Syllable-internal corrective focus in Korean. (November 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Oh, Miran; Byrd, Dani
• Is Part Of: Journal of phonetics. Volume 77(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-11
• Subjects: Prominence -- Prosody -- Focus -- Articulatory Phonology -- Syllable structure -- Gestures -- Scope; Phonetics -- Periodicals; Phonetics -- Periodicals; Phonétique -- Périodiques; Phonetics; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 414.05
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wocn.2019.100933
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0095-4470

Abstract

Highlights: Focus manifestation varies systematically depending on co-active gestures. Focus modulation is not a function of elicited syllable-internal focus position. The scope of a focus gesture extends beyond segment-sized units. Multiple prominence gestures (e.g., focus & accentual/rhythmic) may interact locally. Focus modulates articulatory AND prosodic gestures that are co-active in its domain. Abstract: In producing linguistic prominence, certain linguistic elements are highlighted relative to others in a given domain; focus is an instance of prominence in which speakers highlight new or important information. This study investigates prominence modulation at the sub-syllable level using a corrective focus task, examining acoustic duration and pitch with particular attention to the gestural composition of Korean tense and lax consonants. The results indicate that focus effects are manifested with systematic variations depending on the gestural structures, i.e. consonants, active during the domain of a focus gesture, but that the patterns of focus modulation do not differ as a function of elicited focus positions within the syllable. The findings generally support the premise that the scope of the focus gesture is not (much) smaller than the interval of (CVC) syllable. Lastly, there is also some support for an interaction among prosodic gestures—focus gestures and pitch accentual gestures—at the phrase level. Overall, the current findings support the hypothesis that focus, implemented as a prosodic prominence gesture, modulates temporal characteristics of articulatory gestures, as well as possibly other prosodic gestures that are co-active in its the domain.