Geminates and Long Consonants in Jordanian Arabic

Abstract

This paper aims at considering the phonological status of word final geminates in Jordanian Arabic (JA) within Optimality Theory (OT). A ban on trimoraic syllables in the language triggers a process of degemination. A crucial distinction is made between geminates and long consonants based on moraicity. Geminates are moraic while long consonants are not.