Hadza liquid production and acoustics

Liquid systems in the world’s languages are relatively poorly understood. This study employs 3D/4D ultrasound methods to investigate articulatory characteristics of Hadza liquids produced by a single male speaker in a laboratory, analyzing simultaneously collected acoustic signals to determine relations between articulation and acoustics. Articulatory-acoustic relations are then compared to acoustic data obtained from other speakers collected in the field. Hadza is a language isolate spoken by approximately 1200 people (Brian Wood, pc.) in north-central Tanzania. Hadza is reported to have a single liquid phoneme which varies allophonically between a lateral approximant [l] occurring word-initially, and a tap [ɾ], occurring intervocalically (Tucker et al., 1977; Sands et al., 1996; Sands, 2013). The results of the current study confirm the production of both lateral approximant [l] and tap [ɾ] allophones; however, the results also show substantial variation between speakers. Furthermore, some speakers exhibit a categorical distinction between the allophones in given phonological environments, while others indicate a very similar articulation in both, and demonstrate no such distinction.