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Nasoendoscopic, videofluoroscopic and acoustic study of plain and emphatic coronals in Jordanian Arabic

  • Feda Al-Tamimi and Barry Heselwood
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Instrumental Studies in Arabic Phonetics
This chapter is in the book Instrumental Studies in Arabic Phonetics

Abstract

In this chapter we present and discuss analyses of instrumental data from nine speakers of Jordanian Arabic. They show that the main articulatory and acoustic differences between plain and emphatic coronal consonants involve changes in the relative volumes and resonance frequencies of the buccal and pharyngeal chambers brought about by adjustments to the position of the tongue body, tongue root, hyoid bone, epiglottis, aryepiglottic folds and the larynx. Formant shifts in adjacent vowels show that F1 is raised and F2 lowered in the presence of an emphatic coronal compared to plain coronals, consistent with the constriction in the mid region of the oropharynx observable on our videofluoroscopic images and with the retraction of the epiglottis revealed by nasoendoscopy. We conclude that the articulatory configuration associated with emphatic coronals is pharyngealisation, but that it becomes uvularisation in the context of the high back /uː/ vowel through coarticulation.

Abstract

In this chapter we present and discuss analyses of instrumental data from nine speakers of Jordanian Arabic. They show that the main articulatory and acoustic differences between plain and emphatic coronal consonants involve changes in the relative volumes and resonance frequencies of the buccal and pharyngeal chambers brought about by adjustments to the position of the tongue body, tongue root, hyoid bone, epiglottis, aryepiglottic folds and the larynx. Formant shifts in adjacent vowels show that F1 is raised and F2 lowered in the presence of an emphatic coronal compared to plain coronals, consistent with the constriction in the mid region of the oropharynx observable on our videofluoroscopic images and with the retraction of the epiglottis revealed by nasoendoscopy. We conclude that the articulatory configuration associated with emphatic coronals is pharyngealisation, but that it becomes uvularisation in the context of the high back /uː/ vowel through coarticulation.

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.319.08tam

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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