The articulatory tension of obstruent stops in Spanish

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1344/efe-2020-29-91-123

Keywords:

articulation, tension, obstruents, Spanish

Abstract

There is an ongoing debate about the distinction of the /p-b/, /t-d/ and /k-g/ stop pairs in Spanish. The question is whether the [voice] feature or the [tense] feature prevails, since /p-t-k/ happen to be unvoiced and tense, while /b-d-g/ are voiced and lax. In order to justify phonetically any decision about it, perhaps the greatest difficulty lies in measuring the tension itself and not the duration, its main correlate. In this paper, two different experiments are presented which, from an articulatory perspective, provide evidence about the relevance of tension to make this distinction. In the first place, the point of maximum contact in the linguopalatal development of the dentoalveolar articulations in the initial position is analyzed, by means of an electropalatography, both in its temporal aspect (duration) and in its spatial aspect (configuration). Secondly, the muscular effort associated with the articulation of the bilabial articulations in the same position is analyzed by means of an electromyography. In both cases, production differences are observed which can be attributed to the articulatory tension effect.

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Published

2022-02-13

How to Cite

Fernández Planas, A. M., Iribar Ibabe, A., Pagola Petrireina, R. M., & Túrrez Aguirrezabal, I. (2022). The articulatory tension of obstruent stops in Spanish. Journal of Experimental Phonetics, 29, 91–123. https://doi.org/10.1344/efe-2020-29-91-123

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