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This paper presents the results of an articulatory study of palatalized consonants in Polish, a language with a typologically rare concentration of two phonemic series of posterior sibilants, one inherently palatalized, and the other contextually (allophonically) palatalized. For both phonemic and allophonic palatalization in Polish, it was found that the most stable correlates of palatalization are the advancement of the tongue root and a combined effect of raising and fronting of the tongue body. The advancement of the tongue root can be interpreted as the driving force in palatalization, while the effect of tongue body fronting and raising can be seen as secondary, resulting from the movement of the tongue root and the characteristic of the tongue as a muscular hydrostat.

Upper Sorbian, an endangered West Slavic language spoken in Germany, is unusual among Slavic languages in having a uvular rhotic /ʀ/. This paper focuses on the gestural configuration and coarticulatory resistance of the uvular rhotic and explores the relation between the articulation and acoustics of this sound. Ultrasound tongue imaging data were collected from six native speakers of Upper Sorbian, who produced /ʀ/ in word-initial, intervocalic, and word-final positions next to the vowels /e a o/. Smoothing Spline ANOVAs were used to compare tongue contours within and across phonetic contexts. Differences in the tongue root and tongue body position were also calculated across environments and compared using a measure of coarticulatory resistance. The results revealed that the sound was produced with considerable tongue root retraction and a uvular-pharyngeal tongue body constriction. The tongue root had a high resistance to coarticulatory effects, while the tongue body did not. The results suggest that the tongue root retraction into the pharyngeal cavity results in observed high F1 and low F2 effects associated with unpalatalized rhotic consonants and may explain perceptual similarity between uvular and alveolar rhotics. Articulatory constraints on the tongue root also account for phonotactic distribution of the rhotics across languages.

The Northwestern group of Indo-Aryan (Dardic) languages is generally known to have undergone consonantal shift, which resulted in the loss of voiced aspirated (VDA) stops and affricates of Sanskrit. Kalasha, an endangered Dardic language spoken in Chitral (Northern Pakistan), still preserves the Old Indo-Aryan four-way laryngeal system. The current study examines acoustic and articulatory correlates of Kalasha's four-way laryngeal contrast across places and manners of articulation, using lingual ultrasound-imaging and several acoustic measures. The analysis included the standard acoustic [voice onset time (VOT), after prevoicing interval (API), fundamental frequency onset, first four spectral moments] and articulatory (smoothing spline analysis of variance) measures, which capture laryngeal, place, and manner differences in consonants. The results showed that VOT reliably differentiated the four-way laryngeal contrast of Kalasha. VDA stops and affricates are characterized by shorter voicing lead VOT, higher API, and lower fundamental frequency onset than their voiced unaspirated (VDUA) counterparts. However, the first four spectral moments did not distinguish the two VDUA and VDA stop series. The tongue root retraction distinguishes the voiceless stops and affricates from the voiced ones.

Komo, an endangered Koman language spoken in Western Ethiopia, features a system of vowel assimilation commonly referred to as ‘advanced tongue root’ (ATR) harmony. Prior accounts of Komo [ATR] harmony describe a typologically unique, bidirectional system with two distinct and productive processes: anticipatory [+ATR] spreads leftward to non-high vowels and progressive [−ATR] spreads rightward to high vowels. In this study, we investigated the acoustic correlates of the [ATR] feature in Komo using recordings from twelve native speakers collected in the field. Our aims were to describe the acoustic signature of the feature, evaluate acoustic evidence for the claim that both assimilatory processes indeed involve [ATR] spreading, and explore individual variability in the realization of the feature. The results of linear mixed effects models indicated that, in both processes, [+ATR] vowels featured lower F1 values, less periodicity, and a relatively pronounced first harmonic. The anticipatory process was also cued by duration differences while the progressive harmony featured a partial difference in spectral slope. As for individual strategies, random forest analysis revealed a great deal of variability in the relative importance of different correlates. While F1 dominated many of the acoustic profiles, some speakers relied primarily on voice quality or duration to signal the feature.

This paper explores a number of controversial consequences of previous abstract analyses of Bondu-so (Dogon) vowels and vowel harmony, particularly for the explanation of phonological opacity. Bondu-so has been characterised as displaying asymmetrically-patterning bidirectional harmony, a four-way [ATR] contrast on mid-vowel suffixes, and abstract [±ATR] contrasts on high and low vowels which display distinct phonological behaviours but which never surface, being absolutely neutralised (Hantgan & Davis 2012). I show that each of these unusual generalisations stems from the crucial mischaracterisation of underlying vowel contrasts and the direction of harmony in surface-ambiguous data. With a re-classification of the data, Bondu-so harmony patterns are characterisable as regular, derivationally transparent leftwards [RTR]-harmony with harmonically neutral non-contrastive high and low vowels – requiring no abstract contrasts, directional harmony asymmetries, or opacity of any kind. Following this non-abstract reanalysis, Bondu-so is revealed to be typologically and theoretically fully consistent with other harmony languages. This review of Bondu-so vowel patterns represents therefore an important contribution to the “abstractness controversy” – revealing important analytical and methodological issues in abstract approaches to phonological opacity.

In this article, one proved case of flaccid tongue treated by Guan's tongue acupuncture was introduced by the three-step method of “puncture, prick, and swallowing”. This case was an elderly female patient with Parkinson disease, which had the main clinical symptoms of flaccid and weak tongue, and speech and swallowing disorder, and was diagnosed as flaccid tongue (deficiency of the both qi and blood, and deficiency syndrome of liver and kidney). The patient received diagnosis and treatment based on an overall analysis of its dialectical characteristics, using the five acupoints of Heart, Jīnjīn (金津 EX-HN12), Yuye (玉液 EX-HN13), Tongue root acupoint 1, and Tongue root acupoint 2 in total. First, the four acupoints of EX-HN12, EX-HN13, Tongue root acupoint 1, and Tongue root acupoint 2 were punctured successively, and then using the reinforcing method, the Heart on the tongue surface was pricked. Finally, the patient was advised to make a slow swallowing action. Through tongue acupuncture therapy for 6 times, the patient's speech and swallowing function was improved, which achieved a satisfactory therapeutic effects.

Voiced stops tend to be preceded by longer vowels and produced with a more advanced tongue root than voiceless stops. The duration of a vowel is affected by the voicing of the stop that follows, and in many languages vowels are longer when followed by voiced stops. Tongue root advancement is known to be an articulatory mechanism, which ensures the right pressure conditions for the maintenance of voicing during closure as dictated by the aerodynamic voicing constraint. In this paper, it is argued that vowel duration and tongue root advancement have a direct statistical relationship. Drawing from acoustic and ultrasound tongue imaging data from 17 speakers of Italian and Polish in total, it is proposed that the comparatively later closure onset of voiced stops is responsible for both greater root advancement and shorter closure durations of voiced stops. It is further shown that tongue root advancement is initiated during the vowel, and vowel duration and tongue root position at vowel offset are positively correlated so that longer vowel durations correspond to greater tongue root advancement.

The longstanding interest in Arabic emphatic consonants stems in part from their articulatory variability across dialects. In different dialects, emphatics are variously described as pharyngealized, uvularized, velarized, or even glottalized consonants. This pilot study analyzes ultrasound images of the voiceless coronal emphatic consonants (traditionally transcribed as pharyngealized /t/ and /s/), and compares them with the corresponding non-emphatics (/t/ and / s/), and with the uvular /q/ in identical vocalic environments. We also examine coarticulatory interactions between emphatic consonants and adjacent vowels. Data from two native speakers of Hijazi Arabic showed more retracted tongue root in emphatics compared to non-emphatics. The emphatics are different from uvulars, in that the tongue dorsum is not raised toward the uvular place of articulation. Non-emphatic coronals are potentially velarized, or even palatalized, especially in the context of a front vowel. Short vowels (/a/, /i/, /u/) were more affected by emphasis in the adjacent consonant than the long vowels (/a:/, /i:/, /u:/), with more retracted tongue root position in the context of emphatic consonants. The high back vowels (/u/, / u:/) were less affected by emphasis than the other vowels.

Vowels in Ateso, an Eastern Nilotic language, are subject to Advanced Tongue Root (ATR) harmony. Accordingly, the vowels are divided into two harmony sets which differ in terms of tongue root position. The two sets of tongue root position are the Advanced Tongue Root [+ATR] set and the Retracted Tongue Root [-ATR] set. Comparably, Bari and Lutuko, related Eastern Nilotic languages, have a ten-vowel system consisting of five closed and five open vowels, with clearly discernible laws of ATR vowel harmony (Tucker & Bryan 1966ː 444). A similar system applies to Ateso which has the following nine phonemic vowels: /i ɪ e ɛ u ʊ o ɔ a/ and the phonetic vowel [ä]. The presence of the [ä] variant is conditioned by neighbouring [+ATR] vowels or glides, and hence does not have phonemic status; instead, it is treated as an allophone of /a/. In this paper, I follow the general discussion of vowel harmony in African languages (e.g. by Casali (2003, 2008)), albeit in Ateso. Firstly, I introduce the Ateso vowel articulatory parameters and the phonetic realisation of /a/. Secondly, I show that in Ateso /a/ behaves like an underlying [-ATR] vowel and that, generally, though the ATR affects tongue height and thereby accounts for the relative tongue height, ATR is not a category of tongue height but rather of the position of the tongue root. Lastly, I demonstrate that Ateso ATR vowel harmony has two dimensions. One is the condition that vowels ideally belong to a [-ATR] or [+ATR] set within a word and the second is that there is a dynamic dimension where ATR qualities may change as a result of affixation.Keywords: ATR, assimilation, vowel harmony, Ateso, Nilotic

The focus of this chapter is African languages and the various manifestations of tongue root harmony. While there is general agreement on the fact that a typical manifestation of vowel harmony involves the position of the tongue root, there is much controversy both on the phonetic detail of the tongue root distinction and on the nature of the phonological primes that are needed to account for tongue root harmony. Specific topics addressed include: the markedness paradox, patterns of merger, and opacity and transparency. There is also a discussion of vowel harmony in Bantu-C.

This Chapter presents a variety of case studies of tongue root harmony in African languages. These case studies are arranged according to language family membership. The cases selected are those which have occupied a significant place in the theoretical literature. The objective is to demonstrate that the theory developed here can handle the cases that other theories have been built on: Niger-Congo (Yoruba), Nilo-Saharan (Maasai, Turkana), Afro-Asiatic (Somali, Kera) among many others. The RcvP model demonstrated that it can deal with all harmony patterns that were discussed, including most extra complications that individual systems exemplify.

This chapter is devoted to tongue root (ATR or RTR) harmony in Tungusic languages (a.o. Classical Manchu) and Mongolian languages (Khalka and Buriat), which all belong the Altaic language group. In addition to TR-harmony, most Tungusic and Mongolian languages also have a limited form of labial harmony, especially among low vowels. After discussing the Tungusic and Mongolian systems the chapter will focus on the behavior of high vowels, which do not participate in labial harmony, and are either transparent or opaque. A notable difference between Tungusic and Mongolic regards the fact that whereas [i] is transparent to labial harmony in Mongolic, it is opaque in Tungusic. High round vowels are opaque in both groups.

The incidence of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck remains high and ranks tenth in the structure of overall cancer morbidity. Surgical radicality has remained one of the major determinants of the long-term results of treatment so far. In the period December 2014 to January 2016, our clinic performed surgical interventions as transoral laser oral cavity and oropharyngeal resections using carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) laser in 34 patients. Tumors are most commonly located in the area of the tongue root and oropharynx in 16 (47.1 %) patients, tongue (its anterior two thirds) in 14 (41.2 %), and mouth floor in 4 (11.7 %). The average length of hospital stay after transoral laser resections was 10.14 days. A nasogastric tube was postoperatively placed in 6 (17.6 %) patients for 8 to 17 days. According to the results of planned histological examination, surgical interventions were microscopically radical in all cases. Transoral CO 2 laser resections make possible to perform rather large radical surgical interventions with a satisfactory functional and cosmetic results, without deteriorating the long-term results of treatment.

Though tongue-root vowel harmony in many Ghanaian languages has been described, there still remain many others which have received little or no description at all. Dagara, a dialect of Dagaare a Mabia language, is one of such dialects. This paper presents a description of Dagara tongue-root vowel harmony using Autosegmental Theory. The paper reveals that Dagara has bi-directional [ATR] harmony with [+ATR] vowels being the triggers of the harmonic process. In the progressive harmony processes, the [+ATR] feature of stem vowels causes [-ATR] vowels of suffixes to change to harmonize with them; in a regressive harmony process, [+ATR] vowels of the suffixes have dominance over those of stems and cause them to change to harmonize. The paper also shows that [f] is an opaque consonant, and blocks [+ATR] harmony spread from stems to suffix vowels. The opacity effect is however unidirectional as there is no evidence of such restriction in left-to-right harmony. The paper concludes that, there is a strict co-occurrence restriction on vowels of words in Dagara.

A common analysis for Arabic emphatics and pharyngeals posits that their commonalities are due to the shared feature [RTR]. This, however, does not account for some phonological processes, and does not reflect their phonetic representation. This study provides ultrasound evidence that emphatics and pharyngeals do not exhibit a similar retraction of the tongue. Results indicate that while tongue retraction for the emphatics is characterized with simultaneous tongue dorsum and root retraction, the pharyngeals lower the tongue dorsum. Unlike the pharyngeals, the tongue root retraction of the emphatics and uvulars is always posterior to the tongue root position of the inter-speech posture. Such a consistent and significant displacement confirms that [RTR] is an active feature for the emphatics and uvulars. This is also evident from the retraction of following low vowels triggered by the emphatics and uvulars. These phonetic findings suggest that the pharyngeals and emphatics have different phonological representations.

In some languages, segments bearing a potential harmonizing feature trigger harmony while other segments bearing that feature do not. This paper examines such a case in Classical Manchu tongue root harmony, in which some advanced tongue root (ATR) vowels idiosyncratically trigger a process of ATR harmony while others do not. I propose that this pattern and others like it are best accounted for by an analysis in which a segment’s status as a trigger of harmony is encoded within its subsegmental representation, and a phonological grammar shapes a language’s inventory to include both harmony-triggering and non-triggering segments. This analysis is implemented within the Gestural Harmony Model, in which the assumed units of phonological representation are dynamically-defined gestures.

This article investigates the acoustic and articulatory correlates of vowel contrasts in bilingual speakers. We analyse data from bilingual speakers of Twi (Akan) and Ghanaian English, with the aim of examining how the production of the advanced tongue root vowel contrast in Twi relates to the production of the tense/lax vowel contrast in Ghanaian English. These data are compared to tense/lax vowel data from monolingual British English speakers. The acoustic results show that Twi and Ghanaian English mainly rely on F1 for distinguishing [ATR] and [TENSE] vowels, whereas British English uses F1, F2, F3 and duration for the [TENSE] contrast. The ultrasound tongue imaging data show tongue root distinctions across all languages, while there are consistent tongue height distinctions in British English, no height distinctions in Ghanaian English, and small height distinctions for some vowels in Twi. Twi has the weakest correlation between F1 and tongue root advancement, which suggests that the [ATR] contrast may involve additional strategies for pharyngeal cavity expansion that are not present in [TENSE] vowels. In doing so, we show that bilinguals produce similar contrasts in similar ways across their two languages, but that language-specific differences also persist, which may reflect different articulatory goals in each language.

The morphology of the lingual papillae in a female Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The tongue was 22.3 cm in length and 7.1 cm in width. Numerous filiform papillae were distributed over the entire dorsal surface of the tongue. SEM examination of the tongue revealed two types of mechanical papillae, i.e. filiform and conical papilla, and two types of gustatory papillae, i.e. fungiform and vallate papilla, on the dorsal surface of the tongue. Each filiform papilla consisted of one primary papilla and several secondary papillae. The filiform papillae on the anterior part of the tongue were divided into one primary and 6~14 secondary papillae. Unlike other mammalians, however, secondary papillae in the mid-part of the tongue showed pineal-like papillae. In the posterior part of the tongue, secondary papillae were rare or absent. Fungiform papillae were surrounded by filiform papillae and densely distributed on the lingual surface. There were two vallate papillae on the borderline between the lingual body and root of the tongue. A vallate papilla contained two secondary papillae inside the grooves. Conical papillae were located in the area of the vallate papillae and covered the posterior part of the tongue root. No foliate papillae were seen on both margins of the posterior part of the tongue. Our results indicate that the structure on the lingual papillae of the Bengal tiger is somewhat different from that of other mammals.

Human tongue has complex structure and involves in chewing function, such as transporting and mixing foods. In order to develop tongue block of the bionic chewing equipment to make the food materials slide from the lingual surface to the tooth surface as much as possible in the same time, three-dimensional model of tongue block was built according to the geometric shape and physiology characteristic of the human tongue. The discrete element method was used to simulate the whole delivery process of food materials to teeth area, and then the geometrical parameters of the tongue block were optimized. The simulated results showed that when the height of the tongue tip and the tongue root were fixed, the optimal slope angles which have the decisive effect on the process of food materials slide were 32°and 2° respectively. The results provided a theoretical basis for the processing of tongue block of the bionic chewing equipment.

The feature [ATR] (Advanced Tongue Root) assumes a unique role of the tongue root in the production of [±ATR] vowels. However, whether the actual position of the tongue root accurately characterises vowel pairs distinguished by this feature has attracted some controversy. This paper tests the hypothesis that the [ATR] specification of a vowel maps onto a definite articulatory position of the tongue root. It further investigates whether such a mapping reflects which of the values of [ATR] is dominant in a language. The results of five ultrasound imaging experiments using Dagbani, a Gur language of Ghana, show that [+ATR] vowels of all height specifications are produced with a more anterior tongue root than [−ATR] vowels. They also show that tongue body height, a plausible alternative to tongue root position, does not consistently define the distinction. More importantly, the results show that vowels specified for [+ATR], the dominant value in Dagbani, are produced with a tongue root anterior displacement from a neutral position while the recessive [−ATR] vowels have variable tongue root positions. The results support a direct mapping between the phonological feature [ATR] and the articulatory gestures producing it.

Tongue root advancement facilitates voicing during stop closure by enlarging the supralaryngeal cavity volume (Westbury, 1983). In a recent ultrasound study, Ahn (2018) reports that tongue is indeed more advanced during voiced than voiceless stops both in English and Brazilian Portuguese, suggesting that the articulatory adjustment aligns more with the abstract laryngeal distinctions than their acoustic implementation—the "voiced” stops are typically not phonated in English but in Brazilian Portuguese. This study, using ultrasound, compares tongue positioning during Seoul Korean (SK) stops of three laryngeal categories: lenis, fortis, and aspirated. All three categories are voiceless phrase-initially, with the lenis being voiced intervocalically (Jun, 1993). This study asks whether (1) SK lenis, fortis, and aspirated stops have different tongue configurations when none are phonated and (2) the intervocalic voicing of lenis stops leads to tongue root advancement. Nine native SK speakers recorded phrase-initial and intervocalic stops. Results: lenis, fortis, and aspirated stops did not show different tongue position in phrase-initial positions. In intervocalic positions, lenis stops, acoustically voiced during closure, did not show more tongue root advancement than other types of stops. These results suggest that SK speakers use tongue positioning neither for laryngeal contrast nor as an adjustment for allophonic voicing of intervocalic lenis stops.Tongue root advancement facilitates voicing during stop closure by enlarging the supralaryngeal cavity volume (Westbury, 1983). In a recent ultrasound study, Ahn (2018) reports that tongue is indeed more advanced during voiced than voiceless stops both in English and Brazilian Portuguese, suggesting that the articulatory adjustment aligns more with the abstract laryngeal distinctions than their acoustic implementation—the "voiced” stops are typically not phonated in English but in Brazilian Portuguese. This study, using ultrasound, compares tongue positioning during Seoul Korean (SK) stops of three laryngeal categories: lenis, fortis, and aspirated. All three categories are voiceless phrase-initially, with the lenis being voiced intervocalically (Jun, 1993). This study asks whether (1) SK lenis, fortis, and aspirated stops have different tongue configurations when none are phonated and (2) the intervocalic voicing of lenis stops leads to tongue root advancement. Nine native SK speakers recorded phrase-ini...

This paper examines the articulation of harmonically distinct classes of vowels in Standard Yoruba. There has been considerable disagreement as to whether the distinction between [e o] and [∊ ɔ] is one of vowel height or tongue-root advancement/retraction. This paper reports on an ultrasound investigation of Yoruba vowels. Results are consistent with harmonic classes distinguished by a tongue-root advancement/retraction feature, not by vowel height. We also investigate the relation between articulations of the tongue root and its neutral position between utterances, theinter-speech posture(ISP). We find more variability in ISP-to-articulation mapping than previous studies, but our results are still partially compatible with a postulated correlation between phonologically ‘active’ feature values and articulatory displacement from ISP. Overall, our results support an analysis of Yoruba vowels in terms of a tongue-root feature, and provide insight into the mapping between phonetics and phonology.

The distribution and structure of the lingual papillae on rabbit tongue were studied in relation toits feeding habits by means of light and scanning electron microscopy. The tongue of rabbit is ofabout 5 cm in length and 9 mm in width. The dorsal surface of the tongue is differentiated intofour regions according to the nature of papillae; apex, body, lingual torus (intermolarprominence) and root. On the surface of the apex and body of the tongue there are four maintypes of papillae: filiform, fungiform, vallate and foliate papillae. The filiform one can bedifferentiated morphologically into five sub types of variable size and shape according to theirlocation. Fungiform papillae are numerous on the anterior part of the tongue. They are ellipticalor circular in shape and embedded in between filiform ones. In this region both filiform andfungiform are devoid of taste buds indicating their mechanoreceptive function. Two oval vallatepapillae with numerous taste buds are situated on the side wall of the tongue root, elucidatingtheir chemoreceptive role. A Pair of patches having well developed foliate papillae is observedin the latero-posterior part of the tongue. Each is oval in shape and has several parallel papillaelacking taste buds and may separate by shallow grooves. Histological observation indicateskeratinization of the dorsal surface of the tongue with variable degrees.

In order to clarify the dynamic mechanisms involved in sucking by infants, we developed an artificial nipple with built-in force sensors and have measured the contact force between the tongue and the artificial nipple in infants including healthy, premature and low birth weight. In this study, we measured the force applied by the tongue on the artificial nipple in 10 healthy infants and in 10 infants who were also tube-fed and investigated the differences in dynamic actions between the two groups to extract factors involved in satisfactory sucking. The results showed that differences in the maximum force applied and in the time to reach the maximum force were found between infants with and without established oral feeding. For an infant to suck satisfactorily, 1) the time for the force to propagate from the tongue tip to the tongue root needs to constitute at least 8 % of the sucking period and 2) the force applied at the tongue tip needs to be at least 50% of the force at the tongue root.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the relationship between dysphagia and activities of daily living (ADL) in patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA), and to characterize dysphagia in patients with the cerebellar (MSA-C) and parkinsonian(MSA-P) types. Methods: Sixty-one MSA patients (25 males, 36 females; 40 MSA-C, 21 MSA-P; mean age, 66.3 ± 11.0) were recruited. ADL was assessed on the Barthel index. They underwent tongue pressure measurements and videofluoroscopy (VF) by swallowing barium gelatin jelly. We measured the range of tongue root and mandibular movements during oropharyngeal transit time and used the functional dysphagia scale to rate the oral and pharyngeal stages with the VF images. Results: Significant correlations were found between the ADL and the dysphagia scores (R=−0.654, p

Harmony is a process by which some property (e.g. nasality, lip rounding, tongue root position) spreads throughout some domain. Neutral segments are those that do not participate in harmony; they may block the spread of a harmonizing property or remain transparent to it. Typical analyses of neutral segments in harmony often make use of feature co-occurrence restrictions between a harmonizing feature and some feature of an intended target. However, any co-occurrence restriction responsible for blocking behavior can also be employed to induce transparency, over-generating possible patterns of transparency in harmony. Within rounding harmony and nasal harmony, the set of crosslinguistically attested transparent segments is a proper subset of attested blockers. These asymmetrical patterns of distribution are not predicted by standard approaches to neutrality in harmony in which neutral segments are the result of a single mechanism within the phonological grammar. This paper proposes that the adoption of a gestural representation of harmony accounts for the comparatively limited sets of transparent segments in rounding harmony and nasal harmony, and it does so via two distinct driving forces responsible for transparency and blocking.

Earlier studies (e.g., Casali 2003, 2008) have presented evidence of significant differences in assimilatory tendencies in vowel systems that have an [ATR] contrast in high vowels (“/2IU/ systems”) and those that have an [ATR] contrast only in non-high vowels (“/1IU/ systems”). Whereas assimilatory dominance of [+ATR] vowels is highly characteristic of the former, [-ATR] dominance is more typical of the latter. This paper investigates some further differences in the characteristic patterning of the two systems. I present evidence that /2IU/ and /1IU/ systems show essentially opposite markedness relations in respect to their non-low vowels, as diagnosed by distributional restrictions and positional neutralization. In /2IU/ systems it is quite common for [-ATR] vowels [ɪ], [ʊ], [ɛ], [ɔ] to be more widely distributed than their [+ATR] counterparts [i], [u], [e], [o], suggesting that the former are unmarked. In contrast, /1IU/ systems characteristically treat [-ATR] [ɪ], [ʊ], [ɛ], [ɔ] as marked relative to their [+ATR] counterparts. Low vowels do not show the same kind of striking reversal of markedness tendencies in the two systems that non-low vowels do. I argue, nevertheless, that some system-related differences can be observed in the patterning of low vowels as well.

O mão-pelada é um mamífero da família Procyonidae com poucas descrições anatômicas detalhadas a seu respeito. O objetivo deste trabalho foi descrever, anatomicamente, a língua do mão-pelada, proporcionando base para futuros estudos clínico-cirúrgicos, além de contribuir com a anatomia comparada de carnívoros. Foram utilizadas as línguas de dois exemplares de mãos-pelada, fixados em formaldeído a 10%. A língua do mão-pelada possui, em média, 9,5cm de comprimento, é alongada e apresenta um sulco mediano pouco evidente. Possui lissa, quatro pares de papilas valadas na raiz lingual e um par no corpo, várias papilas fungiformes e cônicas no corpo e raiz e papilas filiformes pouco desenvolvidas e presentes principalmente no ápice. Outros três pares de papilas, sugestivas de serem papilas valadas, foram observadas na região lateral da base lingual. A língua do mão-pelada possui algumas características anatômicas similares às do cão, como a presença da lissa e a disposição das papilas, com exceção das folhadas, as quais não foram observadas.

The tongue body of Rhea americana is triangular and partially pigmented with each caudo-lateral margin displaying a round, sub-divided lingual papilla. The tongue root is a smooth, non-pigmented tract of mucosa. The tongue body is supported by the paraglossum and distal half of the rostral projection of the basihyal (RPB), and the tongue root by the proximal half of the RPB, body of the basihyal and proximal ceratobranchials. An urohyal is absent; however, peculiar to R. americana, the caudal margin of the cricoid body displays a median projection, which may represent the remnant of the urohyal incorporated into the cricoid. The laryngeal mound is less elevated, the arytenoid cartilages are smaller than in other ratites, and the caudal margin displays pharyngeal papillae that vary in shape and number. The unique morphology of the lingual skeleton and its positioning within the tongue of R. americana, the rostral insertion of the M. ceratoglossus, the absence of the urohyal (enhanced ventroflexion) and the caudal positioning and mobile attachment of the ensheathed basihyal to the paraglossum would appear to allow independent movement of the tongue body relative to the hyobranchial apparatus. Additionally, the deeply indented base and rostral oval opening in the paraglossum limits the length of cartilage present in the midline of the tongue body. This may allow the tongue the necessary flexibility for the lingual papillae to clean the choana. The cleaning action of the tongue would occur simultaneously with the previously described role of this organ and associated structures during feeding. Thus, the so-called reduced, ancestral tongue of R. americana may be structurally and functionally more complex than previously believed.

In order to identify the nature of the emphatic consonants and the articulatory features accompanying their production, 384 videofluoroscopic images of 2 male and 2 female Jordanian speakers were analyzed. Analysis focused on the differences between nonemphatic and emphatic consonants in the pharyngeal length and width, the hyoid bone elevation and larynx raising. Results show that males and females produce emphatics as pharyngealized sounds with the tongue root retracting into the oropharynx and the hyoid bone elevating and the larynx raising as a result.

A widespread phonological pattern in African languages of the Niger-Congo and Nilo-Saharan families is a type of vowel harmony or assimilation based on a phonological feature [ATR], or advanced tongue root. This article introduces the general behavior of African ATR harmony systems, briefly describes their geographic and genetic distribution, and discusses the phonetic basis of the feature [ATR]. I describe several aspects of typological variation in ATR harmony languages, with particular attention to some controversial issues of theoretical interest on which recent research may shed additional light. Topics covered include the nature of a widely discussed typological distinction between dominant and root-controlled ATR harmony languages, the extent to which [–ATR] vowels behave as dominant, the behavior of the frequently neutral vowel /a/, and the question of whether the direction of application of ATR harmony can be predicted from the morphological possibilities found in a language.

The ostrich's tongue is situated in the posterior part of the oropharyngeal cavity and its length is only about a quarter of the beak cavity. The triangular shortened tongue has retained the usual division into the apex, the body and the root. There are no conical papillae between the body and the root of the tongue, and the presence of the flat fold with lateral processes sliding over the tongue root in the posterior part of the lingual body is a unique morphological feature. All lingual mucosa covers non-keratinised stratified epithelium, and the lamina propria of the mucosa is filled with mucous glands whose round or semilunar openings are found on both the dorsal and ventral surface of the tongue. The complex glands found in the lingual body are composed of alveoli and/or tubules. Moreover, simple tubular glands seen in the posterior part of the tongue root are an exception. Numerous observations have shown that the ostrich's tongue is a modified structure, though not a rudimentary one, whose main function is to produce the secretion moisturising the beak cavity surface and the ingested semidry plant food in this savannah species.

Clinical investigators working in a number of languages have noted that rhotics develop late and are subject to clinically significant misarticulations. The English rhotic approximant and the Spanish rhotic trill exhibit tongue shape differentiation between a primary constriction along the palate and a secondary constriction in the pharynx. This differentiation is often missing in misarticulations. In this work, we speculate whether the secondary pharyngeal articulation seen in English might also be a cross-linguistic characteristic of rhotics and thus potentially a factor in articulatory delays and misarticulations. We describe an exploratory study analyzing rhotic tongue configurations in ultrasound videos from a small sample of native adult speakers of English, Malayalam, French, Persian and Spanish. Our findings confirm that rhotic sounds most likely to show late mastery and misarticulation also involve tongue root movement toward a pharyngeal constriction, but this conclusion must remain tentative without further research. In the meantime, clinical strategies that include attention to tongue root as well as tongue front configuration (such as facilitative contexts with tongue root movement) may be worth exploring in remediation of rhotic misarticulations across languages.

Previous phonetic documentation of Nuu-chah-nulth consonant-vowel interactions has either solely relied on transcriptions or has been incomplete in some other respect. Using auditory, acoustic, and articulatory evidence, this article documents the effects of all post-velar consonants on all vowels. Results show that /i/ and /i:/ almost always have a schwa offglide before the uvular and pharyngeal stops, but not always before the fricatives.When these vowels follow uvulars and pharyngeals (with the exception of the labialized uvular), they are usually lowered and do not have a schwa offglide. Ultrasound data confirm that the tongue root is active in articulating uvular and pharyngeal consonants and that the schwa offglide occurs because the tongue is moving through a schwa-like configuration on its way from the high front vowel to the retracted consonant. The vowels /u/ and /u:/ are lowered and/or diphthongized following (but not preceding) pharyngeals, and they are unaffected by uvulars. Resume Les etudes phonetiques anterieures sur l'interaction des consonnes et des voyelles en nuu-chah-nulth se sont basees exclusivement sur des transcriptions ou ont ete incompletes a d'autres egards. En utilisant des donnees auditives, acoustiques et articulatoires, cet article documente les effets de toutes les consonnes postvelaires sur toutes les voyelles. Les donnees demontrent que /i/ et /i:/ sont presque toujours relâches vers un schwa devant les occlusives uvulaires et pharyngiennes, mais que ce relâchement n'est pas toujours present devant les fricatives. Lorsque ces voyelles apparaissent apres les uvulaires et les pharyngiennes (exception etant faite de l'uvulaire labialisee), elles sont generalement abaissees et non pas relâchees vers un schwa. Les donnees ultrasonores confirment que la racine de la langue est active dans l'articulation des consonnes uvulaires et pharyngiennes et que le relâchement vers le schwa est du au deplacement de la voyelle haute avancee vers la consonne retractee, occupant au passage une configuration qui ressemble a celle du schwa. Les voyelles /u/ et /u:/ sont abaissees et/ou diphtonguees suivant (mais non pas precedant) les pharyngiennes et elles ne sont pas alterees par les uvulaires.

This is an acoustic and articulatory study of Canadian French rhotic vowels, i.e., mid front rounded vowels /ø œ̃ œ/ produced with a rhotic perceptual quality, much like English [ɚ] or [ɹ], leading heureux, commun, and docteur to sound like [ɚʁɚ], [kɔmɚ̃], and [dɔktaɹʁ]. Ultrasound, video, and acoustic data from 23 Canadian French speakers are analyzed using several measures of mid-sagittal tongue contours, showing that the low F3 of rhotic vowels is achieved using bunched and retroflex tongue postures and that the articulatory-acoustic mapping of F1 and F2 are rearranged in systems with rhotic vowels. A subset of speakers' French vowels are compared with their English [ɹ]/[ɚ], revealing that the French vowels are consistently less extreme in low F3 and its articulatory correlates, even for the most rhotic speakers. Polar coordinates are proposed as a replacement for Cartesian coordinates in calculating smoothing spline comparisons of mid-sagittal tongue shapes, because they enable comparisons to be roughly perpendicular to the tongue surface, which is critical for comparisons involving tongue root position but appropriate for all comparisons involving mid-sagittal tongue contours.

In the Manchu languages, contrast plays an important role in the patterning of vowel systems. Contrastive feature values are phonologically active, triggering rules of Advanced Tongue Root (ATR) and labial harmony, whereas redundant feature values are phonologically inert. To determine which feature values are contrastive in any given segment, it is necessary to establish an ordering of features. This ordering, or contrastive hierarchy, determines the relative contrastive scope of each feature. Our analysis of theWrittenManchu contrastive hierarchy is supported by synchronic and diachronic evidence fromSpokenManchu and Xibe, where a realignment of vowel contrasts results in new patterns of phonological activity. We show that our analysis is consistent with the observed typology of ATR and labial harmony systems. We argue that the concept of phonological contrast does not reduce to a phonetic function, nor is it perceptually based. The relationship between contrast and underspecification is considered, and it is shown that constraint-based theories (such as Optimality Theory) do not constitute alternatives to the theory of contrast proposed here. Dans les languesmandchoues, le contraste joue un role important dans l’organisation des systemes vocaliques. Alors que les valeurs des traits contrastifs sont phonologiquement actives et declenchent des regles d’harmonie de racine de langue avancee (advanced tongue root, ATR) et d’harmonie labiale, les valeurs des traits redondants sont phonologiquement inactives. Afin de determiner quelles valeurs de traits sont contrastives pour un segment donne, il est necessaire d’etablir une ordonnance de traits. Cette ordonnance, ou hierarchie contrastive, determine la portee relative de chaque trait. Notre analyse de la hierarchie contrastive dans le mandchou ecrit est soutenue par des donnees synchroniques et diachroniques du mandchou parle et du xibe, oA¹ le realignement des contrastes vocaliques donne lieu A un nouveau modele d’activite phonologique. Nous demontrons que notre analyse est compatible avec la typologie observee des systemes d’harmonie ATR et labiale. Nous argumentons que le concept de contraste phonologique ne se reduit pas A une fonction phonetique, ni est-il perceptuellement fonde. La relation entre le contraste et la sous-specification est consideree, et il est demontre que les theories basees sur des contraintes (telles que la Theorie de l’Optimalite) ne constituent pas des alternatives A la theorie de contraste ici proposee.

Gross and microscopic examination of the tongue and hyolingual apparatus of the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) revealed numerous dis-tinct differences from those of other toothed whales and dolphins, largely reflecting the tongue’s atypi-cal position, relations, and size, and its primary role in suction ingestion, rather than prey prehen-sion or transport, as in many other odontocetes. Unlike other odontocetes, the sperm whale has a short, wide tongue that is uniquely situated at the rear of the open oral cavity. Since the tongue does not extend to the tooth row, which runs along the elongated median mandibular symphysis, it cannot easily reorient grasped prey items, yet it can posi-tion them to be swallowed or sucked directly into the oropharyngeal opening. The scarcity of intrin-sic lingual musculature (m. lingualis proprius), coupled with the relatively large paired extrinsic muscles inserting in the tongue—notably the m. hyoglossus, whose profuse fibers comprise much of the tongue root, and the m. genioglossus—suggests the tongue mainly undergoes positional, rather than shape, changes as it is retracted by the hyoid to generate negative intraoral pressures to capture and ingest prey items via suction. The tongue possesses numerous longitudinal folds or plicae, but almost no free tip; its slightly convex dorsum bears deep fissures and few sensory receptors in a multilayered and predominantly aglandular horny epithelium.Key Words: sperm whale, Physeter macrocepha-lus, tongue, hyoid, myology, morphology, suction feeding

Conventional treatments of vowel harmony processes routinely make two important assumptions: first, only vowels are implicated in the harmonic process and second, the phonologically relevant harmony features have a transparent (intrinsic) phonetic interpretation (IPI). Consonants are typically treated only insofar as they interfere with such harmony (van der Hulst & van der Weijer 1995 provide a concise overview of harmony processes and their interpretation). Phonetic data on ‘advanced tongue root’ [ATR] harmony in the Tugen dialect of Kalenjin appears to challenge both these assumptions.

Standard Polish has a typologically relatively rare contrast between “hard” post-alveolar affricates and fricatives, transcribed by Ladefoged and Disner (2012) as (/tṣ, dẓ, ṣ, ẓ/ and “soft” alveolo-palatal affricates and fricatives (IPA transcription /tɕ, dʑ, ɕ, ʑ /). The hard post-alveolars are notoriously ambiguous—phonetically they are neither sense stricto retroflexes (though some authors adopt such an analysis based on phonological arguments, e.g., Hamann 2003) nor typical palatoalveolars. Additionally, the “hard” post-alveoalars can be allophonically palatalized in the context of [i]. Multiple approaches have been proposed to differentiate the hard and soft series, all of them primarily focusing on the shape of the body of the tongue, including the level of raising of the body of the tongue, the place of articulation, and the length of the constriction. In this study, we present 3-D tongue shapes of the consonants. The 3D ultrasound images—besides additional details of the shape of the tongue body—reveal a consistent difference in terms of the tongue root position, with a fronting of the tongue root and a pronounced groove along the center of the tongue in the root part of the tongue for prepalatals and no such fronting for the “hard” post-alveolars.Standard Polish has a typologically relatively rare contrast between “hard” post-alveolar affricates and fricatives, transcribed by Ladefoged and Disner (2012) as (/tṣ, dẓ, ṣ, ẓ/ and “soft” alveolo-palatal affricates and fricatives (IPA transcription /tɕ, dʑ, ɕ, ʑ /). The hard post-alveolars are notoriously ambiguous—phonetically they are neither sense stricto retroflexes (though some authors adopt such an analysis based on phonological arguments, e.g., Hamann 2003) nor typical palatoalveolars. Additionally, the “hard” post-alveoalars can be allophonically palatalized in the context of [i]. Multiple approaches have been proposed to differentiate the hard and soft series, all of them primarily focusing on the shape of the body of the tongue, including the level of raising of the body of the tongue, the place of articulation, and the length of the constriction. In this study, we present 3-D tongue shapes of the consonants. The 3D ultrasound images—besides additional details of the shape of the tongue body—r...

In American English, phonologically voiced stops are often phonetically voiceless in utterance-initial position. Other than Westbury (1983), there is little articulatory evidence regarding utterance-initial voicing in American English. The current study uses ultrasound imaging and acoustic measures to examine how tongue position correlates with phonation in American English, comparing phonated voiced stops, unphonated voiced stops, and voiceless stops in utterance-initial position. Eight speakers of American English recorded voiced/voiceless stops at three places of articulation (labial, alveolar, and velar). One adjustment for initiating or maintaining phonation during the closure is enlarging the supraglottal cavity volume primarily via tongue root advancement. In utterance-initial position, there was a clear distinction between voiced stops and voiceless stops in the tongue root for the alveolar and velar places of articulation. Even without acoustic phonation during closure, the tongue root is advance...

The main object of research described in this paper is Rangi, a scarcely investigated Bantu language of Northern Central Tanzania. Rangi phonology and morphonology are briefly sketched, including a classification with regard to both Vowel Height Harmony and Advanced Tongue Root activity. The main body of the paper consists of a detailed description of Rangi derivational processes, which follows the pattern established in Maganga and Schadeberg's description of Nyamwezi, a closely related language. Both verbal derivation, which exclusively uses the extensional slot of the verb structure, and nominal derivation, which employs noun class prefixes and a few suffixes, are covered.

We are employing real-time MRI to probe the speech production patterns of a speaker with congenital aglossia, a rare syndrome in which an individual is born without a tongue. The speaker being studied has only a small stump-like tongue rudiment in the region of the tongue root and a hypertrophied floor of the mouth (mylohyoid) and base of the tongue. Nevertheless, the speaker has acquired the ability to produce highly intelligible speech. One initial finding is that the speaker, in the absence of a tongue tip, produces plosive consonants that are perceptually similar to /t/ and /d/ by using a bilabial constriction with a significantly increased anteroposterior extent (relative to her /p/ or /b/ productions). Our aim is to provide an articulatory-acoustic account of this compensatory strategy via detailed analysis of her production strategies as evidenced in the real-time MRI data and via simulations using an articulatory synthesizer. We examine whether the increased anteroposterior extent of the bilabial ...