ON PITCH AND PERCEPTUAL PROMINENCE IN CONVERSATIONAL FINNISH SPEECH

Mietta Lennes
Department of Speech Sciences, University of Helsinki

ID 1575
[full paper]

In this preliminary study, the relationship between pitch patterns and perceived prominence of word-initial syllables are investigated in conversational Finnish for one female and one male speaker. Possibilities for comparing pitch distributions for different speakers are also addressed. Prominent syllables were marked for two speakers, and the pitch levels and pitch changes were analyzed around these syllables. It was found that the level of pitch at prominent syllables tends to be slightly higher than the pitch level in non-prominent syllables. Prominent syllables are also more often associated with a pitch rise with respect to the preceding syllable. However, the most significant correlation was found between perceptual prominence and decrease in pitch from the prominent (word-initial) syllable towards the next syllable. Thus, both the pitch level and the pitch movement around perceptually prominent syllables may represent cues for prominence in conversational Finnish.