Phonetic Perspectives on West Germanic Consonant Gemination

The distribution of geminates resulting from North and West Germanic consonant gemination suggests that velar obstruents were the segments most favored by the change, while r was least favored and blocked the operation altogether. In an attempt to account for this behavior, the phonetic characteristics of these sounds are examined in the context of the geminating environments. It is demonstrated that these preferences can be accounted for through coarticulatory and acoustic effects of the trigger on the preceding consonant and vice versa. Although many previous analyses have glossed over the details of consonant gemination in West Germanic, it is argued here that in order to understand sound change, coarticulation, perception, and allophonic variation must be taken into account.