Mutual Influences of Phonemes in Speech

—Electromyographic Investigation of the Orbicularis Oris Muscle—

Abstract

It is presumed that in speech the articulatory movement for a certain phoneme and its acoustic pattern are influenced by the phonemes before and after it. In the present study evidence was obtained to support this presumption. When words or phrases having a labial sound in them were uttered, marked electrical activity was found in the orbicularis oris muscle not only for the labial sound but for the other sounds which would not necessarily require the contraction of this muscle. This indicates that the state of the articulatory organ for a certain phoneme is influenced by other phonemes near it.