Prosody and quantifier semantics in Greek
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36505/ExLing-2011/04/0009/000178Keywords:
prosody, intonation, quantifiers, GreekAbstract
This study investigates prosody and semantic specification in Greek with reference to affirmative and negative sentence quantifier functions. A production and a perception experiment were carried out, the results of which indicate: (1) The negative interpretation of the word [ˈliɣa] (few) is produced with focus on the quantifier, whereas the positive one is produced with focus on the preceding verb. (2) The word in focus has an enlarged tonal range associated with the stressed syllable, while the material out of focus is tonally compressed. (3) The stressed syllable of the word in focus, especially the vowel, is significantly longer. (4) The affirmative and negative functions of the quantifier had high identification rates, indicating a one-to-one production and perception relation.
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