Subject: 6 . 524 german affricates

i may have missed some of the discussion on this matter when i was away for a couple of weeks , but i want to throw in one item if it has n't been in already . in english at least the phonetic distinction between a palatoalveolar afffricate and an alveolar stop + palatoalveolar fricative is patent and unproblematic . in pairs like catch it vs . cat shit ratchet vs . rat shit it is easy to hear the difference , even if the prosodic patterns are the same . in the first ( let 's call it / c ^ / case , the stop segment is not alveolar but palatoalveolar , and short , and the whole two-quality sequence is about the length of an initial voiceless stop ; in the second , let 's call it / ts / cluster , the / t / is more alveolar , a bit retracted but without as much laminal contact , and the length of the sequence is like the length of a cluster , i . e . the stop onset is not ' ovbershort ' , as it is in the first case . i wonder if the distinction in german is more or less the same ? roger lass university of cape town
