Rhythmic Alternations in German Read Speech

In this study, rhythmic alternations in German read speech have been examined on prosodic phrase level. Based on statistical examinations and phonological theory, several hypotheses concerning the status of rhythm rules and word−class related prominence have been formulated, formalized and implemented. The predictions made by these rules were compared with speaker’s judgements on perceptual prominence patterns in a prosodic database of read speech. The basic outcomes of this study are the following: If the predictions are based upon different levels of prominence depending on lexical class, the correlation between predicted and perceived prominences lies within the range of different speakers’ correlations. Stress clashes hardly ever occur on the basis of this (successful) method. Speakers of German tend to fill rhythmical gaps, especially in polysyllabic words. An FST modelling the filling of rhythmical gaps improves the predictions the algorithm.