Preaspiration

Key takeaways

Preaspiration belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Preaspiration to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Preaspiration from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In phonetics, preaspiration (sometimes spelled pre-aspiration) is a period of voicelessness or aspiration preceding the closure of a voiceless obstruent, basically an [h]-like sound preceding the obstruent. In other words, when an obstruent is preaspirated, voicing stops and the glottis is opened for some time before the obstruent closure. To mark preaspiration using the International Phonetic Alphabet, the diacritic for regular aspiration, ⟨ʰ⟩, can be placed before the preaspirated consonant. However, Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996:70) prefer to use a simple cluster notation, e.g. ⟨hk⟩ instead of ⟨ʰk⟩.

Typology Preaspiration is comparatively uncommon across languages of the world, and is claimed by some to not be phonemically contrastive in any language. Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996) note that, at least in the case of Icelandic, preaspirated stops have a longer duration of aspiration than normally aspirated (post-aspirated) stops, comparable to clusters of [h]+consonant in languages with such clusters. As a result, they view preaspiration as purely a distributional feature, indistinguishable phonetically and phonologically from clusters with /h/, and prefer to notate preaspirated stops as clusters, e.g. Icelandic kappi /ˈkʰahpi/ "hero" rather than /ˈkʰaʰpi/. A distinction is often made between so-called normative and non-normative preaspiration: in a language with normative preaspiration of certain voiceless obstruents, the preaspiration is obligatory even though it is not a distinctive feature; in a language with non-normative preaspiration, the preaspiration can be phonetically structured for those who use it, but it is non-obligatory, and may not appear with all speakers. Preaspirated consonants are typically in free variation with spirant-stop clusters, though they may also have a relationship (synchronically and diachronically) with long vowels or [s]-stop clusters. Preaspiration can take a number of different forms; while the most usual is glottal friction (an [h]-like sound), the precise phonetic quality can be affected by the obstruent or the preceding vowel, becoming for example [ç] after close vowels; other potential realizations include [x], voiceless vowels, and even [f]. Preaspiration is very unstable both synchronically and diachronically and is often replaced by a fricative or by a lengthening of the preceding vowel.

Distribution Preaspiration is perhaps best known from North Germanic languages, most prominently in Icelandic and Faroese, but also some dialects of Norwegian and Swedish. It is also a prominent feature of Scottish Gaelic. The presence of preaspiration in Gaelic has been attributed to North Germanic influence. Within Northwestern Europe preaspiration is furthermore found in most Sami languages, except Inari Sami where it has been replaced by postaspiration. The historical relationship between preaspiration in Sami and North Germanic is disputed: there is general agreement of a connection, but not on whether it represents Sami influence in North Germanic, North Germanic influence in Sami, or parallel sprachbund influence in both languages. Elsewhere in the world, preaspiration occurs in Halh Mongolian, Western Yugur, and in several American indigenous languages, including dialects of Hopi, Purepecha, and many languages of the Algonquian family (such as Cheyenne, Cree, Ojibwe, Fox, and Miami–Illinois).

Examples

English In certain accents, such as Geordie (among younger women) Watt & Allen (2003:268) and in some speakers of Dublin English word- and utterance-final /p, t, k/ can be preaspirated.

Faroese Some examples of preaspirated plosives and affricates from Faroese (where they occur only after stressed vowels):

klappa [ˈkʰlaʰpːa], 'clap' hattur [ˈhaʰtːʊɹ], 'hat' takka [ˈtʰaʰkːa], 'thank' søkkja [ˈsœʰt͡ʃːa], 'sink' (transitive) Furthermore, the dialects of Vágar, northern Streymoy and Eysturoy also have ungeminated preaspirated plosives and affricates (except after close vowels/diphthongs):

apa [ˈɛaːʰpa], 'ape', but: vípa [ˈvʊiːpa], 'northern lapwing' eta [ˈeːʰta], 'eat', but: hiti [ˈhiːtɪ], 'heat' vøka [ˈvøːʰka], 'wake', but: húka [ˈhʉuːka], to 'squat' høkja [ˈhøːʰt͡ʃa], 'crutch', but: vitja [ˈviːt͡ʃa], to 'visit'

Icelandic Some examples of preaspirated plosives from Icelandic:

kappi [ˈkʰahpɪ], 'hero' hattur [ˈhaʰtʏr̥], 'hat' þakka [ˈθaʰka] , 'thank' hætta [ˈhaiʰta], 'stop/quit'

Huautla Mazatec In Huautla Mazatec, preaspirates can occur word-initially, perhaps uniquely among languages which contain preaspirates:

[ʰti] - 'fish' [ʰtse] - 'a sore' [ʰtʃi] - 'small' [ʰka] - 'stubble'

Sami languages Preaspiration in the Sami languages occurs on word-medial voiceless stops and affricates of all places of articulation available: /p/, /t̪/, /t͡s/, /t͡ɕ/, /k/. In the Western Sami languages (Southern, Ume, Pite, Lule and Northern) as well as Skolt Sami, preaspiration affects both long and half-long consonants; in most Eastern Sami languages (Akkala, Kildin and Ter) only fully long consonants are preaspirated. This likely represents two waves of innovation: an early preaspiration of long consonants dating back to Proto-Sami, followed by a secondary preaspiration of half-long consonants that originated in the Western Sami area and spread eastwards to Skolt Sami. In several Sami languages, preaspirated stops/affricates contrast with lax voiceless stops, either due to denasalization of earlier clusters (e.g. *nt > [d̥ː]) or in connection to consonant gradation.

Scottish Gaelic In Scottish Gaelic, preaspiration is phonemic in medial and final positions after stressed vowels, due to the historical loss of voiced stops.

Its strength varies from area to area and can manifest itself as [ʰ] or [h] or in areas with strong preaspiration as [ç] or [x]. The occurrence of preaspiration follows a hierarchy of c > t > p; i.e. if a dialect has preaspiration with p, it will also have it in the other places of articulation. Preaspiration manifests itself as follows:

Area 1 as [xk xt xp] and [çkʲ çtʲ çp] Area 2 as [xk xt hp] and [çkʲ çtʲ hp] Area 3 as [xk ht hp] and [çkʲ htʲ hp] Area 4 as [ʰk ʰt ʰp] Area 5 as [xk] and [çkʲ] (no preaspiration of t and p) Area 6 no preaspiration There are numerous minimal pairs:

glag [kl̪ˠak] "clock" vs glac [kl̪ˠaxk] "grab" (v.) ad [at̪] "hat" vs at [aʰt̪] "boil" (n.) leag [ʎɛk] "throw down" vs leac [ʎɛxk] "flagstone" aba [ˈapə] "abbot" vs apa [ˈaʰpə] "ape" (n.)

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Preaspiration

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Preaspiration claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Preaspiration before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Preaspiration ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Preaspiration

In research: Preaspiration appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Preaspiration in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Preaspiration is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Phonetics, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Preaspiration outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Preaspiration in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Preaspiration means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Preaspiration out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Preaspiration in simple terms?

In phonetics, preaspiration (sometimes spelled pre-aspiration) is a period of voicelessness or aspiration preceding the closure of a voiceless obstruent, basically an [h]-like sound preceding the obstruent. In other words, when an obstruent is preaspirated, voicing stops and the glottis is opened f…

Why does Preaspiration matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Preaspiration?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Preaspiration.