The Relation between Sonority and Gestural Timing

Abstract

The study explores the link between sonority and gestural timing in speech production. Based on English speech production data, we found that the gestural lag in a consonant-vowel (CV) sequence increases with the sonority difference between a consonant (C) and a vowel (V). This primary finding of the study has the following implications: first, it suggests the need for a speech production model that incorporates sonority to account for gestural timing; second, it forms the basis of an explanation for several typological sound patterns such as the Sonority Sequencing Principle, the Sonority Dispersion Principle, the syllable frequency asymmetry between CV and VC, and the relationship between sonority, stress and tone.

Keywords: speech production, sonority, gestural coordination, CV lag, SSP