T HE RO LE OF PI T CH R AN G E
IN E S T AB LI SH IN G IN T ON A TI ON A L C ON T R A S TS IN C AT A L A N
Jo an B or rà s - C om es , P om p e u F ab ra P om p e u F ab ra
In Central Catalan, the same rising pitch accent L+H* is used in three different sentence-types, namely
statements (see 1a), contrastive foci (1b), and echo questions where the speaker challenges what has been
said (1c). These sentences differ in their pitch accent height. While the rising pitch accent of statements
(L+H*) is produced with a narrow pitch range (see 2a), that of contrastive foci and echo questions is
produced with a much wider pitch range (see 2b).
1. a.
- Com la vols, la cullera?
- Petita[, siusplau].
b. - No volies una cullera gran?
- Petita[, la volia, i no gran].
c. - Jo la vull petita, la cullera
- Petita?[, n’estàs segur?]
2a. Neutral declarative contour
What type of spoon do you want?
[I want a] little [spoon, please].
Didn't you want a big spoon?
[I wanted a] little[one, and not a big one].
I want a little spoon.
[A] little [one]? [Are you sure?]
2a. Contrastive focus / echo question contour
Even though the Autosegmental-Metrical (AM) model traditionally interpreted pitch range differences as
having a gradient interpretation (namely a reflection of gradual differences in speaker involvement in the
speech act), some recent studies have reported categorical distinctions between pitch accents that differ in
pitch range. (e.g. Savino & Grice 2007; Vanrell 2007). For example, Savino & Grice (2007) reported that
pitch range variation plays a role in the identification of two different pragmatic meanings in Bari Italian,
namely information-seeking questions and echo questions. Similarly, Vanrell (2007) reported that the main
cue for the categorical distinction between wh-questions and yes-no questions was the pitch range of the
final falling pitch accent in Majorcan Catalan.
With the goal of investigating the role of pitch range in the abovementioned pitch accent contrasts in
Catalan, we undertook a series of perception experiments. Twenty native subjects participated in the four
semantically motivated identification tasks. The first two tasks dealt with the contrast between statements
and echo questions and statements and contrastive foci. The stimuli for these two tasks consisted of a
continuum that was created by modifying the F0 height of the peak in 21 steps (distance between each
one = 0.6 semitones). As the graphs in (3a) and (3b) show, we can hypothesize that there is a categorical
contrast between the statement pitch accent on the one hand and the echo question and focus pitch
accent on the other. Reaction time measurements (4a, 4b) reveal these same facts, especially in (4a).
3a. Responses to task 1 (declarative/echo)
3b. Responses to task 2 (declarative/focus)
4a. Reaction times of task 1 (declarative/echo)
4b. Reaction times of task 2 (declarative/focus)
The results show that pitch range variation is the main cue that Catalan listeners use to decide between the
statement interpretation and the echo question interpretation on the one hand and between the statement
interpretation and the corrective focus interpretation on the other. This represents further evidence that
pitch range can be used to make phonological distinctions between a variety of pragmatic meanings, and
strengthening the arguments that this needs to be represented at the phonological level: in our case,
Catalan intonational phonology should make a distinction between a simple rising pitch accent L+H* and
an upstepped rising pitch accent L+¡H*. Further perception experiments will investigate a potential finer
distinction in pitch range that might distinguish corrective focus from echo question interpretations.
R e f er en c e s
Ladd, R. (1996). Intonational phonology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ladd, R.; Morton, R. (1997). The perception of intonational emphasis: continuous or categorical? Journal of
Phonetics 25, p. 313-342.
Savino, M.; Grice, M. (2007). The role of pitch range in realising pragmatic contrasts – The case of two
question types in Italian. Proceeding of ICPhS XVI. Saarbrücken.
Vanrell, M. M. 2006. The phonological role of tonal scaling in Majorcan Catalan interrogatives, doctoral
diss. UAB, Barcelona.