A range of intonation patterns produced in an elicitation task

Abstract

A production task was designed to elicit a specific intonation contour, characterized by an exaggerated rise-fall-rise in f0 (L+H*L−H% in ToBI terms), conveying an attitude of ‘‘dismayed surprise.’’ Speakers were given models, a short practice period, and a preceding context for each utterance. A targetlike rise-fall-rise contour (including H*L−H% variants) was successfully elicited for each of the contexts, but in less than half the utterances: Of 1134 utterances, 631 (56%) were judged by a panel of 3 experienced ToBI labelers as different from the intended contour, e.g., L*H−H%. Of these, 261 were produced with contours perceptually similar to the target, with a sustained flat or minimally rising f0 after the fall from the pitch accent, or with the rise occurring early in the next phrase. Alignment characteristics and individual speaker data may determine whether these are one contour with a continuum of realizations, or separate contours. These results (a) suggest that speakers have more than one way of signaling a given attitude and resist being limited to using only one, and (b) support the need for careful postexperiment transcription to characterize which contours subjects have actually produced. [Work supported by NSF 0345627 and NIH DC00075.]