Abstract:
The declination of fundamental frequency was investigated in minimal pair sentences which sound alike but which have word boundaries in different positions (e.g., The monkey races it/The monk erases it). Early results suggest that fundamental frequency declines over these minimal pair sentences in accordance with the results reported on global declination effects [t'Hart et al., A Perceptual Study of Intonation (Cambridge U. P., New York, 1990)]. Baseline fundamental frequency over sentences will be compared to that for word boundaries in two-word sequences (e.g., monkey races/monk erases) excised from those minimal pair sentences. Further analysis will determine whether local properties of fundamental frequency movement and acceleration differ significantly in word boundary versus intraword position, and so whether such properties may act as a local cue to word boundary. [Work supported by NIDCD Program Project Grant.]