C-Centers Revisited

This report considers the articulatory organization of English consonant sequences with their adjacent vowels. Electropal-atography is used to examine the production of sequences of one to four consonants in length. Two aspects of the production of consonant sequences are investigated. First, the phenomenon of compensatory shortening is addressed. Second, the evidence for a global timing organization for consonant sequences is investigated. This experiment evaluates predictions of Browman and Goldstein [1988] regarding the significance of the C-center in the timing of consonant sequences. Some support for global timing relationships is found; however, underlying syllable affiliations are suggested to be important in the selection of timing arrangements.