The place of the palatal affricates ć, đ and č, dž in the sound system of Serbian

Abstract

The inventory of Serbian consonants includes two classes of contrastive palatal affricates: č and dž constitute one class, and ć and đ, the other. Both articulately and acoustic evidence strongly indicates that these classes differ in the front cavity volume, that is, in the size of the cavity formed in front of the obstruction. This phonetic property is controlled by a cluster of articulatory moves which jointly contribute to a larger front cavity volume in the articulation of č and dž, and a smaller front cavity in the articulation of ć and đ. Auditory effects associated with the two classes are consistent with this difference: č and dž sound "lower" and "harder", while ć and đ sound "higher" and "softer". A direct relation between the articulatory and auditory properties is established in the acoustic investigation of these sounds. According to experimental results, č is characterized by a lower frequency peak, and ć, by a higher frequency peak, in the frication interval of the spectra. This result strongly supports the relevance of the front cavity volume in the production of the two classes of affricates, and moreover, yields an acoustic explanation for the observed auditory difference. In addition to providing a phonetic basis for differentiating the two classes of palatal affricates, front cavity volume also serves as a basis for establishing the place of the two classes within the phonological system, and for capturing their phonological patterning. Crucial in this respect is the phonological process of iotization which is best defined as a phonological alternation between non-palatal consonants and their palatal counterparts that belong to the same front cavity volume class. This explains why the dentals t and d alternate with ć and đ respectively, while the velar k alternates with č. Moreover, front cavity volume has a broader classificatory role, providing an exhaustive classification of all consonants articulated with the tongue, and possibly, of all consonants in the inventory. As a classificatory device, front cavity volume sheds light on certain asymmetries in the consonantal inventory. Thus, while palatal affricates include both sounds with larger, and with smaller, front cavity volume, palatal fricatives are found in the former class (š and ž), but not in the latter. This asymmetry, which obtains in the idiom serving as a literary standard, is resolved in certain dialects with expanded consonantal inventories, which in addition to š and ž, also include the palatal fricatives s and z characterized by a smaller front cavity volume.