Supplementary Material for: Stability and Variability in Slovak Prosodic Boundaries

Background/Aim: Encoding intended meanings in the type and strength
of prosodic boundaries and strategies for communicating these meanings
in ambient noise use similar prosodic cues. We analyze how increasing
the level of ambient noise affects the realization of Slovak prosodic
boundaries. Methods: Five native speakers of Slovak read sentences,
manipulating the boundary type (weak, rise, fall) and the location of
pre-boundary pitch accent. Ambient noise of several levels was
administered via headphones. Acoustic and articulatory data
(electromagnetometry) were collected. Results: Under normal condition,
boundary strength is signaled with longer pre-boundary rhymes, more
frequent pauses, greater crossboundary f0 resets and jaw displacement.
The strength of falls is realized in crossboundary features (pauses, f0
reset), and rises in pre-boundary features (rhyme duration, f0 range).
Pitch-accented rhymes are strengthened in all features, but f0 range. In
noise, the increase in boundary strength is weak, and falls strengthen
more than rises. F0 targets for falls and rises are adjusted in addition
to noiseinduced global f0 scaling and lengthening. Conclusion:
Hyper-articulation of prosodic boundaries in ambient noise is not robust
and uniform; rather, durational, f0 and jaw displacement features
co-create complex prosodic patterns in a complementary and synergetic
manner based on affordances in normal speech.