Young Russian Immigrants' Segmental Duration and Length in Finnish

Abstract

This pilot study sheds light on how young Russian immigrants (n=10) produce Finnish segmental duration and length in read-aloud speech as compared to native Finnish speakers (n=5). Segment duration is distinctive in Finnish and an important feature of Finnish phonology, whereas in Russian it only plays a marginal role. The results show a general tendency of durational contrasts being difficult to learn with great interspeaker differences.