Cruttenden, A. (2008) Gimson's Pronunciation of English
3.2.1 Fundamental Frequency: Pitch
Pitch is the frequency of vibration made by the vocal folds when uttering a syllable.
Our perception of pitch depends directly on the frequency of vibration of the vocal folds; the higher the glottal fundamental frequency, the higher our impression of voice. In this sense, the human ear perceives frequencies within a range that goes from as low as 16 Hz to about 20,000 Hz, considerably surpassing the voice range of the average male which goes from 80 to 350 Hz.
There are several methods used to measure the fundamental frequency of speech sounds, and probably one of the most popular ones is that which involves the measurement of the vibration of vocal folds by electroglottography. By means of a laryngograph, electrodes attached to the throat send electric signals that are monitored in a visual display.
It's worth noting that the measurement of fundamental frequency don't always correspond to the auditory perception of pitch.
3.2.2 Intensity: Loudness
The sensation of loudness in speech sounds stems from the intensity at the production stage on the part of the speaker. A sound may be perceived as being louder than others either because of a pitch change or because a syllable is longer than its neighbors. In any case, it is the amplitude of vibration, along with an increase in air pressure from the lungs, what creates the impression of loudness.
However, aside from what happens at the production stage, some sounds are by nature more sonorous than others, such as vowels, which carry more energy than consonants.
3.2.3 Duration: Length
The duration of sounds in acoustic terms don't always correspond to the linguistic judgment of length. Thus, length-wise there are only two distinguishable kind of vowels that are linguistically significant: long and short vowels, but realistically the duration of any vowel of these two groups will vary in accordance to factors such as whether the utterance is spoken quickly or slowly, whether the syllable containing the vowel is accented or not, and whether the vowel is followed by a voiced or voiceless consonant.
11.6 Intonation
There are several methods used to measure the fundamental frequency of speech sounds, and probably one of the most popular ones is that which involves the measurement of the vibration of vocal folds by electroglottography. By means of a laryngograph, electrodes attached to the throat send electric signals that are monitored in a visual display.
It's worth noting that the measurement of fundamental frequency don't always correspond to the auditory perception of pitch.
3.2.2 Intensity: Loudness
The sensation of loudness in speech sounds stems from the intensity at the production stage on the part of the speaker. A sound may be perceived as being louder than others either because of a pitch change or because a syllable is longer than its neighbors. In any case, it is the amplitude of vibration, along with an increase in air pressure from the lungs, what creates the impression of loudness.
However, aside from what happens at the production stage, some sounds are by nature more sonorous than others, such as vowels, which carry more energy than consonants.
3.2.3 Duration: Length
The duration of sounds in acoustic terms don't always correspond to the linguistic judgment of length. Thus, length-wise there are only two distinguishable kind of vowels that are linguistically significant: long and short vowels, but realistically the duration of any vowel of these two groups will vary in accordance to factors such as whether the utterance is spoken quickly or slowly, whether the syllable containing the vowel is accented or not, and whether the vowel is followed by a voiced or voiceless consonant.
11.6 Intonation
Intonation is the use of pitch of the voice to convey linguistic information; in other terms, it is the rise and fall of the voice in connected speech.
Pitch changes in English have three different functions: 1) they signal the division of utterances into intonational phrases; 2) they signal syllables with primary and secondary accent; 3) the shape of the tunes produced by pitch changes can carry various types of meaning, such as discursal or attitudinal.
11.6.1 The Forms of Intonation
11.6.1.1 Intonational Phrases: The boundaries between intonational phrases may be indicated by a combination of internal and external factors. The most obvious signal of boundary among external factors is a pause. But alternatively speakers may lengthen the final syllable before a boundary, or utter the unaccented syllables following the boundary more quickly. As regards internal factors, they indicate boundaries when a pitch pattern associated with a nuclear tone is completed, or when there's a jump in the pitch height of unaccented syllables because this only occurs at boundaries.
11.6.1 The Forms of Intonation
11.6.1.1 Intonational Phrases: The boundaries between intonational phrases may be indicated by a combination of internal and external factors. The most obvious signal of boundary among external factors is a pause. But alternatively speakers may lengthen the final syllable before a boundary, or utter the unaccented syllables following the boundary more quickly. As regards internal factors, they indicate boundaries when a pitch pattern associated with a nuclear tone is completed, or when there's a jump in the pitch height of unaccented syllables because this only occurs at boundaries.
