"tl" in Chipotle

Fri Jun 27 02:23:28 UTC 2014

Off the top of my head, and using my highly trained phonetic earholes, I'd say the problem with it is that the [l] is not voiceless, so he's making a voiceless lateral alveolar affricate with voiced release. Not known to occur in any language (I think I can say that without having to consult Ladefoged and Maddieson). But then, neither is Colbert... 

Geoff 

Geoffrey S. Nathan 
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and Professor, Linguistics Program 
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----- Original Message -----

> From: "Benjamin Barrett" <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM>
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2014 10:04:44 PM
> Subject: "tl" in Chipotle

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM>
> Subject: "tl" in Chipotle
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

> At just after 1:00 in the video at =
> https://screen.yahoo.com/popular/obamas-chipotle-blunder-040000055.html?vp=
> =3D1, Stephen Colbert pronounces the "tl" in the restaurant name =
> Chipotle as a single sound. He repeats the pronunciation at about
> 2:09.

> I tried to find a name for this--it seems like a voiceless alveolar =
> lateral affricate--but that doesn't match the sound at =
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_alveolar_lateral_affricate.=20

> Benjamin Barrett
> Formerly of Seattle, WA

> Learn Ainu! https://sites.google.com/site/aynuitak1/videos=

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