Play banana-bunch7.wav: - download banana-bunch7.TextGrid


Example of L*H-H% in <banana-bunch7>.

The distribution of break indices in this example is the same as many of those seen in the examples in Section 2.1: there are 1's between each word and a 4 at the end of the intonational phrase (IP).

In the next example, a chance placement of unvoiced segments /f/ and /k/ (where the vocal folds don’t vibrate and therefore there is no f0) brackets the three tonal elements L* H- H%. This results in a step-like appearance that, while convenient to illustrate the three different elements is not typical. In other segmental contexts, the tonal elements will smoothly flow from one to the next. By the way, the L* may seem to be rather high if examined out of context. However, this speaker has a relatively high pitch range.

Play Africa.wav: - download Africa.TextGrid


L*H-H% in <Africa>.

Most of the examples shown here and earlier have had only a single IP so that the 4 at the end of the IP is also at the end of the utterance. In cases like this, disjuncture denoted by the 4 Break Index is between the last word of the IP and the silence that follows. Perhaps the idea of "disjuncture” is more comfortably reflected in the context of a sequence of intonational phrases, which frequently occurs in conversational or narrative speech contexts, but not so far in this tutorial. If there are several IP’s in sequence, the 4 at the end of the each IP describes the disjuncture between the last word in the first phrase and the first word in the next phrase, as shown in the next example <who_melanie1.wav>.

Play who_melanie1.wav: - download who_melanie1.TextGrid


Example of two Intonational Phrases linked in a single utterance.

The first part of this larger utterance (who was it) group together into a single intonational phrase, separate from the group of words in the second part of the utterance (Melanie). This disjuncture between the two IP’s, marked with the break index 4, is cued by the phrase accent, boundary tone and relative lengthening on the final syllable of the first intonational phrase. In this utterance, the last IP is following by non-speech sounds, such as a laugh and a breath. The low amplitude noise at the end of the file, shaped like a flat lens, is typical of noise made when a speaker takes a breath. These events are noted in the miscellaneous tier.

Section 2.2 L* H-H%

A. listening exercises:
1. Just listen and focus on the prosody. The following file has various speakers producing various texts, all with L* H-H (ex2a1.wav) ("for Abernathy," "me," "tarnation," "a minimum," "really," "are you recording," and "Eileen.")
2. Listen and compare: This file contains 4 versions of "a ToBI labeller"-which one is not L* H-H%? (ex2a2.wav)

B: labelling exercises
Label the following files. A TextGrid with only the words tier is provided. Files may contain H* L-L% as well as L* H-H%
1. ex2a1.wav ("Marianna")
2. ex2a2.wav ("Amelia knew him")
3. ex2a3.wav ("an anemone")
4. ex2a4: an utterance with several Intonational Phrases, spoken by the same speaker ("some beans, some arugula, a rutabaga, an onion")
5. ex2a5: a file made up of utterances by several speakers. ("a parabola," "another banana," "an otter mandible," " the minimum," and "come in.")

C: Further exercises:
1. Produce, record and compare L* H-H% from L* H-H% models. The file ex2c1.wav has examples of 2 different speakers saying the words "a luminary" with L* H-H%. Record your own rendition(s) and save your files. (use ex2c1, and your initials: ex2c1amb.wav)

2. produce both H* L-L% and L* H-H% on the same set of words. Try the following list (and feel free to add to it): me, you, banana, another banana, a lime, arugula, watermelon, an umbrella, marmalade, a minimum, a ToBI labeller

3. work with a partner to produce "dialogs": H* L-L% in response to L* H-H%, and vice versa. You can use words from the list above, or choose your own.

eg:
speaker 1: a banana? (L* H-H%)
speaker 2: a banana. (H* L-L%)

or
speaker 1: some marmalade. (H* L-L%)
speaker 2: some marmalade? (L* H-H%)

or
speaker 1: a rutabaga? (L* H-H%)
speaker 2: no. (H* L-L%)

4. Try producing L* H-H% versions on a longer phrase or two. In section 2.1, you heard the H* L-L% contour on several longer phrases. (You may also have tried your own H* L-L% renditions on the same text in exercise C3 of section 2.1). For this exercise, try to produce the same text as in the files below, but with the L* H-H% contour.
"He said you would." (said-would1.wav) (L* on "said")
"Marianna won it." (won-a.wav) (L* on "Marianna")
"He was nominated." (nominated-Hstar.wav) (L* on "nominated")

- save your soundfiles as .wav files, and any associated TextGrids, named with "ex2c4" and your initials, and a number or keyword if you produce more than one sound file (eg. ex2c4amb2.wav or ex2c4amb_won.wav). Upload your files to anita.