Volume 35, Issue 2

In this research, which was made with the photoglottographic method, the possibility was examined that a juncture might influence the glottal movements. No such influence was found which might be exclusively attributed to the presence of a juncture. However, the careful examination of the glottograms shows that the glottal movements cannot be adequately understood solely on the basis of mechanical principles. There must be some other underlying principle and it is argued that this principle be the phoneme.

Stress oppositions between words like import ≠ import are audible in the nucleus of intonation contours where they are distinguished by fundamental frequency. In the post-nuclear position the opposition is neutralized; the two stresses are identical in terms of fundamental frequency, but measurably different in terms of intensity and duration. Listeners’ reactions are not random, though: those syllables which fit into a regular sequence of stressed and unstressed syllables are interpreted as stressed and unstressed, respectively. Speech production is also influenced by sentence rhythm: syllables which correspond to the general rhythmic pattern have greater duration and intensity. But listeners do not perceive these modifications.