A Descriptive Study of Intonation in Welsh English: Preliminary Investigations of Statements and Yes/No Questions1
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ウェールズ英語における平叙文と Yes/No 疑問文 イントネーションに関する記述研究：パイロット・スタディー 179 A Descriptive Study of Intonation in Welsh English: Preliminary Investigations of Statements and Yes/No Questions1 Marina Arashiro ウェールズ英語における平叙文と Yes/No 疑問文 イントネーションに関する記述研究：パイロット・スタディー 新城 真里奈 要 旨 本研究は、ウェールズ英語（WE）におけるイントネーションの記述研究である。WE には、ウェールズ語の特徴の転移と推察されている特徴が多く観察される。これまでの WE 研究は、分節音が中心で、イントネーションに関する先行研究は少なく、体系だっ た記述がない状態である。 本研究では、平叙文と Yes/No 疑問文（Y/N 疑問文）に焦点をあてた。本稿の目的は、 平叙文と Y/N 疑問文にみられる WE イントネーションの特徴を記述することであるが、 WE の特徴をより明確に示すため、標準南部イギリス英語（SSBE）も比較のために分析 した。本研究で分析したデータは、平叙文 5 文、Y/N 疑問文 7 文である。WE と SSBE 話 者各 1 名に 3 回ずつ読み上げてもらう形式で録音を行った。分析の際、イントネーショ ン句を、前頭部、頭部、核音調に分け、各部のピッチパタンを記述した。 分析の結果、WE の平叙文では、SSBE と同様、多くの場合核音調は下降調で、Y/N 疑 問文では上昇調であることが明らかとなった。しかし、WE では使用される核音調の種 類が多く、平叙文で上昇調、Y/N 疑問文で下降調の核音調も観察された。これは、WE では、 核音調のみで 2 つの文種の区別ができない場合があるということを示唆している。この 結果を踏まえて、他の部分のピッチパタンを分析したところ、前頭部が文種の区別に関 与している可能性が明らかとなった。WE データでは、平叙文の場合、前頭部のピッチ パタンは比較的低めのピッチの平板であるが、Y/N 疑問文においては、一貫して、上昇 がみられた。WE の Y/N 疑問文の前頭部における上昇は、SSBE の Y/N 疑問文より上昇 幅が大きいことも明らかとなった。また、WE においては、頭部の最初の音節でピッチ が下がるため、前頭部における上昇は、意図的なものであるといえる。頭部のピッチパ タンは、文種の区別には関与しないようであるが、WE と SSBE では異なる特徴が観察さ れた。SSBE では、頭部のピッチパタンは、比較的平板であることが多い。一方で、WE においては、ウェールズ語の強勢の影響から、最初の強音節が低く、後続の弱音節で上昇、 あるいは上昇下降調を形成することが多いという特徴が観察された。 180 新城 真里奈 Table of contents 1. Introduction 2. Previous studies 2.1. Stress in SSBE, Welsh, and WE 2.2. SSBE intonation 2.3. Welsh intonation 2.4. WE intonation 3. Experiment 3.1. Methodology 3.2. Results and discussion 3.2.1. Nuclear tones 3.2.2. Pitch patterns in the prehead 3.2.3. Pitch patterns in the head 4. Conclusion 1. Introduction In Wales, Welsh was the dominant language until about two centuries ago when a number of English people migrated there to work as labourers in coal and steel mines. Since then, the Welsh language has been in decline and English has spread throughout Wales, due in part to the implementation of an Anglo-centric educational system. During the first half of the 20th century, there was a drastic drop in the number of Welsh speakers from 49.9% to 28.9%. After a re-evaluation of the cultural value of this indigenous language was conducted, a number of policies were enforced to promote its revitalisation. A new educational system that made Welsh a compulsory subject in primary and secondary schools in Wales has been successful in increasing the number of Welsh speakers in the younger generation (Matsuyama 2007: 52-53). A recent census revealed, however, that the overall Welsh-speaking population dropped from 20.8% to 19% between 2001 and 2011 (Office for National Statistics 2011: 13). According to Wells (1982), there is little doubt that the phonology of the Welsh language has a strong influence on Welsh English (WE) (p.377). The influence can be found in various aspects of WE, including grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. With regard to pronunciation, the perceptual impression of WE is markedly different from that of Standard Southern British English (SSBE) and other English accents in England. Some researchers state that intonation is the feature distinguishing WE from other English accents (Wells 1982: 392; Tench 1990: 138). WE intonation is typically, though informally, described as ‘lilting’ or ‘sing-song’. Despite its peculiarity, WE intonation has rarely been investigated in the context of phonetic research. Apart from brief descriptions of WE intonation’s general characteristics (e.g. Wells 1982; Tench 1990), Walters (2006) is probably the only study that describes it at length. The present study investigates intonation patterns in statements and yes/no questions (Y/N questions) in WE. This paper also compares intonation in WE and SSBE and shows how the former differs from the latter. To these ends, experimental ウェールズ英語における平叙文と Yes/No 疑問文 イントネーションに関する記述研究：パイロット・スタディー 181 recordings were made and the audio data were analysed impressionistically and acoustically. Section 2 reviews previous studies on the suprasegmental features of SSBE, Welsh, and WE. Section 3 outlines the experiment methodology and presents the results of its analyses. Section 4 draws a conclusion by suggesting which part of an intonation phrase (IP) seems to play an important role in distinguishing statements and Y/N questions. Because of the smallness of the data, the present study serves only as a pilot study for a larger, more thorough investigation. 2. Previous Studies This section will review previous studies on suprasegmental features of SSBE, Welsh, and WE. Although the focus is on intonation, the following section summarises stress features, as they seem to influence overall intonation patterns, at least in Welsh and WE. 2.1. Stress in SSBE, Welsh, and WE The main acoustic correlates of stress are fundamental frequency (F0), duration, and intensity. In standard accents of English, stressed syllables have a higher F0 or a major part of an F0 movement, and longer duration and greater intensity than unstressed syllables. Languages differ in terms of which of these features are used and/or which of the features are considered the most important for the manifestation and perception of stress. For example, among the features listed here, the most important correlate is the F0 in standard accents of English. In Russian, however, duration is the key factor (Svetozarova 1998: 263). What makes Welsh unusual is the fact that none of the above features is found in stressed syllables. Stressed syllables in Welsh carry a lower F0, little F0 movement, and a shorter duration compared to unstressed final syllables. On the other hand, phonologically unstressed final syllables carry a higher F0 and/or most of the F0 movement, and have a longer duration. In fact, at least to the English ear, it is the unstressed final syllables that sound more prominent (Watkins 1954: 8). Stressed syllables in Welsh are by no means prominent in the same sense as in SSBE, although they still serve as rhythmic beats. Welsh scholars (e.g. Rees [Rhys] 1977; Ball & Williams 2001) suggest that this unique stress system is the result of a historical change called the Old Welsh Accent Shift. Before the shift, they explain, the stress of a polysyllabic word was on the final syllable. Around the 11th century, when the shift occurred, the ‘stress element’ moved to the penultimate syllable while the ‘pitch element’ remained on the ultimate syllable (Ball & Williams 2001: 182-185). 2.2. SSBE intonation Intonation patterns in SSBE have been well documented in a number of impressionistic and instrumental studies. Palmer (1922) proposed a famous way to describe English intonation. Although his original framework was modified (for instance, by Kingdon 1958; Halliday 1967), his idea to divide an RP intonation phrase into head, nucleus, and tail has been unarguably influential. After almost a century, his framework is still in use. Additionally, no one appears to be denying the importance of nuclear tones as far as standard English accents are concerned. This section does not aim to discuss theoretical changes and differences in detail, but rather to summarise the general features of SSBE intonation. In the remaining sections of this paper, terms and their definitions will follow Wells (2006). See Wells (2006) for detailed definitions and explanations of terms. 182 新城 真里奈 Wells (2006) follows the British school tradition in dividing IPs into four parts: prehead, head, nucleus, and tail. The nuclear tone – a pitch movement stretching from the nucleus to the end of the tail – is assumed to be the most important in standard accents of English, as it carries the major part of intonational meaning. The most frequently used nuclear tones in SSBE are the fall, rise, and fall-rise. In neutral statements, the nuclear tone falls, and in polar-questions, it rises. The fall-rise is also frequently used in neutral Y/N questions and statements, where tone indicates a reservation or implication. In other parts of an IP, variations in the pitch pattern make only a minor contribution to the overall intonational meaning, adding nuances. Cruttenden (1997) writes that the relation between nuclear and prenuclear tones ‘is rather like the distinction between a stem morph and a prefix where the core meaning is carried by the stem and the effect of the prefix is to modify in some way the core meaning of the stem’ (p.49). In a neutral utterance, the head of an IP most commonly has a high level or a step-down pattern (Cruttenden 1997: 160-161; Wells 2006: 209). When it has other patterns, the head modifies the general meaning indicated by the nuclear tone by adding attitudinal meanings, such as emphasis, protest, or surprise. As for the prehead, only two patterns, low and high level, need to be distinguished. The former is most likely to be used in a neutral sentence, and the latter adds extra emphasis (Wells 2006: 214-215). 2.3. Welsh intonation Intonation is rarely studied in the field of Welsh linguistics. Only a few reports are available, none of which are conclusive. Because of the limited number of studies, and differences in research aims, no consensus has been achieved on any aspect of Welsh intonation. Researchers even disagree on the number of nuclear tones: Thomas (1967) identifies eight tones and Rees [Rhys] (1977, 1984) identifies four tones, recognizing variations according to the ‘key’ of the IP. In his review of these studies, Ball (1989) posits four main nuclear tones, including fall, rise-fall, rise, and level (pp. 93-94). With regard to the identification of nuclear tones, Thomas (1967) was not concerned with the basic issue of what factors control the selection of a particular tone from the whole inventory.2 Rees [Rhys], who focused on the discourse function of intonation, did not discuss the meanings of each tone in detail, although he did distinguish ‘Tone 1’ (i.e. fall and rise-fall) and ‘Tone 2’ (i.e. rise and level) based on the general ideas of ‘resolving’ and ‘non-resolving’ (1984: 146).