Abstract
This paper is the first reported investigation of the role of non-temporal acoustic cues in the singleton-geminate contrast in Lebanese Arabic, alongside the more frequently reported temporal cues. The aim is to explore the extent to which singleton and geminate consonants show qualitative differences in a language where phonological length is prominent and where moraic structure governs segment timing and syllable weight. Twenty speakers (ten male, ten female) were recorded producing trochaic disyllables with medial singleton and geminate fricatives preceded by phonologically short and long vowels. The following acoustic measures were applied on the medial fricative and surrounding vowels: absolute duration; intensity; fundamental frequency; spectral peak and shape, dynamic amplitude, and voicing patterns of medial fricatives; and vowel quality and voice quality correlates of surrounding vowels. Discriminant analysis and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves were used to assess each acoustic cue's contribution to the singleton-geminate contrast. Classification rates of 89% and ROC curves with an area under the curve rate of 96% confirmed the major role played by temporal cues, with non-temporal cues contributing to the contrast but to a much lesser extent. These results confirm that the underlying contrast for gemination in Arabic is temporal, but highlight [+tense] (fortis) as a secondary feature.
Highlights
The phonetic and phonological aspects of gemination have been the subject of investigation in various languages, and different approaches to the representation and implementation of the singleton vs geminate contrast have been proposed
As suggested in the literature on Arabic and other languages, temporal differences are considered to be the primary exponents of the contrast, with consonant duration acting as the main acoustic cue to the distinction between singleton and geminate consonants (Ham, 2001; Hassan, 2003; Khattab, 2007; Ridouane, 2007, among others)
Our results showed that both temporal and non-temporal acoustic cues contributed to the phonetic implementation of the phonological contrast
Summary
The phonetic and phonological aspects of gemination have been the subject of investigation in various languages, and different approaches to the representation and implementation of the singleton vs geminate contrast have been proposed. The majority of studies have shown that consonant duration is a major acoustic cue to the singleton vs geminate contrast [e.g., Al-Tamimi and Khattab (2011) and Khattab and Al-Tamimi (2014) on Lebanese Arabic; Arvaniti and Tserdanelis (2000) and Tserdanelis and Arvaniti (2001) on Cypriot Greek; Esposito and di Benedetto (1999) on Italian; Ham (2001) on Bernese, Levantine Arabic, Hungarian, and Madurese; Hansen (2004) on Persian; Hassan (2003) on Iraqi Arabic; Idemaru and Guion (2008) on Japanese; Lahiri and Hankamer (1988) on Turkish; Ridouane (2007) on Berber; among others]. Various explanations relating to language-specific rules for weight, stress patterns, and syllable structure have been proposed in these studies
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