Coarticulation by dorsum position in Surgut Khanty based on ultrasound imaging

This paper describes tongue dorsum coarticulation patterns in “initial consonant - first syllable vowel” sequences in Surgut Khanty based on ultrasound imaging data. Experimental data were obtained from a native speaker using Articulate Instruments equipment. Tongue movements during utterance were recorded with the ultrasound probe, and the images were measured and statistically processed using the AAA and R software. Over one thousand audio segments were processed. Individual sounds were isolated from the sequences through acoustic analysis. Tongue movements were represented as the trajectories of three control points: the tongue tip, dorsum, and root. The analysis revealed that when the initial sound is a coronal consonant, the dorsum moves in anticipation of the following vowel: forward and upward before front vowels, backward and upward before o- and u-vowels, and backward and downward before a-vowel consonants. This process can be characterized as palatalization prior to front vowels, but it is distinct from primary palatal articulation in terms of tongue transition. The initial palatal consonant causes the dorsum to retract and descend, a movement that is minimal before front vowels but more pronounced before raised and retracted vowels. Within sequences featuring initial radical consonants, the tongue can occupy different articulation places: velar or uvular depending on the succeeding vowel. When transitioning from a radical consonant to a vowel, the tongue lowers, with the potential of minimal posterior or anterior movement. Palatalization likely causes the tongue to be more advanced before front vowels. The occurrence of a uvular consonant preceding front vowels is impossible.

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