Syllables and Intonation Flashcards
What is a syllable?
The fundamental units of structure in speech
What can cluster reduction in client data indicate?
Immature syllable structure
What are the airflow and sound characteristics of syllables?
- The STARTS and ENDS of syllables have more obstruction to airflow and are usually quieter than the centre
- The CENTRE of a syllable has little obstruction of airflow (usually a vowel)
What is the typical structure of a syllable?
CVC
What is a minimum syllable?
A single vowel
E.G: ‘are’, /ɑ:/
What is onset in a syllable?
A sound preceding the centre
E.G: ‘me’ /mi:/
(m = the onset)
What is coda in a syllable?
A sound after the centre
E.G: ‘egg’ /eg/
(g = coda)
What is a maximum syllable?
A syllable which has an onset, a centre and coda
E.G: ‘horse’ /hɔ:s/
(h = onset / s = coda)
What does it mean if a sound is described as sonorous?
It is the loudest sound relative to other sounds with the same stress and duration
What sounds are more sonorous and why?
Vowels
- They have little obstruction to airflow
Why are consonants less sonorous? And where do they typically occur?
Because they are created by a greater constriction to airflow
They usually occur at syllable margins
What are the two constituents of syllables?
Onset and rhyme
What are the two possible branches of rhyme?
- Nucleus
- Coda
What is the English syllable template?
C03 V C04
Up to 3 consonants in onset position
Vowel = mandatory
Up to 4 consonants in coda position
What is a cluster?
A group of consonants which belong to a single syllable
What is an ambisyllabic consonant?
A consonant which is the final consonant in the coda of one syllable AND the initial consonant of the onset of the following syllable
What is meant by the term phonotactic constraints?
The restrictions on the permissible combinations of phonemes
Name two phonotactic constraints in syllable initial position.
- /ŋ/ is not allowed
- /ʒ/ is restricted to foreign borrowing
(E.G: soup du jour)
In an /-s/ cluster (e.g. /-sp/) what is the /-s/ known as?
The pre-initial consonant
(The /-p/ is known as the initial consonant)
In clusters, what are the phonemes l, r, w, j known as?
E.G. plate, grin
The post-initial consonant
(The first consonant is the initial consonant)
What must C3 agree in with C2 in three-consonant clusters?
Voicing
What are the three elements of prosody?
- Intonation
- Stress
- Rhythm
What is intonation?
The study of melody or variations in pitch
What can accented syllables do?
- Jump UP in pitch
- Jump DOWN in pitch
- Initiate pitch movement
How is the nucleus of a word group identified?
It is the last accented syllable of the word group.
It can also initiate one set of pitch movement (nuclear tones)
What are the four constituents of a word group?
- Pre-head
- Head
- Nucleus
- Tail
What are the characteristics of the tail of a word group?
- Any syllable(s) following the nucleus
- May contain rhythmic stress but no accents
What are the characteristics of the head of a word group?
- Begins on the first accented syllable of a word group
- Extends as far as the nucleus
- May include a mix of stressed, accented and unstressed syllables
What are the characteristics of the pre-head of a word group?
- Any unstressed syllables at the beginning of the word group
What is a nuclear tone?
Pitch movement which starts on the nucleus
How can nuclear tones be classified?
- FALLS: end on low pitch
- RISES: end above speaker’s baseline
- LEVELS: sustained of pitch level
Name all the complex tones.
- High Fall
- Low Fall
- Rise-Fall
- High Rise
- Low Rise
- Fall-Rise
What is the symbol for a level tone?
>
What is a low level tail?
The tail of a word group which follows a falling tone
What is the symbol for a low fall?
</sub>low fall
What is the symbol for a high fall?
</sup>high fall
What is the symbol for a low rise?
/low rise
What is the symbol for a high rise?
/high rise
What is the symbol for a fall-rise?
Vfall-rise
What is the symbol for a rise-fall?
^rise-fall
What is a tone language?
Where a different pitch pattern changes the meaning of the word
What is an intonation language?
Where pitch does not change the meaning of a word
What is the pragmatic role of intonation?
Shapes the semantics of an utterance in context
Intonation highlights…
…certain parts of an utterance at the expense of others
What is tonality?
The way an utterance is divided into word groups
What is tonicity?
Where pitch-prominence accents are placed
What is tone?
The pitch pattern
What are rising and level tones often associated with?
Continuity of an utterance
What are falling tones often associated with?
Completeness / finishing of an utterance
How can a fall in tone be interpreted by a listener?
As a turn-taking cue
What type of information does a falling tone normally convey?
New information
To what type of information does a fall-rise tone usually refer?
Shared information
What can a speaker’s choice of tone convey to the listener?
- Confidence in their answer to a question
- Feelings and attitudes
- Whether they are asking, telling, commanding or requesting
What does the use of a wide pitch range usually convey?
Engagement, excitement, enthusiasm
What does the use of a narrow pitch range usually convey?
Disengagement, boredom or lack of enthusiasm
How is a new topic usually marked by pitch?
By expanding the pitch range upwards
