Artikulationsdrag

Artikulationsdrag is a term used in articulatory phonetics to describe the continued influence of an articulatory gesture after its primary moment of realization, leading to overlap between adjacent sounds. The phenomenon reflects how motor plans for speech are not isolated events but gestural units that can persist, harmonize, or conflict with upcoming gestures.

In practice, artikulationsdrag arises from biomechanical and neural constraints that cause articulators (such as the tongue, lips, and jaw) to maintain or gradually release a position. This persistence can produce transitional movements and coarticulatory effects, where the articulation of one phoneme leaks into the next. As a result, acoustic cues and perceptual impressions are shaped not only by the target phonemes but also by the lingering articulatory state from neighboring sounds.

The concept is closely related to coarticulation and is often modeled within articulatory phonology and dynamic systems approaches. Researchers study it with methods such as electromagnetic articulography, ultrasound imaging, and formant analysis to track gestural overlap and timing. By examining drag effects, linguists seek to understand how speech is planned and produced in real time, as well as how listeners use overlapping cues for perception.

Applications of studying artikulationsdrag include improving speech synthesis and recognition, refining phonetic theory, and informing language teaching. It underscores the fluid, overlap-prone nature of spoken language and helps explain variations in rapid or casual speech.