Abstract Our EMA data show that the longer VOT duration of the coronal non-emphatic /t/ compared to its emphatic cognate /T/ is due to: (i) the laminal articulatory contact during /t/ vs., contact apical during /T/, (ii) the jaw position which reaches its target at the release of /t/, and before it during /T/. We propose that this apical contact during the emphatics, and their unexpectedly high jaw position, are bound to the biomechanics constrains of emphasis (pharyngealization).