Affricates in Lushootseed

In this study, I conduct the first acoustic analysis of affricates in Lushootseed (Coast Salish branch). The findings reveal that several acoustic measurements, such as VOT, release frication duration, intensity, spectral moments (Center of Gravity), and voice onset quality, characterize affricate contrasts with respect to their place of articulation and laryngeal type (i.e., voiced, voiceless, ejective). This study raises questions concerning (a) the acoustic-articulatory correlates of affricates, (b) typological classification of ejective affricates, and (c) the diachronic status of voiced affricates in Coast Salish languages.