Experimental Insights into Acoustic and Articulatory Variability: Coarticulation and Prosodic Effects in Greek Speech Production

Dear Colleagues,

Acoustic and articulatory variability in speech production arises from a range of independent and interacting sources, including segmental context, speech rate, speaking style, dialect, lexical stress, speaker-specific patterns, and several sociolinguistic factors. Coarticulation, for example, is a pervasive source of variability reflecting the anticipatory and carryover effects of adjacent segments (Hardcastle & Hewlett 1999; Recasens 1999; Beddor et al. 2018; Chitoran, Crouch & Katsika 2023; Pouplier et al. 2024). Variability may also reflect individual strategies for speech clarity or economy (Fowler 1980; Lindblom 1983; Farnetani & Recasens 2010). Prosodic factors, such as phrasing, information structure, and sentence modality, independently introduce variability through stress, focus, boundary-induced strengthening, deaccenting, temporal restructuring, and articulatory enhancement (de Jong 1995; Keating et al. 2003; Katsika et al. 2014).

A growing body of research shows that these sources of variability interact in systematic ways. Prosodic boundaries, for example, reduce coarticulatory overlap through articulatory strengthening, whereas prominence can exaggerate segmental distinctions or slow down transitions (Fougeron & Keating 1997; Cho 2004; Mücke & Grice 2014). In Greek, studies have reported both robust coarticulatory effects and reduction/undershoot patterns in spontaneous speech (Nicolaidis 2001), as well as prosodic influences on segmental production, articulatory timing, and boundary marking (Fourakis et al. 1999; Baltazani 2006; Kainada 2007, 2012; Baltazani, Gryllia & Arvaniti 2020; Katsika & Tsai 2021; Katsika et al. 2014; Arvaniti 2022; Nicolaidis & Baltazani 2023). Stress has also been shown to play a variable role in coarticulation in Greek (Nicolaidis, 1999; Sfakianaki, 2012). More broadly, research has investigated the prosodic orchestration of coarticulatory patterns to assess whether they reflect primarily mechanical constraints or deliberate control, with results differing across languages (Solé 2007; Zellou 2022). Understanding the interplay among these sources of variation is therefore essential for developing comprehensive models of speech production.

This Special Issue, titled "Experimental Insights into Acoustic and Articulatory Variability: Coarticulation and Prosodic Effects in Greek Speech Production," seeks to highlight state-of-the-art empirical research that investigates the complex dynamics of speech production in Greek. By focusing on Greek, a language with a rich prosodic system and diverse segmental inventory, the Special Issue offers a unique opportunity to examine different aspects of variability, to investigate the interaction between coarticulatory and prosodic processes, and to evaluate their implications for broader models of speech production.

Focus: This Special Issue focuses on the detailed experimental investigation of acoustic and articulatory variability in Greek speech, with an emphasis on coarticulation, prosodic structure, and their interaction.

Scope: We welcome contributions employing a range of methodologies (e.g., acoustic analysis, EPG, EMA, UTI, MRI) that explore coarticulation, prosodic boundaries, prominence, timing, and articulatory coordination in Greek. Contributions may also address developmental aspects of coarticulation, dialectal or sociolinguistic variation, speech rate effects, individual speaker strategies and variability in clinical populations.

Purpose: The goal of this issue is to deepen our empirical and theoretical understanding of how coarticulation and prosody function both as independent mechanisms and as interactive components of speech production.

Abstract Submission Instructions: We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400–600 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the guest editors (knicol@enl.auth.gr; mary.baltazani@phon.ox.ac.uk; asfakianaki@uoi.gr]) or to the Languages editorial office (languages@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

Tentative Schedule:

• Abstract submission deadline: [20/1/2026]
• Notification of abstract acceptance: [20/2/2026]
• Full manuscript deadline: [28/02/2027] 

Selected References:

• Arvaniti, A. 2022. The autosegmental-metrical model of intonational phonology. In Barnes, J. & Shattuck-Hufnagel, S. (Eds.), Prosodic Theory and Practice, 25–63. MIT Press. DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/10413.003.0004.
• Baltazani, M. 2006. Focusing, prosodic phrasing, and Hiatus resolution in Greek. In Goldstein, L. Whalen, D. & Best, C. (Eds.),Laboratory Phonology 8, 473–494. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
• Baltazani, M., Gryllia, S. & Arvaniti, A. 2020. The intonation and pragmatics of Greek wh-questions. Language and Speech, 63, 1, 56–94. DOI: 10.1177/0023830918823236.
• Beddor, P.S., Coetzee, A.W., Styler, W., McGowan, K.G. & Boland, J.E. 2018. The time course of individuals’ perception of coarticulatory information is linked to their production: Implications for sound change. Language, 94, 4, 931–968, 10.1353/lan.2018.0051.
• Chitoran, I., Crouch, C. & Katsika, A. 2023. Sonority sequencing and its relationship to articulatory timing in Georgian. Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 53, 3, 1049–1072. 10.1017/S0025100323000026
• Cho, T. 2004. Prosodically conditioned strengthening and vowel-to-vowel coarticulation in English. Journal of Phonetics, 32, 2, 141–176.
• de Jong, K. 1995. The supraglottal articulation of prominence in English: Linguistic stress as localized hyperarticulation. JASA, 97, 1, 491–504.
• Farnetani, E. & Recasens, D. 2010. Coarticulation and sound change in Romance. In The Romance Languages, 46–74. Routledge.
• Fougeron, C. & Keating, P. A. 1997. Articulatory strengthening at prosodic boundaries in French. JASA, 101, 6, 3728–3740.
• Fourakis, M., Botinis, A., & Katsaiti, M. 1999. Acoustic characteristics of Greek vowels. Phonetica, 56, 28–43.
• Fowler, C. A. 1980. Coarticulation and theories of extrinsic timing. Journal of Phonetics, 8, 1, 113–133.
• Hardcastle, W. J., & Hewlett, N. 1999. Coarticulation: Theory, data and techniques. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Kainada, E. 2007. Prosodic Boundary Effects on Durations and Vowel Hiatus in Modern Greek. In Proceedings of the XVIth ICPhS, 1225–1228, Saarbrücken, Universität des Saarlandes.
• Kainada, E. 2012. The acoustics of post-nasal stop voicing in Standard Modern Greek. In Gavriilidou, Z., Efthymiou, A., Tomadaki, E. & Kambakis-Vougiouklis, P. (Eds.). Selected papers of the 10th International Conference on Greek Linguistics, 320-9. Komotini/Greece: Democritus University of Thrace.
• Katsika, A., Krivokapic, J., Mooshammer, C., Tiede, M. & Goldstein, L. 2014. The coordination of boundary tones and its interaction with prominence. Journal of Phonetics, 44, 62–82, DOI: 10.1016/j.wocn.2014.03.003.
• Katsika, A. & Tsai, K. 2021. The supralaryngeal articulation of stress and accent in Greek. Journal of Phonetics, 88, 101085.
• Keating, P., Cho, T., Fougeron, C., & Hsu, C.-S. 2003. Domain-initial articulatory strengthening in four languages. In Local, J., Ogden, R. & Temple, R. (Eds.) Laboratory Phonology VI, 145–163. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Linblom, B. 1983. Economy of speech gestures. In P. F. MacNeilage (Ed.) The Production of Speech, 217–245. New York: Springer-Verlag.
• Mücke, D. & Grice, M. 2014. Focus marking and supralaryngeal articulation. Journal of Phonetics, 44, 47–61.
• Nicolaidis, K. 2001. An electropalatographic study of Greek spontaneous speech. Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 31, 1, 67–85.
• Nicolaidis, K. & Baltazani, M. 2023. Temporal determinants of phrasing in coordinated structures in Greek. Proceedings 20th ICPhS, Prague, 1375–1380.
• Nicolaidis, K. 1999. The influence of stress on V-to-V coarticulation: an electropalatographic study. Proceedings of the XIV International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, 1-7 August, San Francisco, California, USA, 1087–1090.
• Pouplier, M., Francesco, R., Lo, J. J.H., Alderton, R., Evans, B.G., Reinisch, E. & Carignan, C. 2024. Language-specific and individual variation in anticipatory nasal coarticulation: A comparative study of American English, French, and German. Journal of Phonetics 107, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wocn.2024.101365.
• Recasens, D. 1999. Lingual coarticulation. In Hardcastle W.J. & Hewlett, N. (Eds.) Coarticulation: Theory, Data & Techniques, 80–104. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Sfakianaki, A. 2012. An acoustic study of coarticulation in the speech of Greek adults with normal hearing and hearing impairment. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. DOI: 10.12681/eadd/28556
• Solé, M. J. 2007. Controlled and mechanical properties in speech. In Solé, M.-J., Beddor, P. S. & Ohala, J. J. (Eds.), Experimental Approaches to Phonology, 302–321. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Zellou, G. 2022. Coarticulation in Phonology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

We look forward to receiving your submissions to this Special Issue.

Sincerely,

Prof. Dr. Katerina Nicolaidis
Dr. Mary Baltazani
Dr. Anna Sfakianaki
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Languages is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• speech production
• acoustic variability
• articulatory variability
• coarticulation
• prosody
• Greek