Preliminary Survey: Frequencies of Long Vowels and Geminate Consonants in Finnish and Japanese

Abstract

The purpose of this survey is to obtain an estimate of the frequencies of long vowels and geminate consonants in Finnish and Japanese. It is an empirical question whether or not the differences in the frequency of the quantity contrasts make any difference in the speakers’ production and perception of them. This survey is designed to establish a fundamental understanding regarding the frequencies of long vowels and geminate consonants and their potential roles in Finnish and Japanese. The data sets are small; one short story was used in each language. However, investigating the frequencies of quantity contrasts may be helpful to provide some basis of comparison between the two languages and for interpreting the results of subsequent experiments.