Abstract

This paper analyzes the different attributes of grammar that affect declension and what their physical impact is in relation to relative utterance speed in the continental Germanic languages. Relative utterance speed, in this study, is quantified by the number of syllables that a certain noun-article combination contains. Noun-article combinations in particular were chosen to be the objects of focus in this study because of their ability to be impacted directly by declension, leading to an observable change that can result from declensional modifications in a sentence. Discussion of the history, function, effects of declensional attributes, which are case, gender, number, and article presence, provide background for a study of Swedish and Norwegian comparing the number of syllables in words that have taken up specific combinations of these attributes. Based on prior research and the results of the study, there is not conclusive evidence to suggest a presence or an absence of effect that declensional complexity has on sentence length in the language group. It has been determined, however, that gender-based inflection of animate noun-article combinations does not have an effect on relative utterance speed in Norwegian, and that declensional complexity does not invoke a difference in relative utterance speed in animate noun-article combinations between Swedish and Norwegian.

How to Cite:

Vanek, I. S., (2021) “The Relationship Between Declensional Attributes and Relative Utterance Speed in the Continental Germanic Languages”, Arizona Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies 7, 76-101.