A gestural production model and its application to reduction in German

A quantitative speech production model has been computer-implemented based on specifications of gestures as its input. Articulatory gestures serve the central role of phonological/phonetic units in speech organization. The present model is not based on task dynamics, but it still assumes a critically damped linear second-order system. The capability of this model is partially demonstrated by its application to reduction phenomena in conversational speech in German. Explanations in terms of timing and magnitude alterations of gestures in different articulators use only a few general principles for a variety of apparent segmental alterations. Some salient examples have been synthesized based on the current model, which also contributed to the evaluation of the parameter values involved in sample gestures.