Edge-tone effects and prosodic domain effects on final lengthening

Abstract

This study reports two experiments that investigate the edge-tones and domain-specific effects on final lengthening. The study shows that in Cypriot Greek the following occur: (a) lengthening applies primarily on the syllable nucleus not the syllable onset, which suggests variety specific effects of lengthening; (b) lengthening depends on the edge-tones, namely, polar questions trigger more lengthening than statements and wh-questions; (c) lengthening provides support for at least two distinct prosodic domains over the phonological word, the intonational phrase and the intermediate phrase; greater lengthening associates with the first and shorter lengthening with the latter; (d) finally, syllable duration depends on the syllable distance from the boundary, i.e. lengthening locally applies on penultimates and ultimates whereas antepenultimates are affected the least. Additionally, by pointing to the distinct lengthening effects of edge-tones and domain-boundaries, the aforementioned findings highlight the application of different lengthening devices. Keywords: Prosodic structure; preboundary lengthening; edge-tone lengthening; Cypriot Greek