Glossary

Accent-lending pitch movement

An accent-lending pitch movement is a pitch movement realized in such a way that a hearer perceives prominence on the syllable in which it occurs and thus perceives a pitch accent on that syllable. Accent-lending pitch movements are realized with various gradations, with varying salience, and usually occur in syllables carrying word stress. The position of word stress can be found in a dictionary, but the location and type of pitch accent depends on the intention of the speaker and thus cannot be found in dictionaries. Not all realizations of a given type of pitch accent are equally salient, but within one type all realizations are always perceptually equivalent.

Pitch movements between pitch accents or between pitch accents and boundaries. Pitch does not move in a straight line from accent to accent or from accent to boundary. In sequences of connecting pitch movements, turning points occur, thus separating movements belonging to the last accent from those belonging to the next accent or boundary.

The involuntary, physiologically determined tendency of the fundamental frequency to gradually decline in the course of an utterance ('t Hart et al. 1990: 121f.). Note that a speaker can voluntarily influence the rate of declination or make a declination reset.

The size of an interval between the beginning and terminal frequency of a pitch movement. On a linear scale this size is expressed in hertz (Hz), on a logarithmic scale in semitones (ST). Note that values in hertz are absolute values, whereas semitones are relative values answering more closely the perception of pitch by the human ear. Throughout ToRI the logarithmic scale is used.

A pitch accent with a large excursion size: full pitch accents H*L, H*H and H*M reach, if measured from the low level of a speaker (0 ST) a level higher than 10 ST. Full pitch accents occur as final accents before a boundary.

The rate of vibration of the vocal cords measured in cycles per second. The unit in which the fundamental frequency is expressed, is hertz (Hz): one hertz is one cycle per second. Changes in the rate at which vocal cords vibrate are perceived as variations in pitch height: the higher the number of cycles per second, the higher the perceived pitch will be. The average for women is 220 Hz, for men 110 Hz, for children 265 Hz.

The harmonica pattern is named after its form. Coming from the high level, usually after a raised peak, pitch accent HL* is realized, after which pitch immediately rises again. In a realization of a single harmonica, pitch accent HL* is realized after which pitch reaches the mid target; in a realization of a repeated harmonica, pitch rises after accent HL* till a level high enough to make a next raised peak followed by another realization of HL*, etc. The pattern expresses surprise, wonder and also may implicitly ask the question "what else would you expect?"

Unit of frequency: one hertz is one cycle per second, abbreviated as Hz.

Speech melody. The ensemble of pitch variations in the course of an utterance ('t Hart et al., 1990:2).

An intonation pattern, also called pitch pattern, is a fixed concatenation of pitch accents. For example, a sawtooth pattern.

In the context of intonation: maximum and minimum relative pitch values for realizations of a given type of pitch accent. These values are based on a large number of experimentally verified pitch accents realized by male and female speakers. All realizations within these limits are perceptually equivalent. A realization beyond these limits would not be perceived anymore as that given type. Note that LPTs are speaker dependent, as the pitch range between speakers varies. Should a speaker have a very small pitch range, then LPT values will be accordingly smaller. Once the pitch range of a speaker is established, the LPTs can also be determined.

Fluctuations in the fundamental frequency curve that are not intended by the speaker and caused by physiological factors. Such fluctuations are not relevant for perception of melody and thus not relevant for the linguistic description of intonation.

A pitch movement not lending accent to a syllable, thus not highlighting that syllable as compared to its environing syllables. Non-accent-lending pitch movements are, for example, connecting pitch movements between two pitch accents or between a pitch accent and a boundary.

In the context of intonation, all realizations of one type of pitch accent, of one type of pitch boundary or of one type of configuration of pitch movements, are within that type perceptually equivalent. That is, according to native speakers, realizations of one type of pitch accent, pitch boundary or configuration of pitch movements are successful imitations of one another. The perceptual equivalence of realizations of a given type can be established by verifying realizations in listening experiments with native speakers.

All pitch movements contribute to the impression of speech melody, but only those movements are relevant that are intended by the speaker and actually perceived by the hearer as being part of the melody. This means that in describing intonation, pitch movements that cannot be perceived are not relevant and can be left out of the description. Not linguistically relevant for the perception of melody is, for example, micro-intonation.

The term pitch covers all pitch variations occurring in spoken languages. Depending on the range of a speaker's register, these phenomena are realized between a given high and low pitch level.

In the context of intonation languages with word stress: a pitch movement or configuration of pitch movements lending perceptual prominence to a syllable in a word that thus receives an accent.

A pitch contour is a sequence of pitch movements or configurations of pitch movements occurring in the course of an utterance.

In the context of intonation, a pitch target is a given point reached in the pitch range of a given speaker. The lowest pitch target is the point reached on average in final falls in the register of a given speaker, and is not an ultimate value, as, absolutely speaking, a still lower point can be reached after falling pitch accents in, for instance, final lowering. The highest pitch target is the point reached on average in full rising pitch accents realized by a given speaker, while an even higher point or "peak" can sometimes be reached.

The syllable or syllables immediately following the tonic syllable.

The syllable or syllables immediately preceding the tonic syllable.

In the context of prosodic phenomena, prominence is perceived as a result of highlighting a syllable by realizing prosodic parameters such as pitch, lengthening and/or increased loudness. By lending prominence to a syllable, a speaker intentionally makes that syllable stand out as compared to its environing syllables, telling the hearer that the word in which the prominent syllable occurs conveys important information. If a speaker lends prominence by realizing accent-lending pitch movements, a hearer perceives an accent.

A clearly perceptible break in speech, intentionally made by a speaker to separate streams of thoughts and to organize utterances in such a way that a listener hears which words belong together. Prosodic boundaries are made by realizing, for example, a pitch movement, a reset, a pause (silent or filled) or a hesitation. Pitch is thus not the only (prosodic) cue to mark a boundary. In spontaneous speech, sudden interruptions may occur without realizing a prosodic boundary.

A raised peak is a small, high rise sometimes followed by a short high-level plateau in the pretonic syllable of a falling pitch accent realized from the high pitch level. It occurs, for instance, on prepositions and over word boundaries. A raised peak does not change a type of accent into another type, but it makes the realization of the accent more salient. By realizing this typically Russian-sounding pitch phenomenon, the excursion size of the falling movement is enlarged.

The rate of change of a pitch movement can be more or less steep or gradual, and is determined by the duration and the excursion of that movement expressed in semitones per second (ST/s).

A pitch accent with a small excursion size: reduced pitch accents H*L, H*H and H*M remain in the low register of a speaker and do not reach a level higher than 10 ST; reduced pitch accents L* and HL* do not reach the low level. Reduced pitch accents occur as non-final accents; reduced accents H*M, L* and HL* occur, for instance, in a sawtooth pattern.

The range of a given speaker between his highest and lowest pitch level. The register is subdivided into a high register and a low register, but there is no exact borderline between the two. Roughly speaking, the low register covers a range from 0-10 ST and the high register from 10 ST to the highest pitch level reached by a given speaker. For Russian this high level can be 25 ST above the lowest pitch level (0 ST) of a speaker. Full pitch accents H*L, H*H and H*M reach their highest point in the high register, reduced pitch accents H*L, H*H and H*M reach their highest point in the low register.

A jump upward or downward in the fundamental frequency course, resulting in a clearly perceptible break in the intonation contour.

A sequence of reduced pitch accents H*M, L* or HL* preceding a full pitch accent at a boundary. In such sequences all pitch accents have a small excursion size and do not reach a high (type H*M) or a low (types L* and HL*) pitch target in the pitch-accented syllable. After the pitch target reached in the accented syllable, pitch gradually moves to the next pitch accent, hence the name sawtooth. The sawtooth pattern is thus always followed by a full type of pitch accent before a boundary.

Semitone (ST)

The logarithmic unit of frequency. Approximately a difference of 6% between two hertz-values (one twelfth of an octave).

In the context of intonation: types of question, statement, completeness, incompleteness, vocative, imperative, exclamative, that can be expressed by pitch contours.

Silent fragments without any vocal activity registered in the speech signal, e.g. occurring during a hesitation, between utterances.

Intonation. "The ensemble of pitch variations in the course of an utterance" ('t Hart et al., 1990).

The position in the accented syllable where the beginning or terminal frequency of a pitch movement is reached. Early timing: the terminal frequency is reached near the onset of the accented vowel. Late timing: the terminal frequency is reached towards the offset of the accented vowel.

The prominent syllable in a word with pitch accent.

If realized on utterance-final syllables, post-tonic parts of pitch accents remain unrealized and are thus truncated or "cut off". (Odé, 2005b)

The point in connecting pitch movements where pitch switches into another direction, thus separating pitch movements belonging to the previously realized pitch accent from those preceding the next accent. The position of turning points is important for the prosodic grouping of words, so that a listener hears which words belong together. The location of turning points depends on the intention of a speaker.