Pali is a Middle Indo-Aryan dialect whose mother language is Sanskrit. It is no longer spoken . However, as it is the language used in early Buddhist scriptures, its grammar is still commonly taught. A very rich body of work exists (Whitney, 1889; Gray, 1899; Duroiselle, 1906; Junghare, 1979; Vaux, 1998; Cser, 2000; Suzuki, 2002a,b; Gupta, 2003) on Pali’s sound system and how it relates to Sanskrit. A common theme in this research is the phonological process of assimilation. Pali evidences both progressive and regressive assimilation and it is generally the case that a consonant geminate is formed, as evidenced in (1a) and (1b), respectively: A Gestural Approach to Gemination and Nasals in Pali Benjamin Schmeiser I llinois State University 1. Introduction Pali is a Middle Indo-Aryan dialect whose mother language is Sanskrit. It is no longer spoken . H owever, as it is the language used in early Buddhist scriptures, its grammar is still commonly taught. A very rich body of work exists (Whitney, 1889; Gray, 1899; Duroiselle, 1906; Junghare, 1979; Vaux, 1998; Cser, 2000; Suzuki, 2002a,b; Gupta, 2003) on Pali’s sound system and how it relates to Sanskrit. A common theme in this research is the phonological process of assimilation. Pali evidences both progressive and regressive assimilation and it is generally the case that a consonant geminate is formed, as evidenced in (1a) and (1b), respectively: (1) a. progressive assimilation : Sanskrit: cakra ‘wheel’ → Pali: cakka b. regressive assimilation: Sanskrit: sapta ‘seven’ → Pali: satta At first blush, the direction of the assimilation appears to be dictated by syllable structure (Junghare, 1979: 128); progressive assimilation occurs when the consonant cluster is tautosyllabic (i.e, a complex onset), and regressive assimilation occurs when the cluster is heterosyllabic (i.e, C 1 is in coda position and C 2 is the onset of the following syllable). In the case of (1a), the cluster is a complex onset. The rhotic (C 2) assimilates to the same point of articulation as the previous consonant, a voiceless velar stop in this case, which results in the geminate form in Pali. However, in (1b), the cluster is heterosyllabic. Thus, the voiceless bilabial stop (C 1) assimilates to the same point of articulation as the following consonant, a voiceless dental stop, which also results in the geminate form in Pali. However, in the case of nasals, cases appear which seem contradictory to an analysis based solely on syllable structure. For example, when the nasal is the second element of the cluster, we find cases of both progressive and regressive assimilation, even though the nasal is in the onset position in both instances, as in (2): (2) a. progressive : Sanskrit: lagna ‘clung’ → Pali: lagga b. regressive : Sanskrit: dharma ‘righteousness’ → Pali: dhamma In the case of progressive assimilation (2a), we evidence the expected gemination, yet it is the (unexpected) onset that assimilates to the previous syllable’s coda. Many linguists (Junghare, 1979; Cser, 2000; Suzuki, 2002a,b) have noted the effect of sonority on Pali gemination. The examples in (2) above (and for all consonant clusters, in general) are explained by simply stating that the consonant with greater sonority assimilates to the consonant with lesser sonority. That withstanding, a problem arises when the nasal is the first element of the cluster 1. In consonant clusters in which a nasal is in coda position, gemination is blocked, as in: 1 Progressive assimilation when a nasal is in coda position is unattested in Pali (Cser, 2000). Kansas Working Papers in Linguistics, Vol. 30 (2008), p. 302 Figure 2: Phase Window alignment for Pali nasals in coda position In the above figure, the left and right edges of the Phase Window are set in reference to the coda nasal in the cluster. In short, the notion of a Phase Window is an important one because it acts to restrict gemination by prohibiting entry of the following onset gesture into the Window. 4.3. Pali gemination within a gestural approach In the previous sections, I discussed the gemination of Pali consonant clusters. The phenomenon is relatively transparent in that we can predict, in most cases, which consonant will assimilate to the other. Researchers have structured their analyse s principally around sonority, offering the formula that the consonant with the lesser degree of sonority is that which ‘spreads’ its features and results in a gemination of the cluster. Suzuki (2002a,b) has postulated his argument on oral closure/stricture; an argument that is convincing and one that compels us to view Pali gemination in a different light. For this very reason, my motivations for carrying out the current study were to visually capture the oral closure/stricture in the form of a gestural score. A gestural score illustrates the relationship each gesture has with other gestures; each gesture is represented two-dimensionally in both spatial and temporal dimensions. The spatial dimension, along the y-axis, refers to the vocal tract and each category connotes a ‘tier’. The temporal dimension, along the x-axis, refers to the duration along each tier in relation to the other gestures. With specific regard to a gestural approach, Pali gemination occurs when the oral constriction location of the coda consonant is not the velum. That is to say, the active articulator must either be the lips or the tongue for the consonant coda in order for gemination to occur. In those cases in which both consonants are of the same mode of articulation (e.g, a stop and a stop), I defer to Suzuki’s (2002a,b) explanation that the onset will dominate the coda. The following figure illustrates a consonant cluster in Sanskrit, followed by a discussion regarding its gemination in Pali: Kansas Working Papers in Linguistics, Vol. 30 (2008), p. 309