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Article published In: Arabic Linguistics
Vol. 1:1 (2025) ► pp.1–33

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Phonetic realization of the Emphasis contrast in voiceless stops by speakers of four Arabic varieties

The case of F2 and VOT

ORCiD logo with link | Qatar UniversityDoha
 | Qatar UniversityDoha
Published online: 13 January 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/arli.00001.kul
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).
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Acoustics of emphasis
    • 2.1F2 as a function of tongue retraction
    • 2.2VOT as a function of size of supralaryngeal cavity
    • 2.3Trading relation between F2 and VOT
    • 2.4Summary and questions
  • 3.Methodology
    • 3.1Participants
    • 3.2Materials and procedure
    • 3.3Acoustic analysis
    • 3.4Data analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Acoustic cues: F1, F2, and VOT
    • 4.2VOT as a predictor of F2
    • 4.3VOT and F2 as predictors of emphasis in stops
    • 4.4Normalization of VOT and F2
  • 5.General discussion and conclusion
  • Ethics statement
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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