Prosody in read aloud text: relation with information status, content type and boundary strength

Abstract

In two short stories three text characteristics have been implemented independent of each other: information status, content type, and boundary strength. Thus, each characteristic could be assessed for its unique effect on prosody. Both stories were read aloud by ten speakers. No effects were found for pitch range and articulation rate, but pause duration did vary systematically with each of the text characteristics. Effects ranged from small for information status to moderate for content type and large for boundary strength.