Hungarian vowel system involves 14 vowels that correspond to seven vowel pairs each differentiated by quantity. However, there are phenomena that suggest that for low, middle and high vowels a separate evaluation of the quantity opposition is necessary. In order to test this, we conducted a perception test, in which vowels were to be identified by native listeners. Outcomes: Low vowels, for which short and long realisations differ in quality, i.e. in openness, were seldom identified incorrectly. For high vowels, duration was not obviously regarded as a crucial cue for identification by the subjects, while they were not clearly differentiated by the speaker. Middle vowels showed a mixed behaviour. The fact that vowel quantity distinction in Hungarian is only maintained where there is a perceivable quality difference shows that the role of quantity is not as dominant as it has been regarded for long.
