Exploring jaw articulation: Acceleration, displacement and timing of segmental articulations

The topic of rhythm in speech has generally been investigated acoustically; recently, studies have been exploring articulatory aspects, but not necessarily articulatory acceleration.

This research on "Exploring jaw articulation" will develop measuring and analyzing techniques, based on findings on jaw acceleration from Svensson Lundmark (2020).

Jaw data will be collected using the newly developed, easy to use cap (with transducers in the chin strap), the MARRYS (Mandible Action Related Rhythm Signals) cap, currently being developed at Southern Denmark University (SDU).The three year research project will be conducted as two stays abroad, followed by a year at Lund University: the first year at SDU where I will help develop protocols and collect data using the MARRYS cap; the second year at Queen Margaret University (QMU), where I will continue recording jaw data with the MARRYS cap, as well as have access to other types of phonetic recording equipment.

The final year at Lund will continue using the MARRYS cap for collecting data on Swedish word accents.My research goal during this three-year period is to connect the phonetic system, with its physical and dynamic attributes, to a cognitive and static phonological system, a challenge central to the development of articulatory phonetics.

The large amount of jaw data collected during this three-year period will afford examination into the structures that govern articulation.