Palatograms of the Phoneme /t/ Description: In this project, we analyzed the placement of the tongue in allophones of the phoneme

t: the flapped [] as in the word batter, the glottalized [] as in the Cockney pronunciation of the word batter, the nasalized flap [] as in the word winter, the unreleased [t] as in the word bat, the aspirated [t] as in word-initial or syllable-initial words like tab, and the unconditioned allophone [t], which is a voiceless alveolar stop. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that the flapped [] should result in marking behind the alveolar ridge, on the front edge of the hard palate, as the tongue curls back in effort to produce a quick flap. The glotallized [] would not result in any marking on the roof of the mouth, as this sound is pronounced entirely in the glottis, which is further down the throat. The nasalized flap [] should result in a more even distribution of markings, as the tongue slides from flap position to the position of pronunciation of a nasal, which is more widespread. The unreleased [t] should result in a widespread marking on the alveolar ridge, as the tongue comes to rest behind the teeth at the end of the word. The aspirated [t] will produce a palatogram with marking directly behind the front teeth, in a less widespread fashion, as this marking is produced by the tip of the tongue simply tapping the ridge quickly and releasing. The unconditioned allophone [t] should look similar to the unreleased [t], as the only difference between these two allophones is when the tongue leaves the roof of the mouth, not where it hits the roof. Strategy: We encountered a few complications in pronouncing these sounds properly for an effective palatogram. First is the difficulty of pronouncing the

unconditioned allophone. This allophone occurs after /s/ (as in stop) and at the end of syllables. All of the words that we could come up with had other sounds which would get in the way of the palatogram: /s/ causes marking on the roof of the mouth, and the words we found with /t/ at the end of syllables caused similar problems. Our solution to this was to use the word batter, but to intentionally pronounce the /t/, focusing on making it syllable-final in the syllable bat. and excluding it from the syllable .ter. Additionally, many of our test words have the /r/ allophone in them. In order to keep the /r/ from skewing our results, we intentionally did not pronounce it. As the /r/ is word-final in our test words, and not next to the /t/ in any of them, this does not impact the way /t/ will show up on the palatogram. Lastly, rather than use the word winter for the nasalized flap, we chose to use the word banter and apply a similar nasalized flap to it in order to stay consistent with the sounds pronounced in other words in our test.

Results: [ ] batter [br]

Observations: Unlike our prediction, there is much marking on the sides of the teeth in the back. This may be caused by the curling of the tongue in preparation for a quick flap; in curling the tip of the tongue, the sides of the tongue tend to follow suit. [ ] - batter (Cockney)[br]

Observations: As predicted, there is no marking on the roof of the mouth. All pronunciation of the glottalized [ ] is in the glottis, not the roof of the mouth.

[ ] banter [br]

Observations: This palatogram shows a distribution across the backs of most of the teeth, with a heavier presence along the back of the front teeth. This is consistent with our hypothesis, as the heavy presence along the back of the front teeth is resultant from the flap, and the presence along the sides results from the nasalization. [ t ] bat [bt]

Observations: Though this picture is not very clear, the teeth further back did not have any markings on them. Therefore, most of the ink landed on the alveolar ridge, behind the front teeth, as predicted. The width is due to the resting of the tongue, as it spreads out when it is simply sitting on the alveolar ridge.

[ t ] tab [tb]

Observations: Consistent with our hypothesis, most marking is behind the front teeth. This is a result of the quick tapping of the tip of the tongue behind the teeth and its release. [ t ] - batter (intentionally pronounced unaspirated) [b't]

Observations: The unconditioned allophone has a more widespread and even palatogram. Unlike our prediction, the markings spread back much further than those of the unreleased [ t ], which may simply be a result of the difficulty in pronouncing an unconditioned allophone suitable for taking a palatogram.