Articulatory patterns of an adventitiously deaf speaker: implications for the role of auditory information in speech production.

Kinematic analysis of selected articulatory gestures of an adventitiously deaf speaker is reported. High speed cinefluorography and a semiautomated analysis system were used to describe the coordination of lip, jaw, tongue tip, and tongue dorsum. The coordination of voicing and movements also was analyzed. Compared to a speaker with normal hearing, the deaf speaker showed systematic timing differences in the VC (closing) portion of each utterance. Coordination of tongue dorsum with other structures showed obvious deviations. Voice termination was consistently later for the deaf speaker. Speculations about the role of auditory information in the long-term monitoring or calibration of speech gestures are offered.