Articulatory and Acoustic Characteristics of [R] Sounds in the Plautdietsch

This article aims to investigate the [r]-sounds of the Plautdietsch language using experimental phonetic methods. We used distributional analysis, acoustic analysis, and magnetic resonance imaging to describe the articulatory and acoustic properties of these phonemes in the language of Mennonite Germans in Siberia. The article analyzes the sounds of the [r] type in the German-Mennonite Plautdietsch language spoken in the Novosibirsk region. In Russian phonetics, the sound [r] is classified as a sonorous sound in which the voice plays a significant role, and noises are either absent or minimal. In the European tradition, this sound is called a ‘trill’ consonant. During pronunciation, the tongue opens rhythmically, allowing air to flow freely through it, and then closes again, causing the vocal cords to vibrate. The nature and classification of this sound raises a number of questions: whether the sound [r] in Plautdietsch is to be interpreted as a sonorous sound or rather as a low-noise sound (in all positions, it is realized as a sonorous sound, but under certain positional and combinatory conditions it manifests itself as noisy); whether it is a vibrating or momentary sound; whether its articulation is accompanied by epenthesis or prosthesis. The study uses material collected from respondents in Neudachino, Novosibirsk Region. For the first time, an analysis of the consonant structure of the Mennonite language in Siberia, in particular the sound [r], was carried out using experimental phonetic methods. A synchronic description was carried out with the help of acoustic analysis. In order to isolate the composition of [r] type phonemes, a distributive analysis was carried out, and somatic methods of experimental phonetics were used to describe acoustic and articulatory features. It was found that the sounds of this type are represented by two phonemes – /r/ and /rб/.

the language of the German Mennonites, Plautdietsch, consonant, /r/, articulation, MRI, experimental phonetics