Variation in Scottish Gaelic preaspirated stops: Across speech styles and in connected speech

Abstract

This paper examines variation in preaspiration in Scottish Gaelic, an endangered language spoken in Scotland. Previous studies (Clayton 2011; Nance & Stuart-Smith 2013) have examined Gaelic preaspiration in careful speech. The present study investigates whether 1. Preaspiration patterns similarly in casual speech as previously attested in careful speech and 2. If variation in preaspiration resembles processes of stop reduction, or sound change in progress. Preaspiration is examined in casual speech across speakers, and across different speech styles within one speaker. Preaspiration is measured for duration, as well as band-pass filtered zero crossing rates, developed by Gordeeva & Scobbie (2010) and adapted for Scottish Gaelic by Nance & Stuart-Smith (2013). Results confirm that variation in preaspiration pattern similarly to previous studies: preaspiration is longer and has higher change in zero crossings for /k/ and in words with a preceding short vowel. This study contributes to the existing literature in that it shows that preaspiration is shortest in words that are phrase medially. This study shows that preaspirated stops are not heavily reduced, and that variation in preaspiration patterns like an ongoing sound change. This study highlights the importance of carefully investigating variation in typologically rare phenomena in endangered languages.