Acoustic analysis of single and geminate fricatives in Italian

Acoustic correlates of singleton vs. geminate fricatives in Italian were investigated on the basis of acoustic analyses carried out on Italian disyllabic words. In the analyzed words, the singleton vs. geminate consonant appeared in the symmetrical context of the three Italian vowels [a, i, u]. Time related and frequency related parameters were examined. Time parameters were all based on durational measurements performed within the consonant and surrounding vowels. Frequency parameters, such as formants, fundamental frequency, and energy based parameters were computed at different sampling points all through the analyzed words. Results showed that the duration of the consonant was significantly different in singleton vs. geminate words, as well as the duration of the vowel preceding the consonant, while the other analyzed parameters were not. These results are in agreement with previous studies reported in the literature on the gemination of gemination of Italian stop consonants. In particular, it was observed that the ratio between the durations of the consonant and preconsonant vowel was significantly related to gemination.. It was found that a value of about 1 of the above ratio discriminated singleton vs. geminate fricatives. In addition, this value was verified to be significant also for stops. This result leads to a suggestion that, possibly, speaker intention in producing a geminate is reflected in the production of a consonant at least longer than the vowel preceding it