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In:The Documentarist Turn: From observable linguistic behaviour to typological generalizations
Edited by Sonja Riesberg, Uta Reinöhl and Birgit Hellwig
[Studies in Language Companion Series 240] 2026
► pp. 397–428

Chapter 16
Intonation contour length as a quantification of macro-rhythm

ORCiD logo with link | University of Cologne
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Abstract
Macro-rhythm, the tonal rhythmicity within phrases, constitutes a typological dimension in prosody. However, little empirical research supports this concept. Work on the rhythm-class hypothesis (i.e., stress-, syllable and mora-timing) and on macro-rhythm quantification based on regular intervals (isochrony) has led to unsatisfactory results. This study therefore abandons the assumption that macro-rhythmic differences should be sought in some form of temporal regularity. The current exploratory approach to macro-rhythm quantification uses a measure of f0 contour length on five languages (Greek, German, European Portuguese, French and Seoul Korean). This measure generally distinguishes the languages in the expected way, and its potential and limitations are discussed in the context of the prosodic typology of rhythm and its applicability to under-documented languages.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Temporal and tonal approaches to rhythm
    • 1.2Macro-rhythm
    • 1.3Quantification of macro-rhythm
    • 1.4A non-timing tonal approach to macro-rhythm
    • 1.5Research aims
  • 2.Methodology
    • 2.1Scripted speech
    • 2.2Unscripted speech
    • 2.3Acoustic measurements
    • 2.4Contour length calculation
    • 2.5Statistical analysis
  • 3.Results
    • 3.1Scripted speech
    • 3.2Unscripted speech
  • 4.Discussion and conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
  • Appendix
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