An analysis of “Maazu” in the Gumma dialect

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to describe accent variations of “Maazu” in the Gumma dialect through acoustic phonetics analysis. A previous study by Miyagawa (2007) found the two characteristics of “Maazu” as a filler 1). its accent patterns are HHH, LHL, HLL, and 2). its speech duration is approximately 500ms. The study was on the “Maazu” in the Nagano dialect, and there has been no study yet on the “Maazu” used as an adverb in the Gumma dialect. The informants in the current study were four native Gumma dialect speakers who were born and raised in an area called Isesaki, Gumma. They were asked to read ten sentences aloud three times. As a result, I identified four patterns of its accents; 1). LHH, 2). LLL 3.) HHH, and 4). Raising curve in the beginning of word. The most frequent accent pattern is LHH. Additionally, I re-analyzed the data of Miyagawa (2007) in order to verify the accent pattern of LHL in the study, however I did not find LHL accent pattern.