Turk, A. E. & Shattuck-Hufnagel, S. (2007). Multiple targets of phrase-final lengthening in American English words. Journal of Phonetics, 35, 445-472.
Summary: Sarah
Past studies on phrase-final lengthening generally are in conflict in two aspects. On the one hand, the location where final lengthening begins is controversial. Some suggested that lengthening starts at main-stress syllables, whereas others claimed that the starting point of lengthening is determined by the last segment of the phrase (i.e. whether the last segment can be sufficiently lengthened). On the other hand, the distribution of final lengthening is of debate as well. Though researchers basically agreed upon progressive lengthening, they disagreed in whether the realization is on syllables or segments. With respect to these unsolved issues, this study aimed to thoroughly examine the phrase-final lengthening phenomenon in American English. An experiment was designed accordingly. Stimuli were words that differ in syllable number, main-stress position, and whether the final syllable is reduced or not. The results partially replicated previous studies, in that lengthening indeed occur at main-stress syllables. However, the authors also found that lengthening is not continuous, for it skips the material between main-stress syllables and final syllables. As for progressive lengthening, results showed that the lengthening of segments did increase in magnitude, although it did not reach significant threshold. With these results, the authors thus concluded that a more complex model should be proposed for explaining phrase-final lengthening, in which more domains could be discussed.
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