Acoustic investigation of Georgian harmonic clusters

Georgian corono-dorsal and labio-dorsal harmonic clusters have been analyzed phonologically as complex segments. They are described as being phonetically simultaneous, consisting of only one closure and one final release.

The present study shows that the treatment of harmonic clusters as complex segments is not supported by acoustic data. Acoustic evidence from the presence of bursts and timing differences contradicts the traditional description of the clusters, which are in fact simple sequences of segments. Additional differences in duration are argued to reflect differences in syllable structure.

The paper also contains an acoustic description of single ejectives and ejective clusters in Georgian.