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Related Experiment Videos

Contextual variability in American English dark-l.

Judith Oxley1, Nancye Roussel, Hugh Buckingham

  • 1Department of Communicative Disorders, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, LA 70504, USA. odj8147@louisiana.edu

Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics
|June 15, 2007
PubMed
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This study reveals that the "dark-l" sound in American English is influenced by syllable position and stress. Its darkness varies based on phonetic context, challenging previous assumptions about its articulation.

Area of Science:

  • Phonetics and Phonology
  • Acoustic and Articulatory Speech Science
  • Sociolinguistics

Background:

  • The phonetic realization of the lateral approximant /l/ varies significantly across languages and dialects.
  • In General American English, the distinction between 'light' and 'dark' /l/ is well-documented, with darker variants typically occurring in syllable coda positions.
  • Previous research often links /l/ quality to syllable position, but the interplay with stress and vowel context requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relative influence of syllable position, stress, and vowel context on the acoustic and articulatory properties of dark /l/.
  • To determine how phonetic environments, including domain-initial strengthening and foot-internal constraints, modulate the dorsal gesture of dark /l/.
  • To refine the understanding of articulatory undershoot in the production of dark /l/, considering both alveolar and dorsal gestures.

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Main Methods:

  • A four-subject study was conducted to analyze the production of dark /l/ in General American English.
  • Articulatory data were collected, focusing on the dorsal gesture and alveolar articulation of /l/.
  • Phonetic contexts were manipulated to examine the effects of syllable position (onset vs. coda), stress (iambic vs. trochaic), and vowel environment (high front vowels).

Main Results:

  • Dark /l/ was found to be fully dark in an onset position within an iambic intervocalic context with tautosyllabic high front vowels, attributed to domain-initial strengthening.
  • Conversely, dark /l/ exhibited reduced darkness when adjacent to word-boundary consonants or within a trochaic foot (preboundary intervocalic rime).
  • These findings indicate that phonetic context significantly constrains the dorsal gesture of dark /l/, leading to variations in its perceived darkness.

Conclusions:

  • Syllable position, stress, and vowel context interact to modulate the phonetic realization of dark /l/ in General American English.
  • Domain-initial strengthening plays a crucial role in the full darkening of /l/ in specific onset environments.
  • Articulatory undershoot in dark /l/ production must account for both alveolar and dorsal gestures, as influenced by surrounding phonetic factors.