View source for Gemination

{{Short description|Articulation of a consonant for a longer period of time}}
{{For|the dental phenomenon|Tooth gemination}}
{{For|root doubling in complex words|Reduplication}}
{{distinguish|Germination|Geminal}}

In [[phonetics]] and [[phonology]], '''gemination''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|dʒ|ɛ|m|ᵻ|ˈ|n|eɪ|ʃ|ən|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Gemination.wav}}; from Latin {{Lang|la|geminatio}} 'doubling', itself from ''[[wikt:gemini#Latin|gemini]]'' 'twins'<ref>{{Cite book|last=de Vaan|first=Michiel|title=Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages|publisher=Brill|year=2008|page=256}}</ref>), or '''consonant lengthening''', is an articulation of a [[consonant]] for a longer period of time than that of a singleton consonant.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The singleton-geminate distinction can be rate dependent: Evidence from Maltese|journal=Laboratory Phonology|last=Mitterer|first=Holger|date=2018-04-27|volume=9|page=6|publisher=[[Association for Laboratory Phonology]]|issue=1|doi=10.5334/labphon.66|language=en|doi-access=free}}</ref> It is distinct from [[stress (linguistics)|stress]]. Gemination is represented in many writing systems by a [[Digraph (orthography)#Double letters|doubled letter]] and is often perceived as a doubling of the consonant.<ref name="ham">William Ham, ''Phonetic and Phonological Aspects of Geminate Timing'', p. 1–18</ref> Some phonological theories use 'doubling' as a synonym for gemination, while others describe two distinct phenomena.<ref name="ham"/>

Consonant length is a distinctive feature in certain languages, such as <!-- Do not add any more examples! --> [[Japanese language|Japanese]]. Other languages, such as [[Greek language|Greek]], do not have word-internal phonemic consonant geminates.

Consonant gemination and [[vowel length]] are independent in languages like Arabic, Japanese, Hungarian, Malayalam, and Finnish; however, in languages like Italian, [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], and [[Swedish language|Swedish]], vowel length and consonant length are interdependent. For example, in Norwegian and Swedish, a geminated consonant is always preceded by a short vowel, while an ungeminated consonant is preceded by a long vowel.

==Phonetics==
Lengthened [[fricative consonant|fricatives]], [[nasal consonant|nasals]], [[lateral consonant|laterals]], [[approximant consonant|approximants]] and [[trill consonant|trills]] are simply prolonged. In lengthened [[stop consonant|stops]], the obstruction of the airway is prolonged, which delays release, and the closure is lengthened. That is, {{IPA|/tʰː/}} is pronounced {{IPA|[tːʰ]}}, not *{{IPA|[tʰ𐞁]}}. In [[affricate]]s, it is also the closure that is lengthened, not the fricative release. That is, {{IPA|/t͜sː/}} is pronounced {{IPA|[tːs]}}, not *{{IPA|[tsː]}}.<ref>{{SOWL|92}}</ref><ref>Joshua Wilbur (2014) ''A Grammar of Pite Saami'', p 47</ref>

In terms of consonant duration, Berber and Finnish are reported to have a 3-to-1 ratio,<ref name="Khattab2014" /> compared with around 2-to-1 (or lower) in Japanese,<ref name="Aoyama2002">{{Cite journal|title=Quantity contrasts in Japanese and Finnish: Differences in adult production and acquisition|journal=Studies in Language Sciences (2): Papers from the Second Annual Conference of the Japanese Society for Language Sciences|url=http://sphs.unt.edu/~kaoyama/aoyama11.pdf|last=Aoyama|first=Katsura|publisher=Kuroshio|year=2002|orig-date=2002|location=Tokyo|page=4|language=en}} (URL is author's "near final version" draft)</ref> Italian, and Turkish.<ref name="Khattab2014">{{Cite journal|title=Geminate timing in Lebanese Arabic: The relationship between phonetic timing and phonological structure|journal=Laboratory Phonology|last1=Khattab|first1=Ghada|volume=5|pages=231–269|last2=Al-Tamimi|first2=Jalal|issue=2|doi=10.1515/lp-2014-0009|year=2014|language=en|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Phonology==
Gemination of consonants is distinctive in some languages and then is subject to various phonological constraints that depend on the language.

In some languages, like Italian, Swedish, [[Faroese language|Faroese]], [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]], and [[Luganda]], consonant length and vowel length depend on each other. A short vowel within a stressed syllable almost always precedes a long consonant or a consonant cluster, and a long vowel must be followed by a short consonant. In [[Classical Arabic]], a [[long vowel]] was lengthened even more before permanently-geminate [[consonant]]s.

In other languages, such as [[Finnish language|Finnish]], consonant length and vowel length are independent of each other. In Finnish, both are phonemic; {{lang|fi|taka}} {{IPA|/taka/}} 'back', {{lang|fi|takka}} {{IPA|/takːa/}} 'fireplace' and {{lang|fi|taakka}} {{IPA|/taːkːa/}} 'burden' are different, unrelated words. Finnish consonant length is also affected by [[consonant gradation]]. Another important phenomenon is [[sandhi]], which produces long consonants at word boundaries when there is an [[phoneme#Neutralization and archiphonemes|archiphonemic]] [[glottal stop]] {{IPA|{{!}}otaʔ se{{!}}}} > {{lang|fi|otas se}} 'take it ([[Imperative mood|imperative]])!'.

In addition, in some Finnish compound words, if the initial word ends in an {{lang|fi|e}}, the initial consonant of the following word is geminated: {{lang|fi|jätesäkki}} 'trash bag' {{IPA|[jætesːækːi]}}, {{lang|fi|tervetuloa}} 'welcome' {{IPA|[terʋetːuloa]}}. In certain cases, a {{lang|fi|v}} after a {{lang|fi|u}} is geminated by most people: {{lang|fi|ruuvi}} 'screw' {{IPA|/ruːʋːi/}}, {{lang|fi|vauva}} 'baby' {{IPA|[ʋauʋːa]}}. In the [[Tampere]] dialect, if a word receives gemination of {{lang|fi|v}} after {{lang|fi|u}}, the {{lang|fi|u}} is often deleted ({{lang|fi|ruuvi}} {{IPA|[ruʋːi]}}, {{lang|fi|vauva}} {{IPA|[ʋaʋːa]}}), and {{lang|fi|lauantai}} 'Saturday', for example, receives a medial {{lang|fi|v}} {{IPA|[lauʋantai]}}, which can in turn lead to deletion of {{lang|fi|u}} ({{IPA|[laʋːantai]}}).

Distinctive consonant length is usually restricted to certain consonants and environments. There are very few languages that have initial consonant length; among those that do are [[Pattani Malay language|Pattani Malay]], [[Chuukese language|Chuukese]], [[Moroccan Arabic]], a few [[Romance languages]] such as [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]] and [[Neapolitan language|Neapolitan]], as well as many [[High Alemannic German]] dialects, such as that of [[Thurgovia]]. Some African languages, such as [[Setswana]] and [[Luganda]], also have initial consonant length: it is very common in Luganda and indicates certain [[grammar|grammatical]] features. In [[colloquial Finnish]] and [[Italian phonology|Italian]], long consonants occur in specific instances as sandhi phenomena.

The difference between singleton and geminate consonants varies within and across languages. [[Sonorant]]s show more distinct geminate-to-singleton ratios while [[sibilant]]s have less distinct ratios. The [[Bilabial consonant|bilabial]] and [[Alveolar consonant|alveolar]] geminates are generally longer than [[Velar consonant|velar]] ones.<ref name="Khattab2014" />

The reverse of gemination reduces a long consonant to a short one, which is called ''degemination''. It is a pattern in Baltic-Finnic [[consonant gradation]] that the strong grade (often the [[nominative]]) form of the word is degeminated into a weak grade (often all the other cases) form of the word: {{lang|fi|taakka}} > {{lang|fi|taakan}} (burden, of the burden). As a historical restructuring at the [[Phoneme|phonemic level]], word-internal long consonants degeminated in [[Western Romance]] languages: e.g. Spanish /ˈboka/ 'mouth' vs. Italian /ˈbokka/, both of which evolved from Latin /ˈbukka/.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/romanischesetymo00meyeuoft/page/99/mode/1up?q=bucca|title = Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch|year = 1911}}</ref>

==Examples==

===Afroasiatic languages===

====Arabic====
Written [[Arabic]] indicates gemination with a diacritic ([[Arabic diacritics|{{transliteration|ar|ḥaraka}}]]) shaped like a lowercase Greek [[omega]] or a rounded Latin ''w'', called the {{lang|ar|شَدَّة}} [[shadda|{{transliteration|ar|shadda}}]]: {{lang|ar|ّ&nbsp;}}. Written above the consonant that is to be doubled, the {{transliteration|ar|shadda}} is often used to [[ambiguity|disambiguate]] words that differ only in the doubling of a consonant where the word intended is not clear from the context. For example, in Arabic, [[Arabic verbs#Derivational categories, conjugations|Form I]] verbs and [[Arabic verbs#Derivational categories, conjugations|Form II]] verbs differ only in the doubling of the middle consonant of the triliteral root in the latter form, ''e.&nbsp;g.'', {{lang|ar|درس}} {{transliteration|ar|darasa}} (with full diacritics: {{lang|ar|دَرَسَ}}) is a Form I verb meaning ''to study'', whereas {{lang|ar|درّس}} {{transliteration|ar|darrasa}} (with full diacritics: {{lang|ar|دَرَّسَ}}) is the corresponding Form II verb, with the middle {{transliteration|ar|r}} consonant doubled, meaning ''to teach''.

====Berber====
In [[Berber languages|Berber]], each consonant has a geminate counterpart, and gemination is lexically contrastive. The distinction between single and geminate consonants is attested in medial position as well as in absolute initial and final positions.

*{{Transliteration|ber|ini}} 'say'
*{{Transliteration|ber|inni}} 'those in question'
*{{Transliteration|ber|akal}} 'earth, soil'
*{{Transliteration|ber|akkal}} 'loss'
*{{Transliteration|ber|imi}} 'mouth'
*{{Transliteration|ber|immi}} 'mother'
*{{Transliteration|ber|ifis}} 'hyena'
*{{Transliteration|ber|ifiss}} 'he was quiet'
*{{Transliteration|ber|tamda}} 'pond, lake, oasis'
*{{Transliteration|ber|tamedda}} 'brown buzzard, hawk'

In addition to lexical geminates, Berber also has phonologically-derived and morphologically-derived geminates. Phonological alternations can surface by concatenation (e.g., {{IPA|[fas sin]}} 'give him two!') or by complete assimilation (e.g. {{IPA|1=/rad = k i-sli/}} {{IPA|[rakk isli]}} 'he will touch you'). Morphological alternations include imperfective gemination, with some Berber verbs forming their
imperfective stem by geminating one consonant in their perfective stem (e.g., {{IPA|[ftu]}} 'go! PF', {{IPA|[fttu]}} 'go! IMPF'), as well as quantity alternations between singular and plural forms (e.g., {{IPA|[afus]}} 'hand', {{IPA|[ifassn]}} 'hands').

===Austronesian languages===
[[Austronesian languages]] in the [[Philippines]], [[Micronesia]], and [[Sulawesi]] are known to have geminate consonants.<ref name="Blust2013">Blust, Robert. (2013). ''The Austronesian Languages (Rev. ed.)''. Australian National University.</ref>

====Kavalan====
The [[Formosan languages|Formosan language]] [[Kavalan language|Kavalan]] makes use of gemination to mark intensity, as in {{Lang|ckv|sukaw}} 'bad' vs. {{Lang|ckv|sukkaw}} 'very bad'.<ref name="Blust2013" />

==== Malay dialects ====
Word-initial gemination occurs in various [[Malay language|Malay]] dialects, particularly those found on the east coast of the [[Malay Peninsula]] such as [[Kelantan-Pattani Malay]] and [[Terengganu Malay]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yupho |first=Nawanit |date=6 February 1989 |title=Consonant Clusters and Stress Rules in Pattani Malay |journal=[[Mon-Khmer Studies]] |pages=129–133 |via=SEAlang}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Nawawi|first=Nazarina|date=14 January 2013|title=Kajian Dialek Trengganu|url=http://www.slideshare.net/nazarinanawawi/kajian-dialek-trengganu|access-date=7 June 2021|website=slideshare|language=ms}}</ref> Gemination in these dialects of Malay occurs for various purposes such as:

* To form a shortened free variant of a word or phrase so that:
** {{Lang|ms|buwi}} {{IPA|/buwi/}} > {{IPA|/wːi/}} 'give'
** {{Lang|ms|ke darat}} {{IPA|/kə darat/}} > {{IPA|/dːarat/}} 'to/at/from the shore'
* A replacement of [[reduplication]] for its [[Reduplication#Malay (Indonesian and Malaysian)|various uses]] (e.g. to denote plural, to form a different word, etc.) in Standard Malay so that:
** {{Lang|ms|budak-budak}} {{IPA|/budak budak/}} > {{IPA|/bːudak/}} 'children'
** {{Lang|ms|layang-layang}} {{IPA|/lajaŋ lajaŋ/}} > {{IPA|/lːajaŋ/}} 'kite'

====Tuvaluan====
The [[Polynesian languages|Polynesian language]] [[Tuvaluan language|Tuvaluan]] allows for word-initial geminates, such as {{Lang|tvl|mmala}} 'overcooked'.<ref name="Jack">{{cite book |last1= Jackson|first1= Geoff and Jenny |title=An introduction to Tuvaluan|year=1999 |publisher= Suva: Oceania Printers }}</ref>

===Indo-European languages===

====English====
In [[English phonology]], consonant length is not distinctive within [[root word]]s. For instance, ''baggage'' is pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|æ|ɡ|ɪ|dʒ}}, not {{IPA|*/bæɡːɪdʒ/}}. However, phonetic gemination does occur marginally.

Gemination is found across words and across morphemes when the last consonant in a given word and the first consonant in the following word are the same [[fricative]], [[nasal consonant|nasal]], or [[stop consonant|stop]].<ref name="benhedia">{{Cite book
| vauthors = Ben Hedia S
| title = Gemination and degemination in English affixation: Investigating the interplay between morphology, phonology and phonetics
| place = Berlin
| publisher = Language Science Press
| date = 2019
| format = pdf
| url = http://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/221
| doi = 10.5281/zenodo.3232849
| doi-access=free
| isbn = 978-3-96110-188-7
}}</ref>

For instance:
* b: ''subbasement'' {{IPA|[ˈsʌb.beɪs.mənt]}}
* d: ''midday'' {{IPA|[ˈmɪdˌdeɪ]}}
* f: ''life force'' {{IPA|[ˈlaɪfˌfɔ(ɹ)s]}}
* g: ''egg girl'' {{IPA|[ˈɛɡ.ɡɝl]}}
* k: ''bookkeeper'' {{IPA|[ˈbʊk̚ˌkɪi.pə(ɹ)]}}
* l: ''wholly'' {{IPA|[ˈhoʊl.li]}} (compare ''holy'')
* m: ''calm man'' {{IPA|[ˌkɑːmˈmæn]}} or ''roommate'' {{IPA|[ˈrʊum.meɪt]}} (in some dialects) or ''prime minister'' {{IPA|[ˌpɹaɪmˈmɪnɪstə(ɹ)]}}
* n: ''evenness'' {{IPA|[ˈɪi.vən.nəs]}}
* p: ''lamppost'' {{IPA|[ˈlæmp̚ˌpoʊst]}} (compare ''lamb post'', ''compost'')
* r: ''interregnum'' {{IPA|[ˌɪn.tə(ɹ)ˈɹɛɡ.nəm]}} or ''fire road'' {{IPA|[ˈfaɪəɹˌɹoʊd]}}
* s: ''misspell'' {{IPA|[ˌmɪsˈspɛl]}} or ''this saddle'' {{IPA|[ðɪsˈsædəl]}}
* sh: ''fish shop'' {{IPA|[ˈfɪʃ.ʃɒp]}}
* t: ''cat tail'' {{IPA|[ˈkæt̚ˌteɪl]}}
* th: ''both thighs'' {{IPA|[ˈboʊθ'θaɪz]}}
* v: ''live voter'' {{IPA|[ˈlaɪv.voʊtə(ɹ)]}}
* z: ''pays zero'' {{IPA|[ˈpeɪzˈziˌɹoʊ]}}

With [[affricate]]s, however, this does not occur. For instance:
* ''orange juice'' {{IPA|[ˈɒɹɪndʒ.dʒʊus]}}

In most instances, the absence of this doubling does not affect the meaning, though it may confuse the listener momentarily. The following [[minimal pair]]s represent examples where the doubling ''does'' affect the meaning in most accents:

* ''ten nails'' versus ''ten ales''
* ''this sin'' versus ''this inn''
* ''five valleys'' versus ''five alleys''
* ''his zone'' versus ''his own''
* ''mead day'' versus ''me-day''
* ''unnamed'' {{IPA|[ˌʌnˈneɪmd]}} versus ''unaimed'' {{IPA|[ʌnˈeɪmd]}}
* ''forerunner'' {{IPA|[ˈfɔ(ɹ)ˌɹənə(ɹ)]}} versus ''foreigner'' {{IPA|[ˈfɔɹənəɹ]}}

Note that whenever {{IPA|[(ɹ)]}} appears (in brackets), non-rhotic dialects of English don't have the gemination, but rather lengthen the preceding vowel.

In some dialects gemination is also found for some words when the suffix ''-ly'' follows a root ending in -l or -ll, as in:
* ''solely'' {{IPA|[ˈsoʊl.li]}}
but not
* ''usually'' {{IPA|[ˈjʊuˌʒ(ʊ)ə.li]}}

In some varieties of [[Welsh English]], the process takes place indiscriminately between vowels, e.g. in ''money'' {{IPA|[ˈmɜn.niː]}} but it also applies with graphemic duplication (thus, orthographically dictated), e.g. ''butter'' {{IPA|[ˈbɜt̚.tə]}}<ref>Crystal, David (2003). ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language'' Second Edition, Cambridge University Press, p. 335</ref>

====French====
In French, gemination is usually not phonologically relevant and therefore does not allow words to be distinguished: it mostly corresponds to an accent of insistence ({{Lang|fr|c'est terrifiant}} realised {{IPA|[ˈtɛʁ.ʁi.fjɑ̃]|lang=fr}}), or meets hyper-correction criteria: one "corrects" one's pronunciation, despite the usual phonology, to be closer to a realization that one imagines to be more correct: thus, the word ''illusion'' is sometimes pronounced {{IPA|[il.lyˈzjɔ̃]|lang=fr}} by influence of the spelling.

However, gemination is distinctive in a few cases. Statements such as {{Lang|fr|elle a dit}} ('she said') ~ {{Lang|fr|elle l'a dit}} ('she said it') {{IPA|/ɛl a di/|lang=fr}} ~ {{IPA|/ɛl l‿a di/|lang=fr}} can commonly be distinguished by gemination. In a more sustained pronunciation, gemination distinguishes the conditional (and possibly the future tense) from the imperfect: {{Lang|fr|courrais}} 'would run' {{IPA|/kuʁ.ʁɛ/|lang=fr}} vs. {{Lang|fr|courais}} 'ran' {{IPA|/ku.ʁɛ/|lang=fr}}; or the indicative from the subjunctive: {{Lang|fr|croyons}} 'we believe' {{IPA|/kʁwa.jɔ̃/|lang=fr}} vs. {{Lang|fr|croyions}} 'we believed' {{IPA|/kʁwaj.jɔ̃/|lang=fr}}.

====Greek====
{{see also|Ancient Greek phonology#Doubled consonants|l1=Ancient Greek phonology: Doubled consonants}}
In [[Ancient Greek]], consonant length was distinctive, e.g., {{lang|grc|μέ'''λ'''ω}} {{IPA|[mélɔː]}} 'I am of interest' vs. {{lang|grc|μέ'''λλ'''ω}} {{IPA|[mélːɔː]}} 'I am going to'. The distinction has been lost in the [[Standard Modern Greek|standard]] and most other [[Varieties of Modern Greek|varieties]], with the exception of [[Cypriot Greek#Geminates|Cypriot]] (where it might carry over from Ancient Greek or arise from a number of synchronic and diachronic assimilatory processes, or even spontaneously), some varieties of the southeastern Aegean, and [[Greek-Bovesian|Italy]].

====Hindustani====
Gemination is common in both [[Hindi]] and [[Urdu]]. It does not occur after long vowels and is found in words of both Indic and Arabic origin, but not in those of Persian origin. In Urdu, gemination is represented by the [[Shadda]] diacritic, which is usually omitted from writings, and mainly written to clear ambiguity. In Hindi, gemination is represented by doubling the geminated consonant, enjoined with the [[Virama]] diacritic.
{| class="wikitable"
!Transliteration
!Hindi
!Urdu
!Meaning
!Etymology
|-
|{{Transliteration|hi|pa'''tt'''ā}}
|{{Lang|hi|पत्ता}}
|{{lang|ur|پَتَّہ}}
|'leaf'
|[[Sanskrit]]
|-
|{{Transliteration|hi|a'''bb'''ā}}
|{{Lang|hi|अब्बा}}
|{{lang|ur|اَبّا}}
|'father'
| rowspan="2" |[[Arabic]]
|-
|{{Transliteration|hi|da'''jj'''āl}}
|{{Lang|hi|दज्जाल}}
|{{lang|ur|دَجّال}}
|'anti-christ'
|-
|{{Transliteration|hi|ḍa'''bb'''ā}}
|{{Lang|hi|डब्बा}}
|{{lang|ur|ڈَبَّہ}}
|'box'
|[[Sanskrit]]
|-
|{{Transliteration|hi|ja'''nn'''at}}
|{{Lang|hi|जन्नत}}
|{{Lang|ur|جَنَّت}}
|'heaven'
|[[Arabic]]
|-
|{{Transliteration|hi|ga'''dd'''ā}}
|{{Lang|hi|गद्दा}}
|{{Lang|ur|گَدّا}}
|'mattress'
|[[Sanskrit]]
|}

=====Aspirated consonants=====
Gemination of aspirated consonants in Hindi are formed by combining the corresponding non-aspirated consonant followed by its aspirated counterpart. In vocalised Urdu, the [[shadda]] is placed on the unaspirated consonant followed by the [[Arabic diacritics|short vowel diacritic]], followed by the ''[[Urdu alphabet#Alphabet|do-cashmī hē]]'', which aspirates the preceding consonant. There are few examples where an aspirated consonant is truly doubled.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Examples of aspirated gemination
!Transliteration
!Hindi
!Urdu
!Meaning
|-
|{{Transliteration|hi|pa'''t.th'''ar}}
|{{Lang|hi|पत्थर}}
|{{Lang|ur|پَتَّھر}}
|'stone'
|-
|{{Transliteration|hi|ka'''t.th'''ā}}
|{{Lang|hi|कत्था}}
|{{Lang|ur|کَتَّھا}}
|brown spread on {{Transliteration|hi|pān}}
|-
|{{Transliteration|hi|a'''d.dh'''ā}}
|{{Lang|hi|अद्धा}}
|{{Lang|ur|اَدَّھا}}
|Hindi slang/short for 'half' – {{Lang|hi|आधा}} ({{Transliteration|hi|ādhā}})
|-
|{{Transliteration|hi|ma'''k.kh'''ī}}
|{{Lang|hi|मक्खी}}
|{{Lang|ur|مَکِّھی}}
|'fly'
|}

====Italian====
{{see also|syntactic doubling}}
Italian is notable among the [[Romance languages]] for its extensive geminated consonants. In [[Italian language|Standard Italian]], word-internal geminates are usually written with two consonants, and geminates are distinctive.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dizionario.rai.it/static.aspx?treeID=25 |title=Raddoppiamenti di vocali e di consonanti |year=2009 |work=Dizionario italiano d'ortografia e pronunzia (DOP) |publisher=[[RAI]] |access-date=November 11, 2009 |archive-date=June 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630213933/http://www.dizionario.rai.it/static.aspx?treeID=25 }}</ref> For example, {{lang|it|bevve}}, meaning 'he/she drank', is phonemically {{IPA|/ˈbevve/}} and pronounced {{IPA|it|ˈbevːe|}}, while {{lang|it|beve}} ('he/she drinks/is drinking') is {{IPA|/ˈbeve/}}, pronounced {{IPA|it|ˈbeːve|}}. Tonic syllables are [[mora (linguistics)|bimoraic]] and are therefore composed of either a long vowel in an open syllable (as in {{lang|it|beve}}) or a short vowel in a closed syllable (as in {{lang|it|bevve}}). In varieties with post-vocalic [[lenition|weakening]] of some consonants (e.g. {{IPA|/raˈdʒone/}} → {{IPA|it|raˈʒoːne||generic=yes}} 'reason'), geminates are not affected ({{IPA|/ˈmaddʒo/}} → {{IPA|it|ˈmad͡ʒːo||generic=yes}} 'May').

Double or long consonants occur not only within words but also at word boundaries, and they are then pronounced but not necessarily written: {{lang|it|chi}} + {{lang|it|sa}} = {{lang|it|chissà}} ('who knows') {{IPA|it|kisˈsa|}} and {{lang|it|vado a casa}} ('I am going home') {{IPA|it|ˈvaːdo a kˈkaːsa|}}. All consonants except {{IPAslink|z}} can be geminated. This word-initial gemination is triggered either lexically by the item preceding the lengthening consonant (e.g. by preposition {{Lang|it|a}} 'to, at' in {{IPA|[a kˈkaːsa]|lang=it}} {{Lang|it|a casa}} 'homeward' but not by definite article {{Lang|it|la}} in {{IPA|[la ˈkaːsa]|lang=it}} {{Lang|it|la casa}} 'the house'), or by any word-final stressed vowel ([{{IPA|parˈlɔ ffranˈtʃeːze}}] {{Lang|it|parlò francese}} 's/he spoke French' but [{{IPA|ˈparlo franˈtʃeːze}}] {{Lang|it|parlo francese}} 'I speak French').

====Latin====
In [[Latin]], consonant length was distinctive, as in {{lang|la|a'''n'''us}} 'old woman' vs. {{lang|la|a'''nn'''us}} 'year'. [[Vowel length]] was also distinctive in Latin until about the fourth century, and was reflected in the orthography with an [[Apex (diacritic)|apex]]. Geminates inherited from Latin still exist in [[Italian language|Italian]], in which {{IPA|[ˈanno]}} {{lang|it|anno}} and {{IPA|[ˈaːno]}} {{lang|it|ano}} contrast with regard to {{IPA|/nn/}} and {{IPA|/n/}} as in Latin. It has been almost completely lost in [[French language|French]] and completely in [[Romanian language|Romanian]]. In [[West Iberian languages]], former Latin geminate consonants often evolved to new phonemes, including some instances of [[nasal vowel]]s in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] and Old [[Galician language|Galician]] as well as most cases of {{IPA|/ɲ/}} and {{IPA|/ʎ/}} in Spanish, but phonetic length of both consonants and vowels is no longer distinctive.

====Nepali====
In [[Nepali language|Nepali]], all consonants have geminate counterparts except for {{IPA|/w, j, ɦ/}}. Geminates occur only medially.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Khatiwada|first=Rajesh|date=December 2009|title=Nepali|journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association|language=en|volume=39|issue=3|pages=373–380|doi=10.1017/S0025100309990181|issn=0025-1003|doi-access=free}}</ref> Examples:

* {{Lang|Ne|समान}} – 'equal' {{IPA|ne|sʌmän|}}; {{Lang|Ne|सम्मान}} {{IPA|ne|sʌmːän|}} – 'honour'
* {{Lang|Ne|सता}} – 'disturb!' {{IPA|ne|sʌt̪ä|}}; {{Lang|Ne|सत्ता}} {{IPA|ne|sʌt̪ːä|}} – 'authority'
* {{Lang|Ne|पका}} – 'cook!' {{IPA|ne|pʌkä|}}; {{Lang|Ne|पक्का}} {{IPA|ne|pʌkːä|}} – 'certain'

====Norwegian====

In [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], gemination is indicated in writing by double consonants. Gemination often differentiates between unrelated words. As in Italian, Norwegian uses short vowels before doubled consonants and long vowels before single consonants. There are qualitative differences between short and long vowels:

*{{lang|no|måte}} {{IPA|no|ˈmôːtə|}} / {{lang|no|måtte}} {{IPA|no|ˈmɔ̂tːə|}} – 'method' / 'must'
*{{lang|no|lete}} {{IPA|no|ˈlêːtə|}} / {{lang|no|lette}} {{IPA|no|ˈlɛ̂tːə|}} – 'to search' / 'to take off'
*{{lang|no|sine}} {{IPA|no|ˈsîːnə|}} / {{lang|no|sinne}} {{IPA|no|ˈsɪ̂nːə|}} – 'theirs' / 'anger'

====Polish====
{{Disputed section|Polish|date=October 2024}}
In [[Polish language|Polish]], consonant length is indicated with two identical letters. Examples:

*{{lang|pl|wanna}} {{IPA|/ˈvanːa/}} – 'bathtub'
*{{lang|pl|[[Anna (given name)|Anna]]}} {{IPA|/ˈanːa/}}
*{{lang|pl|horror}} {{IPA|/ˈxɔrːɔr/}} – 'horror'
*{{lang|pl|hobby}} {{IPA|/ˈxɔbːɨ/}} or {{IPA|/ˈxɔbʲːi/}} – 'hobby'

Consonant length is distinctive and sometimes is necessary to distinguish words:

*{{lang|pl|rodziny}} {{IPA|/rɔˈd͡ʑinɨ/}} – 'families'; {{lang|pl|rodzinny}} {{IPA|/rɔˈd͡ʑinːɨ/}} – 'familial'
*{{lang|pl|saki}} {{IPA|/saki/}} – 'sacks, bags'; {{lang|pl|ssaki}} {{IPA|/sːaki/}} – 'mammals',
*{{lang|pl|leki}} {{IPA|/ˈlɛkʲi/}} – 'medicines'; {{lang|pl|lekki}} {{IPA|/ˈlɛkʲːi/}} – 'light, lightweight'

Double consonants are common on morpheme borders where the initial or final sound of the suffix is the same as the final or initial sound of the stem (depending on the position of the suffix), after [[Polish phonology#Voicing and devoicing|devoicing]]. Examples:

*{{lang|pl|przedtem}} {{IPA|/ˈpʂɛtːɛm/}} – 'before, previously'; from {{lang|pl|przed}} (suffix 'before') + {{lang|pl|tem}} (archaic 'that')
*{{lang|pl|oddać}} {{IPA|/ˈɔdːat͡ɕ/}} – 'give back'; from {{lang|pl|od}} (suffix 'from') + {{lang|pl|dać}} ('give')
*{{lang|pl|bagienny}} {{IPA|/baˈgʲɛnːɨ/}} – 'swampy'; from {{lang|pl|bagno}} ('swamp') + {{lang|pl|ny}} (suffix forming adjectives)
*{{lang|pl|najjaśniejszy}} {{IPA|/najːaɕˈɲɛ̯iʂɨ/}} – 'brightest'; from {{lang|pl|naj}} (suffix forming superlative) + {{lang|pl|jaśniejszy}} ('brighter')

====Punjabi====
[[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] is written in two scripts, namely, [[Gurmukhi script|Gurmukhi]] and [[Shahmukhi alphabet|Shahmukhi]]. Both scripts indicate gemination through the uses of diacritics. In Gurmukhi the diacritic is called the '''[[ੱ|{{transliteration|pa|áddak}}]]''' which is written ''before'' the geminated consonant and is mandatory. In contrast, the '''''[[shadda]]''''', which is used to represent gemination in the [[Shahmukhi alphabet|Shahmukhi script]], is not necessarily written, retaining the tradition of the original [[Arabic script]] and [[Persian language]], where diacritics are usually omitted from writing, except to clear ambiguity, and is written ''above'' the geminated consonant. In the cases of [[aspirated consonant]]s in the [[Shahmukhi script]], the '''''[[shadda]]''''' remains on the consonant, not on the [[Shahmukhi alphabet#Consonants|''do-cashmī he'']].

Gemination is specially characteristic of Punjabi compared to other Indo-Aryan languages like Hindi-Urdu, where instead of the presence of consonant lengthening, the preceding vowel tends to be lengthened. Consonant length is distinctive in Punjabi, for example:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
! colspan="5" |Singleton
! colspan="5" |Geminated
|-
|'''IPA'''
|'''Gurmukhi'''
|'''Shahmukhi'''
|'''Transliteration'''
|'''Meaning'''
|'''IPA'''
|'''Gurmukhi'''
|'''Shahmukhi'''
|'''Transliteration'''
|'''Meaning'''
|-
|{{IPA|/d̪əsᵊ/}}
|{{Lang|pa|ਦਸ}}
|{{Nq|دَس}}
|{{Transliteration|pa|das}}
|'ten'
|{{IPA|/d̪əsːə/}}
|{{Lang|pa|ਦੱਸ}}
|{{Nq|دَسّ}}
|{{Transliteration|pa|dass}}
|'tell' ([[Imperative mood|imperative]])
|-
|{{IPA|/pət̪a/}}
|{{Lang|pa|ਪਤਾ}}
|{{Nq|پَتَہ}}
|{{Transliteration|pa|patā/patah}}<ref name=":0">In [[Gurmukhi]], the final schwa is represented with a '''ਾ''' (ā), whereas in [[Shahmukhi]], the final form of {{Big|{{nq|[[ہ]]}}}} (Gol he) can represent a schwa.</ref>
|'aware of something'
|{{IPA|/pət̪ːa/}}
|{{Lang|pa|ਪੱਤਾ}}
|{{Nq|پَتَّہ}}
|{{Transliteration|pa|pattā/pattah}}<ref name=":0" />
|'leaf'
|-
|{{IPA|/sət̪ᵊ/}}
|{{Lang|pa|ਸਤ}}
|{{Nq|سَت}}
|{{Transliteration|pa|sat}}
|'truth' ([[Liturgy|liturgical]])
|{{IPA|/sət̪ːə/}}
|{{Lang|pa|ਸੱਤ}}
|{{Nq|سَتّ}}
|{{Transliteration|pa|satt}}
|'seven'
|-
|{{IPA|/kəlɑː/}}
|{{Lang|pa|ਕਲਾ}}
|{{Nq|کَلا}}
|{{Transliteration|pa|kalā}}
|'art'
|{{IPA|/kəlːa/}}
|{{Lang|pa|ਕੱਲਾ}}
|{{Nq|کَلّا}}
|{{Transliteration|pa|kallā}}
|'alone'
|}

====Russian====
In [[Russian language|Russian]], consonant length (indicated with two letters, as in {{lang|ru|ва'''нн'''а}} {{IPA|[ˈva'''nn'''ə]}} 'bathtub') may occur in several situations.

[[Minimal pairs]] (or [[chroneme]]s) exist, such as {{wikt-lang|ru|по'''д'''ержать}} {{IPA|[pə'''d'''ʲɪrˈʐatʲ]}} 'to hold' vs {{wikt-lang|ru|по'''дд'''ержать}} {{IPA|[pə'''dʲː'''ɪrˈʐatʲ]}} 'to support', and their conjugations, or {{wikt-lang|ru|дли'''н'''а}} {{IPA|[dlʲɪˈ'''n'''a]}} 'length' vs {{wikt-lang|ru|дли'''нн'''а}} {{IPA|[dlʲɪˈ'''nː'''a]}} 'long' adj. f.

*[[Word formation]] or [[Grammatical conjugation|conjugation]]: {{lang|ru|дли'''н'''а}} ({{IPA|[dlʲɪˈ'''n'''a]}} 'length') > {{lang|ru|дли'''нн'''ый}} ({{IPA|[ˈdlʲi'''nn'''ɨj]}} 'long') This occurs when two adjacent morphemes have the same consonant and is comparable to the situation of Polish described above.
*[[Assimilation (linguistics)|Assimilation]]. The spelling usually reflects the unassimilated consonants, but they are pronounced as a single long consonant.
**{{lang|ru|вы'''сш'''ий}} ({{IPA|[ˈvɨ'''ʂː'''ɨj]}} 'highest').<ref>{{Cite book
|last=Savko
|first=I. E.
|script-title=ru:Весь школьный курс русского языка
|url=http://www.pshelp.narod.ru/lib/applicant/0002.html
|access-date=2009-02-13
|year=2007
|publisher=Sovremennyy literator
|language=ru
|isbn= 978-5-17-035009-4
|page=768
|chapter=10.3. Произношение сочетаний согласных
|chapter-url=http://www.pshelp.narod.ru/lib/applicant/0002-014.html
}}
</ref>

====Spanish====
There are phonetic geminate consonants in Caribbean Spanish due to the assimilation of /l/ and /ɾ/ in syllabic coda to the following consonant.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Arias|first=Álvaro|date=2019|title=Fonética y fonología de las consonantes geminadas en el español de Cuba|url=https://revistas.usc.gal/index.php/moenia/article/view/6474/9974|journal=Moenia}} 25, 465-497</ref> Examples of Cuban Spanish:

{|
|+
|-
|/l/ or /r/ + /f/ ||   → ||[ff]|| a[ff]iler, hue[ff]ano || (Sp. {{Lang|es|alfiler}}, {{Lang|es|huérfano}})
|-
|/l/ or /r/ + /h/||    → ||[ɦh]|| ana[ɦh]ésico, vi[ɦh]en|| (Sp. {{Lang|es|analgésico}}, {{Lang|es|virgen}})
|-
|/l/ or /r/ + /b/||    → || [bb] || si[bb]a, cu[bb]a|| (Sp. {{Lang|es|silba}} or {{Lang|es|sirva}}, {{Lang|es|curva}})
|-
|/l/ or /r/ + /d/||    → || [dd]|| ce[dd]a, acue[dd]o|| (Sp. {{Lang|es|celda}} or {{Lang|es|cerda}}, {{Lang|es|acuerdo}})
|-
|/l/ or /r/ + /g/||    → || [gg]|| pu[gg]a, la[gg]a|| (Sp. {{Lang|es|pulga}} or {{Lang|es|purga}}, {{Lang|es|larga}})
|-
|/l/ or /r/ + /m/||    → || [mm]|| ca[mm]a, a[mm]a|| (Sp. {{Lang|es|calma}}, {{Lang|es|alma}} or {{Lang|es|arma}})
|-
|/l/ or /r/ + /n/||    → || [nn]|| pie[nn]a, ba[nn]eario|| (Sp. {{Lang|es|pierna}}, {{Lang|es|balneario}})
|-
|/l/ or /r/ + /l/||    → || [ll]|| bu[ll]a, cha[ll]a|| (Sp. {{Lang|es|burla}}, {{Lang|es|charla}})
|}

===Luganda===
[[Luganda]] (a [[Bantu language]]) is unusual in that gemination can occur word-initially, as well as word-medially. For example, {{lang|lg|kkapa}} {{IPA|/kːapa/}} 'cat', {{IPA|/ɟːaɟːa/}} {{lang|lg|jjajja}} 'grandfather' and {{IPA|/ɲːabo/}} {{lang|lg|nnyabo}} 'madam' all begin with geminate consonants.

There are three consonants that cannot be geminated: {{IPA|/j/}}, {{IPA|/w/}} and {{IPA|/l/}}. Whenever [[morphology (linguistics)|morphological]] rules would geminate these consonants, {{IPA|/j/}} and {{IPA|/w/}} are prefixed with {{IPA|/ɡ/}}, and {{IPA|/l/}} changes to {{IPA|/d/}}. For example:
* {{lang|lg|-ye}} {{IPA|/je/}} 'army' (root) > {{lang|lg|ggye}} {{IPA|/ɟːe/}} 'an army' (noun)
* {{lang|lg|-yinja}} {{IPA|/jiːɲɟa/}} 'stone' (root) > {{lang|lg|jjinja}} {{IPA|/ɟːiːɲɟa/}} 'a stone' (noun); {{lang|lg|jj}} is usually spelt {{lang|lg|ggy}}
* {{lang|lg|-wanga}} {{IPA|/waːŋɡa/}} 'nation' (root) > {{lang|lg|ggwanga}} {{IPA|/ɡːwaːŋɡa/}} 'a nation' (noun)
* {{lang|lg|-lagala}} {{IPA|/laɡala/}} 'medicine' (root) > {{lang|lg|ddagala}} {{IPA|/dːaɡala/}} 'medicine' (noun)

===Japanese===
{{See also|Japanese phonology#Gemination}}
In [[Japanese language|Japanese]], consonant length is distinctive (as is vowel length). Gemination in the [[syllabary]] is represented with the [[sokuon]], a small {{Lang|ja-latn|tsu}}:<ref name="Asano1994">{{Cite journal|title=Mora-Based Temporal Adjustments in Japanese|journal=Colorado Research in Linguistics|url=https://journals.colorado.edu/index.php/cril/article/view/195/175|last=Asano|first=Yoshiteru|volume=13|publisher=University of Colorado Boulder|doi=10.25810/2ddh-9161|year=1994|at=p2 line 29|language=en|format=en|doi-access=free}}</ref> {{Lang|ja|っ}} for [[hiragana]] in native words and {{Lang|ja|ッ}} for [[katakana]] in foreign words. For example, {{Lang|ja|来た}} ({{Lang|ja|きた}}, {{Lang|ja-latn|kita}}) means 'came; arrived', while {{Lang|ja|切った}} ({{Lang|ja|きった}}, {{Lang|ja-latn|kitta}}) means 'cut; sliced'. With the influx of ''[[gairaigo]]'' ('foreign words') into Modern Japanese, [[voiced consonants]] have become able to geminate as well:<ref>{{citation|last=Kawahara|first=Shigeto|title=A Faithfulness ranking projected from a perceptibility scale: The case of [+ Voice] in Japanese|journal=Language|publisher=Linguistic Society of America|volume=82|issue=3|pages=536–574|year=2006|url=http://user.keio.ac.jp/~kawahara/pdf/Lang82.3kawahara.pdf|doi=10.1353/lan.2006.0146<!--|doi-access=subscription-->|s2cid=145093954|author-link=Shigeto Kawahara}}, p. 538</ref> {{Lang|ja|バグ}} ({{Lang|ja-latn|bagu}}) means '(computer) bug', and {{Lang|ja|バッグ}} ({{Lang|ja-latn|baggu}}) means 'bag'. Distinction between [[voiceless]] gemination and [[voiced]] gemination is visible in pairs of words such as {{Lang|ja|キット}} ({{Lang|ja-latn|kitto}}, meaning 'kit') and {{Lang|ja|キッド}} ({{Lang|ja-latn|kiddo}}, meaning 'kid'). In addition, in some variants of colloquial Modern Japanese, gemination may be applied to some adjectives and adverbs (regardless of voicing) in order to add emphasis: {{Lang|ja|すごい}} ({{Lang|ja-latn|sugoi}}, 'amazing') contrasts with {{Lang|ja|すっごい}} ({{Lang|ja-latn|suggoi}}, '<nowiki/>''really'' amazing'); {{Lang|ja|思い切り}} ({{Lang|ja|おもいきり}}, {{Lang|ja-latn|omoikiri}}, 'with all one's strength') contrasts with {{Lang|ja|思いっ切り}} ({{Lang|ja|おもいっきり}}, {{Lang|ja-latn|omoikkiri}}, '''really'' with all one's strength').

===Turkic languages===
====Turkish====
In [[Turkish language|Turkish]] gemination is indicated by two identical letters as in most languages that have phonemic gemination.

* {{lang|tr|anne}} {{IPA|[annɛ]}} "mother"
* {{lang|tr|hürriyet}} {{IPA|[çyɹ̝ːije̝t]}} "freedom"<ref>Relatively archaic, its synonym ''özgürlük'' is more  often used.</ref>

Loanwords originally ending with a phonemic geminated [[consonant]] are always written and pronounced without the ending gemination as in Arabic.

* {{lang|tr|hac}} {{IPA|[hadʒ]}} ([[hajj]]) (from Arabic {{lang|ar|حج|rtl=yes}} {{IPA|/ħadʒː/}} pronounced {{IPA|[ħadʒ]}})
* {{lang|tr|hat}} {{IPA|[hat]}} ([[Islamic calligraphy]]) (from Arabic {{lang|ar|خط|rtl=yes}} {{IPA|/xatˤː/}} pronounced {{IPA|[xatˤ]}})

Although gemination is resurrected when the word takes a suffix.

* {{lang|tr|hac}} becomes {{lang|tr|hacca}} {{IPA|[haˈdʒːa]}} ('to hajj') when it takes the suffix "-a" ('to', indicating destination)
* {{lang|tr|hat}} becomes {{lang|tr|hattın}} {{IPA|[haˈtːɯn]}} ('of calligraphy') when it takes the suffix "-ın" ('of', expressing possession)

Gemination also occurs when a [[suffix]] starting with a consonant comes after a word that ends with the same consonant.

* {{lang|tr|el}} {{IPA|[el]}} ('hand') + {{lang|tr|-ler}} {{IPA|[læɾ̥]}} ("-s", marks [[plural]]) = {{lang|tr|eller}} {{IPA|[eˈlːæɾ̥]}} ('hands'). (contrasts with {{lang|tr|eler}}, 's/he eliminates')
* {{lang|tr|at}} {{IPA|[at]}} ('to throw') + {{lang|tr|-tık}} {{IPA|[tɯk]}} ("-ed", marks [[past tense]], [[Grammatical person|first person plural]]) = {{lang|tr|attık}} {{IPA|[aˈtːɯk]}} ('we threw [smth.]'). (contrasts with {{lang|tr|atık}}, 'waste')

===Dravidian languages===
====Malayalam====
In [[Malayalam]], compounding is phonologically conditioned<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Interplay of Morphology and Phonology |last=Inkelas |first=Sharon |series=Oxford Surveys in Syntax & Morphology |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-928047-6 |page=10}}</ref> called as [[sandhi]] and gemination occurs at word boundaries. Gemination sandhi is called ''dvitva sandhi'' or 'doubling sandhi'.

Consider following example:

* {{lang|ml|മേശ}} + {{lang|ml|പെട്ടി}} ({{transliteration|ml|mēśa}} + {{transliteration|ml|peṭṭi}}) – {{lang|ml|മേശപ്പെട്ടി}} ({{transliteration|ml|mēśappeṭṭi}})

Gemination also occurs in a single morpheme like {{lang|ml|കള്ളം}} ({{transliteration|ml|kaḷḷaṁ}}) which has a different meaning from {{lang|ml|കളം}} ({{transliteration|ml|kaḷaṁ}}).

===Uralic languages===
====Sámi languages====
Many [[Sámi languages]] have gemination as a phonetic feature. The [[Proto-Sami language]] had as many as four different lengths, although there is only one living language where this is attested: certains dialect of [[Ume Sámi]]. Most varieties have merged them to two or three contrastive degrees of length.

====Estonian====
[[Estonian language|Estonian]] has three phonemic lengths; however, the third length is a [[suprasegmental]] feature, which is as much tonal patterning as a length distinction. It is traceable to [[allophony]] caused by now-deleted suffixes, for example half-long {{lang|et|linna}} < *{{lang|et|linnan}} 'of the city' vs. overlong {{lang|et|linna}} < *{{lang|et|linnaan}} < *{{lang|et|linnahen}} 'to the city'.

====Finnish====
{{See also|Finnish phonology}}

Consonant length is phonemic in [[Finnish language|Finnish]], for example {{lang|fi|takka}} {{IPA|fi|ˈtɑkːɑ|}} ('fireplace', transcribed with the length sign {{IPA|[ː]}} or with a doubled letter {{IPA|[ˈtɑkkɑ]}}) and {{lang|fi|taka}} {{IPA|[ˈtɑkɑ]}} ('back'). Consonant gemination occurs with simple consonants ({{lang|fi|hakaa}} : {{lang|fi|hakkaa}}) and between syllables in the pattern (consonant)-vowel-sonorant-stop-stop-vowel ({{lang|fi|palkka}}) but not generally in codas or with longer syllables. (This occurs in [[Sami languages]] and in the Finnish name {{lang|fi|Jouhkki}}, which is of Sami origin.) [[Sandhi]] often produces geminates.

Both consonant and vowel gemination are phonemic, and both occur independently, e.g. {{lang|fi|Mali}}, {{lang|fi|maali}}, {{lang|fi|malli}}, {{lang|fi|maallinen}} (Karelian surname, 'paint', 'model', and 'secular').

In Standard Finnish, consonant gemination of {{IPA|[h]}} exists only in [[interjection]]s, new loan words and in the playful word [[wikt:hihhuli|''hihhuli'']], with its origins in the 19th century, and derivatives of that word.

In many Finnish dialects there are also the following types of special gemination in connection with long vowels: the southwestern special gemination ({{Lang|fi|lounaismurteiden erikoisgeminaatio}}), with lengthening of stops + shortening of long vowel, of the type {{lang|fi|leipää}} < {{lang|fi|leippä}}; the common gemination ({{Lang|fi|yleisgeminaatio}}), with lengthening of all consonants in short, stressed syllables, of the type {{lang|fi|putoaa}} > {{lang|fi|puttoo}} and its extension (which is strongest in the northwestern Savonian dialects); the eastern dialectal special gemination ({{Lang|fi|itämurteiden erikoisgeminaatio}}), which is the same as the common gemination but also applies to unstressed syllables and certain clusters, of the types {{lang|fi|lehmiä}} > {{lang|fi|lehmmii}} and {{lang|fi|maksetaan}} > {{lang|fi|maksettaan}}.

===Wagiman===
In [[Wagiman language|Wagiman]], an [[Indigenous Australian languages|indigenous Australian language]], consonant length in stops is the primary phonetic feature that differentiates [[fortis and lenis]] stops. Wagiman does not have phonetic voice. Word-initial and word-final stops never contrast for length.

==Writing==
In [[writing|written language]], consonant length is often indicated by writing a consonant twice (''ss'', ''kk'', ''pp'', and so forth), but can also be indicated with a special symbol, such as the [[shadda]] in Arabic, the [[dagesh]] in Classical Hebrew, or the [[sokuon]] in [[Japanese language|Japanese]].

In the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]], long consonants are normally written using the [[triangular colon]] '''{{IPA|ː}}''', e.g. {{Lang|it|penne}} {{IPA|[penːe]}} ('feathers', 'pens', also a kind of pasta), though doubled letters are also used (especially for underlying [[phonemic]] forms, or in tone languages to facilitate diacritic marking).

* [[Catalan orthography|Catalan]] uses the raised dot (called an [[interpunct]]) to distinguish a geminated {{lang|ca|l}} from a palatal {{lang|ca|[[ll]]}}. Thus, {{lang|ca|paral·lel}} ('parallel') and {{lang|ca|[[Ramon Llull|Llull]]}} (Standard Catalan: {{IPA|[pəɾəlˈlɛl]}}, {{IPA|[ʎuʎ]}}).
* [[Estonian language|Estonian]] uses ''b'', ''d'', ''g'' for short consonants, and ''p'', ''t'', ''k'' and ''pp'', ''tt'', ''kk'' are used for long consonants.
* [[Hungarian alphabet|Hungarian digraphs and trigraphs]] are geminated by doubling the first letter only, thus the geminate form of {{lang|hu|sz}} {{IPA|/s/}} is {{lang|hu|ssz}} {{IPA|/sː/}} (rather than *''szsz''), and that of {{lang|hu|dzs}} {{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}} is {{lang|hu|ddzs}} {{IPA|/d͡ʒː/}}.
* The only digraph in [[Luganda|Ganda]], {{lang|lg|ny}} {{IPA|/ɲ/}} is doubled in the same way: {{lang|lg|nny}} {{IPA|/ɲː/}}.
* In [[Italian language|Italian]], geminated instances of the sound cluster {{IPA|[kw]}} (represented by the digraph {{lang|it|qu}}) are always indicated by writing {{lang|it|cq}}, except in the words {{lang|it|soqquadro}} and {{lang|it|beqquadro}}, where the letter {{lang|it|q}} is doubled.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/it/lingua-italiana/consulenza-linguistica/domande-risposte/soqquadro-ma-perch|title=Soqquadro: ma perché? {{!}} Accademia della Crusca|website=www.accademiadellacrusca.it|language=it|access-date=2019-09-01}}</ref> The gemination of sounds {{IPA|[ɲ]}}, {{IPA|[ʃ]}} and {{IPA|[ʎ]}}, (spelled {{lang|it|gn}}, {{lang|it|sc(i)}}, and {{lang|it|gl(i)}}, respectively) is not indicated because these consonants are always geminated when occurring between vowels. Also the sounds {{IPA|[ts]}}, {{IPA|[dz]}} (both spelled {{lang|it|z}}) are always geminated when occurring between vowels, yet their gemination is sometimes shown, redundantly, by doubling the {{lang|it|z}} as, e.g., in {{lang|it|pizza}} {{IPA|[ˈpittsa]}}.
*In Japanese, non-nasal gemination ({{Lang|ja-latn|sokuon}}) is denoted by placing the "small" variant of the syllable {{Lang|ja-latn|Tsu}} ({{nihongo2|っ}} or {{nihongo2|ッ}}) between two syllables, where the end syllable must begin with a consonant. For nasal gemination, precede the syllable with the letter for mora N ({{nihongo2|ん}} or {{nihongo2|ン}}). The script of these symbols must match with the surrounding syllables.
* In [[Swedish language|Swedish]] and [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], the general rule is that a geminated consonant is written double, unless succeeded by another consonant. Hence {{Lang|gmq|hall}} ('hall'), but {{Lang|gmq|halt}} ('Halt!'). In Swedish, this does not apply to morphological changes (so {{Lang|sv|kall}}, 'cold' and {{Lang|sv|kallt}}, 'coldly' or compounds [so {{Lang|sv|tunnbröd}} ('flatbread')]. The exception are some words ending in ''-m'', thus {{Lang|sv|hem}} ['home'] [but {{Lang|sv|hemma}} ('at home')] and {{Lang|sv|stam}} ['stem'], but {{Lang|sv|lamm}} ['lamb', to distinguish the word from {{Lang|sv|lam}} ('lame')], with a long {{IPA|/a}}/), as well as adjectives in ''-nn'', so {{Lang|sv|tunn}}, 'thin' but {{Lang|sv|tunt}}, 'thinly' (while Norwegian has a rule always prohibiting two "m"s at the end of a word (with the exception being only a handful of proper names, and as a rule forms with suffixes reinsert the second "m", and the rule is that these word-final "m"s always cause the preceding vowel sound to be short (despite the spelling)).

===Double letters that are not long consonants===
Doubled orthographic consonants do not always indicate a long phonetic consonant.

* In English, for example, the {{IPA|[n]}} sound of ''running'' is not lengthened. Consonant digraphs are used in English to indicate the preceding vowel is a short (lax) vowel, while a single letter often allows a long (tense) vowel to occur. For example, ''tapping'' {{IPA|/tæpɪŋ/}} (from ''tap'') has a short ''a'' {{IPA|/æ/}}, which is distinct from the diphthongal long ''a'' {{IPA|/eɪ/}} in ''taping'' {{IPA|/teɪpɪŋ/}} (from ''tape'').
* In Standard [[Modern Greek]], doubled orthographic consonants have no phonetic significance at all.
* [[Hangul]] (the Korean alphabet) and [[Korean romanization|its romanizations]] also use double consonants, but to indicate [[Fortis and lenis|fortis]] articulation, not gemination.
* In [[Klallam language|Klallam]], a sequence of two {{IPA|/t/}} sounds such as in a word like {{IPA|/ʔítt/}} 'sleep' is not pronounced like a geminated stop with a long closure duration – rather the sequence is pronounced as a sequence of two individual sounds such that the first {{IPA|/t/}} is released before the articulation of the second {{IPA|/t/}}.
* In the [[Old Icelandic]] orthography of the [[First Grammatical Treatise]], geminates are indicated by small caps: ⟨ʙ⟩, ⟨ᴅ⟩, ⟨ꜰ⟩, ⟨ɢ⟩, ⟨ᴋ⟩, ⟨ʟ⟩, ⟨ᴍ⟩, ⟨ɴ⟩, ⟨ᴘ⟩, ⟨ʀ⟩, ⟨ꜱ⟩ and ⟨ᴛ⟩, whereas modern renditions of Old Norse designate geminates by two consecutive stops, i.e. ⟨bb⟩, ⟨ff⟩, ⟨gg⟩, ⟨kk⟩ ⟨ll⟩, ⟨mm⟩, ⟨nn⟩ ⟨pp⟩, ⟨rr⟩, ⟨ss⟩ and ⟨tt⟩, respectively.
* In [[Proto-Basque]] notation, capital letters are employed to denote the [[Fortis and lenis|fortis–lenis]] contrast, which manifests as a difference between geminate vs. ⟨L⟩ /lː/ vs. ⟨l⟩ /l/, ⟨N⟩ /nː/ vs. ⟨n⟩ /n/, but capitals might also denote voiceless vs. voiced (⟨T⟩ /t/ vs. ⟨d⟩ /d/, ⟨K⟩ /k/ vs. ⟨g⟩ /g/, no ⟨P⟩ exists in Mitxelena's reconstruction consonant system of Proto-Basque, only ⟨b⟩) or affricate vs. sibilant distinction (⟨TZ⟩ /t̻s̻/ vs. ⟨z⟩ /s̻/, ⟨TS⟩ /t̺s̺/ vs. ⟨s⟩ /s̺/), or trill ⟨R⟩ /r/ vs. tap ⟨r⟩ /ɾ/.

==See also==
*[[Syntactic gemination]]
*[[West Germanic gemination]]
*[[Glottal stop]]
*[[Length (phonetics)]]
*[[Vowel length]]
*[[Syllabic consonant]]
*[[Index of phonetics articles]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Spoken Wikipedia|Gemination.ogg|date=2005-07-20}}

{{Suprasegmentals}}

[[Category:Consonants]]
[[Category:Phonetics]]