Re: double consonants

Alex wrote:

<< is [anna] the same as [an:a]?>>

While I think there will most likely never be a langauge that makes this
distinction, these two are different.   With the first, you can pronounce it such
that there ceases to be air passing through the nose for maybe a milisecond,
and this is where the first [n] ends and the second [n] is about to begin.
With the second, there's no such cessation: You just hold the [n] for double the
time.   To put in in experiential terms, the first is choppy, while the
second is smooth.   (Note: This doesn't hold for all doubled vs. geminated
consonants.)

-David

P.S.: Happy Valentine's Day, to those who know what it is and accept such a
wish.