Declination in prosody refers to the fact that the pitch of the voice is most commonly on average lower at the end of a prosodic unit than it is at the beginning, especially in controlled (read) speech. The main concerns of this paper are the analysis and comparison of the paragraph- declination of read speech of native and non-native speakers of English. More precisely, the analysis and comparison of the paragraph-pitch-patterns in the English of a native speaker and of a speaker with the tone language Chinese as her native language. Do distinct differences between the pitch-curves (i.e. the curves of the F0-formants) exist, and, if so, what might be the reasons for those differences? Does the particular feature of the tone language Chinese, i.e. the word-meaning-defining pitch, in any way affect paragraph-declination in L2-English? Or does this feature have no effect on paragraph-declination at all, maybe for physiological reasons? For this purpose, two speech samples of read speech will be divided into paratones and the pitch-curves of the paratones of the intonation and tone language will then be measured and compared. But beforehand, a brief outline of the main differences between tone and intonation languages will be provided. A short definition of declination in prosody and two ways of defining prosodic domains follow.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Theoretical part
II.1 Tone languages and intonation languages
II.2. Declination in prosody
II.3. External and internal definitions of large-scale prosodic domains
II.3.1. Paratones
II.3.2. Paragraph declination or supradeclination
III. Empirical part
An analysis of pitch patterns of read speech across paragraphs; A Chinese speaker of English and a native speaker of English in comparison
III.1. Method: Data collection and analysis
III.2. Findings
III.3. Discussion
IV. Summary
V. References
VI. Appendix
Research Objective and Topics
This paper investigates and compares the phenomenon of paragraph-declination in read-aloud speech between a native speaker of English and a non-native speaker of English with a Chinese tone-language background to determine if the linguistic structure of the mother tongue influences prosodic patterns in L2 English.
- Analysis of paragraph-level pitch contours (supradeclination).
- Comparison of pitch-range and mean pitch values between native and non-native speakers.
- Investigation of the impact of tone-language background on prosodic declination.
- Evaluation of obscuring factors like discourse salience and information structure.
- Methodological application of paratone segmentation in read speech.
Excerpt from the Book
I. Introduction
Declination in prosody refers to the fact that the pitch of the voice is most commonly on average lower at the end of a prosodic unit than it is at the beginning, especially in controlled (read) speech. The main concerns of this paper are the analysis and comparison of the paragraph- declination of read speech of native and non-native speakers of English. More precisely, the analysis and comparison of the paragraph-pitch-patterns in the English of a native speaker and of a speaker with the tone language Chinese as her native language. Do distinct differences between the pitch-curves (i.e. the curves of the F0-formants) exist, and, if so, what might be the reasons for those differences? Does the particular feature of the tone language Chinese, i.e. the word-meaning-defining pitch, in any way affect paragraph-declination in L2-English? Or does this feature have no effect on paragraph-declination at all, maybe for physiological reasons? For this purpose, two speech samples of read speech will be divided into paratones and the pitch-curves of the paratones of the intonation and tone language will then be measured and compared. But beforehand, a brief outline of the main differences between tone and intonation languages will be provided. A short definition of declination in prosody and two ways of defining prosodic domains follow.
Summary of Chapters
I. Introduction: This chapter introduces the research focus on paragraph-declination in read speech and outlines the comparison between native and Chinese non-native English speakers.
II. Theoretical part: This section covers the linguistic foundations, distinguishing between tone and intonation languages and defining core concepts like paratones and supradeclination.
III. Empirical part: This chapter details the methodology for measuring pitch patterns in read-aloud speech and presents the comparative findings between the two speakers.
IV. Summary: This section concludes by synthesizing the empirical results and acknowledging the complexity of factors influencing prosodic declination.
Keywords
Prosody, Declination, Paragraph-declination, Supradeclination, Paratone, Tone language, Intonation language, Pitch-pattern, F0-formant, Read speech, Linguistic transfer, Discourse salience, Information structure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research paper?
The paper examines how prosodic declination—the natural tendency for pitch to lower over a spoken passage—differs between native English speakers and Chinese speakers reading the same English text.
What are the central thematic fields?
The research centers on prosody, specifically looking at the intersection of paragraph-level intonation, cross-linguistic phonetic influences, and the measurement of F0-formants.
What is the main research question?
The study asks whether a speaker's background in a tone language (Chinese), where pitch is used for word-meaning, leads to less frequent or less stable paragraph-declination when speaking English compared to a native speaker.
Which scientific method is utilized?
The study uses an empirical approach involving the analysis of read-aloud speech in Praat software, segmenting speech into major and minor paratones and measuring their respective pitch values.
What topics are covered in the main section?
The main section provides a theoretical background on declination, an empirical comparative analysis of pitch-curves, and a discussion on potential causes for the observed differences, such as language proficiency and physiological factors.
Which keywords define this work?
Key terms include prosody, paragraph-declination, supradeclination, paratone, F0-formant analysis, and tone versus intonation languages.
How does the author define a "paratone"?
A paratone is defined as an intonational pattern associated with a series of related utterances, serving as an equivalent to a written paragraph in spoken discourse.
What were the major findings regarding the Chinese speaker?
The results indicated that the Chinese speaker produced less consistent declination and, in several instances, even showed an increase in pitch across minor paratones compared to the native speaker.
Could other factors beyond language background explain the results?
Yes, the author notes that differences might also stem from varying English proficiency, hesitation markers, and the use of additional pauses to "refill" breath.
- Quote paper
- Robert Mattes (Author), 2005, Paragraph-Declination in Read Speech of Native and Non-Native Speakers of English, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/46440
