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Dynamic invariance in the phonetic expression of syllable structure: a case study of Moroccan Arabic consonant clusters*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 December 2011

Jason A. Shaw ,
Adamantios I. Gafos ,
Philip Hoole  and
Chakir Zeroual
Jason A. Shaw
Affiliation:
University of Western Sydney
Adamantios I. Gafos
Affiliation:
University of Potsdam and Haskins Laboratories
Philip Hoole
Affiliation:
Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich
Chakir Zeroual
Affiliation:
Faculté Polydisciplinaire de Taza, Morocco and Laboratoire de Phonétique et Phonologie (CNRS/Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris)
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Abstract

We asked whether invariant phonetic indices for syllable structure can be identified in a language where word-initial consonant clusters, regardless of their sonority profile, are claimed to be parsed heterosyllabically. Four speakers of Moroccan Arabic were recorded, using Electromagnetic Articulography. Pursuing previous work, we employed temporal diagnostics for syllable structure, consisting of static correspondences between any given phonological organisation and its presumed phonetic indices. We show that such correspondences offer only a partial understanding of the relation between syllabic organisation and continuous indices of that organisation. We analyse the failure of the diagnostics and put forth a new approach in which different phonological organisations prescribe different ways in which phonetic indices change as phonetic parameters are scaled. The main finding is that invariance is found in these patterns of change, rather than in static correspondences between phonological constructs and fixed values for their phonetic indices.

Type
Articles
Information
Phonology , Volume 28 , Issue 3 , December 2011 , pp. 455 - 490
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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