Prosodic Prominence - Classification, Gradience, Relativity

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Stefan Baumann
• Subject Area: General and Comparative Linguistics, Experimental Linguistics, Typology, Non-European Languages
• Term: from 2012 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 221144609

The second phase of the project will continue to develop a metrical-tonal model of prosodic prominence for German. In contrast to the first phase, which emphasized research on gradient or stepwise differences in prosodic prominence at a paradigmatic level, we will now primarily investigate the question of relativity of prominence at a syntagmatic level. Contextual influences will be investigated more closely: The form and strength of prominences are taken to depend not only on the discourse context but also on the immediate prosodic context. Evidence will be gained from an analysis of prosodically annotated corpora and a number of perception experiments. In these experiments, pre- and postnuclear accents will be examined in relation to the nuclear accent both in terms of auditory and neurocognitive processing and with regard to the interpretation of their meaning. Another important aim is the development of a quantification process of prosodic prominence that contributes to a description of specific profiles for different text-types and speakers. The findings from the corpus and experimental studies will be integrated into a consensus annotation model for German Intonation.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants