Intonational Morphology (eBook)

This book discusses the morphological properties of intonation, building on past research to support the long-recognized relationship between the functions and meanings of discourse particles and the functions and meanings of intonation. The morphological status of intonation has been debated for decades, and this book provides evidence from the literature combined with new and compelling empirical evidence to show that specific intonational forms correspond to specific segmental discourse particles. Based on the conclusion that intonation is in the lexicon, it proposes syntactic positions for intonational meanings using a cartographic approach. It also describes how intonation is represented in speakers' minds, which has important implications for first and second language acquisition as well as for theories and approaches to artificial speech recognition and production. This book is of interest to theoretical and applied linguists, as well as to anyone whose research and interests relate in any way to intonation.

John C. Wakefield is an Associate Professor at Hong Kong Baptist University. He has published works on Cantonese discourse particles and intonation, as well as on sociopragmatics and acquiring Cantonese as a second language. He is the editor of the book Cantonese as a Second Language: Issues, Experiences and Suggestions for Teaching and Learning (Routledge), and is the author of a forthcoming book titled English Loanwords in Cantonese: How Their Meanings Have Changed (HKU Press).

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This book discusses the morphological properties of intonation, building on past research to support the long-recognized relationship between the functions and meanings of discourse particles and the functions and meanings of intonation. The morphological status of intonation has been debated for decades, and this book provides evidence from the literature combined with new and compelling empirical evidence to show that specific intonational forms correspond to specific segmental discourse particles. Based on the conclusion that intonation is in the lexicon, it proposes syntactic positions for intonational meanings using a cartographic approach. It also describes how intonation is represented in speakers' minds, which has important implications for first and second language acquisition as well as for theories and approaches to artificial speech recognition and production. This book is of interest to theoretical and applied linguists, as well as to anyone whose research and interests relate in any way to intonation.