Dialect-specific consonant clusters in the dialects of Germany

Abstract

Previous research has identified spatial differences in consonant clustering probabilities across the dialects in Germany, yet it has not fully addressed the role of dialect-specific consonant clusters in shaping these patterns. This study examines free speech data from the PhonD2 Corpus and compiles inventories of dialect-specific consonant clusters. Hierarchical clustering analysis reveals that these inventories align with established German dialect classifications. Moreover, it is shown that most dialect-specific cluster types can be linked to various linguistic phenomena, such as Upper German schwa syncope, the preservation of Germanic forms in Low German, and unstressed vowel deletion in East Central German. Based on these observations, a classification scheme is proposed. The study also investigates potential restrictions on combinations of particular onset and coda clusters with the three vowel types short and long monophthong and diphthong (V, Vː, VV). However, the results suggest that the few restrictions found for dialect-specific clusters are more likely attributable to frequency effects rather than phonotactic constraints. Finally, the findings are discussed within the context of syllable versus word language typology.