prosody part 1

segmental

phones and phonemes

supra

above

suprasegmentals

variation in pitch loudness and timing

effects in speech that go beyond the segmental aspects and may apply to syllables, words, phrases, and sentences

prosody and paralinguistics

prosody

From the Greek prosŏ idia meaning "song
sung to music" - Linguistic, grammar-governed
properties that exceed the segmental level (e.g.,
declining pitch over the course of an utterance

Paralinguistics

Nongrammatical influences, including
emotion, attitude, and demeanor. For example "I
bought it with my own money" could be meant
differently, depending on the paralinguistics

Pitch

perceptual property closely related to frequency of vocal fold vibration- varies to low and high

loudness

perceived magnitude or strength of speech signal

weak or strong or soft to loud

duration

length of units of speech affects perceived rhythm and tempo

syllable

a unit of speech consisting of one vowel or vowel-like element that may be accompanied by surrounding consonants

sonority

auditory force that sounds have on the ear

- Degree of perceptual prominence
- Total acoustic energy
- Vocal tract openness
- Physiological effort given to produce the sound

syllable structure onset

can be null, consonant, or consonant cluster

rhyme/rime= nucleus+coda

nucleus:vowel or vowel-like element

coda:can be null, consent, or consonant cluster

internal structure

"cat" would have /k/ as onset, and /æt/ would be the rhyme/rime, consisting of
the nucleus /æ/ and coda /t/

phonotactics

Rules about how phonemes can be combined and
when they can occur within a language.
Example
Mpise Ldeen
Jump Cold

Maximal Onset Principle

Consonants are assigned to the onset of a syllable unless a
phonotactically Illegal sequence of consonant would result
Examples: He-li-cop-ter, Mul-ti-ply

Syllabic foot

• A group of syllables that contains at least 1 strong and optional weak
syllables
Strong “S” Weak “w”
Trochee: Strong + Weak (Sw)
Iamb: Weak + Strong (wS)

“Unfooted” Exceptions

Words that behave as if they have a trochaic foot and one weak
syllable not attached to any foot
Above Balloon Banana Condition
w(S) w(S) w(Sw) w(Sw)

stress

Degree of prominence or emphasis associated with a syllable in a
word or with a word in a phrase, clause, or sentence

Perceived Stress

= ↑Fundamental Frequency + ↑Duration + ↑Intensity
Greater Stress  Higher F0
Longer Duration
Greater Intensity
*All three do not need to be adjusted for stress to occur

Which syllable segmentation follows maximal
onsets for "xylophone"?

/'xɑ̅ɪ̅l.o.fon/

Which syllable segmentation follows maximal
onsets for "candy" and considers phonotactic
rules?

/'kæn.di/