Individual variability in the use of tonal and non-tonal cues in intonation

Abstract

Greek uses H*, L + H*, and H* + L, all followed by L-L% edge tones, as nuclear pitch accents in statements. A previous analysis demonstrated that these accents are distinguished by F0 scaling and contour shape. This study expands the earlier investigation by exploring additional cues, namely, voice quality, amplitude, and duration, in distinguishing the pitch accents, and investigating individual variability in the selection of both F0 and non-F0 cues. Bayesian multivariate analysis and hierarchical clustering demonstrate that the accents are distinguished not only by F0 but also by additional cues at the group level, with individual variability in cue selection.