Phonetic duration, phonological quantity and prosodic structure in Inari Saami

Area of Science:

• Phonetics and Phonology
• Linguistic Anthropology
• Endangered Languages Research

Background:

• Inari Saami, a Finno-Ugric language spoken in Northern Finland, is critically endangered.
• Previous research suggests a potential three-way contrast in consonant length: short, half-long, and long.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the acoustic realization of consonant length in Inari Saami disyllabic words.
• To determine if a ternary contrast in consonant length exists and how it is affected by preceding vowel length.
• To explore the prosodic implications of consonant length variations.

Main Methods:

• Acoustic analysis of disyllabic words (C)V1CxV2(C) produced by 5 native Inari Saami speakers.
• Controlled variation of the preceding vowel (V1) length (short vs. long).
• Measurement of consonant and vowel durations to assess phonemic contrasts.

Main Results:

• Confirmation of a three-way contrast in medial consonant length in Inari Saami.
• The consonant length contrast is more robust following a short V1.
• A negative correlation between V2 duration and medial consonant length was observed, except when both V1 and the medial consonant are long, suggesting a different prosodic structure.

Conclusions:

• Inari Saami possesses a ternary contrast in consonant length, a significant phonological feature.
• The prosodic structure of certain disyllabic words, characterized by long V1 and medial consonant, appears to involve two metrical feet, aligning with morphophonological and historical data.