Phonetic and Phonological Aspects of Geminate Timing

CHAPTER 2

General Methodology

 

2.1 Introduction

This chapter lays out the basic methodology employed for the acoustic studies of Bernese, Levantine, Hungarian and Madurese described in the following chapters. Because these studies are all concerned primarily with durational aspects of the speech signal, and because duration can be influenced by a myriad of factors individually or in combination (see, e.g., Lehiste 1970, Klatt 1976, Nooteboom 1997), methodological consistency is essential to obtaining reliable and interpretable acoustic results. While some issues specific to the treatment of individual languages have inevitably arisen as this work has progressed, every effort was made to adhere as closely as possible to the guidelines set forth ...