Syllable shape effects on temporal aspects of the Danish stød

Abstract

Danish phonologically contrasts modal phonation with “stød,” a type of nonmodal phonation related to creaky voice (Fischer-Jørgensen, 1989). Stød (?) is licensed in a syllable by either a long vowel or a vowel + sonorant sequence (CV:?(Obstruent/Sonorant), CVS?). Previous research noting high inter- and intra-speaker variability in stød realization has led researchers to claim that temporal aspects of stød production are random and not under speakers' control (Grønnum & Basbøll, 2007). In contrast, this study provides novel evidence that, overall, stød onset is timed with respect to syllables' rime midpoint and stød offset with respect to sonorant rime offset in monosyllabic words, though differences based on rime content persist across word types. 10 native Danish speakers were recorded reading sentences with embedded monosyllabic, stød-bearing words (CV:?(O/S), CVS?), and stød durations were marked. Comparison of different measures of stød onset (lag from either rime onset, rime midpoint, or vowel midpoint) revealed that lag from rime midpoint minimized variance in stød onset timing across word types. Furthermore, CV:?O/S words had earlier onset/offset times than CVS? words, which had earlier onset times than CV:? words. Together, these results indicate that stød production across different word types is not random but in fact modulated by syllable shape.