Project 'Deutsche Vokale'

Tut uns leid: keine Seite in deutsch.

The DFG funded project "Deutsche Vokale" is dedicated to the articulographic exploration of the German vowels.

Duration:
First Phase May 93 - April 95
Financing:
DFG Project Deutsche Vokale (Grant no. Ti 69/21-1).
Staff:
Project description:
We are currently completing the first phase (May 93 - April 95) of an articulatory study of the German vowel system. The immediate aim is to use electromagnetic articulography (EMA) to provide a descriptive account of vowel production in German, emphasizing aspects that are difficult or impossible to analyze on the basis of extant radiographic material. These aspects include in particular the dynamics of vowel articulation, and patterns of variability (e.g contextually induced, token-to- token, inter-speaker). The more general aim is to arrive at a better understanding of the possible relationships between phonological distinctions and their implementation by the motor system. The rich German vowel system (including, for example, contrasts of both tense vs. lax, and rounded vs. unrounded) is assumed to be well-suited for this purpose. Thus this vowel system will be used as a means to address more general issues in speech production, such as interarticulator coordination (especially tongue-jaw), motor equivalence and articulatory- acoustic relations.

The first stage of the project has concentrated on the acquisition of an extensive corpus and on the initial stages of the analysis. The corpus covers all 15 accentable vowels of German (leaving aside diphthongs). These vowels were embedded in two sub-corpora:

  1. 5 repetitions each in pVp, tVt and kVk consonantal contexts in nonsense words in a carrier phrase. This material was recorded at both normal and fast speech rates.
  2. Each vowel embedded in 15 different real words, embedded in turn in meaningful sentences.

Thus a total of almost 700 vowel realizations are available for analysis from each speaker (45 per vowel). To date 6 speakers have been recorded. Movement data was acquired (AG100, Carstens Medizinelektronik, Göttingen) from four positions on the tongue and one each on lower lip and jaw.

First results of an analysis of the dynamic aspects of vowel articulation are to be found in Hoole et al., 1994. Here the two different speech rates were exploited to arrive at a better understanding of the dynamic differences between tense and lax vowels. Contextual and token-to-token lingual variability in vowel articulation is analyzed in Hoole & Khnert, 1995. Further reports are in preparation on lingual configuration and tongue- jaw coordination.

The next phase of the project aims firstly to provide supplementary information on labial and mandibular configuration, as well as on larynx height. Analysis will then focus on questions of interarticulator coordination, controlled variables in lingual articulation and articulatory-acoustic relations.

Publications: