Chapter 2. Intonation in southern Vietnamese interrogative sentences
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Phạm Thị Thu Hà
Abstract
This study looks at the acoustic cues that characterize the intonation of questions in southern Vietnamese. We find a raised f0 height and a rising contour in a third of interrogatives, but – with the exception of alternative (and some open) questions – we argue that these properties cannot distinguish interrogatives from other sentence types. The only cue systematically associated with questions is that they tend to have a faster speech rate. Our findings replicate recent studies conducted on northern Vietnamese showing that there are idiosyncratic differences in the realization of intonation and that intonation may not be as grammaticalized as in Western languages. Vietnamese interrogatives are marked with particles or inferred from context and their intonation plays an ancillary role.
Abstract
This study looks at the acoustic cues that characterize the intonation of questions in southern Vietnamese. We find a raised f0 height and a rising contour in a third of interrogatives, but – with the exception of alternative (and some open) questions – we argue that these properties cannot distinguish interrogatives from other sentence types. The only cue systematically associated with questions is that they tend to have a faster speech rate. Our findings replicate recent studies conducted on northern Vietnamese showing that there are idiosyncratic differences in the realization of intonation and that intonation may not be as grammaticalized as in Western languages. Vietnamese interrogatives are marked with particles or inferred from context and their intonation plays an ancillary role.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Chapter 1. Introduction 1
-
Section A. Phonetics and phonology
- Chapter 2. Intonation in southern Vietnamese interrogative sentences 9
- Chapter 3. Vietnamese dialects 31
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Section B. Morphology and syntax
- Chapter 4. A more perfect unification 69
- Chapter 5. Illusory islands 81
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Section C. Semantics
- Chapter 6. Temporal reference in Vietnamese 115
- Chapter 7. Semantics of Vietnamese đã 141
- Chapter 8. (In)definiteness of Vietnamese noun phrases 155
- Chapter 9. Scalar implicatures and the semantics of wh- indefinites in Vietnamese 181
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Section D. Language aquisition and use
- Chapter 10. Vietnamese children’s interpretation of definite noun phrases 215
- Chapter 11. Interpretation of numerals under memory load by Vietnamese speakers 241
- Chapter 12. Gender in Vietnamese 253
- Chapter 13. Effects of grammatical roles and parallelism on referential form production in Vietnamese spoken and written narratives 275
- Index 301
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Chapter 1. Introduction 1
-
Section A. Phonetics and phonology
- Chapter 2. Intonation in southern Vietnamese interrogative sentences 9
- Chapter 3. Vietnamese dialects 31
-
Section B. Morphology and syntax
- Chapter 4. A more perfect unification 69
- Chapter 5. Illusory islands 81
-
Section C. Semantics
- Chapter 6. Temporal reference in Vietnamese 115
- Chapter 7. Semantics of Vietnamese đã 141
- Chapter 8. (In)definiteness of Vietnamese noun phrases 155
- Chapter 9. Scalar implicatures and the semantics of wh- indefinites in Vietnamese 181
-
Section D. Language aquisition and use
- Chapter 10. Vietnamese children’s interpretation of definite noun phrases 215
- Chapter 11. Interpretation of numerals under memory load by Vietnamese speakers 241
- Chapter 12. Gender in Vietnamese 253
- Chapter 13. Effects of grammatical roles and parallelism on referential form production in Vietnamese spoken and written narratives 275
- Index 301
