A Sociolinguistic Study of Pitch Leveling in Japanese:

A Preliminary Analysis

Shoji TakanoHokusei Gakuen University

Ichiro OtaKagoshima University

UK Language Variation and Change 5University of Aberdeen

September 12, 2005

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Background• Takeshi Shibata’s (1995) Informal Observation on Rece

ntly Emerging Changes in Japanese:“General preference for non-prominence among the younger generation” because they want to convey “images of novelty, freshness and urbanity” in speech (p.181-2). For example,

(1) Leveling of lexical accentse.g., ka’reshi ‘boyfriend’ kareshi 　 (“ x’ “ indicates a pitch accent.)

(2) Leveling of sentence intonation or “pitch in general” (p. 185)

“It may be fair to assume that sentence-level pitch leveling (2) precedes lexical accent leveling (1)” (p. 185).

“However, it should be noted that the change in question is considered specific to Tokyo Japanese. We do not know whether the change has become widespread in local dialects as well” (p. 186).

No follow-up studies have been conducted thus far;

no empirical evidence that verifies Shibata’s observation is available today.

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The Present Study• Research Question

(1) We empirically examine Shibata’s hypothesis on sentence-level pitch leveling prevalent among the younger generatio

n.(2) We explore the possibility that the change in question is a

nation-wide phenomenon.

• Data3 read sentences that consist only of accented (kifuku-shiki) words:

(/ xx / indicates an accentual phrase.)(1) /Ba’su wa/ /na’i kara/ /aru’ite/ /iko’o./

(Let’s walk since there is no bus service.)

(2) /Do’ryoku/ /shite’mo/ /i’mi ga/ /na’i./(It’s meaningless even if you make an effort.)

(3) /yo’meba/ /yo’muhodo/ /yu’kai na/ /hanashi’ da./(The deeper you read, the more amusing you find the stor

y.)

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• Hokkaido Subjects:20 Hokkaido dialect speakers in 2 age groups: 　 all are natives in coastal areas of Hidaka (including the towns of Shizunai and Mitsuishi)

• Kagoshima Subjects:　　 10 native informants in the souther

n Kyushu region: all are females

Younger Group

10 speakers, late 10s to early 20s

7 males,

3 females

Older Group

10 speakers,

Mid 50s to early 70s

5 males,

5 females

Younger Group

10 speakers, late 10s to early 20s

10 females

Kagoshima

Hidaka

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• Analytical Procedures ◎ How can we identify the leveling of pitch?

In an utterance involving the leveling of pitch …

(1) Fundamental frequency (F0) of every accented phrase (AP) is weakened; i.e., every pitch peak is relatively lower than otherwise.(2) The movement of pitch involves a steady declination due to the above-mentioned pitch accent weakening.

◎ How can we measure the leveling of pitch? (see Figure 1)Step 1: Measuring the pitch range (PR) of each utterance as the

benchmark 　①Maximum F0 － Minimum F0 = PR

Step 2: Measuring the height of F0 peak for every AP ②Step 3: Measuring the relative decrease of F0 peak (divided by PR)

F0 peak of 1st AP③ － F0 peak of 2nd AP, 3rd AP, 4th AP, etc.

= F0 declinationStep 4: Measuring the relative magnitude of pitch rise (divided by PR)

AP-final F0 ④ 　－　 F0 peak of the following AP = F0 increase 　

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Figure 1: /Doryo’ku//shite’mo//i’mi ga//na’i/ by a 65-year-old Shizunai woman

The utterance involving pitch leveling should show …

(1) The value of F0 declination is high: Pitch declination curve is relatively steep and steady (withou

t prominent pitch rise) toward the end of an utterance.

(2) The value of F0 increase is low:

F0 rise of every AP is small-scale in its magnitude.

①

②

③ ④

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• Results

In 2 (S-2, S-3) out of 3 sentences, differences in both F0 declination and F0 increase are found statistically significant between the age groups.

Sentence 2: /do’ryoku//shite’mo//i’mi ga//na’i/

F0 declination (%; divided by PR) /do’ryoku/ /i’mi ga/

Younger Group -33.4Older Group -21.2 p < .05

F0 increase (%; divided by PR)/shite’mo/ /i’mi ga/

Younger Group 36Older Group 70.5 p < .01

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Sentence 3: /yo’meba//yo’muhodo//yu’kai na//hanashi’ da/

F0 declination (%; divided by PR) /yo’meba/ /yo’muhodo/ /yo’meba/ /yu’kai na/

Younger Group -37.4 -36.7Older Group -10.3 -11

p < .05 p < .01

F0 increase (%; divided by PR)/yo’meba/ /yo’muhodo/ /yo’muhodo/ /yu’kai na/

Younger Group 14.9 35Older Group 51.4 64.9

p < .01 p < .05

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Individual distribution: Sentence 2

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Individual distribution in HIdaka: Sentence 3

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Pitch Contours of Age GroupsYoung Old

steady realization of pitch accents

prominent pitch peaks

subject to “catathesis”

minor pitch peaks and accentual de-generation

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Summary & Discussion• YES! Pitch Leveling is Prevalent among the Yo

unger Generation …OLD: less F0 declination, more F0 increase

Realization of pitch accents is sure and steady.

F0 is vigorous and dynamic in its movement with relatively prominent pitch peaks and even with frequent pitch reset.

YOUNG: more F0 declination, less F0 increase

Realization of pitch accents is subject to “catathesis” (= a feature of the Tokyo dialect).

F0 is flat with relatively minor pitch peaks and accentual de-generation.

• YES! This could be a nation-wide phenomenon …

One of the processes of “standardization” of regional dialects?Female speakers lead this change both in Hokkaido and Kagoshima, as is

usually the case in linguistic change in general??

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Further Investigation to Call For• Is there such a thing as age-linked differences in per

ception of prosodic units? …OLD: frequent pitch reset sensitivity to individ

ual APs as a single prosodic unitYOUNG: frequent weakening or de-generation of pitc

h accents tendency to “do chunking” of multiple APs as a single prosodic unit

• Is this a “genuine” linguistic change or just a reflection of age-grading? …

The necessity of more widespread corpora (e.g., middle-aged group, speakers of different local dialects) for further analysis

• How can we account for individual variability within the age group? …

The necessity of a more qualitative look at individuals’ social lives, including the degree of contact with speakers of local

dialects (e.g., grandparents), social network structures, loyalty to vernacular culture, etc.

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