Quantity constraints on the temporal implementation of phrasal prosody in Northern Finnish

This study investigated interactions between vowel quantity and two types of prosodic lengthening (accentual lengthening and the combined effect of accentual and utterance-final lengthening) in disyllabic words in Northern Finnish. Two quantity-related constraints were observed. First, in both types of prosodic lengthening, vowels were lengthened less when they were next to a syllable containing a double vowel than when they were next to a syllable containing a single vowel (a quantity neighbour constraint). Second, a durational ceiling effect was observed for the phonologically single, half-long vowel under the combined effect of accentual and utterance-final lengthening. These findings can be seen to support the view that quantity languages regulate the non-phonemic use of duration because of the high functional load of duration at the phonemic level. Additionally, the combined effect of accentual and utterance-final lengthening appeared to have its own lengthening profile, distinct from the simple sum of the two lengthening effects suggested previously. Implications for speech timing research will be discussed.

► We studied accentual lengthening in utterance-medial vs. final position in Finnish. ► Two quantity-related constraints were observed. ► Vowels lengthened less when next to a syllable with a double than a single vowel. ► A durational ceiling effect for the phonologically single, half-long vowel. ► Combined accentual and final lengthening has its own lengthening profile.