Re: A bunch of phonological questions

Chris Bates wrote:

> > a) What's the difference between lateral release and a lateral
>affricate?
>
>An affricate has friction, so for instance the lateral affricate commonly
>written tl in languages like Nahuatl is /tK)/. A laterally released stop
>lacks the fricative release of an affricate I think, and is basically
>formed by releasing the stop by lowering the sides of the tongue instead of
>the whole tongue but without the friction.
All right.. but wouldn't *that* be just release into a homorganic lateral
*approximant*?

I very well may be just kind of missing the point of the whole "release"
diacritics - they just seem to imply that the stop is followed by a
homorganic continuant of some sort. Is that it, or is there more to it?


> > b) Are /K K\/ considered sibilants or spirants?
> >
> > John Vertical
> >
> >
>I don't think they're sibilants, since the air isn't escaping quickly
>through a narrow channel but from both sides of the tongue.
But is the "channel" essential? I recall the definition of "sibilant" had
something on the airflow passing over the teeth...
Wikipedia seems to classify lateral fricatives separate from both spirants
and sibilants, which isn't helping either.


Um, I'm getting kicked out; I'll continue later.

John Vertical

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