11.2 Functions of Prosody


Intonation helps us identify grammatical structure (Crystal 1995). Without prosody, it is hard to imagine how listeners might parse an incoming phonetic stream into clauses and sentences. Consider the contrast in (1) through (3), with paraphrases given in square brackets.

graphics/sound_icon.gif

(1)

You know. I don't. [So don't ask me.]


(2)

You know, I don't. [As a matter of fact, I really don't.]


(3)

You know I don't. [You know that I don't.]


In addition, many grammatical contrasts rely on intonation systematically, as in the case of statements versus certain types of questions for example, "I should" versus "I should?"

Intonation also serves a textual function, communicating relationships of contrast and coherence among larger units of talk. Newscasters, for example, shape monologs into distinct paragraphs and news stories. Sportscasters rely on special prosodic patterns to report the progress of fast-paced events and mounting action in, for example, soccer games, basketball games, and horse races.

Prosody is also informational. It draws the listener's attention to what is new and reveals the speaker's belief, intent, and knowledge in ways we take for granted. To appreciate the degree to which subtle differences in prosody effect sharply divergent informational meanings, consider five potential interpretations of the simple sentence "I should go," as shown in Table 11-1 (adapted from Quirk and Greenbaum 1973).

Similarly, the intonation of "any" can reverse the meaning of an utterance such as, "Don't get her ANY flowers." If "any" falls, the meaning is "Don't get her any flowers at all," but if "any" rises and falls, it means "Don't get her just any flowers; make sure they are special." These examples demonstrate the central role that prosody plays in mediating the interpretation of linguistic forms.

graphics/sound_icon.gif

Table 11-1. Five Meanings of "I Should Go"
 

PROSODY

MEANING

I should .

Falling tone on stressed "go"

[Neutral, default.]

I should ?

Rising tone on "go"

Is that your advice?

Ì should go.

Falling tone on "I"

Not you!

I SHÒULD go.

Falling tone on "should"

And I defy you to deny it!

I SHÔULD go.

Rising-falling tone on "should"

But I don't think I will.

Prosody also serves psychological functions, helping us to organize speech into units that are easier to perceive and remember (Crystal 1995). A sequence of ten digits, as in North American phone numbers, would be difficult to remember if we did not rely on prosody to chunk them into three groups.

A more general function of prosody is to convey attitude and emotion. For example, in response to the question, "Will you marry me?" Crystal (1995) registers nine nuances of meaning for the response "Yes" in the prestige accent of England known as "RP" (for Received Pronunciation). These shades of meaning include delight (a rise-fall contour, as in "Wonderful!"); detachment, boredom, or resignation (a level low tone, as if to say, "If I must" or "I give up"); and guarded suspicion (a low rise contour, as if to ask, "What's the catch?")

Finally, prosody conveys personal and social identity. For example, people pursuing certain occupations are readily identified through their distinctive prosodic patterns: courtroom lawyers, evangelical preachers, newscasters, sports commentators, drill sergeants, and so on (Crystal 1995). Flight attendants, for example, have a distinctive habit of shifting stress onto certain words when making announcements over the aircraft's public address system. For example: ". . . a small orange oxygen mask will descend from the compartment situated immediately above you," "Upon opening the overhead bins, please be aware that contents may have shifted during flight," and "We additionally request that all passengers remain in their seats until the captain has turned off the fasten-your-seat-belt sign."[2] This function of prosody in particular can be exploited in the design of high-end, persona-rich VUIs.

[2] Flight attendant prosody can be explained as an attention-getting device.

Now that we have reviewed the main functions of prosody in everyday, authentic language use, let's examine some high-level, but essential, features of English prosody and then apply them to prompting.



Voice User Interface Design 2004
Voice User Interface Design 2004
ISBN: 321185765
EAN: N/A
Year: 2005
Pages: 117

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net