Speech Timing: Implications for Theories of Phonology, Phonetics, and Speech Motor Control

This is a book about the architecture of the speech-production planning process and speech motor control. It is written in reaction to a debate in the literature about the nature of phonological representations, which are proposed to be spatiotemporal by some, and symbolic (atemporal) by others. Making this choice about the nature of phonological representation has several fundamental implications for the architecture of the speech-production planning system, notably with regard to the number of planning components and the type of timing mechanisms. In systems with symbolic phonological representations, a separate phonetic planning component is required for speakers to plan the details of surface timing and spatial characteristics for each context. In contrast, the Articulatory Phonology system, which proposes spatiotemporal phonological representations, has a very different architecture, with fewer components. These contrasting assumptions about the spatiotemporal vs. symbolic nature of phonological representations have important consequences for how these two approaches deal with timing issues. This is because time is intrinsic to phonological representations in Articulatory Phonology, but is not part of symbolic phonology. These two proposals are evaluated in light of existing literature on speech and non-speech timing behavior. Evidence that challenges the Articulatory Phonology model inspired a sketch of a new model of the production process, based on symbolic phonological representations and a separate phonetic planning component to specify surface-timing details. This approach provides an appropriate account of what is known about motor timing in general and speech timing in particular.