Four transcriptions are proposed in this week's textgrid, and each
one has options within it.
Note that the speaker is so creaky that it degrades the quality of
the pitch track. For example, IT'S and VERY are probably
pitch-halved. In addition, there is a second speaker in the
background early in the utterance.
ISSUE 1: ACCENT TYPE AND LOCATION ACROSS "NOT VERY"
Initially, some listeners heard NOT as accented and VERY as
unaccented (Tones_a), and others heard NOT as unaccented and VERY as
accented (Tones_b). After some discussion, many in the group
considered both words to be accented (Tones_c and Tones_d).
NOT may or may not be downstepped (!H* vs. H*) depending on the
criteria that one uses. If you rely on the fact that the pitch in the
middle of the vowel of NOT sounds lower the pitch in the middle of the
vowel of IT'S, then downstep would be appropriate. But, if you rely on
the perceptual peaks of IT'S, NOT (where it's likely that the f0 in the
vowel is not true given the speaker's creakiness), and VERY, then the
pitch is the same and no downstep would be appropriate.
ISSUE 2: IS THERE AN INTERMEDIATE PHRASE BOUNDARY BETWEEN
"EXPENSIVE" AND "EITHER"? AND WHAT ARE THE ASSOCIATED TONES?
Some listeners heard the disjuncture and fall in pitch associated
with a low phrase accent (Tones_a and Tones_c). Others heard no
disjuncture and attributed the fall in pitch to the low in a following
L+H* (Tones_b and Tones_d).
At least one transcriber heard both a disjuncture and a clear
following L+H* tone. Other transcribers who heard the disjuncture
either heard a H* or defaulted to using H* because it is a phrase
initial tone following a L- and there are no syllables prior to the
stressed syllable of EITHER on which to realize a low target from a
L+H*.
The accent on EITHER--when it does not follow a phrase accent--may
or may not be downstepped. Perceptually, the peak on EITHER sounds as
high as the peak on EXPENSIVE, which suggests no downstep. At the same
time, the pitch track on EITHER, which is pitch-halved, suggests
downstep. Either way, the accompanying creakiness makes it hard to
decide.
Lastly in this section, some listeners transcribed not a L-L%, but
a !H-L%, because they felt that the speaker had not reached the bottom
of her pitch range at the end of the utterance. That is, whereas a
L-L% falls to the bottom, a !H-L% results in a smaller drop and a
higher final pitch.
ISSUE THREE: IS THERE A BOUNDARY EARLY IN THE UTTERANCE BETWEEN
"AND" AND "IT'S" (EVEN THOUGH "AND" DOES NOT SOUND ACCENTED)?
Some listeners perceived a disjuncture between AND and IT'S, but no
one felt that AND was accented. The proposal was to use a 2 break "to
indicate a stronger sense of disjuncture than 1 even while producing a
coherent contour for an uninterrupted intermediate phrase" as per the
ToBI Guidelines page 35.
Note that the use of the 2 index was a topic of discussion at the most recent ToBI Workshop (August 2004, Simmons College). This is because 2 seems to apply in at least three distinct situations: