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In:The Phonetics–Phonology Interface: Representations and methodologies
Edited by Joaquín Romero and María Riera
[Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 335] 2015
► pp. 109–124

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Sentence modality and tempo in Neapolitan Italian

 | Universität zu Köln
 | Aix-Marseille Université
Published online: 10 November 2015
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https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.335.06can
In this paper we present evidence for the phonetic coding of the statement/question contrast through differences in durational patterns. Data from a reading task in Neapolitan Italian were analyzed using both discrete (phone durations) and continuous (local phone rate) metrics. In the first part we show that, while global utterance duration does not vary across modalities, localized temporal differences can be found at the utterance’s edges. In the second part of the paper we discuss the interplay of sentence modality and focus placement in determining the temporal pattern of the utterances, thus accounting for the lack of agreement between findings reported by previous studies. In the conclusions we discuss the potential impact of our results on phonological models of prosody and intonation.
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Cited by (2)

Cited by two other publications

Avanzi, Mathieu, Sandra Schwab & Isabelle Racine
2015. A preliminary study of penultimate accentuation in French. In The Phonetics–Phonology Interface [Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 335], ► pp. 93 ff. DOI logo
Henriksen, Nicholas
2015. Secondary correlates of question signaling in Manchego Spanish. In The Phonetics–Phonology Interface [Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 335], ► pp. 211 ff. DOI logo

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