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Assimilation of /l/ to /r/ in Syrian Arabic

An electropalatographic and acoustic study
  • Barry Heselwood , Sara Howard and Rawya Ranjous
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Instrumental Studies in Arabic Phonetics
This chapter is in the book Instrumental Studies in Arabic Phonetics

Abstract

Since the time of Sībawayh over twelve hundred years ago the phenomenon of manner assimilation among sonorant coronal consonants in Arabic has been recognised. In this chapter we present analysis of electropalatographic and acoustic data from three female speakers of Syrian Arabic to investigate the assimilation of word-final /l/ to word-initial /r/. The results show that assimilation is optional at slow, normal and fast speech rates and most common at the fast rate. They also show that assimilation is complete at the fast rate, and may be either complete or gradient at the slow and normal rates. We argue for a phonological model of assimilation in which complete assimilation does not precipitate a phonological category change unless there are no differences in the set of possible realisations of an assimilated and an unassimilated consonant in the same phonological context, which is not the case in Syrian Arabic manner assimilation.

Abstract

Since the time of Sībawayh over twelve hundred years ago the phenomenon of manner assimilation among sonorant coronal consonants in Arabic has been recognised. In this chapter we present analysis of electropalatographic and acoustic data from three female speakers of Syrian Arabic to investigate the assimilation of word-final /l/ to word-initial /r/. The results show that assimilation is optional at slow, normal and fast speech rates and most common at the fast rate. They also show that assimilation is complete at the fast rate, and may be either complete or gradient at the slow and normal rates. We argue for a phonological model of assimilation in which complete assimilation does not precipitate a phonological category change unless there are no differences in the set of possible realisations of an assimilated and an unassimilated consonant in the same phonological context, which is not the case in Syrian Arabic manner assimilation.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgements vii
  4. List of contributors ix
  5. Transliteration and transcription symbols for Arabic xi
  6. Introduction 1
  7. Part I. Issues in syntagmatic structure
  8. Preliminary study of Moroccan Arabic word-initial consonant clusters and syllabification using electromagnetic articulography 29
  9. An acoustic phonetic study of quantity and quantity complementarity in Swedish and Iraqi Arabic 47
  10. Assimilation of /l/ to /r/ in Syrian Arabic 63
  11. Part II. Guttural consonants
  12. A study of the laryngeal and pharyngeal consonants in Jordanian Arabic using nasoendoscopy, videofluoroscopy and spectrography 101
  13. A phonetic study of guttural laryngeals in Palestinian Arabic using laryngoscopic and acoustic analysis 129
  14. Airflow and acoustic modelling of pharyngeal and uvular consonants in Moroccan Arabic 141
  15. Part III. Emphasis and coronal consonants
  16. Nasoendoscopic, videofluoroscopic and acoustic study of plain and emphatic coronals in Jordanian Arabic 165
  17. Acoustic and electromagnetic articulographic study of pharyngealisation 193
  18. Investigating the emphatic feature in Iraqi Arabic 217
  19. Glottalisation and neutralisation in Yemeni Arabic and Mehri 235
  20. The phonetics of localising uvularisation in Ammani-Jordanian Arabic 257
  21. EMA, endoscopic, ultrasound and acoustic study of two secondary articulations in Moroccan Arabic 277
  22. Part IV. Intonation and acquisition
  23. Acoustic cues to focus and givenness in Egyptian Arabic 301
  24. Acquisition of Lebanese Arabic and Yorkshire English /l/ by bilingual and monolingual children 325
  25. Appendix 355
  26. Index 359
https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.319.04hes

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgements vii
  4. List of contributors ix
  5. Transliteration and transcription symbols for Arabic xi
  6. Introduction 1
  7. Part I. Issues in syntagmatic structure
  8. Preliminary study of Moroccan Arabic word-initial consonant clusters and syllabification using electromagnetic articulography 29
  9. An acoustic phonetic study of quantity and quantity complementarity in Swedish and Iraqi Arabic 47
  10. Assimilation of /l/ to /r/ in Syrian Arabic 63
  11. Part II. Guttural consonants
  12. A study of the laryngeal and pharyngeal consonants in Jordanian Arabic using nasoendoscopy, videofluoroscopy and spectrography 101
  13. A phonetic study of guttural laryngeals in Palestinian Arabic using laryngoscopic and acoustic analysis 129
  14. Airflow and acoustic modelling of pharyngeal and uvular consonants in Moroccan Arabic 141
  15. Part III. Emphasis and coronal consonants
  16. Nasoendoscopic, videofluoroscopic and acoustic study of plain and emphatic coronals in Jordanian Arabic 165
  17. Acoustic and electromagnetic articulographic study of pharyngealisation 193
  18. Investigating the emphatic feature in Iraqi Arabic 217
  19. Glottalisation and neutralisation in Yemeni Arabic and Mehri 235
  20. The phonetics of localising uvularisation in Ammani-Jordanian Arabic 257
  21. EMA, endoscopic, ultrasound and acoustic study of two secondary articulations in Moroccan Arabic 277
  22. Part IV. Intonation and acquisition
  23. Acoustic cues to focus and givenness in Egyptian Arabic 301
  24. Acquisition of Lebanese Arabic and Yorkshire English /l/ by bilingual and monolingual children 325
  25. Appendix 355
  26. Index 359
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