Re: Voicing of English coda stops

--- Mark Jones <markjjones@...> wrote:

> Dear Geijss,
>
<snip>
>
> I'm not sure what Gary Shannon means when he says you can't prolong the
> closure of a voiceless /t/ - of course you can, ask an Italian or Finn to say
> fatto 'fact' or katto 'roof'! The closure of a /t/ is actually longer than
> the closure of a /d/ generally, which may be driven by the fact that voicing
> during full closure of the vocal tract is difficult without special measures.
> This is because you're trying to vibrate the vocal folds by forcing air
> through them, but the closed vocal tract above the glottis results in a rapid
> equalisation of pressure above and below and a rapid cessation of the
> airflow.
<snip>

I should have been clearer in my intent. The prolonged 't' is necessarily
utterly silent. I meant to say you cannot prolong the _sound_ of 't' before it
is released. On the other hand, you can prolong the _sound_ of 'd' before it is
released.

--gary