@article{Zerbian2013, author = {Zerbian, Sabine}, title = {Prosodic marking of narrow focus across varieties of South African English}, series = {English world-wide : a journal of varieties of English}, volume = {34}, journal = {English world-wide : a journal of varieties of English}, number = {1}, publisher = {Benjamins}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0172-8865}, doi = {10.1075/eww.34.1.02zer}, pages = {26 -- 47}, year = {2013}, abstract = {This paper reports on an elicited production study which investigates prosodic marking of narrow focus in modified noun phrases in varieties of South African English. The acoustic analysis of fundamental frequency, intensity, and duration in narrow focus is presented and discussed. The results suggest that these three acoustic parameters are manipulated differently in narrow focus in the varieties of English as a Second Language as compared to General South African English. The article compares the results to what is known about prosodic marking of information structure in other varieties of English as a Second Language and underlines the necessity of carefully controlled data in the investigation of phonological and phonetic variation in varieties of English.}, language = {en} } @article{SimikWierzba2015, author = {Simik, Radek and Wierzba, Marta}, title = {The role of givenness, presupposition, and prosody in Czech word order: An experimental study}, series = {Semantics and pragmatics}, volume = {8}, journal = {Semantics and pragmatics}, publisher = {Linguistic Society of America}, address = {Washington}, issn = {1937-8912}, doi = {10.3765/sp.8.3}, pages = {103}, year = {2015}, language = {en} } @article{KueglerGenzel2012, author = {K{\"u}gler, Frank and Genzel, Susanne}, title = {On the prosodic expression of pragmatic prominence The case of pitch register lowering in Akan}, series = {Language and speech}, volume = {55}, journal = {Language and speech}, number = {9}, publisher = {Sage Publ.}, address = {London}, issn = {0023-8309}, doi = {10.1177/0023830911422182}, pages = {331 -- 359}, year = {2012}, abstract = {This article presents data from three production experiments investigating the prosodic means of encoding information structure in Akan, a tone language that belongs to the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo family, spoken in Ghana. Information structure was elicited via context questions that put target words either in wide, informational, or corrective focus, or in one of the experiments also in pre-focal or post-focal position rendering it as given. The prosodic parameters F0 and duration were measured on the target words. Duration is not consistently affected by information structure, but contrary to the prediction that High (H) and Low (L) tones are raised in ex situ (fronted) focus constructions we found a significantly lower realization of both H and L tones under corrective focus in ex situ and in situ focus constructions. Givenness does not seem to be marked prosodically. The data suggest that pragmatic prominence is expressed prosodically by means of a deviation from an unmarked prosodic structure. Results are thus contradicting the view of the effort code that predicts a positive correlation of more effort resulting in higher F0 targets.}, language = {en} } @article{GueldemannZerbianZimmermann2015, author = {Gueldemann, Tom and Zerbian, Sabine and Zimmermann, Malte}, title = {Variation in information structure with special reference to Africa}, series = {Annual review of linguistics}, volume = {1}, journal = {Annual review of linguistics}, editor = {Liberman, M and Partee, BH}, publisher = {Annual Reviews}, address = {Palo Alto}, isbn = {978-0-8243-4201-2}, issn = {2333-9691}, doi = {10.1146/annurev-linguist-030514-125134}, pages = {155 -- 178}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Information structure has been one of the central topics of recent linguistic research. This review discusses a wide range of current approaches with particular reference to African languages, as these have been playing a crucial role in advancing our knowledge about the diversity of and recurring patterns in both meaning and form of information structural notions. We focus on cross-linguistic functional frameworks, the investigation of prosody, formal syntactic theories, and relevant effects of semantic interpretation. Information structure is a thriving research domain that promises to yield important advances in our general understanding of human language.}, language = {en} } @article{ChenHoehle2018, author = {Chen, Aoju and H{\"o}hle, Barbara}, title = {Four- to five-year-old' use of word order and prosody in focus marking in Dutch}, series = {Linguistics Vanguard}, volume = {4}, journal = {Linguistics Vanguard}, publisher = {De Gruyter}, address = {Berlin}, issn = {2199-174X}, doi = {10.1515/lingvan-2016-0101}, pages = {9}, year = {2018}, abstract = {This study investigated Dutch-speaking four- to five-year-olds' use of word order and prosody in distinguishing focus types (broad focus, narrow focus, and contrastive narrow focus) via an interactive answer-reconstruction game. We have found an overall preference for the unmarked word order SVO and no evidence for the use of OVS to distinguish focus types. But the children used pitch and duration in the subject-nouns to distinguish focus types in SVO sentences. These findings show that Dutch-speaking four- to five-year-olds differ from their German- and Finnish-speaking peers, who show evidence of varying choice of word order to mark specific focus types, and use prosody to distinguish focus types in subject and object nouns in both SVO and OVS sentences. These comparisons suggest that typological differences in the relative importance between word order and prosody can lead to differences in children's use of word order and prosody in unmarked and marked word orders. A more equal role of word order and prosody in the ambient language can stimulate more extensive use of prosody in the marked word order, whereas a more limited role of word order can restrict the use of prosody in the unmarked word order.}, language = {en} } @article{BollAvetisyanBhataraUngeretal.2016, author = {Boll-Avetisyan, Natalie and Bhatara, Anjali and Unger, Annika and Nazzi, Thierry and H{\"o}hle, Barbara}, title = {Effects of experience with L2 and music on rhythmic grouping by French listeners}, series = {Bilingualism : language and cognition.}, volume = {19}, journal = {Bilingualism : language and cognition.}, publisher = {Cambridge Univ. Press}, address = {New York}, issn = {1366-7289}, doi = {10.1017/S1366728915000425}, pages = {971 -- 986}, year = {2016}, language = {en} } @article{BollAvetisyanBhataraHoehle2017, author = {Boll-Avetisyan, Natalie and Bhatara, Anjali and H{\"o}hle, Barbara}, title = {Effects of musicality on the perception of rhythmic structure in speech}, series = {Laboratory phonology}, volume = {8}, journal = {Laboratory phonology}, number = {1}, publisher = {Ubiquity Press}, address = {London}, issn = {1868-6346}, doi = {10.5334/labphon.91}, pages = {16}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Language and music share many rhythmic properties, such as variations in intensity and duration leading to repeating patterns. Perception of rhythmic properties may rely on cognitive networks that are shared between the two domains. If so, then variability in speech rhythm perception may relate to individual differences in musicality. To examine this possibility, the present study focuses on rhythmic grouping, which is assumed to be guided by a domain-general principle, the Iambic/Trochaic law, stating that sounds alternating in intensity are grouped as strong-weak, and sounds alternating in duration are grouped as weak-strong. German listeners completed a grouping task: They heard streams of syllables alternating in intensity, duration, or neither, and had to indicate whether they perceived a strong-weak or weak-strong pattern. Moreover, their music perception abilities were measured, and they filled out a questionnaire reporting their productive musical experience. Results showed that better musical rhythm perception - ability was associated with more consistent rhythmic grouping of speech, while melody perception - ability and productive musical experience were not. This suggests shared cognitive procedures in the perception of rhythm in music and speech. Also, the results highlight the relevance of - considering individual differences in musicality when aiming to explain variability in prosody perception.}, language = {en} } @article{BarthWeingartenKuettnerRaymond2021, author = {Barth-Weingarten, Dagmar and K{\"u}ttner, Uwe-Alexander and Raymond, Chase Wesley}, title = {Pivots revisited}, series = {Open linguistics}, volume = {7}, journal = {Open linguistics}, number = {1}, publisher = {de Gruyter}, address = {Warsaw}, issn = {2300-9969}, doi = {10.1515/opli-2020-0152}, pages = {613 -- 637}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The term "pivot" usually refers to two overlapping syntactic units such that the completion of the first unit simultaneously launches the second. In addition, pivots are generally said to be characterized by the smooth prosodic integration of their syntactic parts. This prosodic integration is typically achieved by prosodic-phonetic matching of the pivot components. As research on such turns in a range of languages has illustrated, speakers routinely deploy pivots so as to be able to continue past a point of possible turn completion, in the service of implementing some additional or revised action. This article seeks to build on, and complement, earlier research by exploring two issues in more detail as follows: (1) what exactly do pivotal turn extensions accomplish on the action dimension, and (2) what role does prosodic-phonetic packaging play in this? We will show that pivot constructions not only exhibit various degrees of prosodic-phonetic (non-)integration, i.e., differently strong cesuras, but that they can be ordered on a continuum, and that this cline maps onto the relationship of the actions accomplished by the components of the pivot construction. While tighter prosodic-phonetic integration, i.e., weak(er) cesuring, co-occurs with post-pivot actions whose relationship to that of the pre-pivot tends to be rather retrospective in character, looser prosodic-phonetic integration, i.e., strong(er) cesuring, is associated with a more prospective orientation of the post-pivot's action. These observations also raise more general questions with regard to the analysis of action.}, language = {en} }