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A phonetic study of guttural laryngeals in Palestinian Arabic using laryngoscopic and acoustic analysis

  • Kimary N. Shahin
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Instrumental Studies in Arabic Phonetics
This chapter is in the book Instrumental Studies in Arabic Phonetics

Abstract

In some languages, laryngeal consonants pattern with pharyngeals and uvulars as members of a guttural natural class. Phonologists and phoneticians have sought the phonetic basis for this pattern, as required by the Grounding Hypothesis (Archangeli & Pulleyblank 1994). We continue the search in this study and present the results of a laryngoscopic investigation of guttural laryngeals from one male speaker of Palestinian Arabic. The data show that Arabic laryngeals lack the pharyngeal, i.e. aryepiglottic (Esling 1996), articulation of the other Arabic gutturals. We see that the same is indicated for Hebrew by laryngoscopic data from that language. We conclude that Arabic and Hebrew guttural laryngeals are a case of phonetics-phonology mismatch and that the solution to the puzzle of guttural laryngeals is, for Arabic at least, phonological, not phonetic.

Abstract

In some languages, laryngeal consonants pattern with pharyngeals and uvulars as members of a guttural natural class. Phonologists and phoneticians have sought the phonetic basis for this pattern, as required by the Grounding Hypothesis (Archangeli & Pulleyblank 1994). We continue the search in this study and present the results of a laryngoscopic investigation of guttural laryngeals from one male speaker of Palestinian Arabic. The data show that Arabic laryngeals lack the pharyngeal, i.e. aryepiglottic (Esling 1996), articulation of the other Arabic gutturals. We see that the same is indicated for Hebrew by laryngoscopic data from that language. We conclude that Arabic and Hebrew guttural laryngeals are a case of phonetics-phonology mismatch and that the solution to the puzzle of guttural laryngeals is, for Arabic at least, phonological, not phonetic.

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.319.06sha

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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