate movement was lingual constriction (47.1%), and the least accurate movement was extrusion (29.6%)- specifically, extrusion of the maxillary (18.3%) and mandibular (24.5%) central incisors, followed by mesiodistal tipping of the mandibular canines (26.9%). The accuracy of canine rotation was significantly lower than that of all other teeth, with the exception of the maxillary lateral incisors. At rotational movements greater than 15 degrees, the accuracy of rotation for the maxillary canines fell significantly. Lingual crown tip was significantly more accurate than labial crown tip, particularly for the maxillary incisors. There was no statistical difference in accuracy between maxillary and mandibular teeth of the same tooth type for any movements studied. We still have much to learn regarding the biomechanics and efficacy of the Invisalign system. A better understanding of Invisalign's ability to move teeth might help the clinician select suitable patients for treatment, guide the proper sequencing of movement, and reduce the need for case refinement.

Modeling the acoustics of American English /r/ using configurable articulatory synthesis (CASY)

The claim that articulatory variation in /r/ production exhibits systematic tradeoffs to achieve a stable acoustic signal (Guenther et al., 1999) was tested using configurable articulatory synthesis (CASY) and ultrasound data. In particular, the hypothesis was tested that multiple constrictions during /r/ production are necessary to achieve a low enough F3. Ultrasound and Optotrak data from four speakers pronouncing /r/ in different vocalic contexts were used to determine where in the vocal tract the tongue gestures are placed. This data was then modeled using CASY parameters and was used to determine how the three gestures in /r/ (labial, palatal, and pharyngeal) contribute to the F3 value observed in the speech signal simultaneously recorded with the ultrasound. This was done by varying the degree and location of the lingual constrictions and the degree of the labial constriction and determining the effect on F3. It was determined that the three gestures in /r/ contribute in differing amounts to the overall F3 lowering. Furthermore, it does not seem that all three gestures are necessary for F3 lowering. This lends support to the hypothesis that the goal in /r/ production is the simultaneous achievement of three gestures. [Work supported by NIH Grant DC-02717.]

Development of [j] in young, midwestern, American children.

Beginning at the age of about 14 months, eight children who lived in a rhotic dialect region of the United States were recorded approximately every 2 months interacting with their parents. All were recorded until at least the age of 26 months, and some until the age of 31 months. Acoustic analyses of speech samples indicated that these young children acquired [inverted r] production ability at different ages for [inverted r]'s in different syllable positions. The children, as a group, had started to produce postvocalic and syllabic [inverted r] in an adult-like manner by the end of the recording sessions, but were not yet showing evidence of having acquired prevocalic [inverted r]. Articulatory limitations of young children are posited as a cause for the difference in development of [inverted r] according to syllable position. Specifically, it is speculated that adult-like prevocalic [inverted r] production requires two lingual constrictions: one in the mouth, and the other in the pharynx, while postvocalic and syllabic [inverted r] requires only one oral constriction. Two lingual constrictions could be difficult for young children to produce.

Finite element analysis of airflow in the vocal tract with lateral channels

Lateral channels are airflow paths around the tongue produced by the laterally inward movement of the tongue toward the midsagittal plane during American English /l/ sound production. If contact is made with the palate, a closure is formed in the flow path along the midsagittal line. The closure is normally formed in the anterior part of the oral cavity and is about 1–1.5 cm long. However, it is speculated that the flow may split at a location posterior to the closure, thereby giving a longer length of the lateral channels up to 3–4 cm. Lateral channels of length around 3 cm have been shown to have significant effects on the resulting sound spectrum. To investigate the flow and acoustic field involved, finite element analysis was performed on a simplified model of the vocal tract during lateral sound production. The tongue was modeled as a rectangular constriction with a tapering slope on the upstream side and two flow channels on its two sides. The results show that the rising up of the tongue causes the flow to split into three regions of different flow amplitude and phase: one main region above the tongue surface and two regions around the tongue. This flow splitting occurs at the point where the tongue first begins rising up, well before the actual constriction location. The effective length of the lateral channels is therefore much longer than the length of the lingual constriction.

Aerodynamic characteristics of trills and phonological patterning

The present study attempts to characterize the aerodynamic conditions required for the production of apical trills and to account for some universal tendencies in the patterning of trills in terms of their aerodynamic and distinctiveness requirements. In order to ascertain the aerodynamic conditions required for trills, oropharyngeal pressure ( P o) and airflow were recorded simultaneously in two subjects producing voiced and voiceless trills. The backpressure during trills was intermittently bled with catheters of varying diameter, and thus impedance. It was found that (1) voiceless trills show a higher P o and a larger rate of flow than voiced trills, which generates friction noise across the lingual constriction; (2) voiceless trills are more robust to changing aerodynamic conditions but less distinct auditorily, as inferred from acoustic data; (3) the P o and airflow conditions for voiced trills and fricatives show very similar values, with trills showing a narrower range of allowable variation. The behavior of trills in varying aerodynamic conditions accounts for observed phonological patterns: the universal preference for voiced trills, the alternation between trills and fricatives, trill devoicing, and the lack of nasal trills.

Estimating lingual constriction location in high vowels: a comparison of EMA- and EPG-based measures

EMA and EPG offer complementary information about tongue articulation. In this paper, comparisons are made of lingual constriction location estimates for high vowel continua, based on EMA and EPG data simultaneously recorded for one speaker. These data pertain to an experiment which correlated articulatory estimates of constriction location with formant measurements for comparison with Fant’s (1970) model-based nomograms. A circle model was used to estimate the constriction location from two dorsally located EMA sensors. The center of the constriction was deemed to be where the circle was closest to the roof of the mouth. Those estimates are compared to three types of EPG-based estimates of lingual constriction. The first is the row of narrowest constriction in a scaled vertical view of the EPG palate. The second is a “center of gravity” estimate. The third is an approximate side view of the tongue contour, drawn on the basis of the innermost activated electrode on each EPG row. Results suggest a broad agreement as well as consistent discrepancies between EMA and each EPG estimate. Likely reasons for discrepancies are discussed, and it is suggested that some of these may offer new insights into three-dimensional aspects of articulation that might be exploited in research.

Anticipatory and carry-over nasal coarticulation in the speech of children and adults.

Producing (n) requires a lingual constriction to be formed and the velopharyngeal port (VPP) to be opened. This study examined interarticulator timing in the speech of adults and children aged 5 and 10 years. A new acoustic method was developed to determine the time at which VPP opening began during vowels spoken in the context of (d-n), and VPP closing reached completion in vowels spoken in the context of (n-d). Adults and children alike nasalized most of the vowels in the (d-n) context. This suggested that the children's speech was not more "segmental" than adults'. It suggested, further, that nasalizing vowels in a (d-n) context is a natural speech process that need not be learned by young children. The children, like the adults, nasalized most of the vowels spoken in the context of (n-d). The lack of significant between-group differences, taken together with several other findings of the study, is consistent with the view that the temporal domain of carry-over nasal coarticulation is determined largely by the time needed to close the VPP (i.e., by inertial properties of the speech production mechanism).

Stable lingual gestures in vowel articulation

Lingual movements monitored by lateral cineradiographic pellet tracking along with first and second formant frequencies for the articulation of /i/ and /u/ in labial, alveolar, and velar stop (əCVC/ syllables were analyzed in order to quantify both the relatively stable and more variable components of vowel-related tongue movements that occur as a function of stop coproduction. Horizontal and vertical tongue displacements varied by as much as 10 mm at tongue body locations for /i/ and 6 mm at tongue blade and anterior tongue body locations for /u/. Formant frequencies varied correspondingly. However, vertical displacement of the tongue blade for /i/ and of the posterior tongue body for /u/ were much more stable. These relatively stable displacement components suggest that the characteristic gestures for /i/ and /u/ act to create critical oral cavity apertures by tongue blade and posterior tongue body vertical displacements, respectively. The precise anterior-posterior locations of the lingual constriction are not specified in the gestures and are free to vary with consonantal coproduction. [Work supported by NIH NS-13617 and NS-13870.]