The acoustics of word-initial and word-internal voiced stops in Somali

Abstract

This article seeks to determine the acoustic correlates of gemination in Standard Somali (Afroasiatic, Cushitic), in particular whether closure duration is the primary acoustic correlate distinguishing singleton and geminate stops, with immediate consequences for the analysis of word-initial strengthening. We provide an acoustic analysis of word-initial and word-internal voiced singletons as well as of their geminate counterparts on the basis of a production experiment conducted with four native speakers. Three temporal and four non-temporal acoustic properties of /b d ɡ/ and /bb dd ɡɡ/ are examined and systematically compared (closure duration, release burst duration, vowel duration; and closure amplitude, release amplitude, presence of a release burst, (de)voicing). We argue that the opposition between singleton and geminate voiced stops is primarily realized as the manner contrast approximant [β̞ ð̞ ɣ̞] vs. stop [b d ɡ]. Word-initially, Somali exhibits various peculiarities that are reminiscent of the cross-linguistically attested phenomenon of domain-initial strengthening. This article provides the first study of this phenomenon in Somali. We establish that word-initial /b d ɡ/ and word-medial /bb dd ɡɡ/ share the same closure duration, release burst duration, and vowel duration within the Prosodic Word. They also have a similar closure amplitude, and voicing properties. Moreover, the acoustic properties of word-initial /b d ɡ/ remain constant, and do not depend on their position in the prosodic hierarchy. On the basis of these results, the article also aims at providing new insights in the phonological representation of Somali geminates and word boundaries, and thus contributes to the understanding of word-initial strengthening in Somali.

Moraic mismatches in Somali phonology

“…As Green (2021) reports, however, not all Somali speakers realize such a neutralization; some speakers maintain a length distinction between singleton and geminate consonants. 11 Though somewhat peripheral to the main point of this paper, if the perspective on Somali geminates proposed here and in Bendjaballah & Le Gac (2019) is correct, it would offer support for the "composite" model of geminate structure. That is, Somali could be seen as requiring reference to both the moraic and timing tiers of the model.…”

“…What is more puzzling, however, is that CVVGm syllables are readily accommodated in the same distribution, as seen in the examples in (10). Alternations such as vowel lengthening before intervocalic geminates are not reported in such words (Bendjaballah & Le Gac 2019) also what underlies it. One possible explanation may lie in constraints on segmental structure such that Somali might disprefer stem-internal syllables with a complex nucleus and a branching rhyme.…”

“…Because other geminates readily appear word-internally in Somali (see below), the inability for the voiceless "virtual" geminates to surface is already exceptional. DOI 10.15460/auue.2022.95.1.240 (9) a. gáb.bal 'daylight' b. múd.dac 'argument' c. óg.gol 'approval' d. dum.mád 'cat' e. gal.lád 'gratitude' f. hol.lób 'scaly skin' The ambisyllabic nature of these intervocalic geminates is also implicit in other work on Somali (Bendjaballah & Le Gac 2019;Le Gac & Bendjaballah 2020;Saeed 1999). Assuming this is correct, it reinforces the statement above that bimoraic syllables appear to be readily permitted in such a word-internal distribution.…”

“…As I have suggested, due to a 'oneto-one' relationship between mora, gesture, and segment in Somali, a requirement for weightful coda consonants, and the coda consonant being parsed in one syllable, repair via mora loss would entail loss of the segment itself. ( 12) Hypothetical representation with word-internal CVVC In partial support of such an approach, Bendjaballah & Le Gac (2019) argue for an analysis of Somali geminates based on timing slots, though they do not explore moraicity. They contend that an appeal to timing slots is necessary to explain the sensitivity of consonants of different types to lenition.…”