Bohemica Olomucensia

Accentuation in the Doudleby Dialect Across Four Generations

This study explores the suprasegmental dialect feature of penultimate stress (paroxytonic accent) in the South Bohemian dialect, specifically within the Doudleby subdialect. It analyzes the frequency and function of this feature across four generations of speakers (born between 1870 and 2010), focusing on multisyllabic words in the core of utterances. Using the perceptual and instrumental analysis via Praat, the study reveals that penultimate stress occurs most frequently in the emphatic speech and is more common in longer words. Statistical results show a generational decline in usage - from 44.41 % in the oldest group to 21.70 % in the youngest - though the decline appears to be slowing. The research also highlights occasional occurrences outside the utterance core and provides acoustic examples across generations. Limitations include varied recording quality, speaker spontaneity, and dataset size. Despite these, the study offers valuable insight into the diachronic development of a distinctive Czech dialectal feature.

Keywords: dialect; word-stress; melody; penultimate; Doudleby; South Bohemia; Praat