Tonal repetition and tonal contrast in English carer-child interaction
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Bill Wells
Abstract
Research has so far failed to demonstrate how, or even that, young children progressively acquire a set of tones or pitch accents that have distinct meanings or functions. From recent work in the phonetics of conversation, there is some evidence that a speaker’s choice of tone can be accounted for by reference to the tone used in the previous speaker’s turn rather than by reference to an intonational lexicon. This view is supported by analysis of interactions between Robin, aged 19–21 months, and his mother. Robin systematically uses a repeat of his mother’s tone to display alignment with the ongoing activity, while using a different, contrasting tone when initiating a new action or sequence. It is suggested that such tonal repetition and contrast are fundamental to children’s learning of English intonation.
Abstract
Research has so far failed to demonstrate how, or even that, young children progressively acquire a set of tones or pitch accents that have distinct meanings or functions. From recent work in the phonetics of conversation, there is some evidence that a speaker’s choice of tone can be accounted for by reference to the tone used in the previous speaker’s turn rather than by reference to an intonational lexicon. This view is supported by analysis of interactions between Robin, aged 19–21 months, and his mother. Robin systematically uses a repeat of his mother’s tone to display alignment with the ongoing activity, while using a different, contrasting tone when initiating a new action or sequence. It is suggested that such tonal repetition and contrast are fundamental to children’s learning of English intonation.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword ix
- Preface xi
- List of contributors xix
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Introduction
- Prosody in interaction 3
- Future prospects of research on prosody: The need for publicly available corpora 41
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Part I. Prosody and other levels of linguistic organization in interaction
- The phonetic constitution of a turn-holding practice 51
- Rush-throughs as social action 73
- Prosodic constructions in making complaints 81
- The relevance of context to the performing of a complaint 105
- Prosodic variation in responses 109
- Retrieving, redoing and resuscitating turns in conversation 131
- Doing confirmation with ja/nee hoor 161
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Part II. Prosodic units as a structuring device in interaction
- Intonation phrases in natural conversation 191
- Making units 213
- Speaking dramatically 217
- Commentating fictive and real sports 239
- Tonal repetition and tonal contrast in English carer-child interaction 243
- Repetition and contrast across action sequences 263
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Part III. Prosody and other semiotic resources in interaction
- Communicating emotion in doctor-patient interaction 269
- Double function of prosody: Processes of meaning-making in narrative reconstructions of epileptic seizures 295
- Multimodal expressivity of the Japanese response particle Huun 303
- Response tokens – A multimodal approach 333
- Multiple practices for constructing laughables 339
- Multimodal laughing 369
- Constructing meaning through prosody in aphasia 373
- Further perspectives on cooperative semiosis 395
- Author index 401
- Subject index 403
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword ix
- Preface xi
- List of contributors xix
-
Introduction
- Prosody in interaction 3
- Future prospects of research on prosody: The need for publicly available corpora 41
-
Part I. Prosody and other levels of linguistic organization in interaction
- The phonetic constitution of a turn-holding practice 51
- Rush-throughs as social action 73
- Prosodic constructions in making complaints 81
- The relevance of context to the performing of a complaint 105
- Prosodic variation in responses 109
- Retrieving, redoing and resuscitating turns in conversation 131
- Doing confirmation with ja/nee hoor 161
-
Part II. Prosodic units as a structuring device in interaction
- Intonation phrases in natural conversation 191
- Making units 213
- Speaking dramatically 217
- Commentating fictive and real sports 239
- Tonal repetition and tonal contrast in English carer-child interaction 243
- Repetition and contrast across action sequences 263
-
Part III. Prosody and other semiotic resources in interaction
- Communicating emotion in doctor-patient interaction 269
- Double function of prosody: Processes of meaning-making in narrative reconstructions of epileptic seizures 295
- Multimodal expressivity of the Japanese response particle Huun 303
- Response tokens – A multimodal approach 333
- Multiple practices for constructing laughables 339
- Multimodal laughing 369
- Constructing meaning through prosody in aphasia 373
- Further perspectives on cooperative semiosis 395
- Author index 401
- Subject index 403
