The C/D model and prosodic control of articulatory behavior

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Speech Science
• Computational Phonetics

Background:

• Articulatory gesture organization is crucial for speech production.
• Existing models may not fully capture the dynamic interplay of articulatory features during utterances.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate the Converter and Distributor (C/D) model for generative description of articulatory gesture organization.
• To assess the model's ability to predict rhythmic and durational aspects of speech.

Main Methods:

• The C/D model uses syllable features, metrical structure, and utterance parameters as input.
• It computes a syllable-boundary pulse train and superimposes articulatory control functions.
• Preliminary analysis involved microbeam data, focusing on jaw opening as a proxy for syllable magnitude.

Main Results:

• The model computes control functions for articulators based on elemental gestures and base functions (voicing, vocalic, mandibular, tonal).
• Analysis of microbeam data showed inferred syllable and boundary durations consistent with acoustic waveform characteristics.

Conclusions:

• The C/D model provides a generative framework for understanding articulatory organization in speech.
• The model's predictions of speech rhythm and duration are supported by preliminary experimental data.