The articulation of /ɹ/ in New Zealand English

Abstract

This paper investigates the articulation of approximant /ɹ/ in New Zealand English (NZE), and tests whether the patterns documented for rhotic varieties of English hold in a non-rhotic dialect. Midsagittal ultrasound data for 62 speakers producing 13 tokens of /ɹ/ in various phonetic environments were categorized according to the taxonomy by Delattre & Freeman (1968), and semi-automatically traced and quantified using the AAA software (Articulate Instruments Ltd. 2012) and a Modified Curvature Index (MCI; Dawson, Tiede & Whalen 2016). Twenty-five NZE speakers produced tip-down /ɹ/ exclusively, 12 tip-up /ɹ/ exclusively, and 25 produced both, partially depending on context. Those speakers who produced both variants used the most tip-down /ɹ/ in front vowel contexts, the most tip-up /ɹ/ in back vowel contexts, and varying rates in low central vowel contexts. The NZE speakers produced tip-up /ɹ/ most often in word-initial position, followed by intervocalic, then coronal, and least often in velar contexts. The results indicate that the allophonic variation patterns of /ɹ/ in NZE are similar to those of American English (Mielke, Baker & Archangeli 2010, 2016). We show that MCI values can be used to facilitate /ɹ/ gesture classification; linear mixed-effects models fit on the MCI values of manually categorized tongue contours show significant differences between all but two of Delattre & Freeman's (1968) tongue types. Overall, the results support theories of modular speech motor control with articulation strategies evolving from local rather than global optimization processes, and a mechanical model of rhotic variation (see Stavness et al. 2012).

Research methods in articulatory phonetics I: Introduction and studying oral gestures

“…Thanks to the relatively less invasive nature of the method and the ease of data collection, sample sizes in ultrasound studies have been typically higher than for EPG, with the median being nine participants (mean 11.8, SD 13). A few recent studies have considerably extended their sample sizes (e.g., 57 speakers in Noiray, Abakarova, Rubertus, Krüger, & Tiede, , 60 in Zharkova, and 62 in Heyne, Wang, Derrick, Dorreen, & Watson, ). As mentioned earlier, ultrasound can be easily used with children and elders ‐ the populations that were previously rather under‐studied given the invasiveness of other articulatory methods.…”

Sound change and coarticulatory variability involving English /ɹ/

“…A study of 62 New Zealand English speakers byHeyne et al (2018) found similarly that about 40% produce only tip-down (i.e., bunched) /ɹ/.…”

Loose lips and tongue tips: The central role of the /r/-typical labial gesture in Anglo-English

“…More frequent retroflexion has also been observed in non-rhotic New Zealand English. In a large-scale ultrasound study of 62 New Zealand English speakers, nearly 20% of subjects produced exclusively retroflex tongue shapes (Heyne et al, 2018). Like Mielke et al (2016), Heyne et al (2018) also considered the equivalent of our Front Up classification to be bunched and not retroflex.…”

“…In a large-scale ultrasound study of 62 New Zealand English speakers, nearly 20% of subjects produced exclusively retroflex tongue shapes (Heyne et al, 2018). Like Mielke et al (2016), Heyne et al (2018) also considered the equivalent of our Front Up classification to be bunched and not retroflex. If we do the same, the percentage of exclusively retroflex users in Anglo-English (25%) and New Zealand English (nearly 20%) are remarkably consistent.…”

“…It appears then that exclusively retroflex tongue shapes are up to three times more frequent in non-rhotic than in rhotic Englishes. Heyne et al (2018) speculate that as New Zealand English speakers very rarely produce /r/ in postvocalic environments, where bunching is heavily favoured, speakers are less likely to acquire bunched /r/ as an alternative articulation strategy if they have already mastered retroflexion.…”