PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY
Panel Coordinator: Lucrecia Rallo Fabra (Universidad de las Islas Baleares). Departamento de
Filología Española, Moderna y Latina. Edificio Ramon Llull.. Ctra. Valldemossa, km. 7,5. 07122
Palma de Mallorca. lucrecia.rallo@uib.es
Maria Riera Tolo & Joaquín Romero Gallego
(Universitat Rovira i Virgili)
Título: The transcription of American English V+/l/ and V+/r/ word-final sequences
Propuesta: Comunicación
Abstract:
This paper presents an overview of a variety of transcription systems used to transcribe
American English final V+/l/ and V+/r/ sequences in stressed monosyllables. We rely on
pronunciation dictionaries and manuals as reference sources. Our main objectives are (i) to
reveal the confusing situation created by different transcription systems as well as variations
within each system regarding symbol choice, (ii) to investigate the role of epenthetic schwa, and
(iii) to determine which transcription system may be most appropriate. Acoustic evidence shows
the coarticulatory nature of any transitional element in the sequences and leads us to favor
Kenyon and Knott’s (1953) transcription system for the phonological representation of the
sequences.
Joaquín Romero Gallego
(Universitat Rovira i Virgili)
Título: ELECTROMAGNETOMETRY IN SPEECH PRODUCTION RESEARCH
Propuesta: Taller
Abstract:
The purpose of this workshop is to provide a brief and simplified description of the
electromagnetic midsagittal articulometer (EMMA or EMA) as well as some of the advantages of
its use in speech production research. The magnetometer (also known as articulometer) allows
us to obtain direct and real-time information of the movement of all the articulators, including the
tongue. In this workshop I will point out some basic technical aspects and describe the
functioning and the standard experimental protocol used with EMMA. The signal obtained from
the articulometer gives us the opportunity to study a large amount of reliable and precise
quantitative data that can be used to test a great variety of theoretical issues within the
phonetics-phonology field. This versatility will be illustrated with some results obtained in
experiments dealing with different languages. These results provide a picture of the possibilities
that the articulometer offers in the study of speech production and of phonetics-phonology in
general.
Traditionally one of the most persistent problems in the study f speech production has
been the difficulty in obtaining movement data from several articulators simultaneously and in
real time. Existing techniques for observation of speech articulation have limitations in terms of
either what articulators can be observed or their capacity to provide real-time data. These
limitations are particularly notorious when it comes to observation of tongue movement. Among
the available techniques for acquiring information concerning the role of the tongue in the
production of speech are electropalatography, which provides lingual contact data in an area
between the posterior edge of the alveolar ridge and the soft palate. Even though
electropalatography allows observation of contact sequences in real time, it does not provide
direct information on those parts of the tongue that are not in direct contact with the artificial
palate. This severely limits its capacity to obtain reliable data for non occlusive articulations.
More recently new techniques have been employed that allow observation of speech
articulation in a less localized manner. These include soft-tissue imaging techniques such as
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and ultrasound. Even though the quality of the images that
can be obtained with these systems has improved very considerably over the last few years, in
both cases there are serious drawbacks in terms of calibration andquantification of the observed
movement. This, together with the structural complexity and high costs of this type of
equipment, renders them of little value in the intensive study of speech production.
Electromagnetometry, as a research tool in the study of speech production, has some
clear advantages over the techniques mentioned above. One of its main positive aspects lies in
its capacity to capture data from up to ten articulators simultaneously and with a temporal
resolution which is sufficient to capture speech movements in real time. Use of this techniques
in experimental phonetics has been made possible thanks to the development of a device
known as electromagnetic midsagittal articulometer, EMA or EMMA. Depending on the model of
articulometers that is used, data can be obtained for two or three dimensions, but the main
advantage is that in either case data calibration and quantification is a relatively simple and
straightforward procedure, which allows the researcher to obtain plenty of reliable data without
the need to resort to large equipment. The use of electromagnetometry in the study of speech
production is relatively recent and it continues to have limited presence in many phonetics labs
due to, among other factors, the complexity involved in data gathering and interpretation as well
as in the high costs of the equipment.
Articulometry systems for use in speech research are currently only available through
Carstens Medizinelektronik (http://www.articulograph.de/). There are two models available at
the moment, the AG200, which provides two dimensional data, and the AG500, which allows
gathering of three-dimensional data. During the 1990s an alternative non-commercially
available articulometer model was developed at MIT (Perkell et al., 1992) and made available to
a very small number of research centers throughout the world. Even though the details for the
different models vary slightly and the complexity is understandably bigger in the 3D model, the
main physical principles behind the functioning of the system and its operation are essentially
the same and the results are easily comparable. In this workshop I will refer in part to the MIT
model available at Haskins Laboratories, in New Haven, Connecticut, and partly to the AG100
Carstens model (an earlier version of the currently available AG200) which has been in use at
the Institut d'Estudis Catalan's phonetics laboratory in Barcelona.