The Acoustic Properties of Laterals in Southwestern Saudi Arabic

Lateral consonants exhibit varied acoustic characteristics across languages with distinct realizations ranging from clear to dark. In Arabic dialects, these variations are salient due to their interaction with emphatic consonants, which creates distinct acoustic patterns through their influence on surrounding segments. The present study examines the acoustics of the lateral consonants in Southwestern Saudi Arabic, focusing on how phonetic environment, age, and sex influence their realization. Using generalized additive mixed models, the trajectory of F2−F1 was analyzed across initial, medial and final positions adjacent to emphatic and nonemphatic sounds. By modeling dynamic patterns over time, the study captures non-linear formant dynamics while accounting for phonetic environment as well as age and sex. The findings demonstrate positional effects, with medial laterals adjacent to emphatic sounds exhibiting lower F2−F1 differences compared to those in non-emphatic contexts. Male speakers produced lower F2−F1 values, and older speakers showed greater variability.