Role and Properties of Rhythm in French Intonation

The current study considers that the distinctive acoustic properties and variations in the closed plateau are realized by four different pitch accents(/Hi*_ H*/ or /Hi*_$h*_f$ for an emphatic phrase and /hi*_ H*/ for a neutral phrase) in an intermediate phrase in the French intonational structure. Thus, an attempt is made to define the acoustic property of the CP in the ip according to the duration time and pitch range, while different combinations of the four pitch accents of the CP are used to explain the way a speaker will highlight. The duration time of the CP was measured at about 0.67 sec. for males and 0.75 sec. for females. The duration properties of the plateau in the CP were found to control the pitch range based on two different prominent pitch accents, which appeared in more than two APs. Therefore, the ip was identified as having a hierarchical level in the French intonational structure, along with the AP and IP. In addition, the CP in the ip was used as a specific location to explain the pragmatic meaning of the rhythm using the two acoustic factors and different combinations of the four pitch accents.