ABSTRACT
By means of simultaneous electromagnetic midsagittal articulometry (EMMA) and electropalatography (EPG) recordings, we investigated tongue-tip kinematics and tongue-palate contact patterns for four German speakers in order to compare production strategies of alveolar stops with fricatives. For alveolar stops vs. fricatives, two different control strategies were hypothesized: A target above the contact location for alveolar stops resulting in a collision of the tongue tip at the palate as opposed to a precise positioning of the tongue at the lateral margins at the palate for alveolar fricatives. Additionally, we suspected differences between stops and fricatives with respect to anterior and lateral palate contacts and their influence on tongue kinematics. Results of this study confirmed two different control strategies for alveolar stops and fricatives by means of significant differences in movement amplitude, velocity, and duration of the closing gesture, the amplitude of deceleration peaks, tongue-tip movement during acoustically defined closure and constriction, and maximal anterior contact during closure. Additionally, results for speaker-dependent mechanisms were related to the subject's coronal palatal shape.
