In progressive coarticulation, how does the feature spread?

In progressive coarticulation, the feature spreads from left to right, meaning that the articulatory features of a sound influence the following sounds. This occurs because the production of the preceding sound affects the onset of the following sound. For instance, if a speaker produces a nasal sound, such as /m/, the influence of that nasal quality can carry over to the following sound, such as /p/, which results in a nasalized articulation of the /p/. This left-to-right influence exemplifies how sounds can adapt in real-time as they are produced, affecting the articulatory gestures that follow.

The nature of coarticulation demonstrates how speech is a fluid process rather than a series of discrete sounds occurring in isolation. In this context, understanding the left-to-right spread helps illuminate mechanisms of speech perception and production, crucial for both linguists and speech-language pathologists focusing on the nuances of articulation.