Klankketen

Klankketen, meaning "sound chain" in Dutch, is a concept in phonology and speech science. It refers to the idea that the realization of a given sound depends on and contributes to a sequence of neighboring sounds. The term highlights the interconnected nature of speech sounds rather than treating phonemes as completely independent units.

Etymology and scope: The name combines klank (sound) and keten (chain). In practice, a klankketen describes the propagation of articulatory adjustments and acoustic effects across adjacent segments, including processes such as coarticulation and assimilation. The concept is used to analyze why sounds in a stream of speech do not occur in strict isolation and how timing and place of articulation influence multiple segments over a short span.

Applications: In linguistic analysis, klankketen helps model phonotactic patterns and variation across fast speech. In speech technology, acknowledging klankketen effects improves the naturalness of synthesis and the robustness of automatic speech recognition, by accounting for context-driven changes that span several sounds.

Examples: Consider a rapid sequence where the articulation of one consonant influences the following vowel and consonant; the resulting acoustic spectrum reflects a chain of adjustments rather than a single target sound. Such chains are typically analyzed using articulatory measures and spectral analysis to capture short-range context effects.

Relation to other concepts: Klankketen is closely related to coarticulation, assimilation, and the study of phonotactics. It is mainly discussed in Dutch-language linguistics and in discussions of sequential sound change.