Interacting effects of syllable and phrase position on consonant articulation

The complexities of how prosodic structure, both at the phrasal and syllable levels, shapes speech production have begun to be illuminated through studies of articulatory behavior. The present study contributes to an understanding of prosodic signatures on articulation by examining the joint effects of phrasal and syllable position on the production of consonants. Articulatory kinematic data were collected for five subjects using electromagnetic articulography (EMA) to record target consonants (labial, labiodental, and tongue tip), located in (1) either syllable final or initial position and (2) either at a phrase edge or phrase medially. Spatial and temporal characteristics of the consonantal constriction formation and release were determined based on kinematic landmarks in the articulator velocity profiles. The results indicate that syllable and phrasal position consistently affect the movement duration; however, effects on displacement were more variable. For most subjects, the boundary-adjacent portions of the movement (constriction release for a preboundary coda and constriction formation for a postboundary onset) are not differentially affected in terms of phrasal lengthening-both lengthen comparably.