Perception evidence for the proportional increase theory of weight

Abstract

Lunden 2006 gave evidence from a production study with Norwegian speakers that shows there is a proportional relationship between V, the canonical light rhyme, and heavy syllable rhymes. The average proportional increase of a heavy rhyme over a light V rhyme was notably consistent across all positions. Crucially, a final VC rhyme did not reach the same proportional increase in a duration that a non-final VC or VXC did, as final lengthening disproportionally affected V-final rhymes. This poster presents an MFC experiment with Norwegian speakers that finds evidence from the perceptual side for the proportional increase theory of weight.