Vowel Length: Scottish Vowel Length Rule vs. Word Frequency
- Jodie Rae, University of Edinburgh
- Old College Lorimer Room, University of Edinburgh
I'll be presenting the outcomes of my undergraduate dissertation on the interference effects of
the Scottish Vowel Length Rule and word frequency.
Both use certain properties of a word to predict the length of its vowel, but the properties in
question are independent of one another. I'll be focusing on what happens when the two rules
disagree with each other, do they compromise, or does one win outright over the other? And
likewise; if the rules agree with each other, are the effects amplified in any significant way?
As well as giving overviews of both rules and their effects, I will be going into the differences
between phonemic and phonetic rules and which ones speakers are more inclined to follow.
the Scottish Vowel Length Rule and word frequency.
Both use certain properties of a word to predict the length of its vowel, but the properties in
question are independent of one another. I'll be focusing on what happens when the two rules
disagree with each other, do they compromise, or does one win outright over the other? And
likewise; if the rules agree with each other, are the effects amplified in any significant way?
As well as giving overviews of both rules and their effects, I will be going into the differences
between phonemic and phonetic rules and which ones speakers are more inclined to follow.