Prosody: Theory and Experiment

The study of prosody is perhaps the area of speech research which has undergone the most noticeable development during the past ten to fifteen years. This book contains contributions by 15 internationally recognized experts (including M. Beckman, N. Campbell, C. Gussenhoven, J. Hirschberg, D. Hirst, D.R. Ladd, M. Ostendorf, J. Pierrehumbert, E. Selkirk, S. Shattuck-Hufnagel, and J. Terken) in different areas of prosody which provide readers with the most current and comprehensive picture of the major areas of research within the field. The contributions not only provide a survey of major developments in prosody during the past 15-20 years, but also present ongoing work as well as point to areas where future research is needed. The chapters deal with a wide range of topics including the representation of tones and intonation, evidence for and constraints on prosodic phrasing, prosodic boundary detection, articulatory dynamics of stress, timing in speech, and prosodic correlates of speaking style, as well as the perception of prosodic prominence. The book offers investigators in all areas of speech communication (phonetics, phonology, speech technology) with a comprehensive and coherent presentation of contemporary prosodic research.