Acoustics of stød size=2>in Livonian

The paper focuses on the phonetic realisation of the Livonian stød. An investigation of the temporal and tonal characteristics of words with and without stød consisting of a long first syllable and a short second syllable in spontaneous speech was carried out. The changes in pitch alignment, durations and duration ratios of the syllables in disyllabic words were analysed and the role of intensity was studied. The analysis revealed a difference in the observed acoustic characteristics in words with and without stød. The duration of the first syllable is more neutralised in both groups. In tonal characteristics two distinct patterns are evident. In words with stød, the pitch peak in the stressed syllable is earlier than in words without stød. The intensity in the first syllable is similar in both groups, but there is a difference in the interaction between the first and second syllable.