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

of disyllabic words embedded in frame sentences. The words tested
were 1 :
Lenis Fortis Fortis
geminate singleton geminate
Bilabial gabba gapa happa
Dental gadda gata hattur
Palatal haggi haki bakki
Velar hagga haka hakka
Each of these words was recorded once for each subject. Thus a total
of 144 observations were made, 48 for each of three stop categories: reflexes
of ON lenis geminates (e.g. hagga [hk]), fortis singletons (e.g.
haka [hk]) and fortis geminates (e.g. hakka [hhk]). Indriðason et
al. measured vowel (V) duration, preaspiration (Pr) duration (where
applicable), stop occlusion (O) duration, and postaspiration (Po) duration
(i.e., VOT). As regards segmentation criteria, it appears that voice onset
and offset were used to delimit the onset of preaspiration and the cessation
of postaspiration, respectively. Thus, the period of breathy voice that
often precedes a preaspiration and follows a postaspiration does not seem
to be included in their measurements of aspiration duration.
Table 3–2 provides a summary of the findings of Indriðason et al. for
mean durations in vowel + stop sequences in Southern and Northern Icelandic.
These means have been obtained by averaging the results for bilabial,
dental and velar stops (i.e., palatal stops are excluded). The table
also indicates the C/VC ratio, where C is the combined duration of Pr
(where present), O and Po.
Their results reflect the fact that both Southern and Northern Icelandic
have complementary length distribution (see Bannert 1979 for
similar results for Swedish). This implies that stressed syllables have
either a VC structure or a VC structure and that the durational ratio between
vowel and consonant is relatively constant, at least compared with
absolute durations. For VC syllables (i.e., haka type words), the VC sequence
is split almost equally between V and C in the Southern dialect.
1 Glossary: gabba ‘to fool,’ gapa ‘to gape,’ happa ‘luck, chance (gen pl.),’ gadda ‘tack
(acc. pl.),’ gata ‘road,’ hattur ‘hat,’ hagga ‘to budge,’ haka ‘chin,’ hakka ‘to hack,’
haggi ‘budge (1sg. conj.),’ haki ‘pick’ and bakki ‘bank, hill.’
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