F0-based rhythm effects on the perception of local syllable prominence

A perception experiment shows for German that different global, F(0)-based speech rhythms in the context section of stimuli influence the local prominence position in the target section. This effect may be conceptualized as a perceptual adjustment of the syllables in the target section to the ones of the global rhythmic context with regard to both the prominence and the F(0) patterns. Two conclusions were drawn on this basis. First, listeners use speech rhythm to predict the perceptual properties of syllables, which is in line with the guide function that speech rhythm is assumed to have in German and other Western Germanic languages. Secondly, speech rhythm is a perceptual phenomenon, generated by a cyclic construction process that involves repetitive patterns in multiple dimensions. Thus, although speech rhythm is initiated by changes in acoustic parameters, it cannot be soaked up by acoustic measurements, especially, if these measurements refer to duration alone.