Pashto Stops: VOT Duration and Effects on Vowel Length

Abstract

This research study aimed to examine the voice onset time (VOT) duration for Pashto stops of the Yousafzai dialect and their impact on the subsequent vowel length. Following a descriptive approach, the study involved recording stops, including bilabials, dental, retroflex, velar, and uvular, from five Pashto speakers of the Yousafzai dialect aged 18-30 selected through convenient sampling. The recordings were made in a CVC pattern, focusing on the initial consonants. The study found that the retroflex /ʈ/ had the shortest VOT duration of 0.015 ms, while the dental /d̪/ had the longest VOT duration of -0.127 ms. The study also found that among voiceless stops in Pashto, the retroflex /ʈ/ had the shortest VOT duration of 0.015 ms, while the velar /k/ had the longest VOT duration of 0.054 ms. In voiced stops, the retroflex /ɖ/ had the shortest VOT duration of -0.104 ms, while the dental /d̪/ had the longest VOT duration of -0.127 ms. The study also revealed that vowel sounds were shorter after voiceless stops but longer after voiced stops. Overall, the findings of this study provide insight into the phonetics of Pashto stops in the Yousafzai dialect and how they impact vowel length. These results may have implications for language learners and researchers interested in Pashto phonology.