From MRI and acoustic data to articulatory synthesis: a case study of the lateral approximants in American English

Articulatory patterns of the lateral approximant /l/, both dark and light allophones, in American English were analyzed through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electropalatography (EPG). Vocal tract lengths, area, functions, and cavity volumes, were measured from the MR images, while EPG data were used for studying inter- and intra-speaker variabilities in lingua palatal contact patterns. Acoustic modeling was based on the MRI derived vocal tract area functions and the acoustic spectra of these sounds. Acoustic modeling utilized the analog circuit simulator HSPICE.