This talk is about a one-to-one relationship between acoustics and articulation. I will present a descriptive approach to this relationship, where de/acceleration peaks divide the movements of the articulators into steady states and fast intervals. The steady states of the crucial articulators form constrictions, represented in speech as acoustic segments. Before and after the constrictions we find rapid movement changes of the articulators, which can be measured using EMA methodology. The results show how the deceleration and acceleration of the segmental articulators coincide with the acoustic segment boundaries.

As we speak, we use prosody, for rhythm and to express meaning, attitude etc. This makes for a systematic intricate articulatory system, one that we practice our whole life to master. One of the main contributors of these systematic dynamics is the jaw, which can be referred to as the syllabic or prosodic articulator. In this talk I will present recent work on segmental articulations, and how the jaw holds it all together.

References

Svensson Lundmark, M. (2023). Rapid movements at segment boundaries. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 153 (3).

Svensson Lundmark, M., & Erickson, D. (submitted to ICPhS). Comparing apples to oranges – asynchrony in jaw & lip articulation of syllables.