Perception of Swedish vowel quantity: tracing late stages of development

A distinction in vowel quantity is typically realized acoustically by vowel duration. Research on the perception of Swedish vowel quantity by adult native speakers supports this. It further suggests that when the duration of a vowel is relatively long (due, e.g., to inherent duration), listeners may also make use of vowel spectra to distinguish vowel quantities. The current project investigates the perceptual cues used to distinguish vowel quantities in late stages of language development. Of particular interest is whether pre-adult listeners use spectral cues to identify the quantity of vowels which have a relatively long inherent duration. Results are compared with the findings for Swedish adults and discussed in terms of the perceptual role of vowel duration and spectra as cues for vowel quantity.