Alignment of “Phrase Accent” Lows in Dutch Falling Rising Questions: Theoretical and Methodological Implications

Abstract

In the first part of this study, we measured the alignment (relative to segmental landmarks) of the low F0 turning points between the accentual fall and the final boundary rise in short Dutch falling-rising questions of the form Do you live in [place name]? produced as read speech in a laboratory setting. We found that the alignment of these turning points is affected by the location of a postaccentual secondary stressed syllable if one is present. This is consistent with the findings and analyses of Grice, Ladd, & Arvaniti, 2000 (Phonology 17, 143-185), suggesting that the low turning points are the phonetic reflex of a "phrase accent." In the second part of this study, we measured the low turning points in falling-rising questions produced in a task-oriented dialog setting and found that their alignment is affected in the same way as in the read speech data. This suggests that read speech experiments are a valid means of investigating the phonetic details of intonation contours.

Greek wh-questions and the phonology of intonation

“…L2, on the other hand, clearly does not align with the last stressed vowel of the question, as we had expected, but rather with the last vowel independently of stress. However, stress is not without influence : as shown in w2.3.4, L2 appears well after the onset of the final vowel when this vowel is stressed, but before it when stress is on the penult or the antepenult (a similar effect of final stress in falling-rising contours in Dutch was found by Lickley et al 2005). One way to interpret the alignment results of L1 and L2 is to say that the realisation of the L-phrase accent is such that the postnuclear stressed syllables must be low, insofar as possible.…”

Initial peaks and final falls in the intonation of Manchego Spanish wh-questions

“…There is also the issue of the test words, arguably uncommon in face-to-face communication. To investigate this issue in depth, Lickley et al (2005) compared the alignment patterns of L turning points in Dutch falling-rising questions produced in a reading task (similar to that of the present study) with L turning points produced in a map task. Alignment (phonetic) data were consistent between speaking conditions, although there was evidence that additional melodic configurations were used in the map task based on pragmatic and syntactic constraints.…”

The Intonation Patterns of Interrogatives in Persian

“…The second argument is an empirical one. Lickley et al (2005) measure the alignment of lows in Dutch falling-rising questions with two sets of data, read data and map task dialogs, i.e., conversations where the questioner requests information from a partner regarding the different locations on a map. Lickley and colleagues reach the same results from the two sets and conclude that lab speech can Linguistic Discovery 9.1: be used in experimental research concerning phonological and phonetic issues.…”