Pitch range use in speech of Welsh/English bilinguals:

Production StudyMikhail Ordin1,2

Ineke Mennen1

(1 Bangor University, Centre for Research on Bilingualism

2 Moscow Academy of Humanities and Technology)

Pitch range

Level (Ladd 1996)Register (Cruttenden

1997)

Overall height of speaker’s voice

Span (Ladd 1996)Key (Cruttenden 1997)Excursion size (‘tHart,

Collier, Cohen 1990)

Range of frequencies covered by the speaker

Hypothetical averaged data for 4 target points in three speaker's pronunciation of the English declarative sentence I HAVE BEEN THERE BEFORE. The contours are impressionistically similar, despite the differences in level and span

75

95

115

135

155

175

195

215

235

255

275

1 2 3 4

target points

F0

(H

z)

Are overall pitch modifications automatic

or consciously controlled?

Anatomical and physiological factors determine pitch range

- Size of the larynx and lung volume

- Decrease in transglottal pressure towards the end of the utterance

- More difficult adjustments for upward pitch change than for downward pitch change

- Increase of vocal folds tension on high vowels

- Higher subglottal pressure before closure release on voicelss plosives than on voiced plosives

Anatomically-conditioned modifications can become

meaningful and even undergo grammaticalization and express linguistic function (Ohala 1983,

1984; Lieberman 1967)

Biological codes (Gussenhoven 2004):

1) Frequency code (Ohala 1983, 1996)

Source: size of the speech organsWhat is affected: overall levelParalinguistic meaning: submissive aggressive; big-small; friendly-hostile; high status-low status; certain-uncertainLinguistic meaning: Question vs. statement

Biological codes (Gussenhoven 2004):

2) Effort code

Source: energy

What is affected: span

Paralinguistic meaning: affected-non affected speech

Linguistic meaning: focus marking

Biological codes (Gussenhoven 2004):

3) Production code

Source: lung volume

What is affected: downtrends

Linguistic meaning: finality vs continuity, old vs new information

Diehl (1991) and Kingston and Diehl (1994) argued that at least partially pitch modifications are under speaker’s conscious control and can be used to enhance perceptual effect.

Language-specific vs universal

1) HTR (e.g. Grabe, 2004)2) Hadding-Koch and Stuttert-Kennedy, 19643) Gonnum, 19834) Brouwer, 19895) Ohara, 19926) Eckert, Laver, 19947) Downing, 19968) Gibbon, 19989) Makarova, 199910) Mennen, 2007, 2008

Pitch range in bilingual speech

Mennen 2007, 2008, 2009 as the starting point of the current research.

Mennen et.al. found that:

• The difference in pitch range between German and English monolingual speakers is mostly in span.

• L2 native German speakers of English use pitch range in English differently from native Brits. German manipulate level.

• In perception the cue to Englishness for the Brits is span, and for the German is level.

Simultaneous vs Sequencial Bilinguals

Sequential

• Pitch range differs between L1 and L2

• Pitch range in L2 of sequential bilinguals differs from that in monolingual speech by native speakers

• Are we dealing with cross-language differences or cross-context differences?

Simultaneous

• ????????????????

• ????????????????

Research Question 1:

Do Welsh-English bilinguals realize pitch range differently when they use different languages?

Research Question 2:

If so, what dimension(s) of pitch range (i.e. level/span) is/are language-specific?

Research Question 3:

Which strategy or strategies do the bilinguals use to make the difference in pitch range?

Subjects:Adult bilinguals

Acquired both languages simultaneously

Used both languages daily

Are fluent readers of technical and colloquial styles

19 speakers: 5 men and 12 women

Material:

Controlled speech, neutral sentences and a brief technical text on history of Welsh, recorded at 44kHz, 16 bit, in WAV PCI format using condenser microphone. Reading and recording was done in a quiet place.

20 sentences, 40-45 tone units per language per speaker.

Labelling and measuring:Span

• Pitch span was determined as the difference in semitones between the average of the speaker’s peaks and L% tones.

If creaky voice was used for final lowering, the measurement was taken immediately prior to the creaky interval.

Labelling and measuring: Level

Three measures for pitch level were defined:

• 1) average of F0 peaks,

• 2) average of L%, and

• 3) average of means on each tone unit.

Analysis

• Wilcoxon Signed Rank• Data for males and females

processed separately to consider the possible effect of gender

(where assumptions for paired t-tests were met, parametric tests were performed, but not reported here for consistency. Parametric tests showed greater effect size).

RESULTS: 14 females

Span is wider in Welsh than in English

(z=-3.17; p=0.002; r=0.6)

The median score increased from M=7.68 for English to M=8.92 for Welsh

The average difference is 1.41ST

RESULTS: 14 females

Level is higher in Welsh than in English if defined as F0 peaks

(z=-3.23; p=0.001; r=0.61)

The median score increased from M= 257.14 for English to M=274.48 for Welsh

The average difference is 1.4ST

RESULTS: 14 females

Level is not significantly different if defined as F0 on L% tones or as mean F0 on tone units.

RESULTS: 5 males

Span is 0.6ST wider in Welsh than in English, but the difference is n/s (p=0.225)

RESULTS: 5 males

Level is 0.4ST higher in Welsh than in English if defined as F0 peaks, but the difference is n/s, p=0.225

RESULTS: 5 males

Level is not significantly different if defined as F0 on L% tones or as mean F0 on tone units.

Summary of results so far:

Females• Pitch range differs

between Welsh and English

• Difference is in span• Difference is in

F0max• No sign difference in

F0means and F0min

Males• Pitch range does not

differ between Welsh and English

FEW SPEAKERS?????

Individual Statistics: Females, F0max

Individual Statistics: Females, Span

Individual Statistics: Males, Level

Individual Statistics: Males, Span

Strategies:

• increasing F0 peaks in Welsh (or decreasing F0 peaks in English);

• using creaky voice in Welsh for final lowering (or cancelling creaky voice in English);

• increasing F0 means in Welsh (or decreasing F0 means in English);

• decreasing F0 minimums in Welsh (or increasing F0 minimums in English).

Are strategies independent?

ANOVA:Hypothesis: the more strategies the speaker uses,

the smaller the different between F0max in Welsh and English expected.

Dependent var: difference in F0max in Welsh and in English

Independent var 1: number of strategies (2 levels – 1 and 3 different strategies employed)

Independent var 2: speaker (6 levels)Outcome: no sign influence. Trade-off? Not

enough data to say for sure.

What causes these differences?

1) Social and culture-rooted.

2) Language system (in Welsh I heard more rising tones while in English there were more falling tones).

Peculiarities of speech perception. What are we listening to when we evaluate span and level – overall register or the maximums?

Further research

IDifference in pitch range as a social marker

IIAcquisition of pitch range by sequential and

simultaneous bilinguals

IIIPerception of pitch range