Book reading and prosody: comparing literal and sarcastic remarks
Debra L. Burnett, Ph.D.
Kansas State University
Abstract
Mothers and children, ages 6-8 years, participated in shared book reading
of books with and without sarcastic remarks. Prosody was analyzed using
measures of mean fundamental frequency, frequency range, intensity, and
duration. Preliminary findings indicated differences in prosody between
sarcastic remarks, humorous nonsarcastic remarks, and sincere remarks.
Introduction
Results
The analyzed sample consisted of 327 recorded words measured for pitch (fundamental frequency - F0),
intensity (dB), and duration (milliseconds) across the three stories (see Table 1).
An analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures was used to compare prosody for the sarcastic,
sincere, and humorous target words (see Figures 1 and 2 for boxplots).
Analysis revealed a main effect of story for mean F0 (F(23,303) =
5.01, p=.0072, ηp2=0.31), minimum dB (F(23,303) = 54.01, p<.0001,
ηp2=0.29), range dB (F(23,303) = 5.97, p=.0029, ηp2=0.04), and
mean dB (F(23,303) = 61.98, p<.0001, ηp2=0.27).
Sarcasm is a remark where what is said is not what is meant.
In sarcasm, the speaker’s intended meaning is emphasized over the
stated meaning.
Little is known about prosody and sarcasm during shared book reading.
Reading books aloud at home is a common practice: 94% of young
children were read to at least once per week with over half engaging in
shared book reading daily (Kuo, Franke, Regalado, & Halfon, 2004).
Kuo et al. (2004) described parents’ use of prosody that strengthens
social-emotional bonds while it directs the child’s attention to the
importance of stress and intonation.
Mothers may use a higher pitch and slower tempo to highlight language
for the child (Martin, 1999).
In conversation, sarcasm is often marked by lower pitch and slower
tempo (Rockwell, 2000).
Therefore, the current study explored the prosody used during book
reading when books contained sarcastic remarks, nonsarcastic
humorous remarks, and literal remarks.
Post hoc analyses were performed using the Ryan-Einot-GabrielWelsch range test (R-E-G-W).
For mean F0, the sincere “terrific” was significantly lower in pitch
than the sarcastic “terrific” and humorous “nothing,” which were
not significantly different from each other.
For mean intensity (dB), the sarcastic “terrific” was higher than the
humorous “nothing” which was higher than the sincere “terrific.”
Duration (ms) was analyzed for the target word “terrific” in two of
the stories. Analysis revealed a main effect for story (F(15,159) =
5.98, p<.0001, ηp2=0.05).
Method
For duration, the sarcastic “terrific” was longer than the sincere
“terrific.”
Other prosodic measures did not reach significance.
Figure 1. Boxplot of Mean F0
Figure 2. Boxplot of Mean dB
Terrificsincere
Nothinghumor
Terrificsarcastic
Vocal prosody during sarcastic remarks differed from both literal remarks and
remarks that convey humor for measures of intensity.
Vocal prosody during sarcastic remarks and nonsarcastic humorous remarks
differed from literal remarks for measures of mean fundamental frequency.
Given that mean fundamental frequency did not differ between sarcastic and
nonsarcastic humor, it may be that a lower pitch serves to highlight more than
one type of figurative language during book reading.
While prior literature has found the use of a higher pitch to highlight important
language, there may be differences between pitch used to emphasize literal and
nonliteral language.
Certainly, the sarcastic intent of the characters in books may be conveyed using
prosodic cues.
In the current study, the books did not contain any explicit cues to sarcasm (e.g.,
he said sarcastically) so the mothers’ pitch and intensity served to highlight the
sarcastic remarks of the character.
In addition, the target word analyzed for the sarcastic and sincere contexts was
identical (i.e., “terrific”) and the duration was longer for the sarcastic contexts.
Prosody observed for sarcastic remarks during book reading was similar to
prosody observed for sarcastic remarks during conversation.
Future research will explore the use of prosody by fathers and older siblings. In
addition, children as readers and authors will be explored.
References
Boersma, P. and Weenink, D. (2011). Praat: doing phonetics by computer
[Computer program]. Version 5.3.02, retrieved from http://www.praat.org/.
Kuo, A. A., Franke, T.M., Regalado, M., and Halfon, N. (2004). Parent report of
reading to young children. Pediatrics, 113, 1944-1951.
Martin, L. (1999). Mothers' prosodic features: Strategies to guide young children's
understanding of book language. Reading Horizons, 40, 127-146.
Rockwell, P. (2000). Lower, slower, louder: Vocal cues of sarcasm. Journal of
Psycholinguistic Research, 29, 483-495.
Acknowledgements
Mean dB
Mean F0
8 mother-child dyads participated in the study.
Children ranged in age from 6;0 to 8;9 years (M=86.87 months,
SD=11.76 months).
Three books were selected, each containing a target word:
Nothing by Jon Agee (target word = “nothing” used as nonsarcastic
humor)
I’m Terrific by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat (target word = “terrific”
used sincerely)
Terrific by Jon Agee (target word = “terrific” used sarcastically)
Mothers read all three books aloud in one of two orders:
I’m Terrific, Nothing, Terrific
Terrific, Nothing, I’m Terrific
The dyads were then interviewed about book reading practices.
Sessions were video recorded with a Canon Vixia HFS10-HD mounted
on a tripod; mothers wore a lavalier microphone.
Target words were identified, trimmed, and analyzed using Praat
software (Boersma & Weenink, 2011)
Discussion
Terrificsincere
Nothinghumor
Terrificsarcastic
The author would like to thank the following people:
The families who participated in the study have my deepest thanks for their time
and willingness to be video recorded during book reading.
Much appreciation to the students who volunteer each week in the language and
literacy laboratory at K-State.
To all the authors who write such wonderful stories for parents and children to
share together and to these authors in particular, thank you!
Contact information:
[email protected]