Articulatory and Acoustic Characteristics of German Fricative Clusters

Background: We investigate the articulatory-acoustic relationship in German fricative sequences. We pursue the possibility that /f/#sibilant and /s#integral/ sequences are in principle subject to articulatory overlap in a similar fashion, yet due to independent articulators being involved, there is a significant difference in the acoustic consequences. We also investigate the role of vowel context and stress. Methods: We recorded electropalatographic and acoustic data from 9 native speakers of German. Results: Results are compatible with the hypothesis that the temporal organization of fricative clusters is globally independent of cluster type with differences between clusters appearing mainly in degree. Articulatory overlap may be obscured acoustically by a labiodental constriction, similarly to what has been reported for stops. Conclusion: Our data suggest that similar principles of articulatory coordination underlie German fricative clusters independently of their segmental composition. The general auditory-acoustic patterning of the fricative sequences can be predicted by taking into account that aerodynamic-acoustic consequences of gestural overlap may vary as a function of the articulators involved. We discuss possible sources for differences in degrees of overlap and place our results in the context of previously reported asymmetries among the fricatives in regressive place assimilation. (C) 2016 S. Karger AG, Base

(Un)markedness of trills : the case of Slavic r-palatalisation

This paper evaluates trills [r] and their palatalized counterparts [rj] from the point of view of markedness. It is argued that [r]s are unmarked sounds in comparison to [rj]s which follows from the examination of the following parameters: (a) frequency of occurrence, (b) articulatory and aerodynamic characteristics, (c) perceptual features, (d) emergence in the process of language acquisition, (e) stability from a diachronic point of view, (f) phonotactic distribution, and (g) implications. Several markedness aspects of [r]s and [rj] are analyzed on the basis of Slavic languages which offer excellent material for the evaluation of trills. Their phonetic characteristics incorporated into phonetically grounded constraints are employed for a phonological OT-analysis of r-palatalization in two selected languages: Polish and Czech

Neutralisation and contrast preservation: Voicing assimilation in Hungarian three-consonant clusters

This paper studies the contextual variation in the voicing properties of three-consonant clusters (CC#C) in Hungarian. We investigate the velar–alveolar stop clusters /kt/ and /ɡd/, and the alveolar fricative–stop clusters /st/ and /zd/ in potentially voicing-neutralising and assimilating contexts. We show that in these contexts, regressive voicing assimilation in Hungarian is categorical, but partially contrast preserving, and that stops and fricatives are not affected in the same way. Fricatives resist voicing before a voiced obstruent and are devoiced utterance-finally. This is a phonetically unfavourable position, therefore other duration-related cues step up to prevent complete laryngeal neutralisation

The phonetic motivation for phonological stop assibilation

In the following study we present the results of three acoustic experiments with native speakers of German and Polish which support implications (a) and (b). In our experiments we measured the friction phase after the /t d/ release before the onset of the following high front vocoid for four speakers of German and Polish. We found that the friction phase for /tj/ was significantly longer than that of /ti/, and that the friction phase of /t/ in the assibilation context is significantly longer than that of /d/

The laryngeal properties of Slovak three-consonant clusters

In this paper, we study the phonetic properties of three-consonant clusters (CC#C) in Slovak. More precisely, we will investigate the laryngeal properties of the velar–alveolar stop clusters /kt/ and /ɡd/, and the alveolar fricative– stop clusters /st/ and /zd/ in word-final position when followed by a voiced or a voiceless obstruent, or a sonorant consonant. This topic is of interest for two reasons: (i) there are not many studies dealing with the laryngeal characteristics of three-consonant clusters, and (ii) the study of consonant clusters can shed further light on the issue whether or not regressive voicing assimilation (RVA) in general, including pre-sonorant voicing, is a neutralizing process in Slovak. We will seek to answer the following research questions: (i) Is voicing assimilation in Slovak (with obstruent and sonorant consonants as triggers) neutralizing or incomplete? (ii) Does pre-sonorant voicing in Slovak differ from pre-obstruent voicing? (iii) Is the word-final devoicing of obstruent clusters a completely neutralizing process in Slovak, or is it an example of incomplete laryngeal neutralization

The diachronic emergence of retroflex segments in three languages

The present study shows that though retroflex segments can be considered articulatorily marked, there are perceptual reasons why languages introduce this class into their phoneme inventory. This observation is illustrated with the diachronic developments of retroflexes in Norwegian (North- Germanic), Nyawaygi (Australian) and Minto-Nenana (Athapaskan). The developments in these three languages are modelled in a perceptually oriented phonological theory, since traditional articulatorily-based features cannot deal with such processes

Labial-dorsal interactions : a phonologically based approach

Głównym celem monografii jest wyjaśnienie bliskich fonologicznych relacji między dwiema artykulacyjnie odległymi klasami: spółgłoskami wargowymi (labialnymi) i grzbietowymi (dorsalnymi). Zaproponowane rozwiązanie sprowadza się do postulowania wspólnego dla tych grup elementu, reprezentującego miejsce artykulacji rzeczonych klas, co pozwala wyjaśnić ich częste interakcje przejawiające się w wielu procesach fonologicznych. Ponadto element ten charakteryzuje grupę samogłosek labialnych i półsamogłoskę [w], tłumacząc w ten sposób ich bliskie pokrewieństwo zarówno ze spółgłoskami labialnymi, jak i dorsalnymi. Zagadnienia poruszane w pracy wpisują ją w szeroki nurt badań nad wewnętrzną strukturą fonologicznych segmentów i wzajemnymi relacjami pomiędzy klasami (fonologia segmentalna), a bardziej szczegółowo, w badania nad właściwościami cech odpowiedzialnych za miejsce artykulacji spółgłosek oraz nad bliskimi relacjami tych ostatnich z samogłoskami. Wartościowym elementem podjętego tematu badań jest niewątpliwie złożoność zagadnienia i bogactwo procesów, w których ujawniają się wzajemne relacje spółgłosek labialnych i dorsalnych. Przykładem może być wokalizacja, epenteza czy dyftongizacja, które to procesy po bliższej analizie mogą przyczynić się do ujawnienia wewnętrznej struktury badanych klas

Rhotics.New Data and Perspectives

This book provides an insight into the patterns of variation and change of rhotics in different languages and from a variety of perspectives. It sheds light on the phonetics, the phonology, the socio-linguistics and the acquisition of /r/-sounds in languages as diverse as Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Kuikuro, Malayalam, Romanian, Slovak, Tyrolean and Washili Shingazidja thus contributing to the discussion on the unity and uniqueness of this group of sounds

On the avoidance of voiced sibilant affricates

In this paper it is argued that several typologically unrelated languages share the tendency to avoid voiced sibilant affricates. This tendency is explained by appealing to the phonetic properties of the sounds, and in particular to their aerodynamic characteristics. On the basis of experimental evidence it is shown that conflicting air pressure requirements for maintaining voicing and frication are responsible for the avoidance of voiced affricates. In particular, the air pressure released from the stop phase of the affricate is too high to maintain voicing which in consequence leads to a devoicing of the frication part