Temporal patterns of quantity in Inari Saami

The sound system of Inari Saami exhibits a threeway quantity contrast which is similar to some other Finno-Ugric languages – Estonian and Livonian – in several respects. In all these languages the domain of ternary quantity is a disyllabic foot where the first syllable is stressed and the second syllable is unstressed. In this study we investigate the realisation of the ternary quantity contrast in Inari Saami disyllabic words with phonologically short and long vowels or diphthongs as the nucleus of the first syllable. Our results show that in consonant duration the ternary distinction occurs after a short vowel. The opposition is binary after a short diphthong (consonant is either short or long) and after a long vowel or a long diphthong (consonant is either short or half-long). A vowel in the unstressed second syllable compensates for the length of the preceding vowel and consonant within the foot.