Neighborhood-conditioned coarticulation effects in French listener-directed speech

Words from dense phonological neighborhoods (Hi-ND words) are realized with greater vowel hyperarticulation and increased coarticulation in English, relative to words from sparser neighborhoods (Lo-ND words) [e.g., Wright 2004]. Here, the relation between coarticulation and neighborhood density is investigated for French by looking at patterns for anticipatory and carryover nasal coarticulation, coronal and uvular CV coarticulation, and V-to-C rounding coarticulation. Twelve native French speakers (northern France) produced 82 disyllabic words of French containing a context for one of these 5 types of coarticulation in phonetically similar high-low ND pairs. Test words were produced to a real listener who had to transcribe them in the instructed positions on a grid. F1, F2, and A1-P0 (a spectral measure of nasality) were measured at 5 timepoints across each test vowel. In addition to having more hyperarticulated (peripheral) vowel midpoints, Hi-ND words showed greater anticipatory nasality and stronger coronal transitions in appropriate contexts than Lo-ND words. Carryover nasality and uvular and rounding coarticulation did not differ across NDs. These results can be interpreted in light of the relation between coarticulation and contrast and the role these effects may serve in making Hi-ND words, which are subject to greater lexical competition, easier to perceive.