Utterance stress

PROSODIC SYSTEMS. PITCH.

Pitch is the prosodic feature most centrally involved in intonation viewed as speech melody. The pitch lvl of the whole utterance is determined by the pitch of its highest – pitched syllable. It shows the degree of semantic importance the speaker attaches to the utterance in comparison with any other utterance, an also the speaker’s attitude and emotions. The numbers of linguistically relevant pitch lvls in E has not been definitely established yet: in the works it varies from 3 to 7. In unemphatic speech most phoneticians distinguish 3 pitch lvls: low, mid and high. These lvls are relative and are produced on different registers depending on the individual peculiarities of the voice. The pitch range of an utterance is the interval between its highest – pitched syllable and its lowest-pitched syllable. According to the situation the speaker changes his voice range. The rate of pitch variations may be different depending ob the time, during which these variations take place, and on the range of the variations. The basic unit used to describe the pitch component is the tone. Depending on the whether the pitch of the voice varies or remains unvaried tones are subdivided into kinetic and static. Static –may have different pitch lvl of the voice (high static tone). Kinetic as high falling and low falling is also based on differentiation of the pitch lvl of their initial and final points. The falling tone sounds complete and final. The high-rising used in repeated questions. Full rising express surprise.

The special prominence given to one or more words in an utterance is called utterance stress. The stress is part of the ph structure of the word. Zthe means, with the help of which the special prominence is achieved and the effect of stress is produced, are variations of pich, loudness, length and quality. Acoustically, utterance stress is determined by variations of fundamental frequency, intensity, duration and formant structure. The role of each of these acoustic parameters in creating the effect of utterance stress has been studied expirementally. It appears that fundamental frequency is more efficient in determing stresses in an utterance than intensity. Duration also appears to play a greater role than intensity. Thq sounds of the stressed syllables are characterized by distinct, unobstructed formant structure. The effect of utterance stress is created not by a single acoustic parameter but by a certain interaction of different parameters. That is why utterance stress is a structural phenomenon. The acoustic structure of stress varies depending upon the type of stress and its position in an utterance. Each of the above 3 types of stress has different positional variants: pre-nuclear and post-nuclear partial stresses. The acoustic structure is different. The distribution of stress in an utterance depends on several factors: semantic, grammatical and rhythmical. The semantic factor is a crucial factor. All these factors are interconnected. The specific character of word stress and utterance stress is conditioned by the domain of their functioning. Stresses in an utterance fulfil 3 functions: constitutive (integrating words), distinctive (manifests itself in differentiating utterances for their meaning) and identificatory (provides a basis for the hearer’s identification of the important parts of the utterance).

Дата добавления: 2015-05-31