This paper investigates the articulation of approximant /ɹ/ in New Zealand English (NZE), and tests whether the patterns documented for rhotic varieties of English hold in a non-rhotic dialect. Midsagittal ultrasound data for 62 speakers producing 13 tokens of /ɹ/ in various phonetic environments were categorized according to the taxonomy by Delattre & Freeman (1968), and semi-automatically traced and quantified using the AAA software (Articulate Instruments Ltd. 2012) and a Modified Curvature Index (MCI; Dawson, Tiede & Whalen 2016). Twenty-five NZE speakers produced tip-down /ɹ/ exclusively, 12 tip-up /ɹ/ exclusively, and 25 produced both, partially depending on context. Those speakers who produced both variants used the most tip-down /ɹ/ in front vowel contexts, the most tip-up /ɹ/ in back vowel contexts, and varying rates in low central vowel contexts. The NZE speakers produced tip-up /ɹ/ most often in word-initial position, followed by intervocalic, then coronal, and least often in velar contexts. The results indicate that the allophonic variation patterns of /ɹ/ in NZE are similar to those of American English (Mielke, Baker & Archangeli 2010, 2016). We show that MCI values can be used to facilitate /ɹ/ gesture classification; linear mixed-effects models fit on the MCI values of manually categorized tongue contours show significant differences between all but two of Delattre & Freeman's (1968) tongue types. Overall, the results support theories of modular speech motor control with articulation strategies evolving from local rather than global optimization processes, and a mechanical model of rhotic variation (see Stavness et al. 2012).

中文翻译：

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/ɹ/在新西兰英语中的发音

本文研究了新西兰英语 (NZE) 中近音 /ɹ/ 的发音，并测试记录的英语 rhotic 变体的模式是否适用于非 rhotic 方言。根据 Delattre & Freeman (1968) 的分类法对 62 位说话者在各种语音环境中产生 13 个 /ɹ/ 标记的中矢状超声数据进行分类，并使用 AAA 软件 (Articulate Instruments Ltd. 2012) 进行半自动追踪和量化，以及a 修正曲率指数 (MCI; Dawson, Tiede & Whalen 2016)。25 名 NZE 演讲者专门产生了向下倾斜的 /ɹ/，12 人专门产生了向上倾斜的 /ɹ/，25 人同时产生了两者，部分取决于上下文。产生这两种变体的说话者在前元音上下文中使用最多的 /ɹ/，在后元音上下文中使用最多的 /ɹ/，以及在低中心元音上下文中的变化率。NZE 使用者最常在词首位置产生tip-up /ɹ/，其次是声间，然后是冠状，而在软颚语境中最不常见。结果表明，NZE 中 /ɹ/ 的同位异音变化模式与美式英语相似（Mielke, Baker & Archangeli 2010, 2016）。我们表明 MCI 值可用于促进 /ɹ/ 手势分类；适合手动分类舌头轮廓的 MCI 值的线性混合效应模型显示，除了 Delattre & Freeman (1968) 的两种舌头类型之外，其他所有舌头类型之间存在显着差异。总体而言，结果支持模块化语音运动控制理论，其发音策略从局部而非全局优化过程演变而来，以及 rhotic 变化的机械模型（参见 Stavness 等人。