Differences in Base of Articulation for Consonants among Catalan Dialects

Electropalatographic data for several front lingual consonants, i.e., the dental /t/, the alveolars /n, l, s, r/ and the alveolopalatals /t∫, ∫, ʎ, ɲ/, show differences in constriction anteriority among Catalan dialects varying in the progression Valencian > Eastern, with the Majorcan dialect occupying an intermediate position. These differences do not conform to speaker- dependent differences in palate morphology and, to the extent that they operate on a varied range of consonants, may be attributed to base of articulation. Deviations from this pattern are associated with manner of articulation and symmetry demands. A specific dialect- dependent relationship between tongue dorsum contact and constriction fronting is interpreted assuming the existence of less laminal, more apical dental and alveolar stops, and less dorsal, more laminal alveolopalatals, in Valencian than in the other two dialects. These data are interpreted in terms of the articulatory characteristics for different tongue front settings which have been proposed in the literature.