Differential acoustical cues for palatalized vs nonpalatalized consonants in binary consonant combinations are discussed. At the beginning, the dependence of the general techniques of the investigation of the consonant position is considered: the techniques applicable in the case of prevocalic and postvocalic consonants are discussed. Also the case of absence of CàV and VàC transitions is analyzed. The main and the most frequently applied is the technique of F2 loci (including the case of “reversed” locus, i.e., the VàC transition). This technique is equally helpful in the case of facultative vowel occurring in between the two consonants in a combination. The acoustical attributes of the very consonants, such as F2 (of frication or/and phonation), spectral centroid (the “centre of gravity”), and the relative intensity of the second formant, also signify the palatalized/non-palatalized consonants. Based on the mentioned methods, the palatalization of the formants of combinations of some binary consonants that are used in the Southern and Eastern Aukštaitian dialects is analysed. KEY WORDS: binary consonant combinations, palatalization, Southern and Eastern Aukštaitian, formants, loci, facultative vowel, spectral centroid
