Vowel lengthening — Effect of position, age, and phonological quantity

The present research examined the effect of phrase-final lengthening on the spectral structure of vowels in the spontaneous speech of children and adults. Three Hungarian vowel pairs (in quantity pairs) were analyzed in two positions: in the middle of the phrase and at the end of the phrase. The effect of lengthening on the spectral structure of the vowels were already be detected in four-year-olds. However, its extent was strongly correlated with the articulation aspects of the vowels. There was a discrepancy in the tendencies of the lengthening’s effect between the two groups of children and the adults, presumably due to different linguistic experience, inaccuracy of articulation, and significant individual differences.