Session 7, December 14, 2006

The session began with some general repetition of the last topics. We had another look at the ToBI Annotation Conventions, especially on the Break Index Values.
By using the example of one of the previous sound files, we practiced how to label the Break Index Tier with the correct numbers.

Break Index Values Values 0 to 4:

• for phrase boundaries, e.g. at the end of a utterances, the value 4 has to be assigned
• for intermediate intonation phrase boundaries, the value 3 has to be attached
• for a clearly perceived pause or a virtual pause, we use the value 2
• for boundaries between words, we use the value 1
• clitic groups go along with the value 0

Definition of a clitic: a morpheme that is phonologically bound to another word

Session 6, December 7, 2006

We started the session by looking for general information about "nuclear tone types" and "accent types" on the internet.
Afterwards, we were asked to write a short dialogue with proper questins and wh-questions and mark the intonation according to the ToBI notation:

Am I good looking? - Oh darling, you are.
%L L+H* L*+H L-H%
What is the best look? – The best look is yours.
%H L-H%
When am I good looking? – You’re always looking good.
%L L+H* H*-L L-L* L-L%
Where is my best looking outfit? – Your best looking outfit is in the closet.
%H L-L* L-L* L+H* L-L* L-L%
Who is good looking? – You are good looking.
%H L-H* L-L* L-L%
Which is my best looking dress? – You look good in everything
%H L-L* H*-L H-L%

Session 5, November 30,2006

In this session, we briefly talked about the ToBI Annotation Conventions and the ways how to annotate the tiers in Praat.
Additionally, we looked at various languages from all over the world.
We were asked to choose one language in order to analayse it more closely concerning intonation and to prepare a presentation for January.
My group decided to deal with Hausa, an African language.
In the last part of the session, we researched the web for information about our individual topics.