Trill seeking

A comparative study was made of the rate and duration of trills produced with each of the three nonfixed articulators: the lips, the tongue tip, and the uvula. Recordings were made of initial, medial, and final trills produced by speakers of the New Guinea languages Kele and Titan (bilabial trills); of Northeastern Italian, Ecuadorean and Columbian Spanish, Hausa, Kele, and Titan (apiral trills); and of Southern Swedish, Northwestern Italian, and Southern French (uvular trills). Instrumental analysis of these recordings revealed that the mean rate of trill ranges from 26 to 32 closures per second, sustained over a mean of 2–3 closure. There is a great similarity between all these trills in the rate of vibration regardless of the mass of the articulator. Their auditory similarity will be demonstrated by means of a tape recording. [Research supported by NSF.]