Abstract
A new model for describing articulatory organization is proposed, demonstrating the possibility to basically deviate from the traditional segment-concatenation coarticula tiontheory. This Converter/Distributor (C/D) Model is based on syllables as the concatenative units, and combines feature-based specifications of demisyllables with a novel concept of syllable and boundary strength and timing represented by abstract impulses. Consonantal gestures, superimposed upon a vocalic base function, are implementedas a combination of stored impulse response functions for individual elementalgestures, in respective articulatory dimensions associating actions with articulators.The C/D model is intended for description and explanation of natural speech, and emphasis is placed on its ability to handle articulatory variability due to a wide variety of extraphonological as well as prosodic effects according to simple principles.
