Tuscan gorgia

The Tuscan gorgia (gorgia toscana ˈɡɔrdʒa tosˈkaːna, ˈɡɔɾdʒa θosˈkaːna; "Tuscan throat") is a phonetic phenomenon governed by a complex of allophonic rules characteristic of the Tuscan dialects, in Tuscany, Italy, especially the central ones, with Florence traditionally viewed as the center. The gorgia affects the voiceless stops k t̪ and p, which are pronounced as fricative consonants in post-vocalic position (when not blocked by the competing phenomenon of syntactic gemination): /k/ → h /t/ → θ /p/ → ɸ An example: the word identificare ("to identify") /identifiˈkare/ is pronounced by a Tuscan speaker as ˌidentifiˈhaːɾe, not as identifiˈkaːre, as standard Italian phonology would require. The rule is sensitive to pause, but not word boundary, so that /la ˈkasa/ ("the house") is realized as la ˈhaːsa, while the two phonemes /t/ of /la ˈtuta/ 'the overalls' are interdental θ in la ˈθuːθa, and /p/ is pronounced ɸ so /la ˈpipa/ 'the pipe (for smoking)' emerges as la ˈɸiːɸa. (In some areas the voiced counterparts ɡ d̪ b can also appear as fricative approximants ɣ ð β, especially in fast or unguarded speech. This, however, appears more widespread elsewhere in the Mediterranean, being standard in Spanish and Greek.) In a stressed syllable, /k t p/, preceded by another stop, can occasionally be realized as true aspirates [kh th ph], especially if the stop is the same, for example apˈphunto (appunto, "note"), atˈthiŋɡo (attingo, "I draw on"), or a kˈkhaːsa (a casa, "at home", with phonosyntactic strengthening due to the preposition). Establishing a hierarchy of weakening within the class /k t p/ is not an easy task. Recent studies have called into question the traditional view that mutation of /p/ and /t/ is less widespread geographically than /k/ → [h], and in areas where the rule is not automatic, /p/ is often more likely to weaken than /t/ or /k/. On the other hand, deletion in rapid speech always affects /k/ first and foremost wherever it occurs, but /t/ reduces less often to [h], especially in the most common forms such as participles (anˈdaːho andato "gone").