Re: Odp: Odp: Phonetics

From: Piotr Gasiorowski
Message: 899
Date: 2000-01-13

junk
 
----- Original Message -----
From: Mark Odegard
To: cybalist@eGroups.com
Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2000 8:34 PM
Subject: [cybalist] Re: Odp: Phonetics

Mark writes:

So. The retroflex L is the way I pronounce 'bell'? And this is 'light' L?

Actually, the tip of my tongue is at the point just behind the alveolar ridge, just over the edge of the 'cliff', where it curves upward to meet the top of the mouth (there are the upper teeth, the ridge behind them, then the region just behind that where the ridge goes over a 'cliff', the cliff itself, and finally, the dome-like hard area at the top front of the mouth).  

From your description, its "postalveolar", like some varieties of English /r/. True retroflex articulations are even more retracted, but yes, it is a kind of (not very emphatic) retroflection. I don't think your L in bell would be "light" ("clear"); American English /l/ is typically "dark" in this position.

The clear/dark distinction has nothing to do with the position of the TIP of the tongue. It refers to the secondary timbre dependent on the position of the BACK part of the tongue (including its root). When the tip is engaged in forming an occlusion (the "primary articulatory gesture" of a lateral), the remaining body of the tongue is free to assume a position which, if it weren't for the raised tip, would result in a vowel articulation (a "secondary gesture").

  • If this vocalic element accompanying a lateral articulation is something like /u/ or /o/ (and this happens when the back of the tongue approaches the soft palate and the uvula), we get a "dark" lateral. The middle part of the tongue forms a spoonlike concavity.
  • If the vocalic element resembles /i/ (the middle part of the tongue approaches the hard palate) we get a palatalised ("soft") lateral. The whole upper surface of the tongue is in this case shaped like a dome and much of it touches the roof of the mouth.
  • If the vocalic element resembles schwa, /e/, or /a/, we talk loosely of a "clear" lateral. The body of the tongue is rather relaxed and its upper surface relatively flat.

This is the lateral story in a nutshell. Maybe we should start a discussion list devoted to phonetic issues.

Piotr