Slide 2 Nonsegmentals or Suprasegmentals Most of the material
weve discussed to this point concerns the segmental characteristics
of speech. Segmental: This term refers to phonemes and allophones;
e.g., /b/, /d/, /g/, /p/, /t/, /r/, /l/, /w/, [t h ], [ ], etc.;
these are all phonetic segments. Attributes of segments (place,
manner, & voicing, or tongue height, frontness, & lip
rounding) are also referred to as segmental features. Nonsegmental
or suprasegmental: Characteristics of an utterance that transcend
the segment; e.g., the melody and rhythm of an utterance. Slide 3
Melody: Intonation (pattern of pitch over time). Rhythm: Stress
pattern; i.e., the pattern of accented and unaccented syllables in
a word. PERmit/perMIT OBject/obJECT REcord/reCORD One quick point
of terminology: Prosody is a term that refers collectively to both
the melodic and rhythmic aspects of speech: Prosody Intonation
(melody)Stress (rhythm) Slide 4 Intonation (melodic) contour:
Pattern of F 0 (pitch) over time conveys information about the
grammatical structure of the utterance (e.g., phrase boundaries and
sentence type), as well as affective (emotional) information. We
wont have time to cover intonation, but we can at least appreciate
how important it is: (Note: The FDR utterance may or may not play
on the Powerpoint file you download; the others should play fine.)
Slide 5 Among many other things, the intonation contour can
differentiate questions from statements. F 0 Contour Statement:
Falling F 0 Question: Rising F 0 Slide 6 OBject obJECT amplitude
pitch (F 0 ) Relative to unstressed syllables, stressed syllables
are generally: (1) greater in amplitude (i.e., louder), (2) higher
in F 0 (i.e., pitch), (3) greater in duration, and (4) less
centralized (i.e., closer to their target values see MacKay for a
nice discussion). This example shows the role played by F 0 and
amplitude only. Note that the stressed syllables are higher in
amplitude and in F 0. Note: Stressed syllable is usually longer;
this is true for obJECT, but not OBject. Slide 7 Summary of cues to
stress : 1.F 0 /Pitch: Stressed syllables typically higher in F 0
/Pitch 2.Amplitude/Loudness: Stressed syllables typically higher in
amplitude/loudness 3.Duration: Stressed syllables typically longer
4.Vowel quality: Vowels in stressed syllables typically more
peripheral (i.e., less centralized). The figure below illustrates
this. Vowel Quality As vowels become less prominent (i.e., less
stressed), their quality becomes more centralized. In the limiting
case, the weakest syllables are reduced to schwa. approximate
approximately Note that the weak vowel is reduced entirely to
schwa. Slide 8 Stress Sentential Stress Lexical Stress Some words
in a sentence Some syllables in a word receive greater prominence
receive greater prominence than others than others Slide 9
Sentential or Sentence-level Stress ELAINE: And I asked him,
"Should Jerry bring anything?" JERRY: So...? ELAINE: Mmmm... and he
said, Why would Jerry bring anything? JERRY: Alright, but let me
ask you this question. Which word did he emphasize? Did he say, Why
would Jerry bring anything? or, Why would Jerry bring anything? Did
he emphasize Jerry or bring? ELAINE: I think he emphasized would.
JERRY: You know what? The hell with this party. I didn't even want
to go to begin with. Slide 10 This example illustrates
sentence-level stress. It makes the simple point that the
interpretation of an utterance can depend on which word or words in
the sentence receive greater prominence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0zvGVYva8M Slide 11 Lexical Stress
Basic idea is simple: Some syllables within a word receive greater
prominence than others. (The within a word restriction explains why
it is called lexical stress.) SEAshore not seaSHORE STICKler not
stickLER BLACKboard not blackBOARD These are all examples of
lexical or word-level stress. Transcription of stress patterns: How
many levels of stress are needed to describe English? Most
phoneticians use a three-level system, though the terminology
varies a little: primary secondary - reduced primary secondary weak
primary secondary - tertiary primary secondary - unstressed Other
phoneticians use a four-level system. Well stick with three. Slide
12 Two Transcription Systems are in Use System 1: seashore [si o ]
forward-leaning accent = primary backward-leaning accent =
secondary manifest [mnf st] reduced/weak/tertiary (unmarked) Notes:
(1) The stress markers are applied (as diacritics) to the vowel,
not the syllable. (2) The weak/reduced/unstressed/tertiary syllable
is often (though not always) simply unmarked. System 2: seashore [
si o ] vertical bar above the symbol = primary vertical bar below
the symbol = secondary manifest [ mn f st] reduced/weak/tertiary
Notes: (1) The stress markers are applied to the syllable, not the
vowel. This is different from the system above. (2) Weak/
reduced/unstressed/tertiary syllables are unmarked. Slide 13 We
will be using only System 1 in here; e.g., seashore [si o ] Slide
14 maintain [mntn] or [ men ten] grading [grd ] or [ gre d ]
denounce [dinauns] or [ di nauns] (1 st vowel could be schwa,
depending on pronunciation) mostly [mosli] or [ mos li] ([t]
usually dropped, except in careful speech) goatee [goti] or [ go
ti] pester [p st ] or [ p s t ] Slide 15 leisure [li ] (sometimes
[l ]) blacksmith [blksm ] skirmish [sk m ] mustard [m st d] planter
[plnt ] Slide 16 permit (v) [p m t] permit (n) [p m t] record (v)
[rko d] (often pronounced with a schwa in the 1 st syllable) record
(n) [r k d] sensation [s ns n] transcription [trnskr p n] Slide 17
transportation [trnsp t n] schematic [skim k] or [skm k] or [skm k]
mathematics [mm ks] or [mm ks] perception [p s p n] locality [lokl
i] libation [lai n] Slide 18 Velveeta [v lvi ] romantic [romnt k]
or [romntk] fantastic [fntst k] guarantee [ge nti] warranty [wo
nti] experience [ kspi ins] (1 st vowel could be [ ] in careful
speech)