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http://dx.doi.org/10.13064/KSSS.2020.12.3.041

A prosodic cue representing scopes of wh-phrases in Korean: Focusing on North Gyeongsang Korean  

Yun, Weonhee (Department of English Language and Literature, Keimyung University)
Kim, Ki-tae (Department of English Education, Keimyung University)
Park, Sunwoo (Department of Korean Language Education, Keimyung University)
Publication Information
Phonetics and Speech Sciences / v.12, no.3, 2020 , pp. 41-53 More about this Journal
Abstract
A wh-phrase in an embedded sentence may have either an embedded or a matrix scope. Interpretation of a wh-phrase with a matrix scope has tended to be syntactically unacceptable unless the sentence reads with a wh-intonation. Previous studies have found two differences in prosodic characteristics between sentences with matrix and embedded scopes. Firstly, peak F0s in wh-phrases produced with an F0 compression wh-intonation are higher than those in indirect questions, and peak F0s in matrix verbs are lower than those in sentences with embedded scope. Secondly, a substantial F0 drop is found at the end of embedded sentences in indirect questions, whereas no F0 reduction at the same point is noticed in sentences with a matrix scope produced with a high plateau wh-intonation. However, these characteristics were not found in our experiment. This showed that a more compelling difference exists in the values obtained from subtraction between the peak F0s of each word (or a word plus an ending or case marker) and the F0s at the end of the word. Specifically, the gap between the peak F0 in a word composed with an embedded verb and the F0 at the end of the word, which is a complementizer in Korean, is large in embedded wh-scope sentences and low in matrix wh-scope sentences.
Keywords
syntax-phonology interface; wh-intonation; wh-scope; prosodic structure; wh-island constraint;
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