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    Word-final sequences of two plosives
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    This topic deals with the word-final sequences of two plosives, the occurrence of which is virtually restricted to complex words. Though these sequences may be voiced in underlying representation, they always end up as voiceless.

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    Word-final sequences of two plosives are found in the following cases:

    • In the older loanwords krekt accurate, precise; exactly! and krypt crypt, and in more recent ones like effekt /ɛfɛkt/ effect and kontakt /kontakt/ contact.
    • In women's names like Japk /japk/ and Ypk /ipk/, shortened variants of the diminutive names Japke /ja:p+kə/ and Ypke /ipə+kə/.
    • In case verbs of the first weak class with a stem ending in a plosive are inflected with the third singular person present tense suffix -t ( /-t/), the preterite suffixes -de ( /-də/) or -te ( /-tə/), and with the past participle suffixes -d ( /-d/) or -t ( /-t/) (see paradigm of class I). Examples of the present tense are: (hy) bakt /bak+t/ [bakt] (he) bakes, (hy) skopt /skop+t/ [skopt] (he) kicks, (hy) slat /slɔt+t/ [slɔt] (he) ditches; (he) deepens (the ditch) (due to degemination, see the source of fake geminates, one [t] remains), (hy) wjudt /vjød+t/ he weeds (there are no verbal stems of this class ending in /-b/ and /-ɡ/). The realization of the underlying sequence /-dt/ of (hy) wjudt deserves some comment. On the strength of Final Devoicing (see final devoicing: the process), final /-t/ is always voiceless, as a result of which the sequence /-dt/ as a whole cannot but be voiceless as well. Degemination ensures that in the end only [-t] reaches the surface: [vjøt]. The same verbs in the past tense are: (hy) bakte /bak+tə/ [baktə] (he) baked, (hy) skopte /skop+tə/ [skoptə] (he) kicked, (hy) slatte /slɔt+tə/ [slɔtə] (he) ditched; (he) deepened (the ditch), (hy) wjudde /vjød+də/ [vjødə] he weeded. Due to degemination, (hy) slatte and (hy) wjudde end up with one [-t-] and [-d-], respectively. The same verbs in the perfect tense are: (hy hat) bakt /bak+t/ [bakt] (he has) baked, (hy hat) skopt /skop+t/ [skopt] (he has) kicked, (hy hat) slat /slɔt+t/ [slɔt] (he has) ditched; (he has) deepened (the ditch) (due to degemination, only one [t] remains), (hy hat) wjud /vjød+d/ [vjøt] he has weeded. The realization of the underlying sequence /-dd/ of (hy hat) wjud deserves some comment as well. Due to Final Devoicing, final /-d/ ends up as voiceless, so that the sequence /-dd/ as a whole must be voiceless as well. Degemination makes sure that one [-t] reaches the surface: [vjøt].
    • In verbs of the second weak class (see paradigm of class II) which are derived from other verbs with the (iterative) suffix -k ( /-k/), like antk(je) /ɔntk/ to swell (of the udder and the teats of a cow which is about to calve) and dripk(je) /drɪpk/ to drip softly, from and next to ant(sje) /ɔnt/ to swell (of the udder and the teats of a cow which is about to calve) and dripp(e) to drip, respectively (see -k).
    • In case a so-called /d/-function word − like the article de /də/ the and the pronouns dy /di/ that; those and dat /dɔt/ that − act as a clitic and form a phonological unit with preceding word ending in a plosive, the result is a sequence of two voiceless plosives, as in the following examples: ik pak de /pak də/ [paktə]bal I take the ball, dek dy /dɛk di/ [dɛkti]dan mar! be prepared for the worst!, hy rôp dat /rɔ:p dɔt/ [rɔ:ptɔt]fierste lûd he shouted that out far too loudly, hy hat dat /hat dɔt/ [hatɔt]àl dien he did do that (for more examples see progressive voice assimilation: function words beginning with /d-/) and also the table in the Overview of the Frisian clitics).
    All in all, a sequence of two plosives is an uncommon configuration. This may be the reason why the occurrence of such sequences is virtually restricted to complex words, which have less strict phonotactics than simplex words.

    References
      About this article
      Author(s): Willem Visser
      Category: Frisian Phonology
      Keywords: phonotacticsword-finalplosive-plosive sequences
      Version: 1.0, December 2015
      Version history:
      version editor(s) date remarks
      1.0 Willem Visser December 2015
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