The role of tonal onglides in German nuclear pitch accents
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 13, 2026

Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody
Published on: September 27, 2024
Abstract:
A perception experiment with native German listeners provided evidence for the relevance of the tonal onglide in nuclear accents--the pitch movement leading towards the target on the accented syllable. Listeners were able to distinguish between two pragmatic meanings of a short phrase (given/non-contrastive and new/contrastive) using the tonal onglide as the sole acoustic cue. On the basis of these findings, we argue that the onglide merits a phonological status in an intonation model of German and should not be regarded as merely phonetic detail.
Related Concept Videos
The Cochlea
Problem-Solving: Tuning of a Guitar String
The string's wave speed can be regulated by varying the linear density. Tension is the other property that determines the speed of...
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by...
Perception of Sound Waves
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same...
Double Resonance Techniques: Overview
Spin decoupling is usually achieved by...
Larynx
Anatomy of the Larynx
The larynx consists of various components, including cartilage, muscles, and vocal cords. Its structure includes three large unpaired cartilages—the thyroid, cricoid, and epiglottis—and three smaller paired cartilages—the arytenoids,...

