Segmental durations as a correlate of Swedish word accents

Evidence from Stockholm and Scania Swedish

Abstract

This study aims to scrutinize the role of segmental duration as a correlate of the two Swedish word accents, asking whether it is a robust correlate, independent of tonal complexity and phrase-level prosodic factors. To this end, we examined segmental durations of Accent 1 and Accent 2 words in two regional dialects, controlling for focus and phrase finality. Recordings from 24 speakers were analysed. The results showed that the vowel in the stressed syllable and the post-vocalic consonant were produced longer with Accent 2 than with Accent 1, irrespective of the speakers' dialect, focus condition and position in the utterance.