Coarticulation
LIN 3201
Coarticulation
Articulation at two different places simultaneously
 May be essential to the nature of the sound itself
[w] (voiced labial-velar approximant), [] (voiced labialpalatal approximant)
 Or environmental, resulting of the production of
that sound in an environment of other sounds
[k] rounder, with slight lip rounding, before [u]
The key to coarticulation is that…
TWO DIFFERENT
ARTICULATIONS
OCCUR AT THE
SAME TIME
We’ll be most concerned with
the different types of
ESSENTIAL COARTICULATION
Essential Coarticulation
In the nature of the sound itself…
Type 1: Coordinate Structures
Two equal articulations
produced at the same time
Type 2: Secondary Articulations
One articulation is imposed onto another,
with one articulation
subordinate to the other
Coarticulation can involve two sounds of
the same rank, (Coordinate)
such as [kp] (2 stops)
Or two sounds of different ranks
(Secondary),
such as [tw] (stop & approximant)
NOTE: On the Ranking of Consonant Strictures
To talk about coarticulation,
we must first talk about the “ranking”
of consonant strictures.
Rank is from most closed, most constricted
to most open, least constricted
Stop > Trill > Fricative >
Approximant > Vowel
TYPE 1 - Coordinate Structures OR
Double Articulations
Equal sounds, of same rank (with same degree of stricture),
produced at the same time
 Stop-stop
 [gb], [kp] (have tie bar underneath to connect them)
 West African languages; Sherbro [gbí] ‘all’
 Fricative-fricative
 [x] – written as []
 Exists in some dialects of Swedish: skjorta [ora] ‘shirt’
 Harder to produce because of maintenance of air, very rare
 Approximant-approximant
 More common
 English, [w]; French [] huit [it] ‘eight’
TYPE 2 – Secondary Articulations
Imposition of one sound, of one rank,
imposed on another;
Primary stricture usually has more stricture;
secondary has less
Secondary stricture is usually an approximate
In other words…
The “primary” consonant being produced will
generally be a stop or a fricative,
[tj], [sj], [kw]
while the “secondary” consonant being
produced will be a sound with less stricture,
like an approximant
[tj], [sj], [kw]
Major types of Secondary Coarticulation
**All are transcribed with diacritics**





Labialization – hold tongue at [w] while producing
primary articulation; [w]
Palatalization – hold tongue at [i] while producing
primary articulation; [j]
Velarization – hold tongue at velar approximant, []
while producing primary articulation; []
Pharyngealization – pushing back of tongue as
downwards and as backwards as possible, as if
“swallowing” while producing primary articulation; []
Nasalization – generally coarticulation with vowels; made
by sending air through nasal cavity while producing
primary articulation; [~]
Keep in mind…
 Some of these distinctions can seem very subtle, or
difficult to distinguish
 Sample from English:
Palatalized [lj] vs. Velarized [l]
 Palatalized before [j], before vowels [lj]
• [lji:f] ‘leaf ’ [mlj n] ‘million’
 Velarized word medially and finally [l]
• [fijl] ‘feel’
Sequences
Sequence VS. Coarticulation
Instead of being produced simultaneously,
like coarticulated sounds,
sequences
consist of two or more sounds
produced right after one another
that function as a single unit
in that language
Types of Sequences
Homorganic Sequences =
produced with the same speech organs,
i.e. at the same place of articulation
1.
Geminates – two identical or nearly identical consonant
sounds

2.
Italian [tt]; Arabic [tt] or [ll]
Affricates – stop released as homorganic fricative (central
or lateral)


German [ts] in [tsajt] ‘time’
Navajo [tsah] ‘needle’ and [tah] ‘ointment’
Types of Sequences, cont.
3. Plosion – stop released as lateral approximant or
homorganic nasal, where that approximant or
nasal generally functions as syllable nucleus;
diacritic for syllable nucleus = []
 English nasal plosion: [bejk] ‘bacon’, [sdn]
‘sudden’
 English lateral plosion: [ll] ‘little’, [ml]
‘middle’
4. Pre-nasalized Stops – nasal followed by
homorganic stop
 [mb], [nd]