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Title:
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The Phonetics and Phonology of Gutturals in Arabic
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Author:
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Bushra Zawaydeh
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Email:
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click here to access email
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Degree Awarded:
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Indiana University
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Degree Date:
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1999
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Linguistic Subfield(s):
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Phonetics
Phonology
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Subject Language(s):
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Arabic, Standard
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Director(s):
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Stuart Davis
Kenneth de Jong
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Abstract:
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This dissertation investigates two issues that deal with the physical attributes of a class of speech sounds made with a constriction in the back part of the vocal tract, called the gutturals (they include the uvulars, uvularized, pharyngeal, and laryngeal sounds). The first issue revolves around why gutturals comprise a natural class despite their apparent articulatory dissimilarities. To answer this question, an articulatory (endoscopic) experiment and an acoustic experiment were conducted. The endoscopic experiment indicated that there is a constriction in the pharynx during the articulation of all the sounds except the laryngeals. This commonality explains grouping in the Salish languages of the Pacific Northwest, where all the gutturals but not the laryngeals pattern as a natural class. The acoustic experiment indicated a consistent acoustic effect on the lowest vocal tract resonance when the preceding consonant is a guttural. Hence, it seems that Arabic uses an acoustic feature [high F1] for grouping gutturals together. The second issue investigated in this dissertation deals with the spreading of uvularization from a subgroup of the gutturals: the uvular and uvularized segments. Contrary to what has been previously assumed, the spreading of uvularization is a phonetic process, not a phonological one. This is because no high segments block leftward or rightward spreading, the spreading is gradient in the rightward direction, and the strength of spreading is systematically affected by numerous phonetic factors. Both experiments highlight how important auditory features are in the phonology and phonetics of Arabic, and emphasize the importance of conducting phonetic fieldwork to test phonological phenomena. Hence, this dissertation highlights the importance of the integration of phonetics and phonology.
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