Acoustic characterization of the Greek rhotic in clusters

This paper presents the results of a production experiment which examines the acoustic characteristics of the Greek rhotic sound in consonant clusters. The experimental results suggest that in this position the Greek rhotic has a different realization from the intervocalic rhotic: while in intervocalic position this sound is realized as a tap, in consonant clusters the tap closure is accompanied by a short vowellike transition between the tap closure and the second consonant of the cluster. The presence of the vowel-like transition was systematic, appearing in 79.5% of the tokens, and is discussed in reference to similar realizations found in many other languages.