Phonological Analysis of a Case of Progressive Speech Degeneration

Abstract A case of progressive speech degeneration in a 63-year-old male is described, and the results of a series of verbal tasks are given. Three of the participant's phonological processes (loss of aspiration in fortis stops, denasalization, and addition of labials to /r/-initial words) are subjected to analysis via two currently important phonological paradigms: constraintbased Optimality Theory and articulation-based Gestural Phonology. The two approaches are contrasted, and Gestural Phonology appears to provide the most elegant account of the data, and the most psycholinguistically valid account for this participant, as it operates at the level of phonetic implementation rather than phonological organization.