Communications in Humanities Research ISSN: 2753-7072
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Research Article

Articulation and Perception in Sound Change: A Critical Comparison of Explanatory Approaches

Chengze XieUniversity of Birmingham*

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

This essay critically compares articulation-based and perception-based approaches to sound change. Articulation-based accounts explain sound change primarily through production pressures such as coarticulation, reduction, assimilation, lenition, and gestural timing, offering strong explanations for gradual and phonetically natural changes. In contrast, perception-based accounts emphasise the role of listener interpretation, normalisation, cue weighting, and reanalysis, making them especially useful for explaining changes such as dissimilation and perceptual misattribution. This essay evaluates the strengths and limitations of both perspectives in terms of explanatory scope, evidence, directionality, actuation, and diffusion. It argues that neither approach alone can fully explain the emergence, selection, and stabilisation of sound change. While production pressures often provide the phonetic source and direction of many gradual changes, perception-based mechanisms are essential for understanding listener reanalysis and certain non-reductive developments. The essay, therefore, supports an interactionist position: sound change is best explained through a type- and stage-sensitive model that integrates articulation, perception, lexical diffusion, and wider social and systemic factors.

Keywords: Sound change; Articulation-based approach; Perception-based approach; lenition; assimilation; dissimilation; coarticulation
Published: May 25, 2026
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/2026.33821
Volume: CHR Vol.111
pp. 28-32
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