Phonetic realization of the Emphasis contrast in voiceless stops by speakers of four Arabic varieties: The case of F2 and VOT

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of F2 and VOT in realization of the contrast in emphasis among speakers of Arabic varieties of the Levant (Lebanese, Syrian) and the Gulf (Saudi, Qatari). The results show that the two dialect groups systematically differ in acoustic realization of plain and emphatic voiceless stops. While Lebanese and Syrian varieties reveal the traditional pattern, in which the contrast is predominantly realized as a difference in F2 (Plain: 1808 Hz, Emphatic: 1097 Hz), Qatari and Saudi ones demonstrate a pattern with VOT as the main acoustic correlate. Plain [t] is produced with aspiration (M = 72 ms), and emphatic [tʕ] is unaspirated (M = 17 ms). The difference in F2 in the Gulf speech is, in contrast, smaller: low vowel [aː] is back in both contexts, with more retraction in the emphatic context (Plain: 1230 Hz; Emphatic: 1108 Hz).