Investigating the nature of aspirated stops in Western Andalusian Spanish

• Published in: Journal of the International Phonetic Association Vol. 42; no. 1; pp. 49 - 63
• Main Author: Torreira, Francisco
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01-04-2012; Cambridge University Press for the International Phonetic Association
• Subjects: Articulation; Consonants; Descriptive studies and applied theories; Dialectology; Dialects; Gestures; Glottal consonants; Glottal stops; Laboratories; Language varieties; Length (Phonological); Lexical stress; Linguistics; Phonetics; Regional dialects; Space; Spanish language; Speaking; Speech duration; Speech rate; Stop consonants; Stops; Stress; Studies; Syllables; Vowels; Spain; Dialect; Phonetics; Spanish; Aspiration; Stop; Stress
• ISSN: 0025-1003; 1475-3502
• DOI: 10.1017/S0025100311000491

In Western Andalusian Spanish (WAS), [h + voiceless stop] clusters are realized as long pre- and postaspirated stops. This study investigates if a new class of stops (realized as geminates with variable degrees of pre- and postaspiration) has emerged in this dialect, or if postaspiration in these clusters results from articulatory overlap. An experiment was carried out in which WAS speakers produced [h + voiceless stop] clusters under changes in speech rate and stress location. The duration of postaspiration, measured as voice onset, did not show systematic effects of any of the experimental variables. Moreover, trade-offs were observed between voice onset and preaspiration plus closure durations. These results indicate that postaspiration in WAS [h + voiceless stop] clusters is the consequence of extensive articulatory overlap. It is further hypothesized that the lengthening of closures in WAS stops preceded by [h] results from a different gestural mechanism affecting all [hC] clusters in this dialect. From a broader perspective, since extensive overlap and consonantal lengthening do not occur in the [hC] clusters of other Spanish varieties, these findings lend support to the idea that intergestural coordination patterns can be dialect-specific.