Romanian diphthongs /ea/ and /oa/: an articulatory comparison with /ja/ - /wa/ and with hiatus sequences

Abstract

One notable feature in Romanian phonetics and phonology is the presence in its inventory of typologically rare diphthongs /ea/ and /oa/ («mid diphthongs»), which happen to contrast phono-logically with both corresponding hiatus sequences /e.a/ - /o.a/, and with diphthongs /ja/and /wa/ («high diphthongs»). Structurally, on the basis of their phonotactic properties, mid diphthongs /ea/ and /oa/ have been assumed to form complex syllable nuclei, while high diphthongs /ja/ and /wa/ have been represented as onset-nucleus structures, and hiatus sequences as vowels in consecutive syllable nuclei. Little is however known on the articulatory properties characterizing the three-way contrast between mid and high diphthongs, and hiatus sequences

Keywords

• fonética rumana
• diptongos
• , hiatos