combining articulation

Question 1

for what are laryngeal muscles used for voiceless stops in english specifically?

Answer 1

aspiration; e.g. pca muscles to bring apart vocal folds for [p]

Question 2

two solutions for how movements of different articulators are timed and controlled?

Answer 2

-context-sensitive (“look ahead”) models
-context-invariant models

Question 3

context-sensitive (“look ahead”) models

Answer 3

we know all the positions before starting the movement and then we take into account what’s ahead (know about B and C so we know how to move from A to B to C beforehand)
-motor plans
-how do my articulators usually coordinate the upcoming sequence?

Question 4

context-invariant models

Answer 4

don’t need to know what positions are up next; transitions happen on the spot (A to B to C)
-black-belt video
-what’s the fastest way to get articulators from here to there?

Question 5

the inverse problem

Answer 5

not sure which path we took from B to C

Question 6

task dynamics

Answer 6

define a task as movement toward a physical target; things are computed on the fly (no stored plan)
-pseudoinverse solutions determine efficient paths

Question 7

2 unifying theories combining motor planning and task dynamics

Answer 7

motor program level: long-term stored structures
motor system level: computes dynamics in real time

Question 8

complex sounds

Answer 8

involve simultaneous use of multiple articulators (e.g. liquids, clicks, nasalized & voiced sounds)

Question 9

do we still need muscle activation for voiceless stops in english (aspirated)?

Answer 9

yes; PCA activated for big opening between vocal folds

Question 10

muscle activation for english [b]

Answer 10

LCA and IA

Question 11

spanish [p] muscle activation?

Answer 11

no PCA or LCA/IA

Question 12

which combo of aspirated and voiced sounds don’t occur together in a language? (more complex)

Answer 12

[p^h] and [b]

Question 13

which combos of aspirated and voiced/voiceless sounds occur together in a language usually?

Answer 13

[p^h] and [p], [b] and [p]

Question 14

the timing problem

Answer 14

how is timing between multiple articulatory movements controlled?

Question 15

extrinsic timing

Answer 15

crude proposal for timing problem; that we have an central clock that regulates movement timing; no strong evidence

Question 16

intrinsic timing

Answer 16

solution to the timing problem
-task dynamics
-relative movement cycles rather than absolute time
-phase alignment = timing relationship between gestures
-languages tend to show recurring global phase patterns

Question 17

phase relationship

Answer 17

important to intrinsic timing; some phase relationships are easier to maintain (tapping one finger at a time vs weird rhythm)
-out of phase rhythms want to align (phase alignment; metronomes?)

Question 18

anatomical coupling vs independence

Answer 18

degree to which two articulators influence each other’s movement (three legged race vs running side by side)
-tightly coupled articulators
-independent articulators

Question 19

tightly coupled articulators

Answer 19

movements in one often affect the other (three legged race); they are anatomically coupled
-move together due to physical or muscular linkages (e.g. tongue)

Question 20

independent articulators

Answer 20

movements of separate articulators don’t significantly influence one another; anatomically independent

Question 21

examples of tightly coupled articulators

Answer 21

-tongue tip and tongue body
-lips and jaw
-three legged race
-lingual-lingual sounds

Question 22

examples of independent articulators

Answer 22

velum, larynx

Question 23

lingual-lingual sounds are difficult to learn because

Answer 23

they are produced with different tongue movements; tongue is tightly coupled articulator

Question 24

is dark l harder to learn than light l?

Answer 24

yes

Question 25

which types of articulators are easier to coordinate?

Answer 25

independent articulators (velum, larynx…)

Question 26

sounds that combine ____ ______ are common across languages

Answer 26

independent articulators; e.g. nasal + voiced

Question 27

articulatory overlap (what is it and when is it more common?)

Answer 27

simultaneous movement of different articulators; more common when articulators aren’t anatomically coupled (soup vs seep; /s/ is consistent; stoop and soup: same lip shape)

Question 28

articulatory conflict

Answer 28

when adjacent speech sounds require anatomically coupled articulators to move in opposite directions ([i] vs [k])

Question 29

solution to articulatory conflicts

Answer 29

deletion, transition, compromise

Question 30

transition vs compromise (articulatory conflict solution)

Answer 30

move articulator from one position to the other vs picking middle ground between them