Sammansättningar med accent 1 i skånemål

In contrast to Central Standard Swedish and most other varieties of Scandinavian, South Swedish varieties are known for a substantial and systematic prevalence of accent 1 in compounds. Previous studies have dealt primarily with standard varieties and focused on their synchronic phonology. The present one – which is based on a limited body of data and is to be considered preliminary – deals with the distribution of accents 1 and 2 in compounds in the traditional dialects of the southern Swedish province of Scania (Skåne) from a diachronic point of view. A diachronic theory is presented which divides compounds into primary compounds (those formed directly as compounds) and secondary compounds (emanating from syntactically conditioned juxtapositions). Primary compounds are further divided into stem compounds and formally secondary compounds (compounds that are etymologically primary, but share their first elements or other morphological characteristics with secondary compounds). It is concluded that accent 1 is at least as prevalent in traditional Scanian dialects as it is in South Swedish standard varieties, and that the distributional pattern has its origins in the traitional dialects and can be linked to the formation of compounds. The line is to be drawn between secondary and formally secondary compounds, on the one hand, and stem compounds, on the other. Compounds belonging to the former category generally retain the accent of the first element, while the latter category displays a more complex distributional pattern, with certain synchronic prosodic structures apparently allowing or favouring accent 1 and others requiring accent 2 – although there are diachronically conditioned limitations to this pattern. The study also addresses a number of morphologically ambiguous compound types with accent 1 that have previously been regarded as irregular. It is found that some of these at least can be analysed as secondary compounds, which, in view of the results outlined above, explains their accent.