Prosodic style-shifting as audience design
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Jessica Sertling Miller
Abstract
This chapter focuses on a female speaker of Swiss French from the Vaud canton, whose speech was studied in three contextual styles: formal, informal, and very informal. A positive correlation between the magnitude of pitch range and informality of style was found in this context, with great variation occurring when the subject switched interlocutors, indicating possible prosodic style-shifting. In this study we also briefly investigate phrase-final rise-fall intonation contours that seem to be characteristic of Vaudois spontaneous speech, and that were observed more frequently when the speaker was conversing with a close relative than when she was addressing the investigator.
Abstract
This chapter focuses on a female speaker of Swiss French from the Vaud canton, whose speech was studied in three contextual styles: formal, informal, and very informal. A positive correlation between the magnitude of pitch range and informality of style was found in this context, with great variation occurring when the subject switched interlocutors, indicating possible prosodic style-shifting. In this study we also briefly investigate phrase-final rise-fall intonation contours that seem to be characteristic of Vaudois spontaneous speech, and that were observed more frequently when the speaker was conversing with a close relative than when she was addressing the investigator.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
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Section I. Phonological variation and leveling
- Introduction 3
- Perception and production in French dialect leveling 9
- The sociolinguistic relevance of regional categories 25
- Prosodic style-shifting as audience design 43
- The immigrant factor in phonological leveling 63
- A prototype-theoretic model of Southern French 77
- The law of position revisited 95
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Section II. Stylistic and syntactic variation
- Introduction 115
- Variation in first and second language French 121
- French preadolescents’ perceptions of stylistic variation 141
- Sociolinguistic variation in African French 159
- Register variation in the non-standard use of non-finite forms 177
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Section III. Lexical variation and semantic change
- Introduction 195
- Discourse markers and regional variation in French 201
- Sociolinguistic factors and the pragmaticalization of bon in contemporary spoken French 215
- From ‘luck’ to ‘wealth’ 231
- Index 253
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
-
Section I. Phonological variation and leveling
- Introduction 3
- Perception and production in French dialect leveling 9
- The sociolinguistic relevance of regional categories 25
- Prosodic style-shifting as audience design 43
- The immigrant factor in phonological leveling 63
- A prototype-theoretic model of Southern French 77
- The law of position revisited 95
-
Section II. Stylistic and syntactic variation
- Introduction 115
- Variation in first and second language French 121
- French preadolescents’ perceptions of stylistic variation 141
- Sociolinguistic variation in African French 159
- Register variation in the non-standard use of non-finite forms 177
-
Section III. Lexical variation and semantic change
- Introduction 195
- Discourse markers and regional variation in French 201
- Sociolinguistic factors and the pragmaticalization of bon in contemporary spoken French 215
- From ‘luck’ to ‘wealth’ 231
- Index 253
