METHODOLOGICAL ASPECT OF THE USE OF INTERFIXES IN GERMAN COMMON COMPOUND WORDS

В статье предлагается систематизация правил употребления интерфиксов в немецком словосложении, представляющих собой одну из сложных тем в преподавании немецкого языка как первого и второго иностранного языков. В первой части работы подробно описывается происхождение соединительных элементов - интерфиксов, связывающих основы атрибутивным отношением, подчеркивается практически полная десемантизация интерфиксов, анализируются основные функции интерфиксов. Во второй части исследования рассматривается каждый из выделяемых в немецком словосложении соединительных элементов. С одной стороны, проводится отграничение интерфиксов от омонимов, например, падежных флексий и суффиксов множественного числа. С другой стороны, анализируются парадигматический и непарадигматический способы употребления интерфиксов, что особенно свойственно таким соединительным элементам, как -s-, -er-, -en-. Здесь же систематизируются дополнительные функции интерфиксов, обеспечивающие морфологически и фонологически корректное членение композит на слоги, необходимую в немецком языке двусложность композитных компонентов, сохранение традиционной ритмико-ударной группы «ударный слог - безударный слог», маркирование частеречной принадлежности отдельных композитных компонентов, препятствие редукции компонентов сложного слова. В работе также приводится трансформационный способ в качестве маркирующего для подтверждения необходимости употребления интерфиксов, разбираются случаи ограничения употребления интерфиксов или их непоследовательного использования. The article proposes a systematization of the rules for using interfixes in the German word-composition, one of the most difficult topics in teaching German as a first and second foreign language. In the first part of the work, the origin of interfixes, the linking elements connecting the stems with an attributive relation is described in detail, the almost complete desemantization of interfixes is emphasized and the main functions of interfixes are analyzed. Each of the connective elements distinguished in the German word-composition is considered in the second part of the study. On the one hand, a distinction is made between interfixes and homonyms, for example, case inflections and plural suffixes. On the other hand, paradigmatic and non-paradigmatic ways of using interfixes are analyzed, which is especially characteristic of such linking elements as -s-, -er-, -en-. The paper systematizes additional functions of interfixes providing morphologically and phonologically correct division of compound words into syllables, the disyllabic structure of compound word components necessary in the German language, the preservation of the traditional model “stressed syllable - unstressed syllable”, marking the part of speech belonging of the particular compound word components and preventing their reduction. The paper also provides a transformational method as a marker to confirm the need for using interfixes and deals with cases of restricting the use of interfixes or their inconsistent use.

Intensiivsus, rõhk ja välde eesti keeles

Uurimuses vaadeldakse, kas ja millised intensiivsuse parameetrid eristavad eesti keeles (a) lauserõhutut, lauserõhulist ja emfaatilise lauserõhuga sõna, (b) sõnarõhulist ja -rõhutut silpi ning (c) kolme väldet, ning kas võimalikud korrelatsioonid on sõltu matud põhitoonist. Intensiivsuse parameetritest on vaatluse all sõnarõhulise silbi intensiivsuse tase, intensiivsuse ulatus sõnas ja intensiivsuse kontuur rõhulises silbis. Uurimuse tulemusena leiti, et lause tasandi tingimusi ‒ lauserõhutut, lauserõhulist ja emfaatilise lauserõhuga sõna ‒ eristab üksteisest rõhulise silbi intensiivsuse tase, mis on tugevalt seotud rõhulise silbi põhitoonitasemega. Sõna tasandi tingimusi ‒ sõna rõhulist silpi ja välteastmeid ‒ eristavad intensiivsuse parameetrid seevastu on põhitoonist sõltumatumad. Sõnarõhulist silpi eristab rõhutust kõrgem intensiivsuse tase, ning välteastmeid eristavad intensiivsuse ulatus sõnas ja intensiivsusekontuur rõhulises silbis. Abstract. Heete Sahkai and Meelis Mihkla: Intensity, stress, and quantity in Estonian. The study examines the correlations of overall intensity with a) deaccented, accented and emphatically accented words; b) stressed and unstressed syllables; and c) short, long and overlong word quantities. The study considers three intensity parameters: the intensity level and the intensity contour of the stressed syllable, and the intensity range of the word. The authors ask whether and which of these parameters correlate with the examined categories, and whether the possible correlations are independent of fundamental frequency. The study finds that the phrase level categories – deaccented, accented, and emphatically accented words – are distinguished by the intensity level of the stressed syllable, which correlates strongly with F0. The intensity parameters that correlate with the word level categories are more independent of F0. The stressed syllable is distinguished from the unstressed syllable by a higher intensity level. The three quantity degrees are distinguished by the intensity range of the word and the intensity contour in the stressed syllable. Keywords: Estonian, word quantity, word stress, phrasal stress, emphasis, acoustic correlates, intensity, fundamental frequency

Is there an interlanguage intelligibility benefit in perception of English word stress?

This paper asks whether there is an ‘interlanguage intelligibility benefit’ in perception of word-stress, as has been reported for global sentence recognition. L1 English listeners, and L2 English listeners who are L1 speakers of Arabic dialects from Jordan and Egypt, performed a binary forced-choice identification task on English near-minimal pairs (such as[ˈɒbdʒɛkt] ~ [əbˈdʒɛkt]) produced by an L1 English speaker, and two L2 English speakers from Jordan and Egypt respectively. The results show an overall advantage for L1 English listeners, which replicates the findings of an earlier study for general sentence recognition, and which is also consistent with earlier findings that L1 listeners rely more on structural knowledge than on acoustic cues in stress perception. Non-target-like L2 productions of words with final stress (which are primarily cued in L1 production by vowel reduction in the initial unstressed syllable) were less accurately recognized by L1 English listeners than by L2 listeners, but there was no evidence of a generalized advantage for L2 listeners in response to other L2 stimuli.

Prosodically-conditioned Syllable Structure in English

This paper investigates the interplay between the metrical structure and phonotactic complexity in English, a language with lexical stress and an elaborate inventory of consonant clusters. The analysis of a dictionary- and corpus-based list of polysyllabic words leads to two major observations. First, there is a tendency for onsetful syllables to attract stress, and for onsetless syllables to repel it. Second, the stressed syllable embraces a greater array of consonant clusters than unstressed syllables. Moreover, the farther form the main stress, the less likely the unstressed syllable is to contain a complex onset. This finding indicates that the ability of a position to license complex onsets is related to its distance from the prosodic head.

Modern Hebrew stress

The paper provides a comprehensive description of the phonology and phonetics of Hebrew stress. The distribution of the stress patterns draws a categorial distinction between verbs and nouns, and enhances the typologically uncommon disparity between the most common pattern (final stress) and the default pattern (penultimate stress). As the acoustic studies reveal, the main cue for Hebrew stress is duration, though the duration contrast is eliminated between a phrase final unstressed syllable and the preceding stressed syllable. A second important result of the acoustic studies is that there is no evidence for secondary stress.

Prosodically-conditioned Syllable Structure in English

This paper investigates the interplay between the metrical structure and phonotactic complexity in English, a language with lexical stress and an elaborate inventory of consonant clusters. The analysis of a dictionary- and corpus-based list of polysyllabic words leads to two major observations. First, there is a tendency for onsetful syllables to attract stress, and for onsetless syllables to repel it. Second, the stressed syllable embraces a greater array of consonant clusters than unstressed syllables. Moreover, the farther form the main stress, the less likely the unstressed syllable is to contain a complex onset. This finding indicates that the ability of a position to license complex onsets is related to its distance from the prosodic head.

The Improvement of Intelligibility in the Oral Production of Standard English: A Study About the Production of Vowel Quality in Stressed and Unstressed Syllables

Pronunciation is an essential aspect in the teaching of the English language, especially those aspects of pronunciation such as stress and vowel quality as they are crucial elements to ensure intelligibility in communication. The general objective of this study is to investigate whether the theoretical-practical instruction on pronunciation has a crucial impact on the vowel quality production of stressed and unstressed syllable in isolated words and in wider contexts, and therefore, in the improvement of intelligibility and of the oral production in general terms, in two groups of Spanish students of English (the control and the experimental group). More particularly, the study addresses the impact of formal instruction in pronunciation based on deduction in terms of rule formation from a cognitive perspective. The results indicate that the specific work implemented with the production of vowel quality in stressed and unstressed syllables have a significant impact on intelligibility.

Stressed and Unstressed Syllable Alternation in Educated Edo (Nigerian) English

Standard British English (SBE) rhythm is characterised by stressed and unstressed syllable alternation. Phonological investigations from non-native English such as Nigerian English (NE) have claimed that NE differs remarkably from SBE, especially in the area of rhythm. Existing phonological studies on Educated Edo English (EEE) – a sub-variety of NE – have been on word and variable stress while studies on stressed and unstressed syllable alternation have been rare. This study, therefore, investigated the extent to which Educated Edo English Speakers (EEES) stressed and unstressed syllable alternation conforms to SBE rhythm. Prince and Liberman’s (1977) metrical theory, which explains the alternation of strong and weak constituents in SBE rhythm units, served as a theoretical framework. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 150 (75 males and 75 females) EEES while 2 SBE speakers served as Native Baselines (NB). Speech Filing System (SFS) version 1.41 was used to record the production of a validated instrument of 40 rhythm units, with stressed and unstressed syllable alternation. The recordings were transcribed and subjected to a perceptual analysis (frequency and percentages). Out of 6000 expected instances of stressed and unstressed syllable alternation, the participants had 694 (11.6%), while inappropriate use was higher, with 5,306 (88.4%). The performance of EEES males showed 5.7% and the females 5.9%. The grids of EEES showed proliferation of Strong/Strong (S/S) juxtaposition of stressed and unstressed syllables in rhythm units, compared to the NB alternation of Weak/Strong (W/S) or Strong/Weak (S/W). Results confirmed that EEES alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables in rhythm units differ ‘markedly’ from those of the SBE form.

Prosodic Variation and Segmental Reduction and Their Roles in Cuing Turn Transition in Swedish

Prosody has often been identified alongside syntax as a cue to turn hold or turn transition in conversational interaction. However, evidence for which prosodic cues are most relevant, and how strong those cues are, has been somewhat scattered. The current study addresses prosodic cues to turn transition in Swedish. A perception study looking closely at turn changes and holds in cases where the syntax does not lead inevitably to a particular outcome shows that Swedish listeners are sensitive to duration variations, even in the very short space of the final unstressed syllable of a turn, and that they may use pitch cues to a lesser extent. An investigation of production data indicates that duration, and to some extent segmental reduction, demonstrate consistent variation in relation to the types of turn boundaries they accompany, while fundamental frequency and glottalization do not. Taken together, these data suggest that duration may be the primary cue to turn transition in Swedish conversation, rather than fundamental frequency, as some other studies have suggested.