An Articulatory and Acoustic Study of the Fricative Clusters /s∫/ and /∫s/ in Catalan

Electropalatographic and acoustic data for the fricative clusters /s integral/ and /integral s/ and the single fricatives /s/ and /integral/ in Eastern Catalan reveal that, while /s integral/ undergoes regressive assimilation, /integral s/ blends into an intermediate fricative or exhibits a twotarget realization. On the other hand, acoustic data for /integral s/ in Western Catalan show that /s/ may assimilate to preceding /integral/ or undergo blending or a two-target realization depending on speaker and prosodic condition (no data are available for /s integral/ in this dialect). Duration values for the two fricative clusters suggest that the assimilated outcome of /s integral/ shortens down to the length of /integral/. A production-based account of the two sequences /s integral/ and /integral s/ in Catalan and other languages is proposed. (C) 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel