Coarticulation: Theory, Data and Techniques (review)

Coarticulation refers to the overlapping of gestures in speech production as one speech sound influences the articulation of another. A thorough study of this aspect of phonetics, this volume provides a useful resource to all branches of speech science, whether linguistic, technological, or clinical in orientation. The volume is presented in four parts, each approaching the subject from a different perspective.

The two chapters of Part 1 are theoretical in orientation. In Ch. 1 (7–30) Barbara Kühnert and Francis Nolan present an overview of the ‘origins’ of coarticulation, explaining what it is, outlining its history as a subdiscipline of the phonetic sciences, and providing a descriptive account of how it occurs in speech production. Ch. 2 (31–65), by Edda Farnetani and Daniel Recasens, reviews in detail recent models of coarticulation and evaluates the strengths and limitations of each model.

Extensive data on the mechanics of coarticulation are presented in Part 2. Each of the five chapters in this section examines coarticulatory gestures associated with a specific part of the vocal mechanism. In Ch. 3 (69–79), by Michel Chafcouloff and Alain Marchal, velopharyngeal coarticulation is discussed with its associated feature of nasality. In Ch. 4 (80–104) Recasens considers the spatial and temporal factors involved in lingual coarticulation. Ch. 5, a long chapter on laryngeal coarticulation (105–43), is divided into two sections. In the first, Philip Hoole discusses gestures associated with de-voicing; then Christer Gobl and Ailbhe Ní Chasaide examine voice source variation in the vowel as a function of consonantal context. Farnetani provides data on labial coarticulation in Ch. 6 (144–63); Janet Fletcher and Jonathan Harrington look at the spatial effects and the coproduction and spatiotemporal effects of lip and jaw coarticulation. All five chapters relate data gathered through experimental studies to natural languages when appropriate and suggest directions for further research.

In Part 3 the language-specific impact of coarticulation on phonetic and phonological theory is brought into focus in two chapters. In the first of these, Ch. 8 (179–98), Sharon Manual takes a cross-linguistic approach to the role of contrast in coarticulation and the impact of prosodic structure and vowel harmony on coarticulation, with particular reference to non-Indo-European languages. Mary Beckman then discusses the problems and implications of coarticulatory theory for phonological theory in Ch. 9 (199–225), considering the relationship between phonetics and phonology, the role of segmental feature specification within the lexicon, and the role of the segment in prosodic organization.

Part 4 focuses on the various instrumental techniques used in gathering data on coarticulation: Ch. 10 (229–45) ‘Palatography’ by Fiona Gibbon and Katerina Nicolaidis; Ch. 11 (246–59) ‘Imaging techniques’ by Maureen Stone; Ch. 12 (260–69) ‘Electromagnetic articulography’ by Hoole and Noel Nguyen; Ch. 13 (270–83) ‘Electromyography’ by William J. Hardcastle; Ch. 14 (284–93) ‘Transducers for investigation velopharyngeal function’ by Michel Chafcouloff; Ch. 15 ‘Techniques for investigation of laryngeal articulation’ is presented in two sections: ‘Investigation of the devoicing gesture (294–300) by Hoole and ‘Techniques for analysing the voice source’ (300–21) by Gobl and Ní Chasaide. Finally in Ch. 15 (322–36), Recasens describes the most readily available means of investigating coarticulation: acoustic analysis. This chapter will be of particular value to researchers who do not have access to the more sophisticated technologies described in the preceding chapters but who nevertheless need to take coarticulation into account in their research.

The very comprehensive reference section (some 45 pages) provides a wealth of suggestions for further reading.

This book represents a major contribution to contemporary speech science and technology by bringing together in one coherent volume recent developments in both the theory and modelling of coarticulation in speech production. It should prove highly...