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Usenet Posted 21 years ago
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Is it hard for native English speakers to tell the primary stress?
I just did an experiment, in which my subjects were asked to identify the stress of some English words after they listened to the sound waves of sentences containing those words.
Please note that they don't know the words being tested.
Before I did the experiment, I had assumed that native English speakers should not have a problem judging the stress.
But, the result came to me as a big surprise. Non-native speakers (native Mandarin speakers) did a much better job than native speakers. I am very suspicious of the native English speakers response. I don't think they were being responsible when they marked the stress in the questionnaire. In other words, I still don't believe that it is harder for native English speakers to tell the primary stress than it is for non-native speakers.
All my subjects are graduate students of a competitive university in the USA and the two native speakers are doing their PhD in linguistics!
Four examples of the test sentences are accessible here http://www.geocities.com/antonyliu2002/
So, I post here in order to figure out the truth. Is it really hard for you native speakers of English to identify the primary stresses of the final words in those examples? If most of you say "yes, it's really hard", then I would believe that the two subjects of native English speakers were being responsible. Otherwise, I would be more confident that they were just arbitrarily marking the questionnaire (in order to fool me around).
So, what do you think after you listened to the sound waves on the page?
Please note that they don't know the words being tested.
Before I did the experiment, I had assumed that native English speakers should not have a problem judging the stress.
But, the result came to me as a big surprise. Non-native speakers (native Mandarin speakers) did a much better job than native speakers. I am very suspicious of the native English speakers response. I don't think they were being responsible when they marked the stress in the questionnaire. In other words, I still don't believe that it is harder for native English speakers to tell the primary stress than it is for non-native speakers.
All my subjects are graduate students of a competitive university in the USA and the two native speakers are doing their PhD in linguistics!
Four examples of the test sentences are accessible here http://www.geocities.com/antonyliu2002/
So, I post here in order to figure out the truth. Is it really hard for you native speakers of English to identify the primary stresses of the final words in those examples? If most of you say "yes, it's really hard", then I would believe that the two subjects of native English speakers were being responsible. Otherwise, I would be more confident that they were just arbitrarily marking the questionnaire (in order to fool me around).
So, what do you think after you listened to the sound waves on the page?
Top answer
(Email Removed) wrote on 30 Apr 2005: [nq:1]I just did an experiment, in which my subjects were asked to identify the stress of some English words after ... order to fool me around). [/nq] The "Rising: You need to know more about rhizopod" sound file is difficult to figure out because the final syllable not only rises in pitch, but it rises in volume.
- (Email Removed) wrote on 30 Apr 2005: [nq:1]I just did an experiment, in which my subjects were asked to identify the stress of some English words after ...
- order to fool me around).
- [/nq] The "Rising: You need to know more about rhizopod" sound file is difficult to figure out because the final syllable not only rises in pitch, but it rises in volume.
- It sounds as if the first and third syllables both take primary stress, or even that the third syllable takes the primary stress and the first takes secondary stress, but in the falling sentence, it's clear that primary stress is on the first syllable.
- In the other two sentences, stress is on the second syllable.
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23 Answers
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(Email Removed) wrote on 30 Apr 2005:
[nq:1]I just did an experiment, in which my subjects were asked to identify the stress of some English words after ... order to fool me around). So, what do you think after you listened to the sound waves on the page?[/nq]
The "Rising: You need to know more about rhizopod" sound file is difficult to figure out because the final syllable not only rises
[nq:1]I just did an experiment, in which my subjects were asked to identify the stress of some English words after ... order to fool me around). So, what do you think after you listened to the sound waves on the page?[/nq]
The "Rising: You need to know more about rhizopod" sound file is difficult to figure out because the final syllable not only rises
00
Yes, apparently the rising intonation is harder. That's fine. But the target words in the falling intonation should not be a problem at all for native English speakers.
Most of my native Mandarin subjects correctly identified the stresses of more than 95% of those target words in the falling intonation. But one of my native English subjects got only slightly over 50% right for that set of word
Most of my native Mandarin subjects correctly identified the stresses of more than 95% of those target words in the falling intonation. But one of my native English subjects got only slightly over 50% right for that set of word
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(Email Removed) wrote on 30 Apr 2005:
[nq:1]Yes, apparently the rising intonation is harder. That's fine. But the target words in the falling intonation should not be a problem at all for native English speakers.[/nq]
It's hard for me to judge that. I spent two years in graduate school studying linguistics, so I'm sensitive to things like stress and intonation patterns but that doesn't mea
[nq:1]Yes, apparently the rising intonation is harder. That's fine. But the target words in the falling intonation should not be a problem at all for native English speakers.[/nq]
It's hard for me to judge that. I spent two years in graduate school studying linguistics, so I'm sensitive to things like stress and intonation patterns but that doesn't mea
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[nq:1]So, I post here in order to figure out the truth. Is it really hard for you native speakers of ... order to fool me around). So, what do you think after you listened to the sound waves on the page?[/nq]
The way the recordings sound to me, it's
rhi' zo pod
rhi' zo pod' (ie, almost equal stress on the last syllable) ma chai' ro dont
ma chai' ro dont
Aaron Davies
Op
The way the recordings sound to me, it's
rhi' zo pod
rhi' zo pod' (ie, almost equal stress on the last syllable) ma chai' ro dont
ma chai' ro dont
Aaron Davies
Op
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[nq:2]Yes, apparently the rising intonation is harder. That's fine. But ... not be a problem at all for native English speakers.[/nq]
[nq:1]It's hard for me to judge that. I spent two years in graduate school studying linguistics, so I'm sensitive to ... that I always get things right. I've also been teaching EFL in Japan and Taiwan for the past 20 years.[/nq]
OK, this is becoming interest
[nq:1]It's hard for me to judge that. I spent two years in graduate school studying linguistics, so I'm sensitive to ... that I always get things right. I've also been teaching EFL in Japan and Taiwan for the past 20 years.[/nq]
OK, this is becoming interest
00
} I just did an experiment, in which my subjects were asked to identify } the stress of some English words after they listened to the sound waves } of sentences containing those words.
}
} Please note that they don't know the words being tested. }
} Before I did the experiment, I had assumed that native English speakers } should not have a problem judging the stress.
}
} But, t
}
} Please note that they don't know the words being tested. }
} Before I did the experiment, I had assumed that native English speakers } should not have a problem judging the stress.
}
} But, t
00
[nq:2]So, I post here in order to figure out the ... think after you listened to the sound waves on thepage?[/nq]
[nq:1]The way the recordings sound to me, it's rhi' zo pod rhi' zo pod' (ie, almost equal stress on the last syllable) ma chai' ro dont ma chai' ro dont[/nq]
You did a good job. Was it really difficult, especially for those two pronounced in the falling intonation? Cyber Cypher
[nq:1]The way the recordings sound to me, it's rhi' zo pod rhi' zo pod' (ie, almost equal stress on the last syllable) ma chai' ro dont ma chai' ro dont[/nq]
You did a good job. Was it really difficult, especially for those two pronounced in the falling intonation? Cyber Cypher
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[nq:1]About what? What were the questions? The sentences with file names ending with " r.wav" had a higher toneon the ... falling-tone files. Did you ask about syllable stress or word stress? Did you really ask about rising or falling stress?[/nq]
OK, here is my assumptions again:
My 1st assumption is that native speakers of English should not have a big problem correctly perceiving the pr
OK, here is my assumptions again:
My 1st assumption is that native speakers of English should not have a big problem correctly perceiving the pr
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(Email Removed) wrote on 30 Apr 2005:
[nq:1]OK, this is becoming interesting. I thought about this possibility, too. That is, suppose the two native English subjects were ... intonation? Since you say that you have problem telling the stress even for those words read in the falling intonation.[/nq]
If you look again at what I said in my first reply, you'll see that I said that only the fir
[nq:1]OK, this is becoming interesting. I thought about this possibility, too. That is, suppose the two native English subjects were ... intonation? Since you say that you have problem telling the stress even for those words read in the falling intonation.[/nq]
If you look again at what I said in my first reply, you'll see that I said that only the fir
00
...snip
[nq:1]Four examples of the test sentences are accessible here http://www.geocities.com/antonyliu2002/ So, I post here in order to figure out the ... order to fool me around). So, what do you think after you listened to the sound waves on the page?[/nq]
I'm a native B
[nq:1]Four examples of the test sentences are accessible here http://www.geocities.com/antonyliu2002/ So, I post here in order to figure out the ... order to fool me around). So, what do you think after you listened to the sound waves on the page?[/nq]
I'm a native B
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