Perception and Production of Geminate Consonants by English Speakers and Kuwaiti Arabic Speakers
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Date
2014-04
Authors
Rinaldi, Nina
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
By comparing the ability of English speakers and Kuwaiti Arabic speakers to
perceive and reproduce a novel length contrast encoded in new words, the present study
aimed to determine the implications of phonemic status of consonant length on
perception and production. In a condition where long consonants were derived from
singletons and paired with their natural counterparts (Natural S condition) English
speakers were able to perceive the length contrast encoded in the stimuli some of the
time. They did not, however, reproduce a length contrast. Kuwaiti Arabic speakers were
able to discriminate the length contrast in the Natural S condition most of the time. In a
condition where short consonants were derived from natural geminates and paired with
their natural counterparts (Natural G condition), Kuwaiti Arabic speakers were able to
discriminate the contrast almost all of the time. Kuwaiti Arabic speakers reproduced a
length contrast in both conditions. Furthermore, for the Kuwaiti Arabic speakers,
perceptual ability predicted the magnitude ofG:S duration ratio reproduced by the
speaker.
Description
55 pages. A thesis presented to the Department of Linguistics and the Clark Honors College of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for degree of Bachelor of Arts, Spring 2014.
Keywords
Geminates, Fake Geminates, Arabic, Length Contrast, Durational Contrast, Discrimination