The characteristic of qalqalah and its letters among the ancients and moderns - a physical study

Abstract

Some arabic consonants are characterized by the"qalqala” - generally translated incorrectly by sonorisation -, The first arab linguists have studied, explained and defined this feature. They have shown that it is due to two causes: the sonorisation and the explosion. The consonants characterised, by this feature for some linguists are [q, 1, b, & d] , but some other linguists have proposed another list based on a different analysis that limited the cause of this feature only to the explosion. The "qalqala" being a physiological consequence of the occlusion. We have verified it using available acoustical measurement means.