lenis and glottalic

[Dr. John E. McLaughlin and Michelle R. Sutton]

[ moderator re-formatted ]

Glen Gordon wrote:

> On the subject of lenis/fortis, Miguel seems to be suggesting that lenis
> stops (or "long stops") tend to voice more often than fortis stops. So
> might I ask, is this true?

In the Numic languages of Uto-Aztecan, this is a cold, hard fact:  Short
voiceless plosives are voiced and become [+cont] between vowels absolutely and
in casual speech in initial position as well (but not [+cont]).  Long voiceless
plosives are not even shortened in intervocalic position, but remain voiceless
and [-cont].

John McLaughlin
Utah State University