Preboundary lengthening and boundary-related spatial expansion in Korean.

Abstract

This EMA study examines kinematic characteristicsof preboundary lengthening (PBL) in CV.CV and CV.CVC contexts in Korean. Almost all lipclosing/opening gestures – both proximal and distalto the prosodic juncture and regardless of phoneticcontents and information status of the word – showed preboundary lengthening although in a gradientfashion. The articulatory lengthening was largely accompanied by an increase in both displacement andpeak velocity. There was a mutual dependence of displacement and peak velocity, but when thedependence was factored in, the boundary-related spatial expansion remained significant while the effect on peak velocity disappeared. The results thus characterize the preboundary effects in Korean as a kind of articulatory strengthening in both the spatial and temporal dimensions distributed over the entire word than being localized to the gestures near the prosodic juncture. Some implications for dynamicalunderpinnings of PBL will be discussed.