C-V and V-C Co-articulation in Cantonese

The present study investigates the co-articulation strength (CS) between the initial/final consonants and the neighboring vowels in Cantonese CV, VC, and CVC monosyllables, where C = [p t k] and V = [i a u]. EMA AG500 was used for recording the articulatory actions of the tongue and the lips during the test syllables. The findings based on the articulatory data collected from two male Cantonese speakers are as follows. First, CS is strong (i) between the initial [p-] and the following [i] or [u], but not [a], and (ii) between the final [-p] and a preceding vowel of any type. Second, CS is weak (i) between the initial [t-] and the following vowel of any type and (ii) between the final [-t] and the preceding [u], but not [i] or [a]. Third, CS is weak between the initial [k-] and the following [a], but not [i] or [u], however high between the final [-k] and the preceding [a]. In general, (i) the order of decreasing CS for both C-V and V-C co-articulation is when C = [p] > C = [k] > C = [t] and (ii) the degree of CS is higher in the VC than the CV context. The findings support the phonological structuring of the syllable, wherein the final consonant (or syllable coda), but not the initial consonant (or syllable onset), and the preceding vowel (or syllable nucleus) form the phonological unit of the rhyme.