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Research on Articulation and Prosodic Structure
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Research on Articulation and Prosodic Structure

A special issue of Languages (ISSN 2226-471X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 3450

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Donna Erickson

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, CT, USA
2. Solific, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan
Interests: articulatory prosody; phonetics; voice quality; ethnophonetics; language teaching
Dr. Malin Svensson Lundmark

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculties of Humanities and Theology, Centre for Languages and Literature, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Interests: articulatory phonetics; prosody; speech production

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the years, research on articulatory phonetics and speech motor control has shown how the physical action of our bodies shapes our speech sounds. Additionally, linguistic research on prosody has revealed the mechanisms of grouping and emphasizing speech sounds through which we create a speech signal with content and meaning. Though these two fields are interrelated, not many studies have been focused on exploring their relationship, except for the few syllable-based approaches to prosodic articulation as proposed by MacNeilage’s frame/content theory (1998) or Fujimura’s C/D model (2000). The C/D model was proposed in the late 1980s/early 1990s, long before articulatory experiments could be easily conducted, which makes powerful claims about the metrical input to an utterance articulatorily being manifested as a first approximation as the amount of jaw displacement for each syllable; thus, the amount of jaw lowering (once vowel height has been factored out) can represent the magnitude/prominence of each syllable in an utterance. It is important to test the hypotheses proposed in the model, and particularly determine how changes in syllable prominence levels affect segmental onset/coda articulation, as well as location/size of prosodic unit boundaries, to analyze how articulation and prosodic structure can be successfully integrated.

‘Research on Articulation and Prosodic Structure’ is a Special Issue of the journal Languages, which aims to bridge the gap between the domains of articulation and prosodic structure. We invite manuscripts that use novel approaches and address the syllable as a basic unit of articulation, focus on how speakers use supraglottal articulators for implementing prominence and phrasing patterns, encompassing topics such as F0-related prosodic changes, subglottal pressure, facial expressions or body posture and their relation with supraglottal syllabic articulation. In addition, we welcome submissions of papers on L2 learning or child language acquisition, as well as clinical studies exploring the relationship between prosodic structure and therapeutic intervention.

Interested authors are asked to submit a preliminary title and an abstract (400–600 words) summarizing their research question(s) and methodologies. Please send this information to Donna Erickson (ericksondonna2000@gmail.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors to ensure that they fit within the scope of this Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo a double-blind peer-review process.

Tentative Completion Schedule

Abstract Submission Deadline: June 1, 2024
Notification of Abstract Acceptance: June 15, 2024
Full Manuscript Deadline: November 15, 2024

References

Fujimura, O. (2000). The C/D model and prosodic control of articulatory behavior. Phonetica, 57(2–4), 128–138. https://doi.org/10.1159/000028467.

MacNeilage, P.F. (1998). The frame/content theory of evolution of speech production. Behav. Brain Sci. 21, 499–511.

Prof. Dr. Donna Erickson
Dr. Malin Svensson Lundmark
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.

Keywords

  • articulation
  • prosodic structure
  • prominence patterns
  • segmental articulation
  • syllabic articulation
  • phrasing/boundaries
  • articulatory planning

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 2999 KB  
Article
When Pitch Falls Short: Reinforcing Prosodic Boundaries to Signal Focus in Japanese
by Marta Ortega-Llebaria and Jun Nagao
Languages 2025, 10(9), 242; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages10090242 - 20 Sep 2025
Viewed by 1286
Abstract
This production study examines how Japanese speakers mark information structure through an Edge-Reinforcing Strategy—a prosodic system that signals focus via boundary-based cues, independently of lexical pitch accent or phrasing constraints. While many Japanese dialects mark focus with F0 expansion and post-focal compression, such [...] Read more.
This production study examines how Japanese speakers mark information structure through an Edge-Reinforcing Strategy—a prosodic system that signals focus via boundary-based cues, independently of lexical pitch accent or phrasing constraints. While many Japanese dialects mark focus with F0 expansion and post-focal compression, such strategies are limited in utterances containing unaccented words and in systems without lexical accent or multiword Accentual Phrases. We hypothesize that when pitch cues are constrained, speakers rely on temporal and spectral cues aligned with prosodic edges, such as silence insertion, jaw opening, and duration asymmetry. Nine educated speakers of Japanese standard produced 48 genitive noun-phrases (e.g., umáno hizume ‘horse’s hoof’) under Broad and Narrow Focus. Acoustic measures included word duration, and F1-based estimates of jaw opening and silence insertions. Results showed that silence and duration were the strongest predictors of Narrow Focus, functioning additively and independently of pitch accent. F1-based measurements of jaw opening played a secondary, compensatory role, particularly in unaccented contexts. Cue-profile analysis revealed a functional hierarchy: silence and duration together were most effective, while jaw alone was less informative. These findings broaden current models of focus realization, showing that prosodic restructuring can emerge from gradient, edge-based cue integration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Articulation and Prosodic Structure)
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20 pages, 1589 KB  
Article
Articulatory Control by Gestural Coupling and Syllable Pulses
by Christopher Geissler
Languages 2025, 10(9), 219; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages10090219 - 29 Aug 2025
Viewed by 782
Abstract
Explaining the relative timing of consonant and vowel articulations (C-V timing) is an important function of speech production models. This article explores how C-V timing might be studied from the perspective of the C/D Model, particularly the prediction that articulations are coordinated with [...] Read more.
Explaining the relative timing of consonant and vowel articulations (C-V timing) is an important function of speech production models. This article explores how C-V timing might be studied from the perspective of the C/D Model, particularly the prediction that articulations are coordinated with respect to an abstract syllable pulse. Gestural landmarks were extracted from kinematic data from English CVC monosyllabic words in the Wisconsin X-Ray Microbeam Corpus. The syllable pulse was identified using velocity peaks, and temporal lags were calculated among landmarks and the syllable pulse. The results directly follow from the procedure used to identify pulses: onset consonants exhibited stable timing to the pulse, while vowel-to-pulse timing was comparably stable with respect to C-V timing. Timing relationships with jaw displacement and jaw-based syllable pulse metrics were also explored. These results highlight current challenges for the C/D Model, as well as opportunities for elaborating the model to account for C-V timing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Articulation and Prosodic Structure)
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