Air Pressure and Larygngeal Activity in Intonation

Abstract

The theory proposed in Lieberman (1967, Intonation, Perception and Language, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.) states that both subglottal air pressure and laryngeal muscular maneuvers control fundamental frequency. Two phonetic features, the breath group and prominence, account for some of the linguistic functions of intonation. In the archetypal unmarked − breath group, fo follows air pressure. The archetypal articulatory correlate of the marked + breath group is an increase in laryngeal tension. Recent electromyographic data show that laryngeal muscles are responsible for the terminal fo rises of + breath groups and nonterminal + prominences in − breath groups. In contrast, fo peaks of + prominent syllables in + breath groups are caused by air pressure peaks. Independent data of Fromkin and Ohala (1968, Kyoto Speech Symp.) are consistent with these electromyographic observations. The Fromkin and Ohala data also show that the mean rate of change of fo with respect to air pressure is 12.5 Hz/cm H2O. These data support the archetypal correlates of the breath group and the “motor theory” for the perception of intonation proposed in Lieberman (1967). They also support a phonetic theory in which implementation rules relate phonetic features to articulatory maneuvers.