Gemination in Tashlhiyt Berber: an acoustic and articulatory study

International audienceTashlhiyt Berber contrasts singletons and geminates in intervocalic as well as in initial andfinal positions. This study presents results of an investigation of the phonetic correlates thatdistinguish these types of segments in these three positions. A claim has been made thatTashlhiyt Berber geminates are simple segments that are distinguished from their singletoncounterparts primarily by tenseness. This proposal is not supported by our data. Theexamination of ten temporal and non-temporal parameters shows that consonant durationis the most systematic correlate across all types of consonants and positions, even forvoiceless stops after pause. Preceding vowel duration and, to a lesser degree, amplitude ofthe release were also found to be significantly affected by gemination. These additionalcharacteristics, interpreted as enhancing correlates, may be present in order to increase theperceptual distance between the two phonemic categories