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Article In: Pragmatics and Society: Online-First Articles

Building charisma and trust with prosodic constructions

The role of phrase-final pitch and tempo dynamics

 | University of Southern Denmark
ORCiD logo with link | Tel Aviv University
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
The present paper uses a perception experiment to investigate which prosodic factors determine the perceived charisma and trustworthiness conveyed by phrase-final intonation contours. The following factors were manipulated using PSOLA resynthesis and combined into 16 stimuli: phrase-final pitch level (low vs. half-low), shape of fall (accelerated vs. decelerated), nuclear pitch-accent timing (H+L* vs. L+H*), and final lengthening (present vs. absent). Authentic statements by two U.S. politicians, a man and a woman, served as base stimuli. Forty native speakers of American-English rated the stimuli. Results showed that all factors influenced the listeners. The highest ratings were achieved by low and steep final falls, early H+L* pitch accent, and without final lengthening. Moreover, the rating levels for the female stimuli were generally higher but declined more under unfavorable phrase-final patterns. The results are in line with previous studies and are discussed with regard to practical implications and the notion of prosodic constructions.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Intonational structure and its phrase-final building blocks: Research subject
    • 1.2Forms and functions of the phrase-final fall: Research object
    • 1.3Prosodic details in and beyond the phrase-final fall: Research gap
    • 1.4Variables and hypotheses
  • 2.Method
    • 2.1Speech material
    • 2.2Stimulus manipulation and generation
    • 2.3Design of the perception experiment
    • 2.4Listeners
  • 3.Results
  • 4.Discussion and conclusions
  • Acknowledgments
  • References
References (49)
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