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Rayan Khan
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The main reason is that gemination does not take place in complex segments. 'Affricates' are complex segments; they start off as plosives, but finish as fricatives (they have two manners of articulation).


Or because affricates are composed of two different kinds of sounds (plosives + fricatives).
We usually geminate two similar sounds when they're next to each other:

  • Bad day -> [bæd.deɪ]
  • This sin -> [ðɪs.sɪn] etc.

The /d/ and /s/ can be geminated because we don't have any complex segments here.

However, when two affricates come next to each other, we get four different kinds of sounds:

  • Orange juice -> [ɒɹɪnd͡ʒ.d͡ʒuːs]: [d ʒ d ʒ].

  • Which chair -> [wɪt͡ʃ.t͡ʃeə]: [t ʃ t ʃ].



In case of 'continuants', the geminate is just a longer version of the continuant.

  • His zone -> [hɪz:əʊn]
  • Solely -> [səʊlːi]

However, 'stops' don't do the same because they're obstruents. Their gemination often results in an 'unreleased stop' followed by a released one:

  • Lamp post -> [læmp̚pʰəʊst] (not [læmppʰəʊst]).
  • Bad day -> [bæd̚deɪ]

Affricates can be thought of as 'stops', but with a fricative release, so if the first affricate is unreleased ([t̚] or [d̚]), their geminates are supposed to be pronounced (not how they're pronounced):

  • [t̚t͡ʃ] and
  • [d̚d͡ʒ]

that's why they can be confusing.

Rayan Khan
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