Abstract
This paper introduces the palatalized nasal [nʲ] as an allophonic realization of coronal /n/ in Cairene Arabic. The palatalized variants of the phonemes previously described in acoustic and sociolinguistic terms include the alveolar stops [t, d] and their pharyngealized counterparts [tˤ, dˤ], which can be palatalized preceding the high, front vowel [i:]. While previous studies have anecdotally noted that the coronal nasal /n/ can undergo palatalization in the same environment, this variant has not been systematically investigated. Focusing on syllable-final /-ni:/ segments, I first use auditory measures to show that the palatalized variant occurs with some regularity (~50%) in the read speech of seven speakers of Cairene Arabic. Then, I provide acoustic evidence that this perceived difference significantly correlates with the difference in F2 values taken from the onset and midpoint of the vowel following the nasal consonant. There is also evidence of a lexical effect, such that borrowings exhibit less palatalization than non-borrowings. This study contributes data for the unexamined Cairene nasal and supports the likelihood of palatalization of coronals at the typological level.
Highlights
This paper presents an acoustic and auditory study of palatalization in the nasal itory studlayngouafgpesa6l0a40t1a9l0ization in the nasaclocnosno-nant /n/ in Cairene Arabic (CA)
While the mechanics of palatalization have not been e mechanics of palatalization have notwbiedeenly studied across Arabic dialects, the few studies that have explored this phenomenon w studiesActahdaemt ihc Eadviteores:xSpimloonreeBdetttehgias phenhoamve-centered on the sociolinguistics, phonology and phonetics of the palatalized stops, phonologayndaRnodberptahMoonraentoics of the palat/alti,zde/d and the palatalization of their pharyngealized counterparts (Haeri 1996a; Youssef pharyngReeacleiizveedd: 9 cJuolyu2n0t2e1 rparts (Haeri 12909163a);
An auditory coding method was first employed by the author, and 75% of the data was coded by two other linguists: a sociophonetician who is not a speaker of Arabic and a linguist who is a speaker of Cairene Arabic with familiarity of phonetic variation in Arabic dialects
Summary
An auditory coding method was first employed by the author, and 75% of the data was coded by two other linguists: a sociophonetician who is not a speaker of Arabic and a linguist who is a speaker of Cairene Arabic with familiarity of phonetic variation in Arabic dialects. The two speakers of Arabic coded the data with 61% agreement, a point further discussed later in this paper When these two coders did not agree on a token, the coding of the third, non-Arabic speaking phonetician was used in a tie-breaker system to code that token. The F2Midpoint was subtracted from F2Onset, and the resulting value is referred to as “F2Diff” This follows Lindblom (1963a, 1963b), Gibson and Ohde (2007) and Sussman et al (1991), who found that comparing the formant transition between these two points served as a useful cue in distinguishing between palatal/palatalized and plain alveolars. The two points measured (F2Onset and F2Midpoint) are marked in each spectrogram, which shows sp7eocf-15 trograms from two speakers: one non-palatalizer (left), and one palatalizer (right), saying [hæ:ni:] ‘name, Hanny’. The left, non-palatalized spectrogram shows F2 coming out of the ‘n’ closure at a lower point and heightening rapidly and into the steady-state/midpoint of Tthhee[ri:i]gvhot,wpeal.laTthaelizriegdhts,ppeacltartoaglirzaemd,shpoecwtreovgerra,msh, ohwows eFv2esr,tasrhtoinwgs aFt2asthairgtihnegr aptoainhtigahte[ri:] opnosinet,aatn[id:]sohnoswets, alnitdtleshtownsoluitptlwe taordnotruapnwsiatirodntrinantosithioenvionwtoetlhme vidopwoeilnmt.iIdnptohineta. cInouthsetic ancoaulysstics,atnaakliynsgist,htaekdinifgfetrheencdeiffbeertewnceenbetthweetewnothpeotinwtos mpoeianstsurmedeaisnureeadchinveoawchelvaolwloewl s faollroawnsafloterrannatailvterwnaatyivoefwnaoyrmofalniozirnmgablieztiwngeebnetvwoeceanl tvroacat lletrnagctthl,esnogtnho, saoddnoitiaodndailtivoonwalel nvorwmeal lnizoartmioanlizteacthionniqteucehsnwiqeuresewmeprleoeymedp.loyed
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