Re: Aspirated stops vs. fricatives (was Re: Tit'xka (Pretty Long Post))

Nik Taylor wrote:
>
> Eric Christopherson wrote:
> > ACK! Yeah, I messed up those examples. I think the difference between
> > initial and final /k/ is not aspiration, but point of articulation.
> > The /k/ in "kill" is more uvular than the one in "pack" or something.
>
> /k/ in kill *is* aspirated.  The /k/ in pack, as Tom Wier has already
> pointed out, is unreleased.  Actually, the /k/ in "kill" *is* pronounced
> at a somewhat more forward position than "pack" or "code", it's
> partially palatized.
I disagree that final /k/ is unreleased, at least from the speech I
hear every day. I pronounce "pack" [p&k_h] and "tap" [t&p_h], but
"cat" [k&t7] ([7] representing no audible release). I'm inclined to
think that [t7] is the same sound as in "cattle" [k&t7l=], but it
sounds just like [d] and I have seen it represented as a tapped /r/
before. Anyone know what the *real* story is? :)