Preaspiration in the Nordic Languages: Synchronic and Diachronic ...

Pr duration (ms)
160
120
80
40
0
0 40 80 120 160 200 240 280 320 360
VPr duration (ms)
Figure 4–86. Preaspiration duration plotted against the combined duration of
vowel and preaspiration for six Gräsö subjects. The filled circles indicate data
points in VC syllables and the unfilled triangles indicate data points in VC
syllables. The data points for subject YM3 are indicated separately with crosses
(VC syllables) and stars (VC syllables).
4.4.5 Summary and discussion
Both the ON singleton and geminate word-medial fortis stops are
reflected as preaspirated in the Gräsö dialect. Thus, along with Area 1
Faroese (cf. section 4.3), the Gräsö dialect is the only Nordic dialect (so
far discovered) that reflects ON singleton fortis stops as preaspirated. In
fact, of all the Nordic dialects studied, the Gräsö dialect has the widest
phonological distribution of preaspiration. The only context in which
preaspiration does not occur is before a sequence of stop + /s/, and, incidentally,
no contrast between fortis and lenis stops is made in such sequences.
The ON lenis stops are generally reflected as voiceless unaspirated
in all positions. It can be noted in this connection that the ON
word-medial approximants (*/v, *ð, *) are also reflected as voiceless
unaspirated stops in the Gräsö dialect.
The durational analysis indicates that preaspiration in VC syllables
is shorter than in VC syllables. This is also the case for the non-normative
preaspirations in Central Standard Swedish (cf. section 4.2.3.2). The
Pr/VPr ratios found in Gräsö VC syllables are quite low, and actually
often near the minimal ratios for auditory salience established by Pind
(1993) for Icelandic (cf. Ch 3., section 3.2.2). However, the limits for the
categorical perception of preaspiration in Icelandic cannot be directly
transferred to other languages. Pind’s findings pertain specifically to
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