Telengit Consonants Based on MRI Data (in Comparison with the Sub-Dialects of the Altai-Kizhi Dialect)

The article presents the results of Magnetic Resonance Imaging data applied to exploring the articulatory-acoustic bases of the ethnic groups of Altai. Comparison of pronunciation settings of Telengit mediolingual consonants with the data of the territorial sub-dialects of the Altai-Kizhi dialect reveals the generality of articulatory bases of native speakers, as well as their significant differences. According to some settings, the Telengit patterns are close to the Ust’-Kan and Shebalin sub-dialects, mostly differing from the Ongudai realizations. While the Ust’-Kan and Telengit consonants feature a generally more drawn back position of the body of the tongue compared to the Ongudai and Shebalin settings, the Telengit set­tings are produced with a more lowered position of the larynx. The reasons for such a spec­ificity of the articulations should be sought in the history of the formation of ethnic groups and languages of Altai. As illustrations, MR-images and MR-schemes of articulatory settings and sound files are provided in the article.

Keywords: Turkic Languages of Siberia, the Altai dialects, consonantism, articulato­ry-acoustic base, experimental phonetics, Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Telengit Consonants Based on MRI Data (in Comparison with the Sub-Dialects of the Altai-Kizhi Dialect)