Words without vowels : phonetic and phonological evidence from Tashlhiyt Berber

This article deals with the Tashlhiyt dialect of Berber (henceforth TB) spoken in the southern part of Morocco. In TB, words may consist entirely of consonants without vowels and sometimes of only voiceless obstruents, e.g. tft#tstt "you rolled it (fem)". In this study we have carried out acoustic, video-endoscopic and phonological analyses to answer the following question: is schwa, which may function as syllabic, a segment at the level of phonetic representations in TB? Video-endoscopic films were made of one male native speaker of TB, producing a list of forms consisting entirely of voiceless obstruents. The same list was produced by 7 male native speakers of TB for the acoustic analysis. The phonological analysis is based on the behaviour of vowels with respect to the phonological rule of assibilation. This study shows the absence of schwa vowels in forms consisting of voiceless obstruents

Analyse fibroscopique des consonnes sourdes en berbère

International audienceThis article deals with laryngeal adjustments duringthe production of singleton voiceless consonants inTashlhiyt Berber. It focuses on the influence ofplace and manner of articulation and effects ofposition in the word. Results provide evidence thatthe degree of glottal opening as well as the velocityof abduction-adduction gestures vary according tothe place of articulation of stops and fricatives andtheir position in the word. Systematic differences,reflecting a universal tendency, were also observedbetween stops and fricatives. The specific laryngealadjustments during the production of uvulars andso-called pharyngeal will be briefly outlined in thediscussion.Cet article traite des ajustements laryngaux lors de la production des obstruentes sourdes en berbère chleuh, en s'intéressant plus particulièrement aux effets induits par le mode et le point d'articulations des obstruentes ainsi que leur position dans le mot

Syllables without vowels: Phonetic and phonological evidence from Tashlhiyt Berber

International audienceIt has been proposed that Tashlhiyt is a language which allows any segment,including obstruents, to be a syllable nucleus. The most striking and controversialexamples taken as arguments in favour of this analysis involve series of wordsclaimed to contain only obstruents. This claim is disputed in some recent work,where it is argued that these consonant sequences contain schwas that can besyllable nuclei. This article presents arguments showing that vowelless syllablesdo exist in Tashlhiyt, both at the phonetic and phonological levels. Acoustic,fibrescopic and photoelectroglottographic examination of voiceless words (e.g.[tkkststt]) provide evidence that such items lack syllabic vocalic elements. In addition,two types of phonological data, metrics and a spirantisation process, arepresented to show that in this language schwa is not a segment which can beindependently manipulated by phonological grammar and which can be referredto the syllable structure

On the phonetic implementation of syllabic consonants and vowel-less syllables in Tashlhiyt

This paper presents an acoustic and electropalatographic study of how vowel-less syllables and their constituents are phonetically implemented in Tashlhiyt Berber. Three issues are addressed. First, we determine whether the acoustic and articulatory make-up of a consonant changes as a function of its position within a syllable (C-nucleus vs. C-onset vs. C-coda). Second, we consider the patterns of articulatory coordination between consonants as a function of their position within and across the syllable. Third, we test whether nuclei consonants are produced as sequences of schwa vowels + consonants. While some differences are observed in linguopalatal articulation, position in a syllable is not found to affect the acoustic and articulatory duration of a consonant in Tashlhiyt. Interestingly, syllable organization appears to be reflected in the specifications of the coordination between consonants. Consonants in nucleus position are more stable in their coordination with flanking consonants and are less overlapped by a following consonant. In addition, our results suggest that the occurrence of a schwa-like element before a consonant depends on the laryngeal specifications of the consonants in the sequence rather than on its syllabic status.This paper presents an acoustic and electropalatographic study of how vowel-less syllables and their constituents are phonetically implemented in Tashlhiyt Berber. Three issues are addressed. First, we determine whether the acoustic and articulatory make-up of a consonant changes as a function of its position within a syllable (C-nucleus vs. C-onset vs. C-coda). Second, we consider the patterns of articulatory coordination between consonants as a function of their position within and across the syllable. Third, we test whether nuclei consonants are produced as sequences of schwa vowels + consonants. While some differences are observed in linguopalatal articulation, position in a syllable is not found to affect the acoustic and articulatory duration of a consonant in Tashlhiyt. Interestingly, syllable organization appears to be reflected in the specifications of the coordination between consonants. Consonants in nucleus position are more stable in their coordination with flanking consonants and are less overlapped by a following consonant. In addition, our results suggest that the occurrence of a schwa-like element before a consonant depends on the laryngeal specifications of the consonants in the sequence rather than on its syllabic status.Este artículo presenta un estudio acústico y electropalatográfico sobre cómo se implemententan en Bereber Tashlhyt las sílabas sin vocales y sus constituyentes. Para ello se abordan tres cuestiones. En primer lugar determinamos si la composición acústica y articulatoria de una consonante cambia como una función de su posición en la sílaba (C-núcleo vs. C-ataqu, vs. C-coda). En segundo lugar, consideramos los patrones de la coordinación articulatoria entre consonantes como una función de su posición en y a través de la sílaba. Y en tercer lugar, examinamos si los núcleos de las sílabas son producidos como secuencia de vocal schwa + consonantes. Si bien se han observado algunas diferencias en la articulación linguopalatal, por otra parte no se ha encontrado que la posición en una sílaba afecte a la duración articulatoria y acústica de las consonantes en Tashlhyt. Curiosamente, la organización de la sílaba parece estar reflejada en las especificaciones de la coordinación entre consonantes. Las consonantes en la posición de núcleo son más estables en su coordinación con las consonantes de sus flancos y están menos solapadas por la consonante siguiente. En adición, nuestros resultados sugieren que la aparición de elementos tipo schwa antes de una consonante depende de las especificaciones laríngeas de las consonantes en la secuencia más que de su estatus silábico

Organisation syllabique : quelles évidences phonétiques ?

International audienceIn this study, we examine consonants sequences inTashlhiyt Berber in order to demonstrate that theirsyllabic organization can surface in their phoneticproperties. Two types of three consonants sequencesvarying according to the degree of sonority of C1 areconsidered. Following syllabification principles of thelanguage, these two types are considered to differ intheir syllabic structure. Observation of thelinguopalatal articulatory properties of the consonantsand of the temporal coordination pattern between theseconsonants do show differences between the two typesof sequences. These phonetic differences areinterpreted as reflecting different syllabic structures,and results are confronted to the syllabification of thestring proposed on phonological grounds.Cet article examine l'organisation syllabique de certaines séquences consonantiques et questionne sa possible manifestation phonétique

Laryngeal Adjustments in the Production of Voiceless<br />Obstruent Clusters in Berber

Laryngeal adjustments in voiceless obstruent clusters in Tashlhiyt Berber were examined bymeans of simultaneous transillumination, fibre-optic films and acoustic recordings. This languageallows a rich variety of voiceless clusters naturally. Several combinations of /s/ and /k/clusters including singleton and geminate consonants were examined. We focused on thenumber of glottal-opening gestures, the influence of manner of articulation and effects ofword boundaries. Results of this study provide evidence that the manner of articulation ofsegments and their position in the clusters have a major impact both on the number and onthe location of glottal abduction movements. Word boundaries did not influence laryngealadjustment to the same extent

Ultrasound study of Moroccan Arabic labiovelarization

In this survey, we have provided some acoustic and ultrasound data from two subjects to characterize a secondary articulation generally analyzed as labialization in Moroccan Arabic. Our results show that the so-called labialized consonants are rather labiovelarized. They also show that the vowel [a] adjacent to the labiovelarized consonants is velarized

QUESTIONS AMAZIGHES (TACHLHIT) À L'INTERFACE DE LA PHONÉTIQUE ET DE LA PHONOLOGIE

The main concern of my research activities bears on phonological units and questions their physical manifestations and psychological reality as well as their role in phonological grammar. My main source of evidence for my theoretical analyses is drawn from Tashlhiyt, an Amazigh (Berber) language spoken in Morocco. This summary, meant as a complement to my Habilitation mémoire « Questions amazighes (tachlhit) – A l’interface de la phonétique et de la phonologie », provides a synthesis of my work on three main topics. The first topic deals with syllable without vowels. The second topic is concerned with the phonetics and phonology of geminated phonemes. The third topic deals with laryngeal distinctive features and extends to the general issue of laryngeal-supralaryngeal coordination in speech.La préoccupation majeure de mes recherches porte sur la structure et le contenu des catégories phonologiques – trait, phonème, syllabe – et pose la triple question de la place de ces unités de base dans les systèmes phonologiques, de leurs manifestations physiques, et de leur réalité psychologique. Cette problématique, qui constitue un des objectifs fondamentaux de la recherche actuelle à l’interface de la phonétique et de la phonologie, est explorée en examinant plus spécifiquement le tachlhit, langue amazighe (berbère) parlée au Maroc. Au-delà de la richesse de son inventaire consonantique, c’est notamment l’extrême souplesse que cette langue offre pour former de séquences consonantiques qui l’a fait connaître à la communauté des phonologues et des phonéticiens. Locuteur natif du tachlhit, je me suis intéressé depuis ma thèse aux questions soulevées par cet embarras de consonnes dans une démarche alliant questionnements théoriques et investigations expérimentales. L’écriture de ce mémoire a été guidée par le désir de mettre en perspective mes recherches par rapport aux questionnements théoriques généraux sur les unités de représentation. En cela, elle reflète le souci constant de partir du tachlhit pour aborder des questions théoriques dépassant largement le cadre restreint des études amazighes