Pitch Accent Variation and the Interpretation of Rising and Falling Intonation in American English

This study tests the division of labor in the meaning conveyed by pitch accents and edge tones in English intonation. In three perception studies, we investigate where the locus of the contrast between an assertive vs inquisitive interpretation resides. By doing so, we also gain insight into the role of potentially meaningful within- and between-category variation in the phonetic implementation of discrete intonational tunes. We find that the pitch accent does not contribute to assertive interpretation. Rather, the distinction between assertive and inquisitive interpretation is cued primarily by the final F0 of the pitch contour regardless of the pitch accent, but that increased overall pitch prominence may trigger a salient focus interpretation that interferes with judging assertiveness.