Acoustical Consequences of Lip, Tongue, Jaw, and Larynx Movement

Björn E. F. Lindblom, and Johan E. F. Sundberg

Citation: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 50, 1166 (1971); doi: 10.1121/1.1912750
View online: https://doi.org/10.1121/1.1912750
View Table of Contents: http://asa.scitation.org/toc/jas/50/4B
Published by the Acoustical Society of America

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9.2 Received 11 February 1971; revised 11 May 1971

Acoustical Consequences of Lip, Tongue, Jaw, and Larynx

Movement

BJORNE. F. LINDBLOM*ANDJOHANE. F. SUNDBERG

Departmentof SpeechCommunication,
Royal Institute of Technology(KTH), S-100 44 Stockholm70, Sweden

An articulatory model is presented.It definesa procedurefor deriving a set of formant frequenciesfrom

information on the state of the lip muscles,the positionof the jaw, the shapeand positionof the tongue
body, and larynx height. The acousticand auditory consequences of varying theseparametersindividually
are reported.The introductionof the jaw as a separateparameter--a feature not usedin previousarticu-
latory models--makesit possibleto explainwhy "openness"occursas a universalphoneticfeature of vowel
production. According to the explanation proposed,the degree of opening of a vowel correspondsto a
positionof the jaw that is optimizedin the sensethat it cooperateswith the tonguein producingthe desired
area function. Suchcooperationpreventsexcessivetongueshapedeformation.Our resultssuggestthat, in
order to reflect this principleof articulatory synergism,"tongueheight," althoughprimary with respect
to its acousticconsequences, should be representedas a derived feature characteristicof the final vocal-
tract configuration.

I. ARTICULATORY PROPERTIES OF THE MODEL

area function includesdata on lip openingarea, A•,
and the length of the vocal tract, l•, and is based on
The primary purposeof this study is to document
some measurements undertaken to ascertain the relation
calculationsof vocal-tract shape.To computea given
shapethe parametersdescribingthe lips, the jaw, the
between individual articulatory movements and for-
tonguebody, and the larynx must be specified.
mant frequencies.We shall describe an articulatory
model of speechproductionand some of its acoustic A. Representation of Tongue Shape
and perceptualproperties.The•..modelis used to re
interpret the classicalnotionof "tongueheight." The shapeof the vocaltract alongthe palate and the
Figure 1 summarizesthe propertiesof the present pharynx is controlledprimarily by three components:
model. A set of formant frequenciesis derived from the mandible,the body,and the tip of the tongue.(The
informationon the vocal-tract area function, A (x). The lowering of the velum required for nasalized sounds

LIP

LABIAL
fHEIGHT WIDTH SHAPE
> A• L•

JAW > Fro. 1. Diagram summarizing the essential

features of the articulatory model describedin
the text.

TIP MOUTH
AND
TONGUE >A(x) > F - pottern
BODY PHARYNX
SHAPE

LARYNX HEIGHT

1166 Volume 50 Number 4 (Part 2) 1971

 ACOUSTIC CONSEQUENCES OF ARTICULATOR MOVEMENT

Fro. 2. Tongue contoursfor phonologi-

cally long Swedish vowels traced from
lateral x-ray picturesandplottedin relation
to the mandible.The four groupsof vowels
are: I-i, e, e, •e• (top left), [-y,u, 4• (bottom
left), I-u-](top right), and •ce, o, o3 (bottom
right).

will affectvocal-tractshape,too.The presentdiscussion tract shape, i.e., by constrictingthe tract at various

is limited to non-nasalsounds,however.) placesand to variousextents.The presentframeworkis
basedon the assumptionthat, with respectto the dorsal
1. Jaw Component componentof tongue shape, speechsoundsexhibit a
Jaw movementin the modeltakesplacealonga fixed singleconstriction.Furthermore, once the tongue body
path, which we establishedby inspectingx-ray data has been positioned to achieve a certain degree of
on various sustainedvowel articulationsfrom a single constrictionat a given target place along the tract,
Swedishtalker. It is of interestto note that this path thoseportionsof the tonguebody that are locatedat a
does not coincide with a vertical anatomical reference distancefrom the constrictedregionhave only limited
planebut curvesoff slightlyin a dorsaldirection.As a freedomto move about. In the presentmodel there is
consequence, increasingthe jaw opening and keeping no such freedom, the shapeof the tonguebody being
the tonguecontourinvariant with respectto the jaw completelydeterminedwhen the point and degreeof
leads to some decreaseof pharyngealcavities (cf. constrictionare known. As an example, considerhigh
Sec.V). vowels,such as [-i• and I-u-]. They are characterized
In Fig. 2 we showsometonguecontoursfor Swedish by large pharynx widths and constrict the vocal tract
vowelsdrawnwith the mandibleas a reference.Plotting maximally in the vicinity of the hard palate and the
the tracingsin this manner brings out the fact that, velum, respectively.To producethe high positionsof
althoughsomevariationof shapeis foundwithineach the tongue body that thesevowels require, it is likely
groupof contours,by and large the talker in question that the posteriorfibers of the genioglossus contract,•.2
uses three tongue shapesto produce 11 acoustically thus providing support for more anteriorly located
distinctvowels,any givenshapebeingsimilar to that tissues of the tongue. A concomitant result of this
for I-i-I, [-•-], or I-u-].The two familiesof front-vowel contractionis the wideningof the pharynx. The geom-
contoursshownon the left are closelysimilar. We con- etry of the primary constriction area may conse-
clude that the mandible was used to control the acoustic quently be controlled by rather distant groups of
propertiesof the vowels. muscle fibers and may constrain shape variation-
elsewhere.
2. Dorsal Component The inventory of dorsal tongue shapes that the
The differentiationof vowel quality for linguistic presentmodelis capableof generatingis determinedby
purposesis achieved by means of variation of vocal- two numbers,c and d. The d parameter specifiesthe

The Journal of the AcousticalSocietyof America 1167

 LINDBLOM AND
FIO. 3. Tonguecontourscorrespondingto Ei3, Eu3,and Ea-]and
a semipolar coordinate system defined with reference to the
mandible.
anterior-posteriorlocation of the tongue body and c
states the extent to which the tongue body has been
deformedfrom its neutral shape. In a way, these
parameterscan be said to representpoint and degreeof
constriction. It is important to note, however, that
they are both definedwith respectto the mandible.
Figure 3 showsthe mandible-based coordinatesystem
in terms of which tongueshapesare described.Figure
4 illustrateshow the neutral tonguecontour(c=0) is
graduallychangedinto a shapethat constrictsthe tract
maximallyin the regionof the velum (d=0, c-0.5 and
1.0). The locusof the constriction
is maximallyfront
or palatal for d=--1.0 and reachesits other limit at
d = 1.0 in the pharynx.
The four shapescorrespondingto c--0 (neutral con-
figuration),c= 1.0 and d=- 1.0 (palatalhump),c= 1.0
andd-0 (velarhump),andc= 1.0andd= 1.0 (pharyn-
gealhump)haveall beentakenfrom the x-ray material
of whichFig. 2 is an example.For all othervaluesof c
and d, tonguecontourswere derivedby meansof the
following interpolation procedures. These involve
transformations from the semipolarcoordinatesystem
of Fig. 3 into a rectangularsystem,in terms of which
the interpolationsare undertakenand then back into
the semipolarsystemagain.A contourwhosepoint of
minimum cross-sectional area is intermediate between
thoseof I-i-]andI-u-I,or thoseof I-u-]and•-a-],isgenerally
intermediatealsoin shape.The tongueconstrictionfor
an [i-I-like vowel is approximately halfwaybetween
the I-i-I- and Jul-constrictions and displaysshape
featuresreminiscentof both the [-i]- and Jul-contours
(cf. data on Russianvowelsa).Supposewe wish to
generatea contour for which the point of constriction bodyposition(d) and tonguebody shape(c).
1168 Volume $0 Number 4 (Part 2) 1971
SUNDBERG
is intermediatebetweenthosefor [-u] and I-a-I,that is,
a shapefor which 0<d<l.0. Each referenceshape,in
this case[-u-]and [-a], can be describedin termsof a
table consistingof two columns: one containing the
number of the coordinatein the coordinatesystemof
Fig. 3; the other containing the correspondingco-
ordinate value. The information of this table is then
replotted as a function of coordinatenumber using
rectangularcoordinates.In this process,the parts of
the curve betweencoordinatelines are approximated
by straight-line segments.First considerthe shape to
be derivedin the regionbetweenthe point of constric-
tion and the tongue root. Divide this portion of the
replottedI-u-I-contour
into n segments
of equallengths.
Do the same thing for the corresponding
part on the
I-a-I-contour.
Connecttheith segmentation pointon the
I-u-I-contourwith the ith point on the I-a-I-contour.
Now introduce the rule that the derived contour should
intersecteachsuchinterpolationline so that the total
length of each line is divided into the desiredfractions.
Connectadjacentpointsinterpolatedin this mannerby
straight-line segments.Tabulate the coordinatevalues
of the new derivedcontourand replot it usingthe semi-
polar coordinatesystem.If the place of constrictionis
to be halfwaybetweenthat for I-u-]and •-a-],the derived
contour should divide all interpolation lines also at
halfway points. The effect of this procedureis that a
slope is assignedto the nth segmentof the derived
contourthat is intermediatebetweenthe slopesof the
corresponding
segmentsof the [-u•- and I-a-I-contours.
The same procedureis then repeatedfor the portions
of the tonguecontouranteriorto the constriction.It is
alsoappliedwhen interpolatingbetweend-- 1.0 and
d=0, i.e., between the [-i•- and I-u-I-contours.As
d: -1.0 - 0.5
c= 1.0 \
0.5
0
Fig. 4. Range of variation for parametersrepresentingtongue
 ACOUSTIC CONSEQUENCES OF ARTICULATOR MOVEMENT

target place and degreeof constriction.In the model,

we incorporatethis constraintby setting a limit on the
extensibilityof the tongue tip relative to the floor of
the mouth and by defining the extent of the tongue
blade as comprisinga fixed length of the anteriorpart
of the tonguecontour.Given the extensibilityand the
fixedlengthconstraints,certaintonguebody shapesand
mandiblepositionsare found to be incompatiblewith
the attainment of a given place and degreeof apical
constriction.A full presentationof this material falls
outsidethe scopeof the presentreport.

B. Representation of Labial Shape

Below we shall describeour method for calculating
the area of lip openingand the point of vocal-tract
termination from information on labiomuscularactivity.

1. Lip Opening
First we note that the lips resemblethe wedge-like
openingthat would be obtainedby making two slant
cuts in the wall of a cylinder-shapedobjectsothat they
Fro. 5. Empirical tongueshapefor [-o• (solid line) compared
intersect.The lip contours when projectedon a vertical
with a contourderivedby rule (dottedline). The calculatedpoints frontal planecan then be approximated by the follow-
are described in terms of two numbers: d=0.7 and c= 1.0. ing expression:

mentionedearlier, the d parameterspecifiesthe direc-

tion in which a given tongue contour deviatesfrom its
y=
4-h•[1--(•2w)Pl
x,PI' (1)
neutral shape.Note also that its absolutevalue serves where h standsfor the vertical separationof the lips
as interpolationcoefficientin the shapecomputations. in the midsagittalplane, w representsthe horizontal
Figure 5 showsthe tongueshapeobservedfor distancebetweenthe innermostpointsof contactof the
and a contour derived for c-l.0 and d-0.7 (dotted lip contours,and p is a number that determinesthe
line). curvature of the contours. The definition of h and w is
A contour for which 0<c< 1.0 is derived, assuming illustratedin Fig. 6. The black area in Fig. 6 indicates
that eachpoint movestowardsits positionin the target the area of mouth opening,A. This parametercan be
configurationat the same rate as all other points. derived from Eq. 1 and is found to be
Practically, this means that the two referenceshapes
betweenwhich the interpolationis to be made are P
replotted in terms of rectangular coordinatesand A =hw.-- ß
(2)
divided into n segmentsof equal length. The ith seg- p-+-i
mentation point on the one contour (c=0) is con- Photographic data on A, h, and w havebeenexamined
nectedwith the ith point on the othercontour(c-1.0). for a number of talkers and different Swedish vowels.
The new contour is the one that passesthrough the It has been found that an approximatelylinear rela-
points.that divide all interpolationlines into the pre- tionshipobtainsbetweenA and hw.4.5A similarresult
determined proportions.

3. A pical Component
At this point we shall sketch only briefly how the w
model can be extendedto includean apical component.
The tonguetip may be positionedto form a turbulence- Fro. 6. Definition of
free constrictionas in coronalvowels or a partial or lip opening parameters.
completeobstructionas in dental, alveolar,or retroflex
obstruents.Sinceon the undersidethe apexis attached
w
to the floor of the mouth and thus cannot be stretched
beyonda certainlength,the cooperationof the mandible
and the tongue body is required in attaining a given

The Journalof the AcousticalSocietyof America 1169

 LINDBLOM AND SUNDBERG

E
E of w, the distancebetween the innermostpoints of
contact of the upper and lower lip contours,we find
slightly more complicatedconditions.Consider the
Z30 outer pair of lip contoursindicated in Fig. 6. These
Z Fro. 7. Prediction
contours are specifiedin terms of W, the distance
of dependence of
O width (w) of labial between the mouth corners,and //, the midsagittal
20
openingon jaw open- separation.In shape,they are identicalwith the inner
ing (j). The data contoursbut are displacedvertically from these by
o points and the com-
•' lO puted line pertain a constant=l=(H--h)/2, roughly interpretableas the
o
to neutral lip con-
ditions.
thicknessof the lips. For passivelips and variable
mandiblepositionwe assumethat W remainsconstant.
.-r 0
' I I I The assumptions made so far permit us to infer that
0 10 2o 3o
the dependence of w on h is
JAW OPENING (j) mm
w= w, (4)

was reportedby Fromkin in a study of American To checkthe realismof Eq. 4, photographicdata were
6 Thesefindingsthus indicatethat p obtained for a male Swedish talker who also served as
Englishvowels.
tendsto beconstantfor anygiventalker.To predictA, subjectfor the x-ray material referred to earlier. The
sufficientto know h, w, and the positionsof the lips and the mandiblewererecordedon
it is consequently
talker-dependent value of p. In the material that we 35-mm film for a set of Swedishvowels and a range of
haveinvestigated so far, p tendsto fall in the range mandiblepositionsand passivelips. A thin and light
between2 and 3. A valueof p--2 canbe inferredfrom cap-splintwas fitted to the lower incisorsof the subject
Fromkin's data (seeRef. 6). and a firm thin metal wire was attached to the cap-
It is clear,however,that both the heightand width splint. The purposeof this wire was to indicate the
of mouth openingare controlledpartly throughthe position of the mandible.It was adjustedso as to inter-
actionof themandible,partly by meansof labiomuscular fere minimally with lip articulation. This procedure
activity proper.We have assumedthat, for no labio- was evaluatedin previouswork7 and was found to give
muscularactivity, the jaw dependence of the vertical satisfactoryresults.A specialhead-restwasconstructed
to eliminate irrelevant head movements. All measure-
separationof the lips is simplyof the form
ments were made in relation to dots painted on the
ho=j--k, (3) subject'sface in placesthat couldbe assumedto move
wherej is the separationbetweenthe jaws and k-the not as a result of lip and jaw activity but only owing
distance that the mandible must move from a closed to inevitableminor displacements of the head.The data
positionbeforethe lipsbeginto open.This assumption were taken usingconventionalenlargementequipment.
hasbeenborneout by photographic data. In the case In Fig. 7, measurements
of w for passivelip conditions
were plotted as a function of j, the degree of jaw
opening,whichis definedasthe verticaldisplacement of
the cap split wire from its position for completely
'-'
'•'
._.
5
I I I I I I. Iß • ,,V'•'•'ør•r•/
closedjaws. The solid line representsthe relationship
predictedwith the aid of Eqs. 3 and 4 and the assump-
tion that W=38 mm, H-h=2 mm, and k=4 mm.
These values were used in all calculations to be re-
Z / / / / Wm- -10mm ported. As can be seen,the theoreticalcurve is quali-
0 e i/
tatively in goodagreementwith the data points.
Since our purposeis to distinguishjaw-dependent
' i from labiomuscularcomponentsof labial shape, we
shouldinterpret W as equal to Woq-Wmand H as
0 1- / / - Ho-kHm where the indicesrefer to the jaw-dependent
/ 0
and labiomuscularterms, respectively.By combining
•: O- -
theseexpressions and Eqs. 2, 3, and 4 we obtain the
• I I I I I I
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 equationthat relatesthe area of lip opening,A, to its
determiningfactors: the positionof the mandible,j,
JAW OPENING (j) mrn and the state of the lip muscleswhichis representedin
Fro. 8. Predictionof dependenceof areaof labial opening(A)terms of H,• and Wm. Figure 8 demonstrateshow A
on jaw opening(j). Passivelip conditions.Also shownare aver-dependson j for H,•=0 and W,• =- 10 mm ("rounded"
ageddata for Swedishvowels.The dashedlinespertainto con-
ditionssimulatinglabiomuscularly controlledvariationof lip conditions),for Hm=0 and W•=0 (neutralconditions),
openingwidth ("rounding
..... spreading"). and for H,•=0 and Win=q-10 mm ("spread" con-
1170 Volume50 Number4 (Part 2) 1971
 ACOUSTIC CONSEQUENCES OF ARTICULATOR MOVEMENT

ditions). For comparison,data on openingareasand jaw

positions for sustained Swedish vowels are shown.
Each point refers to the mean value of three measure-
ments. No detailed matchingsin terms of H,,, and
Fro. 9. The termi-
were attempted. The solid line pertaining to neutral nation of vocal tract (l)
conditionsdivides the vowel data points into a spread defined in relation to the
mouth corner.
and a rounded set. These results are in agreementwith
traditionalphoneticanalysisexceptfor [-y-].It isof some
interest to note that, if the degreeof "muscle contrac-
tion" (hererepresented by the externalwidth parameter,
W,•) remainsinvariant as in Fig. 8, the differencesbe-
tweenthe areavaluesfor roundedand spreadconditions of intersection of outer contours)'
(dashedlines)are smallfor smalljaw openings but grow
larger as the jaw is further opened.The lip opening
data for [-i,e-]in particular,but alsofor [-u,u,o-],fall [=-- C2-- , (S)
H
outsidethe rangeof the linescorresponding to W,•= =t=10
mm and thus appear to indicate that the degreeof where C is a constantdenotingthe length of the outer
spreadingand roundingas definedin terms of muscle lip contourprojectedlaterally. By analogywith the
activity is not constantwithin the vowel set of Fig. 8. precedingdiscussion,L, the anterior-posteriorlocation
In phonologicalterms, the motor command pattern of the mouth corner, is defined as Lod-L,•, where L0
underlyingthe realizationof [-+ round-]appearsto vary is a constantrepresentingthe neutral locationof the
with context. This observationis in agreementwith mouthcorner.Figure 10 comparesactualmeasurements
previouslyreported measurementsfor other Swedish with theoreticallyderivedvaluesfor l+L, that is, the
subjects(seeRef. 4) as well as with the followingre- location of the vocal-tract termination relative to the
marks by AbercrombieS:"It is usually the case that, lower incisors. The calculations were based on the
when a vowel is rounded, the degreeof rounding . . . assumptionthat C= 12 mm, H--h=2 mm, and L,•=
is linkedto the heightof the highestpoint of the tongue: W,/2=-+-5 mm. They provide a reasonablefit to
The higher the tongue, the greater the rounding.... the measureddata. Averageddata for Swedishvowels
(It is probablythe amountof jaw opening,correlated are also shown. The solid line for neutral conditions
with the height of the tongue,that influencesthe degree correctlydividesthe vowelsinto roundedand spread
of rounding.)" groups.The zero of the ordinatescalerefersto the
positionof the lower incisorsalong the anterior-
posteriordimension.Also with respectto vocal-tract
2. Termination of Vocal Tract
We must now turn to the derivation of the other
acoustically important measure, viz., the point at 20

which the vocal tract is terminated. In the present

calculations the acoustic termination of the vocal tract
is defined as the point where the inner lip contours
intersect.This rule may in certaincaseslead to a slight
underestimation of the effective length of the tract. <1:10
The theoretical basis of making a correct estimate o

remainsto be developed.However, we have preferred u.. 5

the point of contour intersectionto the frontal plane o

:z
tangent to the lips, an alternative choicewhich may o

seemequallynear-at-hand.The reasonis that the latter '-' 0

measure would be less sensitive to the retraction of :z

mouth cornersinvolvedin spreadinggestures.Informal

uJ -5
experiments have been performed indicating that
spreadingthe lips while keeping the position of the i
0
I
5 10
I I
15 20
I I
25
I
30
tangentialplane fixed can have a pronouncedacoustic
effect (cf. F• of an [-i-]-likesound).Figure 9 showsthe JAW OPENING (j) mm
outer and inner lip contoursin a lateral projection. Fro. 10.Predictionof dependenceof point of vocal-tracttermi-
Geometric considerations similar to those used above nation(relativeto the lowerincisors)onjawopening. Passive lip
lead to the following formula for l, the location of the conditions.Also shownare averageddata for Swedishvowels.
The dashedlines correspond to the locationof the vocal-tract
point of intersection of the inner contours (=vocal termination in the case of simulated "rounded" and "spread"
tract termination) relative to the mouth corner (= point conditions.

The Journalof the AcousticalSocietyof America 1171

 LINDBLOM AND SUNDBERG

[u], according
to x-ray observations
of the subject.A
similar range of larynx heightswas noted by Perkell.1ø
Unlessotherwisestated, in the followingpresentation
the ranges of the other parametric values were as
follows:

Jaw 5< j< 23 mm

Labial width -- 10_<W,•_< 10 mm
Labial height H,• =0
Point of constriction -- 1.0_<d_<1.0
Degree of constriction 0_<c_<1.0
Larynx lowering 10 mm.

From combinationsof these values, lateral articu-

latory profileswere synthesized.The next step is to
obtainthe areafunctionassociated with the articulatory
profile in question.The problemsof translating mea-
surementsof lateral crossdimensionsalong the vocal
tract into the corresponding cross-sectional areashave
been studied in detail by a number of investigators
(see Ref. 3).11.1•'In the investigationof Heinz and
Stevens(seeRef. 11), a polarcoordinatesystemis used,
the center of which is the center of a circle tangent to
FxG.11. Lateral articulatory profile and the coordinatesystem the horizontalportion of the hard palate and the back
used in estimating cross-dimensions and correspondingcross- pharynxwall. A similar coordinatesystemwas adopted
sectionalareas along the tract.
in the presentstudy (Fig. 11). With the aid of this
system,the midline of the vocal tract is determinedat
termination,[-i,e,y,u,o]fall outsidethe rangeof the successive points.The widthsof the tract normalto this
midline are then established and these cross distances
dashedlinesindicatingspreadand roundedconditions.
We recollecttheir similar behaviorwith respectto lip are convertedinto areas.Heinz and Stevensfound that,
openingarea(cf. above).SinceW,• andL,• areuniquely in the mouth region, the relation between area and
related,the modelcorrectlypredictsthis similarity. width could be approximatedby power functionsfor
whichthe constantsweredeterminedat differentpoints
II. FROM ARTICULATORY TO ACOUSTIC along the tract by measuringarea as a function of
PARAMETERS: PROCEDURES tonguepositionon plaster castsand assuminga flat
tonguesurface.In a study of spokenand sungvowels,
To derive the geometryof the vocal tract with the Sundberg(seeRef. 12) tried out a similar procedure
present framework, specification of the following which was also applied in the present investigation.
parametersis required:jaw position,width and height Casts were made of the subject's palate and upper
of lip opening(labiomuscular components), placeand teeth. In the mouth region of the present subject,
degreeof tonguebody constriction(placeand degree cross-sectional area could be related to vocal-tract width
of apicalconstriction),and larynxheight. in the manner suggestedby Heinz and Stevens.To
A few commentsshouldbe made concerningthe derive areasin the pharynx, we relied on tomographic
acoustic measurements undertaken for conditions corre- data publishedby Font.1• Thesedata seemto indicate
spondingto a loweringof the larynx tube. This was that cross-sectionalarea in the pharynx does not
donesimplyby introducingtwo additionalsectionsat increasemonotonicallyas a functionof pharynxwidth
the level of the epiglottisin the LEA ø simulation(cf. since, as this width becomeslarge, the transversal
below).Thiscanberegarded asequivalent to stretching dimensionof the pharynx tube begins to decrease
the tonguecontournearthe tongueroot by approxi- radically.In the upperpart of the pharynx,the lateral
mately 10 mm, everythingelsebeingequal.A larynx edgesof the tongue body are sometimesraised com-
loweringmay be accompanied by someareachanges in pared with the tonguemidline contour. Thus a section
the lowerpart of the vocaltract as,e.g.,an increaseof through the tongue has a V-shaped contour.This
thelaryngealventricleandof thesinuspiriformis. Such shapingof the tongueis most pronouncedwhen the
areachanges wouldaffecttheformantfrequencies. For distancebetweenthe backpharynxwall and the tongue
lack of detailedknowledgesuch changeswere not midline is large as for [i•. Possiblythe styloglossus
simulated.The normalnondepressed positionof the musclewhich insertsinto the sidesof the tonguemight
larynxunlessexplicitlystatesis that observed for [-c•-], be involvedin creatingthis effect.TMIn the lowerregion
whichturnedoutto be 0.5-1.0cmhigherthanthat for of the pharynx cavity no corresponding effect can be
1172 Volume50 Number4 (Part 2) 1971
 ACOUSTIC CONSEQUENCES OF ARTICULATOR MOVEMENT

i i i i
30 - ß - 3.0
..' '• ....... ß ..... . ...... ß
ß" ß.... O ' '

-• 2,5-ß....
ß o.ø ...o
.............. 2,5
•>- 2,0
...-' F2 - 2,0
z

O"51
Ill C : 1.0 I IßWm: 10 ,.5
m 1.0/d:-l'0]
•- Iøwm:-1ø
1.0
z

0 0.5 0.5

FIG. 12. The effect of jaw openingon formant 01-• • , • I 0 I I I

5 10 15 20 25 5 10 15 20
frequencies.Filled data pointspertain to "spread,"
untilled points to "rounded" conditions. In the
bottom right part of the figure, the neutral tongue i I I

shape (c=0) was used.The remainingplots have

the tongueshapesassociatedwith [i-l, [u-l, and
[-o-1as indicated by the valuesfor c and d. 3.0
I • , • •F3
-
0 c: 1.0 F2
z

:
O. 1.5 -
I.U

o 0,5

-- _ _

I I I I i I I I
5 10 15 20 25 5 10 15 20 25

JAW OPENING (mm)

observed.Therefore, we used two different functions (Ref. 3, p. 100). (For further detailssee Ref. 3, pp.
for converting crossdistancesinto area values in the 100-101.)
pharynx region:one from the uvula down to the upper
point of the epiglottis,and anotherfor the bottom part III. ACOUSTIC PROPERTIES OF THE MODEL
of the pharynx. The relation between crossdistance,
o, and cross-sectionalarea, A couldbe approximatedby A. Effect of Jaw Movement

A =k.o ". Figure 12 was preparedto illustrate the effect of jaw

(6)
openingon formant frequencies.It showsthe first three
The applicabilityof this equationis restrictedin the formant frequenciesas functionsof mandible position
pharyngealregionsto o_<20 mm. Table I liststhe values for four different tongue shapes. For each formant,
used for o and k in the above-mentionedregions. The two sets of measurementshave been included. They
sinus piriformis was not taken into account and the represent"spread" and "rounded" labial conditions.
shapeof the larynx tube was supposedto be the same The area and vocal-tract-lengthvaluesassignedto these
for all vowels.
The final step consistedof calculatingthe formant TA]•.E I. Values of constants used in distance-to-area conversions.
frequenciesassociatedwith the area function derived.
This was doneusing the electricalline analogLEA de- Region k a
scribed by Fant' "LEA... contains 45 filter sec- Mouth 2.2 1.38
tions each representinga sectionof the vocal tract of Upper pharynx 0.68 1.9
0.5 cm axial length and one out of 16 possiblecross- Lower pharynx 1.1 2.21
sectional areas ranging from 0.16 cm2 to 16 cmL"

The Journal of the AcousticalSocietyof America 1173

 LINDBLOM AND .... SUNDBERG

conditions can be inferred from the dashed and solid strict the vocal tract radically. For larger valuesof j,
linesof Figs.8 and 10.In thebottomrightpart of Fig. 12 a pharyngealconstrictionis produced.F• decreases as
the neutral tonguecontour(c-0) wasused.The remain- a functionof jaw opening.For c-0 andc= 1.0,d = -- 1.0,
ing graphs have the tongue shapesassociatedwith F• is relatively unaffectedby the jaw.
[i-], [u-] and[-•-]asindicatedby thevaluesfor c andd. The largestvariationin Fa associated with mandibular
In all four cases it can be seen:that F1 rises as the movement is found in the case of c= 1.0 and d-- 1.0.
jaw openingbecomeslarger.This is true alsofor values Here the constrictionis in the palatalregionfor smallj
of d and c not exemplifiedin Fig. 12. This riseis quite values(Fig. 12, top left). It seemsreasonableto assume
substantial--severalhundredhertz--as the jaw moves that the Fa values in the rangej=5-9 mm can be ex-
froma 5- to a 23-mmopening. In the topleft graphwe plained as half-wave resonancesof the front constric-
find an I-i-I-likeformant pattern for j-9 mm and tion. For the lowestvaluesof j and both "spread" and
"spread"lips. For a configuration of this type, it is "rounded" conditions,this constrictioncomprisesnot
customary to regard F1 as associatedwith a Helmholtz only the tongue passagebut also the lip section.
resonatorwhosevolume is that of the back cavity and Spreadingby no more than W,•= 10 mm is insufficient
whose neck dimensions are those of the constricted in counteractingthe effectof closingand prolongingthe
front part. (For a furtherdiscussion of the formant- tube that the smallj valueshave (cf. Figs. 8 and 10);
cavity relationsreviewedin this section,seeRef. 3.) As hencethe low Fa valuesnot only for roundedbut also
the mandibleis lowereddrasticallythe tongue,although for spreadconditions.Note that 5c/4l providesreason-
humpedas for [i-], no longerconstrictsthe vocal tract. able approximationsof Fa at large j values.
Thus, for j-23 mm, the vocal tract approachesa
B. Effect of Tongue Parameters
straightuniform tube in shape.Here F1 comescloseto
500Hz and isbetter interpretedasa quarter-wavelength 1. TongueBody Position
resonanceof the entire tube. Also, in the two graphson Figure 13 was prepared to illustrate the effect of
the right-handside,the highF1 positionsat largevalues varying the positionof the tonguebody.When studying
of j shouldprobablybe interpretedin a similarfashion. Fig. 13, it shouldbe borne in mind that the formant-
Under these conditions no radical constrictionsexist, pattern data do not pertain to conditionsof equal
the tongueshapes b•ing thosefor [-u-]andthe neutral cross-sectionalarea, as in the nomograms of Fant
contour,respectively. In the lowerleft plot,the tongue (Ref. 3). Thus the top left plot of Fig. 13 (j= 5) shows
shapeis that for [-a•. This shapeis such that small how formant frequenciesvary under "spread" and
cross-sectional areas are observedin the pharynx for "rounded" conditionsas the tongue mass slidesfrom
large valuesof j. For area functionsfor [-a• and [-a•-] a palatal (d=- 1.0) to a pharyngeal(d= 1.0) location.
which normally exhibit-pharyngeal constrictionsof At d- -- 1.0, a minimum cross-sectionalarea of 0.16
varying extent, F1 can be approximatedas the lowest cm2 is producedin the regionof the hard palate, and at
quarter-wavelengthresonanceof the front cavity. The d-1.0 the minimum area is found in the pharynx but
low F1 values that we note in the caseof the I-u-] and is larger, 1.1 cm•. The value of 0.16 cm• is obtainedat
[a-I, and the neutral tongueshapes(right and bottom d-l.0 only with the cooperation of the mandible,
left plots)for smalljaw separations are to a largeextent which has to be lowered to 23 mm.
determinedby the smallA and fairly largel valuesthat Qualitatively, the anterior-posteriordisplacementof
the presentmodelassignsto rounded,neutral, and even the tongue body results in similar formant frequency
spreadconditionsin the lower range of j (cf. Figs. 8 changesfor all mandibular conditions.F1 is lower for
and 10). Consequently,we must concludethat, with palatal positionsof the tongue than for pharyngeal
all other parameters constant, mandible movement positions.The magnitudeof this variation is somewhat
alone causes considerable shifts in Fl. smaller than that associatedwith jaw movement (cf.
The effect of jaw openingon F2 is most pronounced Fig. 12).
in the case-ofc= 1.0,d =0 (Fig. 12, top right). To under- It is important to note that all calculationswere
stand this drastic rise in F2 as a function of mandible undertakenon the assumptionthat the impedanceof
lowering,we shouldrememberthat for j= 5 mm there the vocal-tract walls is infinite. As Fant and Sonesson 15
are two constrictionspresent' one at the lips (alsofor point out, this is true only in a first approximation.The
"spread"conditions)., and one near the velum.The mass of the walls plays a role in tuning F1, and its
formant pattern is in suchcasesapproximatelythat of effect increaseswith an increasingpharyngeal-cavity
a doubleHelmholtz resonatorconfiguration;hencethe wall area. Consequently, the F1 valuesassociatedwith
loweredF•. At j=23 mm, no constrictionis present configurationsfor which d<0 are somewhattoo low.
(in spiteof c--1.0), and we might regardF• as a three- If the wall effect had been considered,the F1 curvesin
quarter-wavelength resonanceof the entire vocal tract. Fig. 13 would have started at somewhathighervalues
In the bottom left graph of Fig. 12, the tonguehump is (sinced=- 1.0 and the wall area is large) but would
displacedin a pharyngealdirection.At small j values, have terminated at about the same frequencies as
this pharyngealdisplacementis not sufficientto con- shown(d= 1.0 and the participatingareais small).

1174 Volume 50 Number 4 (Part 2) 1971

 ACOUSTIC CONSEQUENCES OF ARTICULATOR MOVEMENT

3.0 -
, , , , Ij =5 ' i j__11
2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0 I'Wmm:_1
o_
'r 0.5

• 0
z I I li , I I i I I I I
-1.0 -0,5 0 0,5 1.0 -1.0 -0,5 0 0,5 1.0

FIG. 13. The effect of tongue body position. "' 3.0

_, , , , Ij=23
z 2.5
- • '

0 2.o

1.5

1.0

0.5

i i i i i • I I I I
-1.0 -0.5 0 0,5 1.0 -1,0 -0.5 0 0,5 1,0

TONGUE BODY POSITION (d)

For F•. the situation is reversed. F•. is extremely 2. TongueBody Shape

sensitiveto tonguebody positioning.The effect dimin-
How do formant frequencieschange as the tongue
ishessomewhatas the mandibleis lowered(which tends
contour changesfrom a neutral to a more differentiated
to reduce area contrast along the tract) but is of the
shapeconstrictingthe vocal tract in the palatal, velar,
order of 1000 Hz in all cases.The high F•. value ob-
and pharyngeal regions?Figure 14 gives the answer
served for a palatal tongue body position is generally
for two different jaw positionsand neutral lips. We
interpreted as a half-wavelength originating in the
note that this gesture leavesboth Fz and F3 relatively
cavity betweenthe palatal constrictionand the glottis.
unaffected whatever the degree of jaw opening. F•.,
As the tonguehump slidestowardsthe pharynx, F•. is
however, is radically altered. For c=0 a "neutral" F
considerablylowered. F3 is less sensitive than F•. to
pattern is observedin both plots. As c increases,the F•.
thismovement.Movingthe tonguefroma (palato-)velar values fan out. We conclude that an increase of the
locationtowardsthe palate or towardsthe pharynx
degreeof constriction(here definedwith respectto the
tends to raise it. We concludethat changing d from
mandible) modifies primarily F•.. This result is also
--1.0 to 1.0 is an extremelyeffectivemeansof lowering
in agreementwith the data publishedby Fant (Ref. 3).
F•. and contributestowardsraising Fz somewhat.
The d values of Fig. 14 correspondroughly to x values
Figure 13 canbe comparedwith Figs. 1.4-11aand 1.4-
in Fig. 1.4-11c (Ref. 3) of 12-10, 8, and 5 cm from the
lib in Ref. 3, which pertain to Fant's three-parameter
glottis.
model. When making these comparisons,it shouldbe
rememberedthat Fanifs model allowsgreaterrangesfor C. Effect of Lip Movement
lip sectionparametersas well as the point of tongue
constriction.Primarily, places of constriction in the In Figs. 12 and 13 two setsof formant frequencydata
interval 4-14 cm from the glottis are relevant for com- have been presented:They represent"rounded" and
parison with our data. It is clear that there are many "spread" conditions."Rounding" refers to a decrease
qualitative similarities. of the muscle-dependent componentof W, the external

The Journal of the AcousticalSocietyof America 1175

 LINDBLOM AND SUNDBERG

3.0 X NEUTRALSHAPE
O d=0
- 3.0 about the geometry of rounding and spreading in
b d=10 normalhuman speech.It is likely that the lip muscles
ß d=-l.0
2.5 2.5 contract to adjust not only the width but also the
height dimensionsof lip opening. Nevertheless,the
2.0•- 2.0
measurementsperformed should give fairly direct
information on the acousticconsequences of a labio-
muscular jaw-independentgesture. Its most marked
1.5 1.5 effectsare found in Fa and F•., as is apparentfrom Figs.
12 and 13 (filledand opencircles).In the top left graph
1.0 1.0 of Fig. 12, the dotted pair of curvesindicatesa situ-
=
ation where rounding-spreadingmodifiesFa consider-
0.5• -
ably. The tonguebody is here in a palatal position.It is
0.5
probably correctto associateFa with a half-wavelength
resonance of the palatal constriction."Spreading"tends
0 - - 0
I I I , I i I to shorten this constrictionwhereas"rounding" makes
0 0.5 1.0 o 0.5 1.o
it longer; hence the shift in Fa. For other parameter
TONGUE BODY SHAPE (c) combinations(--1.0>d>l.0 in Fig. 13 and d--0 in
Fro. 14. The effectof tonguebody shape. Fig. 12), it is F•. that exhibitsa largerangeof variation.
We concludethat "rounding" lowers all formant fre-
quenciesunder all conditions.This loweringis particu-
width parameter,by 10 mm. "Spreading"refersto an
larly pronouncedfor the Fa of vocal-tract shapes
increaseof this parameter by the same amount. It
with palatal constrictionsand for F•. associatedwith
appearspossibleto interpret this parameter as closely
(palato-)velarand velopharyngeal
constrictions.
Shifts
related to the major axis of the elliptical slingsof
in F1 are of smaller magnitude and are slightly larger
musclefibersthat enclosethe lip opening.[Note that
in the case of pharyngeal constrictions(F1 front-
the other width parameter,w, (Fig. 6) cannotbe inter-
cavity dependent).
preted in terms of underlying muscular activity as
easily,sinceit is dependenton the vertical dimension
of lip openingas well.] ChangingWmby q-10 mm has
D. Effect of Larynx Lowering
consequences for the area of lip openingA, as demon-
stratedin Fig. 8. The effecton the point of vocal-tract The simulated larynx lowering correspondsto an
termination of this changecan be read from Fig. 10, increaseof the pharynxcavity length,and thus alsoof
in which it is seenthat Lm=q-5 mm, an automatic the total vocal-tractlength.Consequently,it lowersall
resultof the variationin W•. By this particularchoice formant frequencies,especiallythose that can be re-
of parametricvalueswe do not want to imply anything garded as a back-cavity resonance.The percentual
decreasesobservedfor different vowel qualities similar
TAB•.•.II. Effect of larynx lowering.The upperset of numbers to thoseof the subjectare givenin Table II. The follow-
refersto formantpatternscloselysimilarto thoseof the subject, ing observationscan be made. For most vowels, the
and the lowerset refersto the loweredlarynx conditions.
effecton F1 keepscloseto 5%-6%. For I-u-]and I-a-I,
F• F• Fa F4
the effectis strongerand for [a• weaker.The effecton
F•. in the vowelsarticulatedwith a tongueshapesimilar
250 2255 2702 3534
[-i• 235 2038 2663 3424 to that of [i-] is quitelarge(around8%). This appearsto
be a consequence of the fact that F•. tendsto be a half-
[-e• 315295
1940
1810
2520
2490
2955
2786 wave resonanceof the back cavity for those vowels.
460 1840 2597 3165
•e• 436 1704 2520 3040 F•. for the back vowels[u•, [o-], and [a• is muchless
199 1935 2060 2883 affected,but is largefor [a•. For all vowelsexcept[u•,
[-Y• 188 1830 2040 2713 Fa is rather insensitive,which might be explainedby
410 1720 2480 2965
[-½• 389 1600 2418 2870 the front-cavity affiliation of this formant. On the
246 775 2340 2964 average,F4 dropsabout5%--somewhatlessfor [-o-]
[-u• 224 766 2224 2813 and [-i-I,somewhatmorefor [-a-]and I-a-].
452 818 2423 2770
[o• 435 800 2410 2670 Summarizing,we may say that F3 is least sensitive
650 920 2663 3510 to an expansion of the pharynxcavity in the epiglottal
[-a• 600 882 2580 3260
683 1130 2550 3576 regionand, in termsof percent,F •.is the mostsensitive
•a• 662 1034 2470 3327 formant. The absoluteformant frequencychangeis
570 1563 2498 3109
[-ae• 548 1407 2445 2945 largestfor F4. The net effectof the larynx loweringon
282 1612 2300 2911 Fa andF4 is to decrease the frequencydistancebetween
[-u• 271 1495 2247 2744 them,whichhasbeenclaimedto be a characteristic of
sungvowelsarticulatedwith a loweredlarynx.•6

1176 Volume 50 Number 4 (Part 2) 1971

 ACOUSTIC CONSEQUENCES OF ARTICULATOR MOVEMENT

IV. AUDITORY QUALITY OF MODEL SOUNDS V. DISCUSSION

Table III containsspecificationsof parametervalues A. The Mechanism of Tongue Height

corresponding to somebasicvowelqualities.All articu- The questionnow ariseshow the parametersselected
latory configurationsfor whichformantfrequencydata can be justified. That the model containsno primary
were obtainedwere alsoevaluatedauditorily. The vowel "tongueheight" parametermay appearsomewhatcon-
soundsweresynthesized with the aid of LEA and had troversial, since traditional schemesfor vowel speci-
standardized durational and fundamental frequency ficationare normallybasedon sucha dimension.In the
characteristics.Only the presentwriters(bothSwedish) present framework, "tongue height" is controlled
participatedin thesetestsand we attemptedto tran- indirectly by meansof both mandiblepositionand
scribe each sound as narrowly as possible.Table III tongueshape.
exemplifiesqualitiesthat both listenerswere willing For further clarificationof this issue,we performed
to transcribewith IPA symbolswithout diacriticsigns. a variant of a classicalphonetic experiment. We re-
The entriescan be said to representa "best" set of cordedsustainedproductionsof Swedishvowels,each
parametric values. made with the subject'smandiblein a controlledpo-
In terms of formant frequencies,we find that, except sition.For thispurpose,the subjectsheld a smallblock
for F½• and F•e•, thesevowelsare all locatedat the (calibratedto produce5-, 15-, and 25-mmopenings)
extremelimits of the horseshoe-shaped F1-F2 plane of between their teeth. A minimum of five tokens were
the model. Also, the third formant, which is of per- recordedfor each vowel and degree of jaw opening.
ceptual relevanceespeciallyfor front vowels, assumes Spectrographic measurements of formant frequencies
extremevaluesfor the Fi•, Fe•, Fe•, and Fae•seriesof were made at the moment of the first glottal pulse, a
the table. The auditory consequences of makingan error point in time at which there would not yet be any
in oneof the parameters vary. The resultsof the listen- possibility of auditory feedback. The experiment
ing sessionsindicate that, for the set of parameter showed that for all artificial positionsthe formant
values explored,the "pure" and extreme qualitiesof patternsapproachthe normalvaluesrather closely.
Table III are observed much more seldom than are Similar results were obtained for all vowels. Since
centralizedauditory values. mandibular movement was shown to have a considerable
When we comparethe F1-F2-Fa spaceof the model effectonformantfrequencies (cf., e.g.,topleft graphof
with the formant frequencydata associatedwith the Fig. 12), the lack of correlationbetweenjaw position
x-ray recordedvowelproductions on which the model and formant frequencies found in this experimentcan
is based,we find that all vowel formant patterns except be taken as evidenceof compensatory articulation.The
that for [e• fall within that spaceandcanconsequently implicationof this resultis that the positionof jaw is
be generatedby the model.The first-formantfrequency not essentialfor the productionof acceptablevowel
of the subject'sFe• turnedout to be 550 Hz (F2= 1860 quality. If we interpret the experimentalresults to
Hz, Fa=2400 Hz). With parameterrangesas defined indicatethat in a first approximationthe invariant
above (Sec. II), the model missesthe F1 value by ap- featureof the I-i-I-productions is the area function,we
proximately 50 Hz. We concludethat the model has can infer that the relevant parameterseemsto be
been constructedin such a way that it can in fact tongue height defined with respect to the palate.
producemost of the vowel qualities observedin the Evidently, it is physiologically possibleto raise the
languagesof the world (apical or coronal vowels tongueconsiderably in the directionof the hard palate
excepted).In an evaluationof the parametersselected, in spite of a lowered jaw. "Superpalatalization"
this is of coursea primary requirementfor correctness. appearsto be an appropriatedescriptiveterm for this
Note that the spacemay be large enoughto include tongueshape.Analogously,we can interpret the com-
the tense-laxon covered-noncovered distinctionpostu- pensatory articulation clearly indicated also in our
lated for certain West-African languages.If so, the formant data for Fu-]as a form of "supervelarization"
motivationsfor introducingadvancedtongueroot as a and "superrounding."And a high jaw position in
quasi-indepen'dent dimensionof tongueshapeTM must combinationwith a normal tongueshapefor an
be basedon articulatory rather than acousticfacts. (j= 5 rnm,c= 1.0,d= 1.0)will not produce a constriction

TABLEIII. Result of auditory labelingsof model generatedsounds.

[o3 Eo3 [a3 E"-3

d -1.0 -1.0 --1.0 .... 1.0 .... 1.0 1 0 0.5 1.0 1.0 1.0
c 1.0 1.0 1.0 0 1.0 0 0.5 0.75 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.75
W 10 10 10 10 -10 -10 --10 --10 --10 --10 --10 10 10
j 9 11 23 23 9 5 11 15 5 11 15 15 23

The Journalof the AcousticalSocietyof America 1177

 LINDBLOM AND SUNDBERG

in the pharynx that is sufficientlynarrow for the [(•]- and their articulatoryattributesis unique; that is,
quality. The reasonis that the jaw movesalsoforward only small variations in parametricvalues preserve
as it is elevated(cf. Sec.I-A-l). The tonguecompen- the auditoryimpressions
intact, especiallyin the pe-
sationnecessaryfor this "close"[a• is thus alsoa form ripheralseries.
Allowinga somewhat
largerrangefor W•
of "superpharyngealization." Clearly, the model as wouldfor examplecontributeto decreasing the j and
describedabove fails to generatethesesupershapes.c valuesfor [e] and [•]. As remarkedearlier,the man-
Further researchand examinationof x-ray data will be dible positionsof Table II are in good qualitative
necessaryin order to extend the inventory of tongue agreementwith traditional descriptionsin terms of
shapesthat the model is capable of generatingat degreesof openingand with previously reportedjaw-
present. However, a preliminary extension suggests positiondata (seeRef. 7).
itself as we attempt to interpretthe resultsof the jaw From theseresults,we canconclude that the model
experiment.It is likely that the compensatory tongue explainsthe originof the articulatoryopen-close di-
shapespreserveacousticallyrelevant aspectsof the mensionin vowels. 19It makesan explanationpossible
area functions.Let theseshapes,therefore,be defined because it is jaw-basedand derives"tongueheight"
as earlierwith respectto the mandibleand as the con- indirectlyand as a secondary featurecharacteristic
tours that for any given vowel and mandibleposition of the finalvocal-tractconfiguration. The explanation is
leave the area function invariant. Since all super- basedon a principleof "minimal articulatoryantag-
shapesrepresenta deformationof the tongue shape onism"which enablesus to understandwhy qualities
from the neutral shapethat goesbeyondthe rangeof suchas [i, y, u, i, u• appearin normalpronunciation as
c-valuesexploredso far (0_<c_<1.0), it is natural to as- "close"vowelswith a smalljaw opening and [a,a,•e•
signto the supershapes a value of c that variesbetween appearas"open"vowels withlargerjaw openings. With
1.0 and 2.0, dependingon the degreeof deformation. referenceto area functions,it would not make senseto
(Note that mostbut not all of the compensatory con- talk aboutopenand closevowels.Usingthe minimum
toursderivedfor the vowelsof Table II aresupershapes. constrictionarea as a criterionof opening,we would
For example,[e• and [•, whenproducedwith smaller haveto group[i, i, u, o,•, a, a• together in a categoryof
jaw openingsthan normal, presuppose compensatory "close"vowels.In the "open" classwe would find
shapesfor which c< 1.0.) [e, e, •e•. This is obviouslyat variancewith the phono-
Characteristicof the supershapes is the antagonism logical behaviorof these segments.The open-close
betweenthe tonguemusclesand the jaw muscles.In a feature correlatesbetter with jaw opening.
compensatoryvariant of [i-[ pronouncedwith wide Normally, children acquire the ability to pro-
jaws, the depressormusclesof the mandible and the duce vowels and consonantswith the characteristic,
genioglossusassistedby variousother muscles,suchas "natural"jaw positions.
They do so withoutexplicit
the mylohyoid, opposeeach other. Similarly, in an instructionasto thesearticulatoryhabits.How do they
"open" [-u• the labial musculature and the stylo- do it? In view of the precedingargumentit might
glossusamongothermusclesparticipatein overcoming tentativelybe suggested that the principlereferredto
the pull of the jaw muscles.And in a "close"[a-[, abovecorresponds to an innatemechanism.
increasedactivity in the hyoglossusand pharyngeal The precedingremarksnecessitate a few commentson
constrictorsis likely to occur.It is obviousthat these the questionof whetherthe mandibleshouldbe in-
supershapesare not physiologicallyoptimal, and we corporated in articulatorymodelsof speech production
shouldexpectthe systemto strive for a minimization or not.Theanswer depends onthephilosophy andgoal
of suchantagonism.The problemcan be formulatedas of ourresearch. If weconstruct modelsof speech produc-
follows' For any given formant pattern or area func- tionin orderto contribute to phonetictheory--thatis,
tion, what is the optimal positionof the mandible, to our generalunderstanding and knowledgeof the
optimal position being defined as minimum displace- speechsignaland the mechanisms that generateit--
ment of lips and tongue from their neutral positions? the answer is in the affirmative. 2ø If we construct
Severalproblemsmake the numericalsimulationof this modelsof speechproductionprimarily in order to
principledifficult' We can only guessthat the "physio- solvespecific technological problems that arisein the
logicalcost" risesas a function of c and Win, but we applicationof this theory,e.g., to producepeaking
know nothingabout the form of theserelationshipsor machines for practicaland commercial purposes, the
how to combine and weight the labial and lingual answermay not be as self-evident.However, these
gestures.However, if as a first approximationwe re- aspectsmust not be confused.
quire that c never exceed 1.0 and Wm never exceed
+10 mm, we obtain the j data of Table III. This
VI. SUMMARY OF RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
table representsthe best approximations
of the vowel
qualities indicated. (1) X-ray data wasinterpretedto suggestthat the
Within the constraintsof the model and the given mandiblecan be usedto controlthe acousticproperties
conditions,
the relationshipbetweenthe vowelqualities of vowels(Sec.I-A-l).
1178 Volume 50 Number 4 (Part 2) 1971
 ACOUSTIC CONSEQUENCES OF
(2) Model simulationsindicate that this inferenceis
likely to be correct. With all other parameterskept
constant,jaw movementalone was found to cause
shiftsin F1 of severalhundredcyclesper second(Sec.
(3) The tongueparametersof the model have the
followingacousticcorrelates(Sec.III-B). Changingthe
locationof the tonguebody downwardalong the tract
can be an extremely effective means of lowering F2
and contributes towards raising F• somewhat. An
increasein the degreeof constriction(definedwith
respectto the jaw) modifiesprimarilyF2.
(4) The lowering associatedwith decreasesin lip
openingarea and concomitantincreasesof vocal-tract
length(•rounding") is particularlypronouncedfor the
Fa of palatal configurationsand for F• values associ-
ated with (palato-)velarand velopharyngealconstric-
tions.Shiftsin F• areof smallermagnitude(Sec.III-C).
(5) A larynx loweringof 10 mm decreases the fre-
quenciesof all formants.Percentagewise, F• is affected
most' 6.3% on the average.The largest absolutefre-
quencyshiftsare observedin F4;/xF4= 160 Hz.
(6) The model generatesmost of the basic vowel
qualitiesobservedin the languages of the world (retro-
flex and coronalvowelsexcepted).
(7) The modeloffersa possibilityof explainingwhy
human languageshave "open" and "close"vowels,or
moreprecisely,why I-a-]normallyappearsas an "open"
vowel and [-i-! and [-u-]are "close"vowels.The need
for an explanationbecomesapparentwhenwe examine
the area functions of fundamental vowel qualities
which offer no basisfor an open-closecategorization,
or when we recall the "fixed-mandibleexperiment,"
which seemsto indicate that tongueheight rather than
jaw positionis essentialfor the productionof vowel
quality. Accordingto the explanationproposed,the
degreeof openness of a vowelreflectsa positionof the
jaw that is "optimized" in the sensethat it cooperates
with the tonguein producingthe desiredarea function.
Such cooperationprevents excessivetongue shape
deformation.As a partial justification of the present
model, we regard the fact that this reasoningcan be
formulated in numerical terms. The explanatorypro-
posalrestsupon the introductionof somenovelfeatures
of articulatorymodeling'the mandibleand dimensions
of neutral-nonneutrallip and tongueshape.
(8) Our resultsconsequently suggestthat "tongue
height," althoughprimary with respectto its acoustic
consequences, had better be modeled as a derived
articulatoryfeature characteristicof the final vocal-
tract configuration.Unlesswe treat "tongueheight" in
this fashion,our modelswill fail to reflect the under-
lying principleof articulatorysynergism.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors are grateful to Gunnar Fant, Peter
Ladefoged, Johan Liljencrants, and Kenneth N.
ARTICULATOR MOVEMENT
Stevenswith whom we have had many profitable dis-
cussionsduring the courseof this work. Our thanks are
due to Mrs. S. Felicetti for her editorial help in pre-
paring the manuscript and to Dr. C. Lagergren at
Karolinska Sjukhuset, Stockholm, for providing us
with the necessaryx-ray material. The research was
supportedby National Institutes of Health under a
researchgrant and by the Bank of SwedenTercentenary
Fund under contract.
* Also, Institute of Linguistics,Dept. of Phonetics,Stockholm
University.
• P. F. MacNeilage and G. N. Sholes,"An Electromyographic
Study of the Tongue during Vowel Production," J. Speech
Hearing Res. 7, 211-232 (1964).
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Muscular Control of the Tongue in Speech," Working Papers in
Phonetics,UCLA, No. 10, 145-155 (1968).
a G. Fant, Acoustic Theory of SpeechProduction (Mouton,
The Hague, 1960).
4 B. Lindblom, "Studies of Labial Articulation," Z. Phonetik
Sprachwiss. Kommunikationsforsch. 21, 171-172 (1968).
5 B. Lindblom and H. Soron,"Analysisof Labial Movement,"
J. Acoust. Soc. Amer. $8, 935(A) (1965).
6V. Fromkin, "Lip Positionsin American English Vowels,"
Languageand Speech7, 215-225 (1964).
7 B. Lindblom, "Vowel Duration and a Model of Lip Mandible
Coordination," SpeechTransmissionLab. Quart. Progr. Status
Rep. 4/1967 (Royal Inst. Tech., Stockholm),pp. 1-29.
8 D. Abercrombie,Ele•nentsof GeneralPhonetics(University
Press,Edinburgh, 1967).
9LEA is the electrical line analog on which the measurements
of formant frequencieswere made (seeRef. 3).
•0j. S. Perkell, Physiologyof SpeechProduction:Resultsand
Dnplicationsof a QuantitativeCineradiographic Study (MIT Press,
Cambridge,Mass., 1969).
n j. M. Heinz and K. N. Stevens,"On the Relations between
Lateral Cineradiographs,Area Functions,and AcousticSpectra
of Speech,"in CongressReports(5th International Congresson
Acoustics,Li[ge, 1965),Vol. Ia, paper A44.
• J. Sundberg,"Articulatory DifferencesbetweenSpokenand
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Progr.StatusRep. 1/1969,33-46 (RoyalInst. Tech.,Stockholm).
•aG. Fant, "Formant and Cavities," in Proceedingsof the
5th International Congressof PhoneticSciences,M•nster 1964
(Verlag S. Karger AG, Basel, 1965), pp. 120-141.
•4W. R. Zemlin, Speechand Hearing Science(Prentice Hall,
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15G. Fant and B. Sonesson,"Speechat High Ambient Air-
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•6J. Sundberg,"Formant Structureand Articulationof Spoken
and SungVowels,"Folia Phoniatrica22, 28-48 (1970).
•7J. M. Stewart, "Tongue Root Position in Akan Vowel
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•9Note that we do not claim that it explainsthe origin of the
phonological
featureof opening,that is, why languages
havecon-
trasts such as /i/-/a/, /e/-/e/, etc. The presentclaim concerns
only their articulatory realization.For an attempt to give an
accountof the originof the oppositions, seeJ. Liljencrantsand
B. Lindblom, "Numerical Simulationof Vowel Quality Systems:
The Role of PerceptualContrast"(to appearin Language).
•0After the submissionof the presentarticlefor publication,we
had the opportunityto readan accountof an interestingattempt
to developa similarjaw-based articulatorymodel;seeP. Mermel-
stein,S. Maeda,and O. Fujimura,"Descriptionof Tongueand
Lip Movementin a Jaw-BasedCoordinateSystem,"J. Acoust.
Soc.Amer. 49, 104(A) (1971).
The Journalof the AcousticalSocietyof America 1179