Articulatory control and the nature of phonological organization

Information

  • Satellite workshop at LabPhon 20, Montreal, Canada
  • Date: 25 June 2026, 09:00-12:30
  • Location: TBC

Description

Since its inception, understanding the nature of phonological organization has been a core goal of Laboratory Phonology. Theories and models of articulatory control remain central to this endeavour, because they open a window into the planning and control of speech that fundamentally supports the realization of phonological structure. This satellite workshop looks back to longstanding debates on phonological organization, while looking forward to the advances that will drive progress on the nature of articulatory control, the role of symbolic representations, and the embodiment of phonology. Topics include:

  1. What is the nature of articulatory control? The control of speech has been formulated in numerous ways, including dynamical systems and multi-component symbolic theories. Recent years have seen a greater focus on the role of nonlinear dynamics and feedback control, bringing to light complex interactions between spatial, temporal and auditory goals in speech. How do these different forms of feedback shape phonological structure?

  2. What is the role of symbolic representations? Is phonological structure an emergent consequence of lower-level coordination dynamics, or do articulatory principles constitute optimal solutions for achieving pre-existing, learned structures? This raises questions around the ontological status of symbolic representations: are they cognitively real objects, or are they a convenient shorthand for complex interactions in a dynamical system?

  3. How does the body support phonology? While concerns of phonology have traditionally privileged the mind, the evolution of the vocal tract and its physical structures are a prerequisite for speech. How does the body support the emergence of phonological structure?

Program

  • Please note that we will start at 0900 precisely, so please arrive by 0850 if possible.
  • Note that we will have a single coffee break mid-workshop, so we’d recommend getting your own coffee beforehand :)
  • Due to a time-limited slot and the need to vacate the room for a subsequent workshop, we will have to strictly enforce timing. This means we won’t have as much time as we’d like for questions, but please take the opportunity to interact with the presenters and ask any questions during the rest of the day and throughout the main conference.
Time Speaker Title
0830 Arrivals -
0900 Sam Kirkham Introduction
0910 Sam Tilsen Metaphors of the dynamical systems vocabulary
0930 Tara McAllister, Yvan Rose & Sharon Inkelas Child Speech Patterns as Evidence for Articulatory-Informed Phonology
0940 Bryan Gick, Yadong Liu & Connor Mayer Long-distance interaction as postural control: an embodied approach
0950 Francesco Burroni & Sireemas Maspong Phonological Length Contrasts as Articulatory “Tasks”
1000 Khalil Iskarous A Linear Algebraic Theory of Phonological Tongue Control
1020 Coffee break  
1100 Sam Kirkham & Patrycja Strycharczuk Task dynamics of tongue shape
1110 Francesco Burroni & Josiane Riverin-Coutlée Voicing as a whole-vocal-tract articulation: Evidence from an MRI study of Quebec French bilabial stops
1120 Didier Demolin Articulatory control in the production of clicks
1130 Alice Turk, Cliodhna Hughes, Cedric Macmartin & Umberto Noè Articulatory coordination within- and across- phonemes
1150 Edward Flemming & Amy Li Deriving phonetic realizations from the interaction of target constraints and constraints on articulatory dynamics
1210 Michael Stern & Jason Shaw A neural process model of speech gestures integrating segmental and prosodic influences
1230 End of workshop  

Funding

Organisers