Voice Feature Correlates of Emphatic /ṭ/ and /ṣ/ in Jeddah Arabic

Abstract

This research examines whether emphatic /ṭ/ and /ṣ/, both voiceless in Jeddah Arabic, show in their other voice feature correlates values that differentiate them from voiceless /t s/ and from voiced /d z/. A data set of a total of 600 words (10 speakers x 6 test words of the form /CVC(C)V:C/ (e.g. /χaṭṭa:ṭ/ ‘calligrapher’, /χaṣa:ṣa/ ‘gap, crevice’) x 10 repetitions) were collected and recorded by ten adult female native speakers of Jeddah Arabic aged 40–49. Results show that, like many languages, the voiced consonants tend to be shorter than the voiceless ones and vowels tend to be longer before them (Chen 1970). Results also indicate that in this parameter, Jeddah Arabic /ṭ/ retains some evidence of its historical non-voicelessness. This could mean that /ṭ/ and /ṣ/ are well on the way to completing a historical change from ejectives to fully voiceless consonants.