Phrase-final lengthening in russian: Pre-boundary or pre-pausal?

Abstract

It has been shown for many languages that words are lengthened in phrase-final position. However, it is not quite clear whether this lengthening is caused more by the presence of a boundary or by the presence of a pause. The present paper aims to answer this question by analysing the duration of stressed and post-stressed vowels in words occurring at the beginning/middle vs. end of intonational phrase, and with vs. without a following pause. In addition, the present study attempts to explain how lengthening is distributed among the the final word’s segments, especially in cases when the boundary is not marked by a pause.