Pharyngealization in Tashlhiyt from kinematic and acoustic perspectives

This study investigated the implementation of pharyngealization in Tashlhiyt, across various linguistic contexts VCV, VCCV, VCCV, and VCCCV. We analyzed articulatory and acoustic data from six male speakers who produced real words containing these sequences with both plain ([d, z]) and pharyngealized target consonants ([dˤ, zˤ]). The investigation comprised dynamic analyses of kinematic and formant trajectories, as well as acoustic parameters of consonants and intrusive schwas. While pharyngealization did not affect the tongue tip, it did lead to a significant lowering of the tongue body. This lowering was not confined solely to the target consonants but was observed in larger domains, extending up to nearly the entire VCCCV items. The primary acoustic correlate of pharyngealization was identified as a lowered F2 of vowels and intrusive schwas, while acoustic properties of consonants remained unaffected. Consistent with observations in the articulatory domain, the lowering of F2 was not restricted solely to vowels adjacent to pharyngealized coronals; instead, it extended to larger domains, even when there were intervening consonants.