coarticulation
which means that while one sound is articulated, the vocal tract is already adapting for the position required for the next sound. It has been argued therefore that syllables are more invariant than phonemes.
Coarticulation refers to the phenomenon in speech production where the articulators (lips, tongue, and jaw) begin to shape the next sound or word while still articulating the previous sound or word. This means that speech sounds are not produced in isolation but are influenced by the sounds that come before and after them.
For example, in the word “cat,” the tongue moves from the /k/ sound to the /æ/ vowel sound, and then to the /t/ sound. However, the tongue does not stop moving between sounds but rather anticipates the position it needs to be in for the next sound. This coarticulation creates a smooth and efficient flow of speech.
Coarticulation can also lead to variations in pronunciation, as the sounds produced can be influenced by a speaker’s accent, dialect, or speech style. Researchers have found that coarticulation can be observed at different levels of language, including between individual sounds (segmental coarticulation) and between larger units, such as syllables and words (suprasegmental coarticulation).
Overall, understanding coarticulation is important for speech-language pathologists, linguists, and anyone interested in how language is produced and perceived.
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