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Place and manner assimilation in Catalan consonant clusters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 July 2015

Daniel Recasens  and
Meritxell Mira
Daniel Recasens
Affiliation:
Departament de Filologia Catalana, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona & Laboratori de Fonètica, Institut d’Estudis Catalans, Barcelonadaniel.recasens@uab.es; meritxell.mira@uab.cat
Meritxell Mira
Affiliation:
Departament de Filologia Catalana, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona & Laboratori de Fonètica, Institut d’Estudis Catalans, Barcelonadaniel.recasens@uab.es; meritxell.mira@uab.cat
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Abstract

Electropalatographic data on the frequency of occurrence of assimilatory processes in Catalan C1##C2 sequences, where ## is inserted at the boundary between two consecutive words, reveal that regressive place assimilations operate more often on C1 = /n/ than on C1 = /t/ and are triggered by /ɡ/ rather than by the labials /pbm/ and the voiceless velar stop /k/. Regressive manner assimilations involving nasality and laterality are facilitated by homorganicity between the two consecutive consonants and thus apply more frequently in the clusters /pmtntltʎ/, where C1 and C2 share the same labial or dentoalveolar place of articulation, than in the sequences /pntmkmkn/, where the two consonants are heterorganic; on the other hand, /k/ is less prone than /pt/ to become nasal when followed by /mn/. Place assimilatory processes apply more often for some speakers than for others, and their frequency of occurrence increases whenever C1 is embedded in a frequent or function word. The articulatory motivation for some of these place and manner assimilatory processes, and the extent to which they are complete or partial, are also investigated.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Phonetic Association , Volume 45 , Issue 2 , August 2015 , pp. 115 - 147
Copyright
Copyright © International Phonetic Association 2015 

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