A Preliminary Ultrasound Study of Nasal and Lateral Coronals in Arrernte

Ultrasound tongue image data are presented for two female speakers of the Central Australian language Arrernte, focusing on the nasal and lateral coronal consonants. These coronal places of articulation are: dental, alveolar, retroflex and palatal. It is shown that the tongue back is particularly far forward for the palatal consonant, and to a lesser extent also for the retroflex consonant. There is a general flattening of the tongue for the dental consonants. In addition, the back of the tongue is consistently further forward for the nasal consonants than for the laterals – this is true for all places of articulation. Finally, a double-pivot pattern for the retroflex articulations is observed for one speaker, but not for the other.