Problems of the pronunciation of the common Lithuanian language

There were interrogated 177 Lithuanians from nine groups of students and schoolchildren. They distinguished best of all the stressed long and short vowels (minimal pair ragù - ragų was distinguished by 82%) and a little bit worse - the quantity of the vowels after the stressed syllable (vėpla - vėplą; 74%). The vowel e and accents in the international words were not distinguished. The word pairs sektà (verb) and sektà (noun) (most according to the place of attached stress) and kóšė-kõšė were distinguished only by 38% of younger Lithuanians. The taking root of pronunciation standards depends on the spelling very much. The suggested by us standards of pronunciation coincide in three cases with the pronunciation of the interrogated persons and the recommendations of „Lietuvių kalbos tarties žodynas” (Dictionary of Pronunciation of the Lithuanian Language, 1985) by V. Vitkauskas (underlined) and do not coincide in five cases