48
[ ¾‚]
[ ¾¸
Úÿ]
[ h‚]
[ h¸
Úÿ]
Figure 4.5. Schematized spectrograms contrasting transitions from plain consonants with transitions from palatalized consonants
¾ h.
4.4.1 Secondary palatalization of t and k in Isthmus Mixe
As discussed in section 4.4, the plosives t and k are assumed to move toward the palatal area when palatalized. The question was raised as to whether secondary palatalization of t and k results in the
articulation of both of these phonemes in the same palatal area. However, the acoustic evidence shows considerable differences in the transition formants of vowels adjacent to palatalized t and k, which
suggests that these two palatalized phonemes maintain distinct articulation areas. Both palatalized phonemes are shown in one syllable in figure 4.6, [
d
j
a ÿπ»k
j
] from m‚t
j
a»k
j
‘talk.’ At the [ d
j
a ÿπ»ÿπ] juncture, the
cursors are 9.7 ms apart, about one full cycle period, and the spectrum shows the formant values. The phonetic junctures of the vowel formants measured as close as possible to the consonant section 4.4.1. As
shown in table 4.2, at the [ d
j
a ÿπ»] juncture, the formant values are: F1 366.7, F2 2028.5, F3 2853.7, F4
3369.4; and the [a ÿπ»k
j
] junctures are: F1 309.4, F2F3 2337.9, F4 3804.9, with the F2 and F3 transitions nearly merging in this spectrogram, a typical example. The most notable differences in the phonetic
junctures are in the F2, F3 and F4 values. In the [d
j
a ÿπ»] junctures, F2 and F3 are over 800 Hz apart, with F4
about 500 Hz higher than F3. In contrast, in the [a ÿπ»k
j
] junctures, F2 and F3 merge about 300 Hz higher than the F2 of the [d
j
a ÿπ»] juncture, and F4 is nearly 500 Hz higher than the F4 of [d
j
a ÿπ»].
49 Table 4.2
Comparison of the Phonetic Juncture Formant Values of the Palatalized Consonants t and k
F1 F2
F3 F4
[ d
j
a ÿπ»] juncture
366.7 2028.5
2853.7 3369.4
[a ÿπ»k
j
] juncture 309.4
2337.9 2337.9
3804.9
Figure 4.6. Transitions adjacent to [ d
j
] and [k
j
]. A comparison may also be made with the transitions adjacent to plain t and k. In the example in
figure 4.7 of the same phonemes that are not affected by palatalization, [da π»g] from ya
h
m‚h‚ta π»k‚t ‘be
overcome,’ the difference in the F1 phonetic juncture formants indicates that the [da π»] juncture is 22.9 Hz
greater than the [a π»k] juncture; the F2 phonetic juncture formant at the [daπ»] juncture is 114.6 Hz less than
the [a π»k] juncture; the F3 phonetic juncture formant at the [daπ»] juncture is 114.6 Hz greater than the [aπ»k]
juncture; the F4 phonetic juncture formant at the [da π»] juncture is 68.8 Hz greater than the [aπ»k] juncture
see table 4.3. The phonetic juncture formant values adjacent to the palatalized consonants figure 4.6 and table 4.2 follow the same pattern as the pattern of the phonetic juncture formant values adjacent to the
plain consonants in figure 4.7 and table 4.3, with the F1 phonetic juncture formants of [ d
j
a ÿπ»] a little greater
than the [a ÿπ»k
j
] juncture; the F2 phonetic juncture formant at the [ d
j
a ÿπ»] juncture is less than the [aÿπ»k
j
] juncture; the F3 phonetic juncture formant at the [
d
j
a ÿπ»] juncture is less than the [aÿπ»k
j
] juncture.
72
As expected, palatalization raises the F2 of each transition. However, the general distinctions between the
72
F4 formants are included only for more descriptive completeness; they are not considered to be determinative for phoneme identification.
50 phonetic juncture formants of two consonants is maintained, suggesting that [
d
j
] and [k
j
] are articulated in different areas.
Table 4.3 Comparison of the Phonetic Juncture Formant Values
of the Plain Consonants t and k F1
F2 F3
F4 [da
π»] juncture 435.5
1489.9 2670.3
3724.7 [a
π»k] juncture 412.6
1604.5 2555.7
3655.9
Figure 4.7. Transitions adjacent to [d] and [g].
4.4.2 Secondary palatalization of the palato-alveolar sibilant
