TEMPORAL COMPENSATION IN CZECH?

Pavel Machač & Radek Skarnitzl
Institute of Phonetics, Charles University in Prague

ID 1434
[full paper]

Temporal compensation on the segmental level refers to the tendency towards temporal equalization of CV (and possibly VC) sequences: a shorter duration of one segment leads to a longer duration of the neighbouring segment, and vice versa. Any comprehensive description of sound properties of a language must take the possible existence of this tendency into account. The objective of this research, which constitutes a pilot study into this area for the Czech language, is the question of a possible temporal effect of a consonant on a vowel (‘vocalic compensation’), and of a vowel on a consonant (‘consonantal compensation’). The result suggest that there indeed is a tendency towards bilateral temporal effects between a consonant and vowel (CⅹV).