Re: [tied] Laryngeal theory as an unnatural

From: Miguel Carrasquer
Message: 18965
Date: 2003-02-20

On Thu, 20 Feb 2003 14:23:04 -0600, "Patrick C. Ryan"
<proto-language@...> wrote:

><PCR>
>I am at a loss of understand why you keep repeating that English /d/ is NOT voiced. By the prevalent definition of 'voice', it certainly is voiced.

Only by the prevalent definition of 'voiced' as used for English (and
similar languages, such as Mandarin).

>At the moment of closure, it is (I think) physically impossible for voicing to be present -- before or after but not during. Therefore, I question the so-called "voiced" French /d/.

It requires some extra effort, but it's certainly not impossible (my
Spanish and Dutch /d/'s are voiced). See the spectrogram on p. 51 of
TSOTWL.

As Ladefoged and Maddieson explain in detail, voicing can be
maintained by passive gestures such as "relaxation of the cheeks and
other soft tissues", or active ones such as "moving the articulatory
constriction forwards during the closure, moving the root of the
tongue forwards, lowering the jaw, or lowering the larynx". The
latter gesture can potentially blur the distinction between voiced and
implosive stops.


=======================
Miguel Carrasquer Vidal
mcv@...