Suprasegmentals Flashcards
What is a thought group?
A discrete stretch of speech that forms a semantically and grammatically coherent segment of discourse.
A group of words that go together to express an idea or thought.
What are the features of a thought group?
- is set off by pauses before and after;
- contains one prominent element;
- has an intonation contour of its own;
- usually has a grammatically coherent internal structure;
Thought groups allow speakers to…
make meaning clear
emphasize important information
signal changes of ideas or mood
breathe in the middle of long sentences!
Thought groups allow listeners to…
process the speaker’s information
organize the speaker’s meaning
True or False:
A sentence has set thought groups.
FALSE
Two different speakers may divide the same sentence differently
What is prominence?
The word that is the focus of attention and therefore is highlighted through strong stress and higher pitch.
What are the factors influencing stress placement?
word’s etymology, affixation, spelling, and grammatical category
What are the factors influencing prominence?
meaning, discourse, and syntactic boundaries (context-based)
How is finality/certainty expressed?
A rise on the prominent syllable followed by falling intonation
How is non-finality/uncertainty expressed?
A drop on the prominent syllable followed by rising intonation
Intonation is defined by…
PITCH
What is pitch?
The highness and lowness of a speaker’s voice that interacts with prominence.
What is a tonal language?
A language in which pitch can affect the meaning of words
What can intonation affect in an utterance?
1) reflect grammatical function
2) reflect speaker’s attitude or emotion
What is accentedness?
A listener’s judgment of how much a speaker’s speech differs from an expected production pattern
