Explaining the PENTA model: A reply to Arvaniti & Ladd

This paper presents an overview of the Parallel Encoding and Target Approximation (PENTA) model of speech prosody in response to an extensive critique by Arvaniti and Ladd (2009). PENTA is a framework for conceptually and computationally linking communicative meanings to fine-grained prosodic details, based on an articulatory-functional view of speech. Target Approximation simulates the articulatory realisation of underlying pitch targets — the prosodic primitives in the framework. Parallel Encoding provides an operational scheme that enables simultaneous encoding of multiple communicative functions. We also outline how PENTA can be computationally tested with a set of software tools. With the help of one of the tools, we offer a PENTA-based hypothetical account of the Greek intonational patterns reported by Arvaniti and Ladd (2009), showing how it is possible to predict the prosodic shapes of an utterance based on the lexical and post-lexical meanings it conveys.