Dept. for Speech, Music and Hearing
Quarterly Progress and
Status Report
A quantitative model of vowel
production and the distinctive
features of Swedish vowels
Lindblom, B. and Sundberg, J.
journal:
volume:
number:
year:
pages:
STL-QPSR
10
1
1969
014-032
http://www.speech.kth.se/qpsr
11. SPEECH PRODUCTION
A.
A QUANTITATIVE MODEL O F VOWEL PRODUCTION AND THE
DISTINCTIVE FEATURES O F SWEDISH VOWELS
*
B. Lindblom and J. Sundberg
e
In t h i s p a p e r we s h a l l do f o u r things.
(1) We s h a l l p r e s e n t a d e s c r i p t i o n of a model of the s p e e c h o r g a n s with
the aid of which we c a n g e n e r a t e a n acoustic w a v e f o r m a p p r o p r i a t e
t o vowel sounds.
T h i s model is a s o r t of a r t i f i c i a l mouth which h a s
a tongue, a jaw, a larynx, and lips.
( 2 ) We s h a l l r e p o r t s o m e r e s u l t s f r o m a study of the a r t i c u l a t o r y and
acoustic possibilities of this model.
In o t h e r w o r d s , we t r y t o l e a r n
something about the relation between a r t i c u l a t i o n and acoustic r e s u l t s
by having the model g o through a "babbling" stage.
( 3 ) We then investigate how the a r t i c u l a t o r y m e c h a n i s m s of t h i s model
m u s t b e utilized i n o r d e r t o produce the Swedish vowels and t r y t o
a n s w e r questions concerning the phonetic dimensions of the Swedish
vowel s y s t e m f r o m the point of view of the model.
(4) Finally, we d i s c u s s briefly the problem of how the phonetic dimens i o n s a r e related t o t h e a b s t r a c t phonological p r o p e r t i e s that we a t -
I
1
I
,
t r i b u t e to Swedish vowel s e g m e n t s to account f o r t h e i r s y s t e m a t i c
behavior i n the phonological p a t t e r n of the language.
Table 11-A-1 includes l i s t s of phonetic and distinctive f e a t u r e categ-
,
o r i e s that have been suggested by v a r i o u s a u t h o r s f o r the d e s c r i p t i o n of
vowels.
T h e s e l i s t s provide a s m a l l s a m p l e of the total n u m b e r of sug-
gestions t h a t a n extensive s e a r c h through the phonetic l i t e r a t u r e would
reveal.
O u r intention i s not t o d i s c u s s o r c o m p a r e t h e s e f r a m e w o r k s a t
g r e a t length but m e r e l y t o point out that a u t h o r s d i s a g r e e both a s r e g a r d s
the definition of c a t e g o r i e s and t h e i r number.
B y way of i l l u s t r a t i o n l e t
u s mention only the t r e a t m e n t of the Swedish [ u ] sound.
c a u s e s Malmberg
This vowel
to r e j e c t the Jakobsonian b i n a r y flat-plain distinc -
tion i n f a v o r of a f e a t u r e of labialization that is t e r n a r y .
T o account f o r
[a] F a n t ( 2 ) introduces a s h a r p - p l a i n dimension along which Swedish [i]
and [Y] a r e found a t the s h a r p (palatalized) end and [u] a t the plain (un~ a l a t a l i z e d )end.
-2
Chomsky and Halle (3) e x p r e s s the hope that the b i n a r y
---
somewhat expanded v e r s i o n of p a p e r read a t a conference devoted
to the d e s c r i p t i o n of Swedish, A p r i l 1969 i n Stockholm.
I
TABLE 11-A-1
SOME CATEGORIES O F VOWEL SPECIFICATION
THEORY O F CARDINAL VOWELS
FRONT
CLOSE
BACK
HALF -CLOSE
JAKOBSON, FANT, HALLE
ROUNDED
GRAVE-ACUTE
COMPACT-DIFFUSE
CENTRAL HALF-OPEN
FLAT-PLAIN
OPEN
MALMBERG (1 956)
FANT (1 967)
GRAVE-ACUTE
GRAVE-ACUTE
COMPACT -DIFFUSE
COMPACT -DIFFUSE
F L A T I-FLAT 11,- PLAIN
FLAT-PLAIN
SHARP-PLAIN
LADEFOGED (1 967)
FRONT
HIGH
CENTER
MID
BACK
LOW
CHOMSKY, HALLE (1 968)
ROUNDED
BACK
HIGH
ROUND
LOW
CORONAL
COVERED
WANG (1968)
HIGH
PALATAL
MID
VELAR
STL-QPSR l / l 9 6 9
an6 Ey, u,
17.
b]
exhibited c e r t a i n s i m i l a r i t i e s provided that the tongue cont o u r s w e r e c o m p a r e d with r e f e r e n c e to the mandible. Another g r 3 u p cons i s t e d of [ a , o ,
@].
The [ u ] vowel deviated f r o m t h e s e two groups and
T
f o r m e d f o r m e d a category by itself.
T h e s e r e s u l t s a p p e a r f r o m Fig.
11-A-1, which shows one family of tongue c s n t o u r s f o r which the tongue
is r a i s e d i n the d i r e c t i o n of the h a r d palate, the contour f o r [ u ] f o r which
the tongue midline i s r a i s e d towards the soft palate and a t h i r d family
which displays a lowered contour which h a s a l s o been displaced backwards.
Fig. 11-A-2 d e m o n s t r a t e s that the "rounded" and "front" g r o u p [ y, u,
b e a r s the s a m e relation to the [ u l and
t o u r s do.
La J
81
f a m i l i e s a s the [i] type con-
As we have s a i d t h e s e r e g u l a r i t i e s a p p e a r c l e a r l y only if c o m -
p a r i ~ o n sa r e m a d e f r o m the point of view of the l o w e r jaw.
Examining t h e s e groupings we cannot fail to r e c o l l e c t how the m u s c u l a r
c o n t r o l of the tongue i s organized.
As i s shown i n Fig. 11-A-3, which we
have taken f r o m Ladefoged ( 6 ) , the tongue h a s t h r e e m a j o r e x t r i n s i c
muscles:
T h e- g
m u s c l e i s attached to the mandible and c a n b e used
t o push the tongue body f o r w a r d s and to d e p r e s s the tongue
tip.
It s e e m s reasonable to a s s u m e that c e r t a i n p a r t s of
this m u s c l e should be r e c r u i t e d i n raising the tongue towards
the h a r d palate;
The styloglossus m u s c l e pulls the tongue backwards and upwards.
I t is aided i n this action by the palatoglossus m u s c l e ;
The hyoglossus m u s c l e a p p e a r s capable of pulling the body of the
tongue backwards and downwards.
Thus i t s action m a y
b e invoked t o d e c r e a s e the c r o s s - s e c t i o n a l a r e a of the
pharynx.
Such a d e c r e a s e could a l s o b e brought about by
the gl;.ssapharyngeus.
T h e s e functional ariatomical f a c t s would make us expect t o find p r e c i s e l y those tongue shapes that we o b s e r v e i n F i g s . 11-A-1 and 11-A-2,
provided that one of the t h r e e m u s c l e complexes dominates o v e r the
o t h e r two i n the coritraction pattern.
This finding provided s o m e physiological justification f o r o u r d e c i sion t o d e l i m i t the c l a s s of tongue s h a p e s i n t h e model to the [ i ] , [ u ] ,
and [ a ] contours and to s h a p e s that we obtained by interpolating l i n e a r ly between t h e s e b a s i c contours.
After studying a l s o s o m e photographic
F i g . 11-A-1.
Midsagittal tongue contours for Swediah voD.velain relation to outline of mandible.
Top left: [ i , e , e , m]. Top right: [u]. Below: [ a , o,
$.
Fig. 11-A-2.
Midmagittal tongue contours for Swedimh vowels in relatiqn to outline of mandible.
Top left: L y , u. b ] . Top rlght and below am in Fig. 11-A-1.
STL-QPSR 1/1969
18.
data of l a b i a l articulation we c h o s e a three-dimensional "horse-shoe"
model f o r the r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of the lips.
E a c h l i p contour is d e s c r i b e d
mathematically by m e a n s of a power function (7). The p a r a m e t e r s of
this analytical e x p r e s s i o n depend on the action of the "labial" m u s c l e s
When t h e i r values have b e e n computed
a s well a s that of the "mandible".
a s a function of "labialization" and "jaw opening" i t is possible to d e r i v e
t h e v e r t i c a l s e p a r a t i o n between the lips ( h i n F i g , 11-A-4) and the d i s t a n c e
between the mouth c o r n e r s (w) and, by m e a n s of t h e s e n u m b e r s , the
mouth opening a r e a (A).
This m e a s u r e i s a d e t e r m i n a n t of the acoustic
p r o p e r t i e s that a r e c o r r e l a t e d with the auditory quality of a vowel, that
i s , the f o r m a n t frequencies.
Another acoustically important m e a s u r e
Where does the vocal t r a c t t e r m i n a t e ?
is the length of the l i p section.
In o u r model the vocal t r a c t t e r m i n a t e s a t the point w h e r e the l i p contours intersect.
Both the opening a r e a and the length of the t r a c t a r e
functions of rounding o r spreading on the one hand, and the position of
the mandible, on the other.
Since o u r X - r a y d a t a showed c e r t a i n v a r i a -
tions of l a r y n x height this v a r i a b l e was a l s o introduced i n the model.
T o s u m m a r i z e o u r model is m a d e up of the following independently
controllable components: a mandible, a tongue, a q u a s i - m u s c u l a r and
jaw-independent "labialization" p a r a m e t e r and l a r y n x height.
It was now
possible f o r u s to compute new "synthetic" a r t i c u l a t o r y configurations,
o r X - r a y t r a c i n g s o r p r o f i l e s , by combining any given jaw position with
a n a r b i t r a r y but physiologically f a i r l y r e a l i s t i c tongue shape and l a r y n x
height.
We could f u r t h e r m o r e introduce a perturbation of t h e b a s i c
n e u t r a l jaw-dependent shape of the l i p s b y "rounding" o r "spreadingt1.
Like the child who is about t o d i s c o v e r the potentialities of its s p e e c h
o r g a n s we now wanted t o find out, of c o u r s e , what t h e s e new o r synthetic
mouth positions sounded l i k e ?
Thanks to the w o r k b y F a n t ( 8 ) , Heinz
and Stevens (9), a h m a n ( l o )and o t h e r s we now know how t o utilize the
information i n a n X - r a y profile of the vocal t r a c t i n o r d e r t o compute the
acoustic r e s u l t , that i s , the f o r m a n t f r e q u e n c i e s , a s s o c i a t e d with a given
a r t i c u l a t o r y vowel configuration.
The p r o c e d u r e c o n s i s t s initially i n
m e a s u r i n g t h e d i s t a n c e between tongue contour and the fixed and l e s s
mobile s t r u c t u r e s a t a n u m b e r of points along the t r a c t .
To make t h e s e
m e a s u r e m e n t s , a coordinate s y s t e m of the type shown a t the bottom of
Fig. 11-A-4 is used.
T h e s e c r o s s d i s t a n c e s a r e then t r a n s l a t e d into
e s t i m a t e s of the corresponding c r o s s - s e c t i o n a l a r e a s .
tion gives a so-called a r e a function.
This transforma-
Given this a r e a function i t is
Fig. II-A-4.
In the upper left-hand p a r t the p a r a m e t e r s determining t h e
mouth opening a r e a A a r e shown: h = vertical separation
between lips; w = distance between mouth c o r n e r s ; p i s a
number that specifies the curvature of the lip contours.
T h e s e contours when projected on a frontal plane a r e a s sumed t o be given by
In the upper right part the basic tongue shapes of the model
a r e shown. A polar coordinate s y s t e m defined i n relation
t o the mandible i s a l s o indicated. With the aid of this coordinate interpolated tongue shapes associated with [ i , u l
and [ a ] w e r e computed.
In the lower part of the figure a l a t e r a l X - r a y tracing c a n
be seen. Superimposed on the profile i s a coordinate
s y s t e m defined in relation to fixed s t r u c t u r e s such a s the
maxilla. This s y s t e m was used in the determination of
a r e functions.
19.
STL-QPSR l / l 9 6 9
possible t o compute the f o r m a n t frequencies that a r e a s s o c i a t e d with the
a r t i c u l a t o r y configuration i n question.
O u r model i s related to the t h r e e - p a r a m e t e r models of F a n t (8)and
I).
of Stevens and House
One f e a t u r e distinguishing o u r s f r o m previous
models is the c o n s t r a i n t s that we introduce on the c l a s s of a r e a functions
that the model g e n e r a t e s .
physiological grounds.
We have t r i e d t o motivate t h e s e c o n s t r a i n t s on
In previous a t t e m p t s the mandible, f o r instance,
w a s not a n independently controllable p a r a m e t e r .
The babbling s t a g e of the model
L e t u s proceed t o study the relation between articulation and acoustic
r e s u l t f o r the model a s i t now stands.
F i r s t examine what will happen
when we fix the jaw and move only t h e tongue.
[i] t o [ u ] t o [ a ] and then back t o [i] again.
1
We change its f o r m f r o m
The acoustic r e s u l t s of
t h e s e a r t i c u l a t o r y changes a r e shown i n Fig. 11-A-5 i n which the second
f o r m a n t frequency is plotted against the f i r s t .
Data pertaining t o t h r e e
different d e g r e e s of jaw opening (5, 9, and 22 m m ) a r e shown.
The u p p e r
d a t a points of t h e figure, that i s , m a x i m a l F 2 v a l u e s t a r e a s s o c i a t e d with
t h e [i] tongue contour. P e r t u r b i n g this tongue shape s o that i t i s t r a n s f o r m e d into a n [ u ] then a n [ a ] and finally back to the [i] shape again
gives r i s e t o banana-like t r a c e s on t h e F -F c h a r t f o r a l l t h r e e jaw2
1
positions. T h e s e bananas i n f o r m u s that the change i n the f i r s t f o r m a n t
frequency is insignificant i n c o m p a r i s o n with the change i n the second
f o r m a n t when only the tongue of the model i s moved.
F r o m s i m i l a r d i a g r a m s we c a n i n f e r t h a t if only t h e "mandible" is
moved the change i n the f i r s t f o r m a n t is c o n s i d e r a b l e w h e r e a s t h a t i n the
second f o r m a n t is relatively s m a l l .
Now a s s u m e that like the child we combine mandible positions, tongue
s h a p e s , and l i p s t a t e s i n a l l possible ways and l i s t e n t o t h e acoustic r e s u l t i n e a c h individual c a s e .
Whatever we do with o u r a r t i c u l a t o r y com-
ponents i t is c l e a r that the human s p e e c h o r g a n s a r e constrained i n s u c h
a way s o a s to p e r m i t only c e r t a i n vowel qualities, o r combinations of
C e r t a i n o t h e r F -F -F combinations c h a r 3 2 1
a c t e r i z e vowels that we could produce only with t h e aid of a t e r m i n a l
f o r m a n t frequency values.
analogue s y n t h e s i z e r
-
not with o u r mouths.
F r o m the point of view of
t h e human s p e e c h m e c h a n i s m such combinations would b e impossible.
SECOND FORMANT FREQUENCY
20.
STL-QPSR l / l 9 6 9
The s p a c e that c h a r a c t e r i z e s the acoustic possibilities of o u r model is
shown i n Fig. 11-A-6 i n the f o r m of two two-dimensional projections.
At
the top we s e e a n a r e a that e n c l o s e s a l l possible combinations of Fg and
F values.
1
binations.
Below the corresponding field including a l l F2 and F1 c o m -
Universal phonetic dimensions of vowels: An underlying principle
Suppose t h a t we would want the vowel sounds that we s e l e c t i n o r d e r
t o c o n s t r u c t a hypothetical vowel s y s t e m t o exhibit m a x i m a l efficiency i n
o r a l communication and i n p r a c t i c a l use.
T o attain this goal i t would ap-
p e a r r e a s o n a b l e to s e e t o it that acoustically, o r pe rceptually, they would
b e 2 s f a r a p a r t a s possible.
This p r i n c i p l e of m a x i m a l c o n t r a s t (cf.
Jakob s on (12)) would m a k e the r i s k of confusing vowels s m a l l e r
-
a risk
that is inherent i n the inevitably noisy communication p r o c e s s .
Adhering t o this principle we begin t o look f o r vowel qualities a t the
e x t r e m e s of the acoustic s p a c e of o u r a r t i f i c i a l mouth.
A three-vowel
s y s t e m , f o r example, might f o r i n s t a n c e c o n s i s t of the vowels c o r r e s p o n d ing t o points A, B , and C i n Fig. 11-A-6.
We find that t o a t t a i n A, B, and C t h e r e is only one way i n which t h e
a r t i c u l a t o r y components of the model c a n b e positioned.
F o r t h e s e ex-
t r e m e c o r n e r s of the model s p a c e t h e r e is consequently a unique relation
between articulation and acoustic result.
An A-pattern c a n b e produced
only i f
the jaw opening is s m a l l ;
-
the l i p s a r e s p r e a d ; and
t h e tongue i s t h r u s t forward and upward.
A B - p a t t e r n is obtained
only if
the pharynx is constricted;
the jaw opening is l a r g e ; and
the l i p s a r e s p r e a d .
A C - p a t t e r n will r e s u l t
I
)nl'y i f
the vocal t r a c t is constricted a t a point approximately
half-way between the lips and the glottis;
the jaw opening is s m a l l ; and
the l i p s a r e rounded.
As you have probably guessed a l r e a d y , A. B, and C c o r r e s p o n d to the
qualities [i,], [a 1, and [u].
.
t
U
z
3 .O
9 kHz
0
-
A
Spread
----
-
Rounded
Rounded and
-a-m-.-
-
I
I
-
0
/)
C
\
-
\u--
-
+
#
/
,'
0
-I4
I
I
I
I
\
I
-
1
\
\
-
I
1
\
-
I
I
-
I
B
I
I
I
I
-
I
rC
/
0
4.
ew-.-
0
s-n---,-,d-
L*'
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
.I
.2
.3
.4
.5
.6
.7
.6
0
FIRST FORMANT FREQUENCY
Fig. 11-A-6.
T w o - d i m e n s i o n a l p r o j e c t i o n s of t h e a c o u s t i c vowel s p a c e
of t h e m o d e l . At t h e t o p a n a r e a e n c l o s i n g a l l p o s s i b l e
c o m b i n a t i o n s of F and F1; below t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g field
3
including a l l FZ and F c o m b i n a t i o n s .
1
.
.8
kHz
SECOND AND
E
0
g
g
*N
I
I
I
SECOND FORMANT
A
b
0
,
b
I
,
b
I
k
I
A
I
-.
b
g
I
I
I
)
FREQUENCY
A
i
-
THIRD FORMANT FREQUENCIES
a
b
A
,
I
o
I
r
P
I
E
1
2
I
g
N
I
I
b $ g
STL-QPSR 1/1969
22.
It is a m a t t e r of common phonetic observation t h a t the languages of the
r y vowels.
world pick t h e i r vowel qualities f r o m among just this i n v ~ ~ l t o of
T h i s f a c t i s brought out i n Fig. 11-A-9 which p r e s e n t s a s u r v e y of vowel
systems.
T h e s e d a t a have b e e n taken f r o m Hockett (I3).
T h e vowels a r e
plotted on a n i m a g i n a r y conventional f o r m a n t c h a r t r a t h e r than i n the t r a d i tional quadrilateral.
The p a t t e r n s that a r e shown i n Fig. 11-A-9 f o r t h r e e
through ten-vowel s y s t e m s a r e variations on the vowel p e r i p h e r y theme,
O u r conclusion m u s t b e that the phonetic s t r u c t u r e of t h e s e s y s t e m s c a n
b e explained a t l e a s t p a r t i a l l y by the principle of m a x i m a l contrast.
I
T a b l e 11-A-2 tabulates t h e a r t i c u l a t o r y dimensions that uniquely c h a r a c t e r i z e the e x t r e m e vowel types.
TABLE 11-A-2
THE ARTICULATORY DIMENSIONS O F PERIPHERAL VOWEL TYPES
TONGUE SHAPE
Palatal
Close
Palato-pharyngeal
Pharyngezl
Vclar
u
i
o
e
a
JAW
Open
a
w
E
The points i n Fig. 11-A-8 labeled [ i , e, and
tongue shape a s f o r [i].
E]
I
w e r e generated with a
T h e r e f o r e we c l a s s i f y t h e m a s palatal.
They d i f -
f e r i n t e r m s of jaw-opening and a l l require s p r e a d lips.
The [ a ] vowel required a tongue shape which was i n t e r m e d i a t e between
[i] and
[ a ] . We c l a s s i f y i t a s palato-pharyngeal.
The lips has to be
spread.
The [ a ] vowel presupposed a n open jaw and a n r a
W e c l a s s i f y i t a s pharyngeal.
s h a p e tongue.
The lips had to b e s p r e a d .
The [ a ] vowel a l s o required s p r e a d lips.
-
It is pharyngeal i n t e r m s of
the model tongue contour and open ( i n t e r m s of t h e jaw).
VOWEL SYSTEMS ACCORDING TO HOCKETT
3-vowel r y r t e m : :
i
ARABIC
ARUNTA
a
U
(some dialects)
(~ustralia) '
GERMAN
DUTCH
HUNGARIAN ( s o m e d i a l e c t s )
FRENCH
( s o m e dialects)
ROMANIAN ( / and a instead of y
LIFU
(sand a instead of y
VOTYAK
(iand e instead of y
SALISHAN
4-vowel rymtemr:
I
e
I
a
0
APACHEAN
CAMPA
NAHUATL
a a
}
ITALIAN
PORTUGUESE
LOMA
(west-Africa)
KIOWA
(Mexico)
TETELCINGO (Mexico)
(Peru)
(Mexico)
(AMAHUACA)
U
(Philippines)
(Peru, Brazil)
FINNISH
HUNGARIAN ( s o m e d i a l e c t s )
CUITLATECO ( + , a , 3 instead of y . d ,a)
KOREAN
( + , a , 3 instead of y , 0
some dialects)
5-vowel r y r t e m r :
I
JAPANESE
CZECH
GREEK
YOKUTS
KECHUA
e
a
U
I
0
e a
+Y
++
U
a
(California)
( P e r u , Chile)
{ :%:FARAN(North-Caucasia)
I
POLISH
U
o3
' e
POTAWATOMI
U
CHIPEWYAN
DARGWA
MENOMINI
PERSIAN
UKRAINIAN
YUCHI
I
TAKI-TAKI
e
a
0
u
0
a instead of 8 )
A instead of 8 )
HUICHOL
ONEIDA
I
(some dialects;
PORTUGUESE ( s o m e d i a l e c t s ;
(North-America)
U
TRUKESE
(Malayo-Polynesian)
OTOMI
( C e n t r a l Mexico)
ENGLISH
ESTONIAN
(y ,0 ,
+ t THAI-
(North-America)
0
6-vowel rymtemr:
and 0 )
and d )
and 0 )
a +a
0
J
,
E
instead of
i . a ,s
North- A m e r i c a )
[North-Caucasia)
(North-America)
MIXTECO
SIERRA POPOLUCA
ZOQVE
Fig. IT-A-9.
I
U
'
o3
+Y
a
+gj
NORWEGIAN
( N o r t h W e a t e r n Norway)
+ce
Survey of vowel ryrtemr as e x e w f i e d By vartarre languages
in the world. The data have been taken f r o m Hockett.
,=I
The [o] vowel w a s obtained with a pharyngeal tongue s h a p e and rounded
lips.
T h e jaw was i n a half-open position.
-
-
The [u] n e c e s s i t a t e d a v e l a r tongue shape, a c l o s e jaw and rounded lips.
i n Sound P a t t e r n of English Chomsky and Halle ( 3 ) s k e t c h a t h e o r y of
marking.
According t o this theory any deviation that t h e ph(>nr)logical
s y s t e m of a language exhibits f r o m the so-called "natural" p a t t e r n s i m plies a n i n c r e a s e of the complexity of the system.
An "unnatural" o r un-
expected phonological segment is m a r k e d with r e s p e c t t o t h e f e a t u r e f o r
which it h a s the unexpected value.
ated a n expense is i n c u r r e d
-
When the n a t u r a l n e s s condition is viol-
a n expense that m u s t b e taken into account i n
the phonological budget of the language.
Among the u n i v e r s a l n a t u r a l laws
regarding vowels t h a t Chomsky and Halle mention w e find the observations
t h a t b a c k vowels a r e usually rounded w h e r e a s front vowels a r e not.
As
w e have s e e n t h e s e "laws" a r e m o s t s i m p l y explained by the principle of
m a x i m a l c o n t r a s t which f a v o r s the u s e of e x t r e m e vowel types.
By
rounding the "back" vzwels and spreading t h e "front" s e r i e s we r e a c h
t h e l i m i t s of the vowel space.
Phonetic dimensions of Swedish vowels
F r o m the point of view of o u r model what a r e the phonetic dimens i o n s of t h e Swedish vowels?
would b e t o "go fishing".
Well, one way of answering this question
T h e "fish" that we would like t o c a t c h a r e the
positions of the Swedish vowels i n the acoustic s p a c e and o u r "fishing nets"
a r e the c u r v e s o r n o m o g r a m s that we c a n g e n e r a t e with o u r model.
This
method, which i s a s o r t of analysis-by-synthesis p r o c e d u r e , provides a n
a n s w e r t o t h e question: How should t h e tongue, the l i p s , the mandible,
and t h e l a r y n x of the model b e positioned i n o r d e r to g e n e r a t e the vowel
sounds of Swedish?
F o r o u r a r t i f i c i a l child t o l e a r n the c o r r e c t pronun-
ciation of t h e s e vowels what a r t i c u l a t o r y p a t t e r n s should i t be a b l e to
master?
Fig. 11-A- 10 shows a "fishing net" and s o m e "submerged" Swedish
vowels.
The solid l i n e s r e p r e s e n t iso-lingual c u r v e s .
indicate iso-mandibular conditions.
The dashed l i n e s
The m e s h e s of the "net" a r e r a t h e r
open but i n principle we should be a b l e t o i n f e r the combination of a r t i c u l a t o r y p a r a m e t e r values that u n d e r l i e s any "vowel fish" f r o m the information provided by the "net" o r nomogram.
1
Tongue shapes: i, i - a , a
J a w openings : 5, 7, 11, 15.22
Lips spread
-isolinguals
isomandibular s
-- ---
@ Formant frequencies of the subject
2.2
kHz
kHz
F i g . 11-A-10.
C u r v e s i l l u s t r a t i n g t h e effect o n F1 and F of i s o l i n g u a l
2
( d a s h e d ) and i s o m a n d i b u l a r ( s o l i d ) conditions. T h e a d v a n t a g e s a n d l i m i t a t i o n s of using c u r v e s of t h i s type t o
d e t e r m i n e a r t i c u l a t o r y p a r a m e t e r v a l u e s a s s o c i a t e d with
vowel f o r m a n t f r e q u e n c y d a t a , a r e d i s c u s s e d i n t h e text.
All this sounds fine but we soon r e a l i z e that, i n c o n t r a s t with the conditions f o r the e x t r e m e vowel types, the relation between articulation and
acoustic r e s u l t is ambiguous.
It i s possible t o c a t c h a given "fish" using
different types of nets, f o r instance, rounded o r s p r e a d "nets".
It might
b e suggested that we introduce c e r t a i n principles i n o r d e r t o r e d u c e t h e
ambiguity.
One possibility would b e t o s a y , f o r instance, that
a vowel f o r m a n t p a t t e r n that c a n b e produced i n m o r e than
one way should b e generated using the a r t i c u l a t o r y co nfiguration that constitutes the m i n i m a l deviation f r o m the b a s i c
s p e e c h p o s t u r e o r articulation b a s e of the language i n question.
However, we a r e a s yet unable t o apply this principle i n a quantitative and
Moreover, we m u s t not r a s h l y a s s u m e that t h e child
meaningful m a n n e r .
who l e a r n s t o s p e a k n e v e r m a k e s u s e of the possibility of compensatory
articulation o r that the vowel acquisition problem is alway solved by a l l
If s u c h assumptions a r e i n c o r r e c t t h e r e
c h i l d r e n i n a n identical m a n n e r .
is l e s s need f o r a disambiguation principle.
Returning t o F i g s . 11-A-1 and 11-A-2 we o b s e r v e that t h e [ i ] shows a
maximally palatal tongue contour.
The vowels [ e ,
than [ i j .
E ,
ie]
T h i s i s a l s o t r u e of [ Y ] i n Fig. 11-A-2.
s e e m to have a somewhat m o r e constricted pharynx
It i s of i n t e r e s t t o note t h a t the p e r i p h e r a l vowel types of the
model that w e r e labeled [ e ,
E,
E)
w e r e found just along a continuum of
i n c r e a s i n g jaw-opening and pharyngealization.
exhibit varying d e g r e e s of pharyngealization.
a r e both l e s s palatal than
Ky].
In t h e s e t r a c i n g s [ a , o,
[ u ] i s velar.
[b]
Q]
T
and [u]
Whether they should b e c l a s s i f i e d a s
p a l a t o - v e l a r o r pzlato-pharyngeal cannot b e d e t e r m i n e d with c e r t a i n t y
f r o m t h e s e data.
I t would b e perfectly f e a s i b l e to u s e , f o r i n s t a n c e , a l e a s t s q u a r e s
c r i t e r i o n to study the m i x t u r e s of the b a s i c tongue shapes [ i , a , u] that
provide the c l o s e s t fit to the e m p i r i c a l contours.
Systematic differences
between the model predictions and the d a t a that r e m a i n even when the d e viations have been minimized could f u r n i s h clues to a revision and refinement of the model.
We have initiated this p a r t of the p r o j e c t only recently.
So f a r we have nothing to report.
Fig. 11-A-11 shows l i p and mandible data.
The position of the mouth
c o r n e r along a d o r s a l - v e n t r a l dimension a s a function of jaw -opening.
The solid line shows the jaw-dependent n e u t r a l location of the mouth c o r n e r a s predicted by the model.
T h e rounded c l a s s of vowels is above this
line and the s p r e a d group below it.
5
10
JAW
F i g . 11-A- 11.
15
20
OPENING
T h e position of t h e mouth c o r n e r along a d o r s a l - v e n t r a l
d i m e n s i o n a s a function of jaw opening. S a m e Swedish
s u b j e c t a s i n F i g . 11-A-1 and 11-A-2. The solid line
shows the jaw-dependent n e u t r a l location of the mouth
c o r n e r a s p r e d i c t e d b y t h e model.
25.
STL-QPSR 1/1969
T h e s e phonetic d a t a a r e s u m m a r i z e d i n Fig. 11-A- 12 i n the f o r m of a
vowel c i r c l e in which the d e g r e e of opening i n c r e a s e s towards t h e p e r i phery and the shape of the tongue is indicated i n t e r m s of the angle b e tween the vowel i n question and one of the b a s i c dimensions:
pharyngeal o r velar.
palatal,
Rounded vowels a r e shown within c i r c l e s .
In Table 11-A-3 we have attempted to t r a n s f o r m the phonetic i n f o r m a tion of F i g , 11-A-12 into a b i n a r y format.
We e n t e r a
+ a t the i n t e r s e c t i o n
of a given column and row of the m a t r i x i f o u r d a t a have shown that a vowel
s e g m e n t p o s s e s s e s a c e r t a i n attribute; a
-
if i t does not.
T o exemplify:
a l l vowels enclosed by t h e radii labeled palatal and pharyngeal r e c e i v e a
plus i n t h e rows corresponding to both of t h e s e f e a t u r e s .
PALATAL
i
y
TABLE 11-A-3
u
u
e
B
i
+
r
PHARYNGEAL
-
VELAR
-
CLOSE
+
OPEN
-
LABIAL
(ROUNDED)
'
,
-
I
-
-
+
+
-
+
,
+
+
+
-
+
+
+
+
+
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
+
+
+
+
+
-lj
--
-
-
+
- - - .-
-
--.
-
-
+
+
+
-
-
-
+
+
-
-
+
-.
a
+
+
-
a
a
E
0
-
-
t
-
i
-
-
-
-
+
+
+
_I
'
- - - the phonetic
and phonological dimensions
-of vowels
On the relation between
The child who a c q u i r e s the c o r r e c t pronunciation of say, the Swedish
vowels /i, y, u/ and /u/ d e m o n s t r a t e s that he h a s l e a r n e d c e r t a i n m o t o r
s k i l l s ; he h a s l e a r n e d how t o coordinate the m u s c u l a r activity underlying
c e r t a i n positions and movemerrts of h i s l i p s , tongue and jaw etc.
In s o m e
d i a l e c t s a c o r r e c t pron~lnciationof t h e s e vowels i m p l i e s diphthongizatiorl.
We o b s e r v e [ i j ] and cyj] on the one hand and [up] and [wf3] on the other.
C o r r e c t pronunciation i m p l i e s a l s o that a l l o t h e r vowel s e g m e n t s a r e monophthongs.
Consequently a n informant who p r e s e n t s t h e s e f a c t s i n h i s s p e e c h
h a s d i s c o v e r e d not only that the Swedish vowels /i, y, w, u/ presuppose c e r t a i n a r t i c u l a t o r y events but a l s o t h a t they d i f f e r f r o m the remaining vowels;
they constitute a c l a s s , arid the vowels of t h i s c l a s s a r e subject to diphthongization.
T h i s p r o p e r t y is a s t r u c t u r a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c , a r e g u l a r i t y i n
the sound p a t t e r n of the language:
a n a b s t r a c t phonological property.
PALATA
OPEN
Fig. 11-A-12.
The phonetic data presented in F i g s . 11-A- 1 , 11-A-2,and
11-A-11summarized. Tongue shape i s indicatdd a s a function of angle. Degree of mandibular opening i s shown a long the radii. Rounded vowels are encircled.
26.
STL-QPSR 1/1969
The d i s c o v e r y of this p r o p e r t y i s made on a l e v e l that is m o r e "abstract"
than that on which the d e t a i l s of the motor control underlying [ i j , yj, up]
and [up1 a r e discovered.
In the l i n g u i s t ' s d e s c r i p t i o n the c h i l d ' s d i s -
c o v e r y of the s u p e r o r d i n a t e c l a s s p r o p e r t y i s reflected i n the phonological
function of the distinctive f e a t u r e s and the child' s d i s c o v e r y of m o t o r
Hence
commands auditory i r n p r e s s i o n s etc. i n t h e i r phonetic function.
the need to distinguish between phonological and phonetic f e a t u r e s .
The
only phonetic data n e c e s s a r y to the formulation of the phonological r u l e
One might
operative i n the above example is the f e a t u r e diphthongization.
thus b e tempted to suggest that i n the lexicon s e t up f o r the dialect i n
question within the f r a m e w o r k of a generative g r a m m a r the vowel s e g m e n t s
/i, y, u, u/ b e specified a s /t diphthongizable(.
It would i n principle b e possible t o give many m o r e examples of s i m i l a r " c l a s s e s " of s e g m e n t s in the sound p a t t e r n s of v a r i o u s languages.
F o r e v e r y r e g u l a r i t y of this type, f o r e v e r y c l a s s of s e g m e n t s that behaved
i n a s y s t e m a t i c m a n n e r i n relation to a given p h o ~ o l o g i c a lp r o c e s s we would
b e able to e x t r a c t a n "abstract" phonological p r o p e r t y o r feature.
I
L e t u s now take the phonological f e a t u r e of diphthongization that w e
have just c o m e a c r o s s and a s k f o r a m o r e detailed phonetic i n t e r p r e t a t i o n
of it.
What a r e the phonetic f e a t u r e s that distinguish /i,
a l l o t h e r vowels and thus c h a r a c t e r i z e t h e m a s a c l a s s ?
11-A-3 i t a p p e a r s that the phonological c l a s s of
y, u, u/ f r o m
F r o m Table
/+diphthongizable/
seg-
m e n t s i s d e s c r i b e d by a single phonetic feature, viz., c l o s e n e s s .
/i,
y, u, u/ a r e the only [t c l o s e ] vowels.
F u r t h e r m o r e we s e e that /u/
-
and /u/ whose diphthongization d i f f e r s f r o m that of /i/ and /Y/
s e r v e [ i j ] , Cyj] along with [ u p ] and
p r o p e r t y of being [
+ velar].
[LIB]
not +t[,uj] and "[uj])
-
(we ob-
s h a r e the
Consequently, t h e s e observations suggest
that r u l e s of t h e following type be incorporated in the g r a m m a r :
/t diphthongizable/--,
[ t clos e l
(1)
w h e r e s l a n t p a r e n t h e s i s b r a c k e t s indicate phonological and s q u a r e phonetic
l e v e l s of r e p r e s e n t a t i o n respectively.
of the f e a t u r e of
/+
This r u l e s t a t e s that a l l mentions
diphthongizable/ a t the l e x i c a l and phonological l e v e l s
should be replaced by [+ c l o s e ] a t a lower phonetic level.
If the relation between phonological and phonetic dimensions w e r e a l ways a s s i m p l e and s t r a i g h t - f o r w a r d a s i n the above example r u l e s such
a s (1) would not b e n e c e s s a r y in the g r a m m a r .
In the lexicon s e g m e n t s
1
STL-QPSR 1/1969
27.
like /i, y, u, u/ might just a s well b e specified a s [ + c l o s e ] f r o m the
s t a r t and among the phonological pules of the d i a l e c t i n question we would
find the following diphthongization rule:
-
7
tvoc
-cons
-cons
+close
+tense
cr palatal
+close
$velar
apalatal
y labial
$velar
y labial
etc,
i
L
w h e r e a , $, and y a r e v a r i a b l e s assuming t h e values
+ or
-. This r u l e
should b e i n t e r p r e t e d i n a c c o r d a n c e with c u r r e n t conventions of phono-
.
logical notation (3, 14)
The f e a t u r e s of vocalic, consonantal and t e n s e
a r e used h e r e a s in previous formulations of distinctive f e a t u r e theor)( 15*3)
the remaining f e a t u r e s being defined within o u r p r e s e n t phonetic framework.
.c
T h i s rule will g e n e r a t e the sequences [ij],
Lyj3, [up] and [ a $ ] provided
4
that we a s s i g n the following m a t r i c e s t o the segments:
+
+
+
+
-
-
-
-
+
-
labial
-
+
+
-
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
velar
+
+
+
+
+
palatal
+
+
VOC
close
35
t
+
-
+
+
-
+
+
Note that the introdr~ct
i o r , of t h i s p r o c e s s m;ilces t h l , . . xces of
f e a t u r e s u n n e c e s s a r y i n the d e s r r i p t i o t ~of S \ i - c ~ r l i s l l (cf. ~ a l ~ ~ ~ l b ~ ~ ~ ~
The e x c e s s i v e d e g r e e of roc~ndirig ( i n s c , ~ ~ t ~ c lobserved
in~)
f o r [u](and
[ u ] ) c a n be attributed to t h e l a b i a l lide LB]." Accr)rding to o u r P L I . ~ ~ , , ~
c l a s s i f i c a t i o n /u/ i s distinct f r o m i/ i n t e r m s of velarizntic,n 2nd
rounding and f r o m /y/ i n t e r m s of velarization only, Table 11-A-3.
As pointed out classifying /u/ a s velarized r a t h e r than pha ryngeali zed
i s somewhat a r b i t r a r y a s indicated by the p r e s e n t phonetic evidence.
It i s c l e a r , however, that [ i j and Cy] a r e phonetically both m o r e
palatalized (= s h a r p ) than [ u ] . T h e s e f a c t s a r e thus compatible
with the dimensions of F a n t ( 2 ) .
f
28.
STL-QPSR 1/1969
Thus ( 2 ) s t a t e s that a glide is i n s e r t e d a f t e r any long and c l o s e vowel
and that this glide a s s i m i l a t e s a l l the remaining f e a t u r e s of the preceding
vowel.
What we have done is t o a s c r i b e a phonological function t o t h e phonetic
f e a t u r e of c l o s e n e s s .
This function is distinct f r o m i t s phonetic tole and
m o r e a b s t r a c t i n that i t c o n s i s t s i n t r i g g e r i n g the diphthongization r u l e
thus delimiting a c e r t a i n vowel c l a s s .
Thus i n the g r a m m a r t h e r e s e e m s
t o b e no need t o distinguish between the phonological f e a t u r e of diphthongization and t h e phonetic f e a t u r e of c l o s e n e s s s i n c e + c l o s e d o e s the job
alone a t both levels.
As pointed out above f u r t h e r examples of the c i r c u m s t a n c e that phonological p r o c e s s e s a p p e a r to o p e r a t e on n a t u r a l c l a s s e s could b e given.
Such examples have m a d e investigators g e n e r a l i z e and conclude that i t
"is a n e x t r e m e l y important and by no m e a n s obvious fact that the distinctive f e a t u r e s of the c l a s s i f i c a t o r y phonemic*
m a t r i x define c a t e g o r i e s
that c o r r e s p o n d closely t o those d e t e r m i n e d by the rows of the phonetic
matrices".
(16)
The exclusion of r u l e s s u c h a s (1) f r o m a theory of g r a m m a r would
b e justified provided that assumptions like the following w e r e c = r r e c t :
A1
Phonological f e a t u r e s a r e i n a 1-1 relation with
phonetic features.
A2
The relation between phonological and phonetic
f e a t u r e s i s n e v e r language-specific.
In t h e s e s t a t e m e n t s phonological f e a t u r e r e f e r s t o a p r o p e r t y that a
s e g m e n t o r a c l a s s of s e g m e n t s h a s on account of i t s s y s t e m a t i c behavior
with r e s p e c t t o s o m e p r o c e s s of phonology i n the language, e. g. , diphthongization, raising, vowel harmony etc.
Phonetic f e a t u r e r e f e r s to a
dimension that a future u n i v e r s a l physiological and quantitative theory of
s p e e c h production and recognition might reveal.
(1) above.
A1 is i l l u s t r a t e d by r u l e
A2 would b e refuted if i t could b e shown that a phonological
p r o p e r t y s u c h a s f o r i n s t a n c e diphthongizable has different phonetic i n t e r pretations i n different languages.
A1 p r e s u p p o s e s that /diphthongization/
h a s a phonetic i n t e r p r e t a t i o n in t e r m s of a single dimension.
A2 pre-
supposes i n addition that t h i s single phonetic p r o p e r t y is always and univ e r s a l l y f o r example c l o s e n e s s .
3%
= phonological a s t h i s t e r m is used above (BL/JS)
2 9.
STL-QPSR l / l 9 6 9
A r e t h e s e assumptions c o r r e c t ?
C u r r e n t accounts of phonological
t h e o r y (3' 17) have devoted l i t t l e attention t o s u c h questions.
It is c l e a r
though that they will b e r a i s e d a s the modeling of phonetic "competence"
p r o g r e s s e s and the notion of phonetic f e a t u r e is elucidated, ( ~ f . ' ~ ' h o w e v e r ) .
C o n s i d e r a hypothetical Swedish dialect f o r which the following histor i c a l f a c t s have been observed: At a c e r t a i n s t a g e
u
4
u
(3)
and l a t e r
k
---+ q
i n the context of a l l "soft" vowels (4)
The c l a s s of "soft" vowels includes [i, e , E,
8,
8, _a,
y].
In a synchronic
d e s c r i p t i o n of the d i a l e c t a f t e r r u l e (4) has been incorporated we e x t r a c t
a phonological p r o p e r t y x c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the "soft" vowel c l a s s .
p r o p e r t y c o n s i s t s i n a "softening" of the [k].
front of the "hard" vowels /u, u , o, a/.
This
T h i s does not o c c u r i n
Going back to Table 11-A-3
what i s the phonetic i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the phonological f e a t u r e of [ k ] softening? We find that
r+
palatal
7
Consequently we have found a n example f o r which the 1-1 relation
d o e s not hold.
A1 is violated.
A c e r t a i n phonological p r o c e s s , v e l a r
softening, is t r i g g e r e d by two phonetic f e a t u r e s .
Now a s s u m e that A1 is a u n i v e r s a l law that c a n n e v e r b e violated i n
human language.
If t h i s i s t r u - t h e r e is only one condition under which
-
both ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) c a n occur: the o r d e r of t h e s e p r o c e s s e s m u s t b e r e versed.
F o r r e v e r s i n g the o r d e r m e a n s that we c a n change (5) into
/+
and A1 holds.
k-softening/
[ + palatal]
(6)
T h e r e a r e many Swedish d i a l e c t s that have undergone
changes s u c h a s (3) and (4).
Provided that A1 is accepted i t c a n b e p r e -
dicted that no Swedish d i a l e c t could b e found f o r which the o r d e r of the
h i s t o r i c a l events is (3)-(4).
The o r d e r (4)-(3) is found e m p i r i c a l l y would
provide support i n favor of A1.+
-
+
- -
Wess6n ( I 8 ) c l a i m s that (4) was initiated a s e a r l y a s 1225-1375 in c e r t a i n Swedish d i a l e c t s w h e r e a s t h e f i r s t t r a c e s of (3) a p p e a r i n the period
1375-1526. The exact r e l a t i v e chronology of (3) and (4) f o r individual
d i a l e c t s i s not indicated. We have not yet been able t o t e s t the p r e d i c tion based on A l ,
Our hypothetical examples have been intended t o r a i s e doubts regarding
the validity of Al.
Moreover, they indicate how t h i s assumption could b e
t e s t e d against h i s t o r i c a l facts.
Before concluding l e t u s examine one m o r e
example involving A1 i n o r d e r t o d e m o n s t r a t e how useful a tool this a s sumption might b e provided that i t w e r e t r u e i n the s e a r c h f o r the phonetic
dimensions of segments.
In English the c l a s s of s e g m e n t s consisting of [ s z 3 E
characterized on two levels.
2) c a n b e
Phonologically, nouns ending i n t h r e e con-
sonants r e q u i r e that the p l u r a l b e f o r m e d by adding [&z).
Phonetically,
t h i s c l a s s a r e e x h a u s t i v e l y d e s c r i b e d a s n o n g r a v e a n d s t r i d e n t (19)
.
Phonologically t h e consonants s h a r e the p r o p e r t y of requiring [ I z
realization of the p l u r a l morpheme.
p r e t e d i n t e r m s of two f e a t u r e s .
Now
I
If s o the phonetic d e s c r i p t i o n just
One way of doing this would be t o c l a s s i f y [ f ]
and [ v ) a s [ - s t r i d e n t ] instead of [+strident].
f r o m [ 8 ] and
a
Phonetically t h i s p r o p e r t y is i n t e r -
Consequently A1 d o e s not hold.
suppose again that A1 m u s t hold.
given m u s t b e modified.
1as
[a] i n t e r m s of gravity.
c l a s s of [ + s t r i d e n t ] segments.
[s
A1 i s met.
z
They will s t i l l b e distinct
3 E f ] now constitute the
Changing the value of s t r i d e n c y
f o r [ f ] and [ v ] docs not lead to a phonetic d e s c r i p t i o n that i s too much a t
v a r i a n c e with any known facts.
s i t y the Engliah [ f ] and [ti]
everything e l s e being equal.
On the c o n t r a r y , i n t e r m s of physical inten-
souncle a r e c l e a r l y w e a k e r than [ s z 4. Z
They a r e thus a l s o l e s s strident.
E]
Other
s i m i l a r phonetic a r g u m e n t s have been put forward i n favor of considering
[ f ] and [ v ] a s [ - s t r i d e n t ] ( 2 0 )
The important point about the above i l l u s t r a t i o n is the demonstration
that phonological f a c t s could be used to a n s w e r the question:
What a r e the
t r u e phonetic dimensions of vowel and consonant s e g m e n t s ?
They m a y b e
used i n this way however only on the condition that A1 is valid.
To s u m m a r i z e :
I s i t valid?
in this section we have s a i d that
(i) phonetic dimensions have to b e distinguished f r o m phonological
dimensions.
We have asked
(ii) how t h e s e dimensions a r e related:
a ) i s the relation 1- 1 ?
b) is i t language-dependent?
We have r a i s e d the question
(iii) whether r u l e s that i n t e r p r e t phonological f e a t u r e s phonetically m u s t
b e incorporated into a g e n e r a l linguistic t h e o r y and in individual
g r a m m a r s . Such r u l e s have not bee11 considered s o f a r i n phonological the0 ry.
The a n s w e r t o the last question depends on t h e a n s w e r s t o (ii a ) and
(ii b).
F o r instance, if the relation between phonological and phonetic
f e a t u r e s is one-to-many o r if t h i s relation i s language-dependent r u l e s
of the above kind m u s t b e incorporated into linguistic description.
r u l e s , then, d e s c r i b e a relation that the child h a s t o l e a r n .
Such
We f e e l a t
p r e s e n t i t is not possible t o defend o r refute convincingly hypotheses about
t h i s relation s i n c e the notions of phonological f e a t u r e and phonetic f e a t u r e
need t o b e f u r t h e r clarified.
Consequently f u t u r e rev e a r c h will have t o d e t e r m i n e whether "the
distinctive f e a t u r e of the c l a s s i f i c a t o r y phonemic m a t r i x define c a t e g o r i e s
that c o r r e s p o n d c l o s e l y t o those d e t e r m i n e d by the rows of the phonetic
.
m a t r i c e s " (16)
Among the p r o b l e m s that this r e s e a r c h m u s t tackle is
t h e construction of a u n i v e r s a l and physiologically c o r r e c t model of speech
production and recognition.
Only with s u c h a model would i t b e possible
t o explicate t h e notion of phonetic f e a t u r e ,
References:
(1) Malmberg, B. : "Distinctive f e a t u r e s of Swedish vowels; s o m e ins t r u m e n t a l and s t r u c t u r a l data", i n F o r Roman Jakobson
(' s-Gravenhage 1956), pp. 3 16-321.
I
(2) F a n t , G. : "The n a t u r e of distinctive features", i n To Honor Roman
~ a k o b s o n(' s - ~ r a v e n h a ~1967),
e
pp. 632-642.
( 3 ) Chomsky, N. and Halle, M. : Sound P a t t e r n of English ( ~ e w
York
1968).
(4) Ladefog ed, P. : "Linguistic Phonetics1', Working P a p e r s in Phonetics
6, UCLA, June 1967.
( 5 ) Wang, W. S-Y.: "Vowel f e a t u r e s , paired v a r i a b l e s , and the English
vowel shift", Language 44 (1 968), pp. 695-708.
(6) Ladefoged, P. : "Physiological c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n of speech", pp. 2- 9
i n Working P a p e r s in Phonetics, UCLA, June 1964.
(7) Lindblom, B. : "Studies of labial articulation", Z. f. Phondik, Sprachwissenschaft und Kommunikationsforschung 21, Heft 1/2 ( 1 968),
pp. 171-172.
(8) F a n t , G. : Acoustic Theory of Speech Production (' s -Gravenhage 1960).
(9) Heinz, 3. M. and Stevens, K. N. : "On the relations between l a t e r a l
cineradiographs", p a p e r A44 i n P r o c . of 5e Cong r k s International
d ' Acoustique, Likge 1965.
32.
STL-QPSR 1/1969
(10) o h m a n , S. E. G. : " N u m e r i c a l m o d e l of coarticulation", J. Acoust.
Soc.Am. 41 (1967), pp. 310-320.
(1 1) Stevens, K. N. and House, A. S. : "Development of a quantitative d e s c ription of vowel articulation", J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 17 ( 1955),
pp. 484-493.
(1 2) Jakobson, R. : " K i n d e r s p r a c h e , Aphasie und a l l g e m e i n e Lautgesetze",
pp. 328 -401 i n Selected Writings I (' s - G r a v e n h a g e 1962).
,
1955).
( 13) Hockett, C. F. : Manual of Phon9logy ( ~ l o o m i n ~ t o nInd.
(14) Halle, M. : "A d e s c r i p t i v e convention f o r t r e a t i n g a s s i m i l a r i n g and
dissimilation", M a s s a c h u s e t t s Institute of Technology, Q P R
No. 66, J u l y 15, 1962, pp. 295-297.
(15)
. . Jakobson, R., F a n t , G., and Halle, M.: P r e l i m i n a r i e s t o S ~ e e c h
Analvsis
he ~ i s t i n c t i v e~ e a t u r e sand T h e i r ~- o r r e- l.a..L- -e s
( c a m b r i d g e , M a s s . 1967), 7th printing.
.
-
-
- -
-
(16) Chomsky, N. and M i l l e r , G. A. : "Introduction t o t h e f o r m a l
a n a l y s i s of n a t u r a l languages", pp. 269-321 i n Handbook of
Mathematical Psychology I1 by R. D. Luce, R. R. Bush, and
E. G a l a n t e r ( E d s . ) (New York 1963).
York 1968).
(17) P o s t a l , P. M. : A s p e c t s of Phonological T h e o r y ( ~ e w
(18) Wessi.n, E. : Svensk s p r 8 k h i s t o r i a .
(Stockholm 1965).
I . L j u d l a r a och o r d b a j n i n g s l a r a
(1 9) Halle, M. : "On t h e b a s e s of phonology", pp. 324-333 i n The S t r u c t u r e
by J.A. F o d o r and J. J, Katz ( ~ n g l e w o o dCliffs,
;
(20) S t e v e n s , K. N. : "Acoustic c o r r e l a t e s of place of a r t i c u l a t i o n f o r s t o p
and f r i c a t i v e consonants ", M a s s a c h u s e t t s Institute of Technology,
Q P R No. 89, A p r i l 15, 1968, pp. 199-205.