Work

Focus realization in Albanian: The role of prosody and utterance position

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This study investigates the realization of narrow and broad focus in Albanian, an understudied language. Production and perception data were analyzed for narrow and broad focus. Speakers were found to produce broad focus with a low f0-trough (L*) and narrow focus with a high f0-peak (L + H*) in both final and initial positions. Listeners preferred L + H* stimuli for narrow focus in initial position regardless of whether they heard a narrow or a broad focus question. These findings show that focus marking in Albanian is influenced more by position than prosodic cues.

Source: JASA Express Letters

DOI: 10.1121/10.0035419

Authors: Enkeleida Kapia, Felicitas Kleber, Jonathan Harrington, Michele Gubian

Institution: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Language: English

Topic: Phonetics and Phonology Research

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

Funders: Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, H2020 European Research Council

Awards: Form und Funktion der Intonation in albanischen Dialekten, Human interaction and the evolution of spoken accent