Three Experiments in the Perception of Geminate Consonants in Arabic

Abstract

Synthetic stimuli were employed to investigate duration as a cue factor in the discrimination of single versus geminate consonants in Arabic. Contrasts in three phonetic classes were explored, stops, nasals, and spirants. Clear identification boundaries were found, though not uniformly clear, giving an indication of the degree of exclusivity of duration as the determining cue factor. If this interpretation is correct, then it is surprising that duration appears to be a more powerful cue in the case of nasals than stops. A physiological basis for this development is suggested. The evidence indicates that the structural status of gemination influences decisively the sharpness of discrimination.