The realisation of sj- and tj-sounds in Estonian Swedish: some preliminary results

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to cast some light on the realisation of sj- and tjsounds (/ɧ/ and /ɕ/) in Estonian Swedish. These sounds are said not to occur in this variety of Swedish, or to have a different realisation as compared to Standard Swedish (Lagman, 1979). Our analysis, based on repetitions of elicited words produced by five elderly speakers of Estonian Swedish, shows that sj- and tj-sounds are mainly pronounced the way they are spelt (e.g. tjock [tjɔkː] (thick, fat) or stjärna [stjɑːɳ] (star)). There appears, however, some variation in the realisation of the sj-sound, which depending on the word and position in the word can also be pronounced as a retroflex fricative [ʂ] or a palatal fricative [ç]or [ɕ].