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Vowel deletion in Latvian

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

A. Krišjānis Kariņš
A. Krišjānis Kariņš
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
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Abstract

This article investigates the constraints on variable deletion of short vowels in word-final unstressed syllables found in the variety of Latvian spoken in Riga. The affected vowels are almost always inflectional endings. Results from a variable rule analysis of 8 native speakers from Riga indicate that internal phonological and prosodic factors (especially distance from the main word stress) act as the strongest constraints on vowel deletion, along with the educational level of the speaker. The functional constraint of the recoverability of the deleted vowel is not significant.

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Type
Research Article
Information
Language Variation and Change , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , March 1995, pp. 15 - 34
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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