The Internal Structure of Nasal-Stop Sequences: Evidence from Austronesian Cohn, Abigail C. (Cornell) & Riehl, Anastasia K. January 2008 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/253314764_The_Internal_Structure_of_Nasal-Stop_Sequences_Evidence_from_Austronesian Citations (9) References (25) Figures (7) Abstract and Figures The Internal Structure of Nasal-Stop Sequences: Evidence from Austronesian. The phonological and phonetic structure of nasal-stop sequences has elicited much attention. Yet, in fact, less is known about the internal timing of nasal-stop sequences, both unary cases (most commonly prenasalized stops-ND) and clusters (nasal voiced-stop clusters-ND, and nasal voiceless-stop clusters-NT) than often assumed. This calls into question certain phonological assumptions and conclusions. In this paper, we examine the phonetic structure of nasal-stop sequences to address this lacuna. (Nasal-stop sequence, or NC sequence, is used here to refer to both unary and cluster cases.) In a cross-linguistic study of the realization of nasals and nasalization in English, French, and Sundanese, Cohn (1990) observed a systematic asymmetry in the relative timing of the nasal and oral portions in nasal- voiceless stop vs. nasal-voiced stop cases: For the NT cases, the nasal and oral components each take up about half of the total duration, as expected; while in the ND cases, the sequence is nasal for all but a very brief period. While others have since noted a similar asymmetry, no full account has been offered. The goal of this paper is to better understand this asymmetry and in so doing also consider the status of so-called "postploded nasals" (ND) (Blust, 1997). We present data from six Austronesian languages to investigate these issues. The Austronesian language family is known for its rich array of nasal-stop sequences, including cases of both prenasalized stops and what have been described as postploded nasals. We present some background on the question of prenasalized stops vs. nasal-stop clusters, reviewing relevant results from Riehl (2008), before turning to the nature of the asymmetry between the voiced and voiceless NCs and the status of postploded nasals. We will see that in each of these three cases the central issue is timing: first, total duration is the crucial dimension that allows us to differentiate unary segments vs. clusters; second, relative timing of the nasal and oral components is critical to characterizing the difference between nasal voiced- and nasal voiceless-stop sequences; third, micro-timing (structure of the transition and nature of the oral component) is at issue in assessing whether postploded nasals are distinct from other sorts of nasal-stop sequences. We present acoustic and nasal airflow data for six Austronesian languages, which between them are described to exemplify four nasal-stop sequence-types: ND, ND, ND, and NT. Erromangan and Tamambo (Oceanic languages of Vanuatu) are described as having prenasalized stops. Acehnese and Sundanese (West Austronesian languages of Indonesia) are described as having postploded nasals. Manado Malay and Pamona (also West Austronesian languages of Indonesia) are described as having nasal voiced-stop clusters. In addition, in each of these languages except for Tamambo, the nasal voiced-stop sequences contrast with nasal voiceless-stop clusters. The data consist of target words with nasal-stop sequences, in minimal sets with corresponding plain nasals and stops, recorded in appropriate frame sentences; results are presented for multiple repetitions for 1-6 speakers per language. Measurements are presented for the absolute and relative duration of the components: nasal portion, oral portion, and burst. Total duration ratios of alveolar /n/ to / n d, nd/ in two languages with unary segments and two with clusters, in medial position; averages across five speakers of Tamambo, four of Erromangan, six of Pamona and Manado Malay; ten repetitions per speaker. The duration of the plain nasal is /n/=1. (Adapted from Riehl 2008: 266.) Total duration ratios of alveolar /n/ to / n d, nd/ in two languages with unary segments and two with clusters, in medial position; averages across five speakers of Tamambo, four of Erromangan, six of Pamona and Manado Malay; ten repetitions per speaker. The duration of the plain nasal is /n/=1. (Adapted from Riehl 2008: 266.) … Filtered nasal airflow for one representative token of ND (left) and NT (right) for English, French, and Sundanese. Filtered nasal airflow for one representative token of ND (left) and NT (right) for English, French, and Sundanese. … Average duration of N, N D/ N D /ND, NT from one representative speaker of each language, ten repetitions. Error bars reflect one standard deviation of total duration. Average duration of N, N D/ N D /ND, NT from one representative speaker of each language, ten repetitions. Error bars reflect one standard deviation of total duration. … Nasal airflow data from Tamambo and Manado Malay, illustrating differences in nasal airflow in vowels following plain nasals and NC sequences. Nasal airflow data from Tamambo and Manado Malay, illustrating differences in nasal airflow in vowels following plain nasals and NC sequences. … N:ND total duration ratios in initial and medial position for six languages. +2 N:ND total duration ratios in initial and medial position for six languages. … Figures - uploaded by Abigail C CohnAuthor content Content may be subject to copyright. ... For preaspiration, there is a clear preference for the superscript diacritic (Helgason 2002 Gordon (1996) uses a sequence for Hupa (also see below for other uses of sequences). For prenasalization, sequence notation is common (Stanton 2015), but when specifying that a single segment is involved, superscripts are seen (Cohn & Riehl 2012, Ratliff 2015. For preglottalization, sequences are common (Roengpitya (1997) on Lai, Keller (2001) on Brao-Krung;Roach (1973) and MacMahon (2006) for English), but Esling and his colleagues generally use a superscript, e.g. ... ... Burton, Blumstein & Stevens (1992), Beddor & Onsuwan (2003), Riehl (2008); see Stanton (2015) for additional references). Cohn & Riehl (2012) noted that in many Austronesian languages, vowels after prenasalized consonants are oral, while after nasals, vowels are nasalized; that is, the right edge of a prenasalized consonant is fully oral. ... ... Nonetheless, it is clear that languages differ in the relative durations of their prenasalized segments; for example, Cohn & Riehl (2012) examined NC (nasal consonant-oral consonant) sequences in six Austronesian languages, some already thought to be clusters, and others of unknown status. They found three different duration patterns, one of which was clearly compatible with a unitary segment. ... Proposal for superscript diacritics for prenasalization, preglottalization and preaspiration Article May 2019 Patricia KeatingDaniel WymarkRyan Sharif View ... There was no difference in the total duration of nasals and prenasalized stops in Yoloxóchitl Mixtec. In languages with true /ND/ clusters, the cluster duration is frequently longer than that of indisputably unary consonants like nasals (Cohn & Riehl 2008). The fact that prenasalized stops here are of equal duration as simple nasals and, in fact, shorter than plain stops b d Nasal Oral Burst ... ... An analysis where prenasalized stops are considered allophones of nasal consonants, conditioned by the following vowel's nasality, is more congruent with this view. This finding mirrors work on the production of prenasalized stops in other languages (Maddieson & Ladefoged 1993, Huffman & Krakow 1993, Beddor & Onsuwan 2003, Cohn & Riehl 2008. Examining nasal airflow data from several Austronesian languages, Cohn and Riehl found that prenasalized stops, /ND/ sequences, and post-ploded nasals tend to have quite short oral closure duration relative to a long nasal duration. ... ... In particular, one must posit that nasal vowels are contrastive after nasal consonants and that an [ORAL] feature on vowels conditions consonantal allophony. This argument fits well with the comparative data from Austronesian (Cohn & Riehl 2008), where nasal and oral vowels have the same distribution as they do in Yoloxóchitl Mixtec. However, it also suggests that a phonological feature like [NASAL] is not privative (as argued by Marlett 1992) in Mixtec because the absence of nasality triggers allophony, as we observed in the data in Table 5. 12 ... Phonetic structure in Yoloxóchitl Mixtec consonants Article Feb 2019 C T DiCanio Caicai ZhangDouglas H WhalenRey Castillo García View ... Mixtec. In languages with true /ND/ clusters, the cluster duration is frequently longer than that of indisputably unary consonants like nasals (Cohn & Riehl 2008). The fact that prenasalized stops here are of equal duration as simple nasals and, in fact, shorter than plain stops suggests that they are unary segments and not clusters in Yoloxóchitl Mixtec. ... ... An analysis where prenasalized stops are considered allophones of nasal consonants, conditioned by the following vowel's nasality, is more congruent with this view. This finding mirrors work on the production of prenasalized stops in other languages (Beddor & Onsuwan 2003, Cohn & Riehl 2008, Maddieson & Ladefoged 1993. Examining nasal airflow data from several Austronesian languages, Cohn and Riehl found that prenasalized stops, /ND/ sequences, and post-ploded nasals tend to have quite short oral closure duration relative to a long nasal duration. ... ... In particular, one must posit that nasal vowels are contrastive after nasal consonants and that an [ORAL] feature on vowels conditions consonantal allophony. This argument fits well with the comparative data from Austronesian (Cohn & Riehl 2008), where nasal and oral vowels have the same distribution as they do in Yoloxóchitl Mixtec. However, it also suggests that a phonological feature like [NASAL] is not privative (as argued by Marlett (1992)) in Mixtec because the absence of nasality triggers allophony, as we observed in the data in Table 7. 12 ... Phonetic Structure in Yoloxóchitl Mixtec Consonants Preprint Full-text available Aug 2018 C T DiCanio Caicai ZhangDouglas H WhalenRey Castillo García View ... They conclude that relative timing and the duration of each component are central to distinguishing these combinations. 4 We concur with Cohn and Riehl's (2011b) analysis that duration is a reliable phonetic cue of monophonemic status. ... ... We have addressed these issues (except for stress) in this analysis. We have also addressed inter and intraspeaker variation by including five speakers and multiple repetitions of the same word [see Cohn and Riehl (2011b) on previous studies]. Nevertheless, further comparative research including implosive sounds (as suggested by a reviewer) and coarticulated stops can provide a better understanding of the system. ... ... In conclusion, the oral component of prenasalized consonants constitutes more than a stop release. It exhibits a clear drop in intensity and a transition between the nasal and oral portions (Cohn & Riehl 2011b). The variation between NC and N, attested only in one speaker and for only one form (/mb/), requires further study. ... A Monophonemic Analysis of Prenasalized Consonants in Saramaccan. 2013. Journal of Portuguese and Spanish Lexically-Based Creoles, 4:1-25. Article Full-text available Dec 2013 Yolanda RiveraUniversidad DePuerto RicoRío Piedras View ... NDs are like Ds in that the two classes of segments have acoustically similar release bursts, but they differ from Ds primarily due to the presence of a nasal onset. Although the results reported by Burton et al. come from phonetic study of only one language, subsequent studies on the acoustics of NCs (Maddieson and Ladefoged 1993;Ladefoged and Maddieson 1996: 4.3;Riehl 2008;Cohn and Riehl 2012), have corroborated the general conclusion that NCs are made up of two acoustically distinct parts, essentially equivalent to an N followed by a C. ... ... Many other examples of inseparable NT clusters exist; for additional examples, see Meinhof (1932: 158) on Kongo, and Halpert (2012) on Zulu. 2008; Cohn and Riehl 2012). Schematic illustrations are in (2). ... ... This is not a surprising result. As has been frequently documented in the literature, the phonological difference between NC segments and NC clusters does not contribute to a substantial difference in their phonetics (Maddieson and Ladefoged 1993;Ladefoged and Maddieson 1996; see also Riehl 2008;Cohn and Riehl 2012). ... Predicting distributional restrictions on prenasalized stops Article Full-text available Aug 2016Nat Lang Ling Theor Juliet Stanton View ... In Austronesian languages, Riehl (2008) examined the phonetic properties of nasal obstruent sequences in Tamambo and Erromangan, spoken in Vanuatu, and Pamona and Manado Malay, spoken in the Indonesian archipelago. Cohn & Riehl (2008) extend this analysis to examine nasals and stops in two environments: clusters and what they term unary sequences, equivalent to pre-stopped or post-ploded nasals. Riehl (2008) argues that a clear description of the differences between these sequences is a gap in the phonological literature (see Maddieson 1988Maddieson , 1989Maddieson & Ladefoged 1993;Riehl & Cohn 2011). ... ... One consequence of this delay, particularly when the velum is lowered very late in a nasal phoneme, is a gap in the speech stream occurring after oral closure which results in an epenthetic oral stop. These articulations are commonly termed pre-stops and as mentioned above are very similar phonetically to the post-ploded nasals found in some Austronesian languages Cohn & Riehl (2008). This process is widespread for nasals and laterals in Australian languages (Hercus 1972(Hercus , 1994Maddieson & Ladefoged 1993;Loakes et al. 2008;Harvey et al. 2015) and is present phonetically in BKw (Stoakes 2013), Warlpiri (Fletcher et al. 2009) and Kaytetye (Harvey et al. 2015). ... Nasal coarticulation in Bininj Kunwok: An aerodynamic analysis Article Full-text available Feb 2019 Hywel StoakesJanet M. Fletcher Andy Butcher View ... Another phonetic difference could be in the timing of the nasal vs. oral portions of the unit: depressor NDs might have a longer D phase than non-depressor NDs. Since Cohn & Riehl (2008) have recently argued that there is no phonetic difference between a prenasalized stop ( N D) and a post-stopped nasal (N D ), pointing out that the D phase is universally short, this does not seem likely-nor is there any motivation for recognizing monosegmental N D vs. bisegmental ND. In the absence of instrumental evidence, speculations of phonetic differences are simply that. ... Enlarging the Scope of Phonologization Article Full-text available Jan 2008 Larry M Hyman View A pesquisa tipológica em línguas indígenas brasileiras Article Aug 2019 Camille MirandaFabíola Azevedo Baraúna View Interpretación de algunos cambios fonéticos en las lenguas romances Article Full-text available Feb 2016 Daniel Recasens View Advertisement Recommended publications Discover more Article Undoing place assimilation May 1995 · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America Aditi Lahiri Phonological variation in the form of different phonetic shapes of words pose a challenge for theories of speech perception and language comprehension. Postlexical phonological processes like assimilation and deletion frequently cause the phonetic shape of a word to change in a given phonological context. Such processes can easily lead to the creation of nonwords. In a sentence like ??I detest ... 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