Stød in Danish proper names – in standard Danish pronunciation

Some proper names deviate from the way stød is distributed in the Danish vocabulary in general. Oxytone lexemes with long sonority rhymes normally have stød, as in mus [muːˀs] ‘mouse,’ telt [tˢɛlˀd̥] ‘tent’ and [pʰɑˈʁɑːˀd̥] parat ‘ready.’ So do the boys’ names Hans [hanˀs] and Rolf [ʁʌlˀf]; but Jens [jɛns] and Niels [nels] have no stød. Paroxytone lexemes are generally without stød, as in skole [ˈsɡ̊oːlə] ‘school,’ [ˈhuɐ̯d̥i] hurtig ‘quick’ and [b̥aˈlæːðə] ballade ‘rumpus.’ So are the towns Holte [ˈhʌld̥ə] and Horsens [ˈhɒːsəns]; but Balslev [ˈb̥alˀslew] and Borup [ˈb̥oːˀʁɔb̥] have stød. Nine thousand proper names were analyzed in search of phonological properties that might account for the departure from the fundamental principle of lexeme stød in Hans Basbøll’s Non-Stød Model. The results do not challenge the validity of the model; but they suggest an amendment and a differentiation of the perception of boundaries between elements in compound and compound-like names.