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Segmental durations in the vicinity of prosodic phrase boundaries
C W Wightman1, S Shattuck-Hufnagel, M Ostendorf
1New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Electrical Engineering Department, Socorro 87801.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|March 1, 1992
Summary
Segmental lengthening near prosodic phrase boundaries is primarily found in the preceding syllable's rhyme. This acoustic cue, when normalized for speaking rate, helps distinguish at least four boundary types.
Area of Science:
- Phonetics and Phonology
- Acoustic Speech Analysis
- Prosody and Intonation
Background:
- Prosodic phrase boundaries are often signaled by acoustic cues.
- Segmental lengthening is a known acoustic phenomenon associated with these boundaries.
- The spatial extent of this lengthening remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the precise location of segmental lengthening relative to prosodic boundaries.
- To determine if lengthening is localized or extends over a larger region.
- To explore the potential of normalized segmental lengthening as a boundary type differentiator.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of segmental lengthening in the vicinity of prosodic phrase boundaries.
- Normalization of segmental lengthening measures to account for speaking rate variations.
- Examination of lengthening patterns across different syllable structures and boundary types.
Main Results:
- Segmental lengthening is predominantly restricted to the rhyme of the syllable immediately preceding the prosodic boundary.
- Normalized segmental lengthening, adjusted for speaking rate, reveals distinct patterns.
- At least four different types of prosodic boundaries can be acoustically distinguished based on lengthening.
Conclusions:
- Segmental lengthening serves as a localized acoustic marker for prosodic phrase boundaries.
- The observed lengthening pattern is specific to the pre-boundary syllable's rhyme.
- Normalized segmental lengthening provides a robust method for classifying prosodic boundary types.