Vowels in Word-Initial Syllables in Muhu Estonian
Vowels in Word-Initial Syllables in Muhu Estonian

Summary/Abstract: The article provides an overview of the vowel quality in words of different quantity degrees as used in Standard Estonian spoken on the West Estonian Island of Muhu. The findings are based on the formant analysis of the data recorded by male informants of two age groups. The acoustic-phonetic measurements show that the vowel system in word-initial syllables of Muhu Estonian comprises nine vowels, just like that of Standard Estonian. It can be seen that in the older age group, the mid-high vowels /e/, /ö/ and /o/ are raised if they are of long and overlong duration. In the younger age group, only the mid-high front vowel /e/ is slightly raised, and additionally the mid-high vowels /ö/ and /õ/ have become closer in the formant space.

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