Pre-boundary lengthening in a cross-linguistic perspective

该项目研究了韵律边界之前的音段延长现象，通常称为“边界前延长”（以下简称PBL）。与以往的研究不同，本文从跨语言的角度对这一现象进行了探讨，比较了不同韵律系统的语言的域延长情况。这有助于在多大程度上PBL的方面是普遍的，语言特定的和/或绑定到一种语言的词韵律系统的问题。本项目还研究了PBL域中相邻语段之间的时间延长动态，探讨了言语中语长规划的潜在机制。PBL在各种语言中得到了证实，这表明它是言语产生中的一种普遍趋势。然而，人们也发现，PBL是在特定的语言的方式，这表明它是一种机制，是由扬声器学习，并提出了一个问题，它是否以及如何连接到一种语言的词韵律系统。尽管PBL在不同语言中的存在及其与感知的相关性已得到证实，但其应用领域的划分、时间动态以及跨语言差异等问题仍然没有得到解答。至于PBL领域，在文献中区分了两种主要的观点：基于结构和基于内容的观点。基于结构的观点假设一个特定的语言成分，如词rime，作为域。诗韵这个词是从最后一个主重音音节的核心元音开始到韵律短语结尾的延伸。另一方面，基于内容的观点假设PBL域的结构可变性：域的范围取决于最后一段或音节的属性。至于PBL领域内的时间动态，以前的研究发现，增加的部分延长接近年底的韵律phrase.The项目的总体目标是测试上述假设跨语言，从而确定相应语言的PBL领域以及领域内的动态。调查集中在三种语言：德语，法语和土耳其语。这些语言的选择，因为它们包括类型不同的韵律系统，可能会影响PBL的实施。详细的知识领域和动态的PBL生产内和跨语言是最重要的调查处理PBL单语和双语扬声器和理解的机制，在语音中的持续时间的计算。

The project investigates the phenomenon of segmental lengthening preceding a prosodic boundary, commonly referred to as ‘pre-boundary lengthening’ (henceforth, PBL). Unlike in prior studies, this phenomenon is approached from a cross-linguistic perspective, comparing the lengthening domains of languages with different prosodic systems. This contributes to the question in how far aspects of PBL are universal, language-specific and/or tied to the word-prosodic system of a language. The project also investigates the temporal dynamics of lengthening among adjacent segments in the PBL domain, exploring the underlying mechanisms in the planning of duration in speech.PBL has been attested in various languages, which led to the suggestion that it is a universal tendency in speech production. However, it has also been found that PBL is implemented in language-specific ways, which suggests that it is a mechanism that is learnt by speakers, and raises the question whether and how it is linked to the word-prosodic system of a language. Furthermore, it has been attested that listeners employ PBL as a cue for the detection of a prosodic boundary, which may lead to structural disambiguation.Despite the existence of PBL in various languages and its attested relevance for perception, questions concerning the delineation of its domain of application, its temporal dynamics, and its cross-linguistic differences remain unanswered. As for the PBL domain, two major views on its specification are distinguished in the literature: structure-based and content-based views. Structure-based views assume that a specific linguistic constituent, such as the word rime, serves as the domain. The word rime is the stretch starting with the nuclear vowel of the last main stress syllable going up to the end of the prosodic phrase. Content-based views, on the other hand, assume structural variability of the PBL domain: the extent of the domain depends on properties of the final segment or syllable. As for the temporal dynamics within the PBL domain, prior studies found an increase of segmental lengthening towards the end of the prosodic phrase.The overall objective of the project is to test the aforementioned hypotheses across languages, thereby identifying the PBL domain of the respective language as well as the dynamics within the domain. The investigation focuses on three languages: German, French, and Tswana. These languages are chosen because they comprise typologically different prosodic systems that potentially influence the implementation of PBL. Detailed knowledge about the domain and dynamics in the production of PBL within and across languages is of paramount importance for investigating the processing of PBL in monolingual and bilingual speakers and for an understanding of the mechanisms for the computation of duration in speech.