Initial geminates and consonant length contrasts in Salento dialects: Confirmations from sound data of the Carta dei Dialetti Italiani

Abstract

Initial geminate consonants present in some languages and dialects constitute an interesting topic of research in terms of the characterisation of phonological systems, phonological theories and experimental paradigms, also arousing frequent terminolog- ical discussions. The functionality of length contrasts for consonants in absolute initial positions also raises debates in the case of voiceless stops and affricates, since in these conditions they usually lose any acoustic cues regarding the duration of closure phase (Ladefoged et alii 1968, Abramson 1991, Bertinetto & Loporcaro 2000). However, dia- lects are documented in the Romance domain in which contrasts between short and long consonants can be particularly robust and can be supported by acoustic measurements of other indices (Romano 1999; Fanciullo 2001; Lai 2015). Adding new considerations in support of the evaluations already proposed (Romano 2003a&b, Loporcaro 2021), on the basis of the analysis of objective data that have come to light in the meantime for dialects of the Gallipoli area (recordings of the Carta dei Dialetti italiani, 1966), this contribution confirms the functional autonomy of the phenomenon in the Sallentinian linguistic space.