The phonetic realization of the English word-final alveolar nasal /n/ is known to be highly variable. Previous articulatory work has reported both gradient and categorical nasal place assimilation including considerable between-speaker differences. This work, however, has largely focused on a small subset of place contexts (namely, preceding velar /k, ɡ/) in a limited number of English varieties. The present article uses electropalatography to study the articulatory realization of /n/ in a wider range of phonetic contexts and read texts as produced by three speakers of Canadian English. The results reveal considerable inter- and intra-speaker differences in the rates of assimilation. Consistent with previous work, we observed a high degree of variation, both gradient and categorical, before velars. Substantial rates of assimilation were also observed before labials, where the process is unexpected from the point of view of gestural phonology but predicted by traditional phonological analyses. The variation in the place and stricture of /n/ before coronals was more limited and typically gradient. Finally, some differences were observed across the text conditions, with more assimilation occurring in carrier sentences than in the read passage and, to a more limited extent, in function than in content words.

中文翻译：

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英语词尾/n/的变量同化：electropalatographic evidence

众所周知，英语词尾齿龈鼻音 /n/ 的语音实现是高度可变的。以前的发音工作报告了梯度和分类鼻位同化，包括相当大的说话者之间的差异。然而，这项工作主要集中在数量有限的英语变体中的一小部分地方语境（即，在软颚音 /k、ɡ/ 之前）。本文使用电腭术来研究 /n/ 在更广泛的语音上下文中的发音实现，并阅读由三个加拿大英语使用者产生的文本。结果揭示了在同化率方面存在相当大的说话者间和说话者内部的差异。与之前的工作一致，我们观察到在软膜之前有高度的变化，包括梯度和分类。在唇音之前也观察到大量的同化率，从手势语音学的角度来看，该过程是出乎意料的，但通过传统的语音学分析可以预测。日冕前 /n/ 的位置和狭窄的变化更加有限，并且通常是梯度的。最后，在文本条件下观察到一些差异，载体句子中的同化比阅读文章中的更多，并且在更有限的程度上，在功能上比在实词中。