Articulation of Mandarin Sibilants: a multi-plane realtime MRI study

Production of sibilant fricatives by four speakers of Mandarin Chinese was examined using real-time Magnetic Resonance Imaging (rtMRI). Data were reconstructed at 33.18 frames per second in the midsagittal plane, and additionally acquired in a coronal plane intersecting the vocal tract behind the alveolar ridge. Although individual speakers differed in the details of articulation, each of the three sibilants was found to be distinguished by a characteristic constriction location, groove geometry, and tongue shaping behind the primary constriction. Index Terms: Mandarin Chinese, sibilant fricatives, MRI

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