Phonetic and Phonological Processes: The Case of Nasalization

The aim of this paper is to differentiate between universal phonetic processes and language-specific phonological processes. Cross-linguistic data on coarticulatory nasalization of vowels preceding a nasal consonant were obtained across different speech rates in American English and Spanish. The data show that in American English the temporal extent of vowel nasalization varies with speech rate, whereas in Spanish, nasalization has a constant temporal extent across speech rates. It is argued that the different behavior of nasalization in these two languages reflects different inputs to speech production: In Spanish, vowels followed by a nasal are targeted as oral and nasalization is an unintended vocal tract constraint, whereas, in American English, vowels are targeted as nasalized and vowel nasalization is a phonological effect, intentionally implemented by the speaker. It is suggested that in American English, vowels followed by a tautosyllabic nasal are phonologically specified as nasal as a result of sound change. Data on perceived vowel nasalization in American English are reviewed and shown to be compatible with this proposal.