Influences on articulatory timing in consonant sequences

This paper presents an experimental study of articulatory timing in English consonant sequences using electropalatography (EPG). Effects of consonantal place, manner, and syllable structure on reduction and temporal overlap are considered. The results evidence reduction in coda position and show that stops are more subject to coda reduction than are fricatives. Coronal consonants are shown to be more overlapped by a following velar stop than a velar stop is by a following coronal. Stops are more overlapped by a following consonant than are fricatives. Finally, an onset cluster is shown to be less overlapped and less variable in its timing than coda clusters and heterosyllabic sequences. These findings support the claim that inter-gestural coordination is variable and affected by linguistic factors-both gestural and prosodic. (C) 1996 Academic Press Limited