Sequencing of articulatory gestures using cost optimization

Within the framework of articulatory phonology (AP), gestures function as primitives, and their ordering in time is provided by a gestural score. Determining how they should be sequenced in time has been something of a challenge. We modify the task dynamic implementation of AP, by defining tasks to be the desired positions of physically embodied end effectors. This allows us to investigate the optimal sequencing of gestures based on a parametric cost function. Costs evaluated include precision of articulation, articulatory effort, and gesture duration. We find that a simple optimization using these costs results in stable gestural sequences that reproduce several known coarticulatory effects.