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Chapter 5 - Quantity in Germanic Languages

from Part I - Phonology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2020

By
B. Richard Page
Edited by
Michael T. Putnam  and
B. Richard Page
Michael T. Putnam
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
B. Richard Page
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
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Summary

This chapter provides a typological overview of segmental quantity in Germanic languages. It begins with an overview of basic terminology, different ways of representing quantity, and the effects of different diachronic processes (e.g., open syllable lengthening and degemination) on the occurrence of contrastive segmental quantity. After a presentation of Riad’s (1995) typology of quantity, the chapter describes North and West Germanic language varieties that preserve both vowel and consonant quantity, varieties that retain only consonant quantity and varieties that retain only vowel quantity. Also included are discussions of complementary quantity, syllable cut and evidence that some Germanic varieties no longer have contrastive segmental quantity.

Keywords

quantitysegmental lengthsyllable weightcomplementary quantityvowel tensenessgeminationdegeminationopen syllable lengtheningfortis consonantslenis consonantsSwedishSwedish dialectsFenno-SwedishNorwegianNorwegian dialectsGermanCentral BavarianAlemannicThurgovianDutch
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Germanic Linguistics , pp. 97 - 118
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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