Experimental Methods in the Study of Hindi Geminate Consonants

Abstract

Abstract In this chapter I attempt to provide answers to some of the issues raised by phoneticians and phonologists about long consonants or geminates (these two terms are used interchangeably here), using an experimental approach in the analysis of Hindi geminates. A number of different methodologies have been proposed to address issues in phonetics and phonology experimentally ( J. Ohala 1995) which can be applied directly to the question being addressed or, with some creativity, modified and adapted. In the first part of the chapter, Sections 21.2–4, I report on experiments using standard experimental phonetic procedures. The second part reports on a phonological experiment for which I modified and developed an available methodology (Section 21.5). In the last part of the chapter I use a recently proposed methodology for gathering phonetic data and apply it to address some phonological questions regarding geminates (Sections 21.6 and 21.7). Although the data and claims being made are from Hindi, the methodological techniques used could be relevant to address similar issues in other languages.