Prosody, the study of language rhythm, is an essential component of linguistics. It includes the rhythm, stress, and intonation of spoken language and the poetical metre of written language. It is a complex phenomenon with a wide range of applications in language, including the development of language skills, speech synthesis, speech recognition, language teaching, and text-to-speech systems (TTS).
Prosody is based on a variety of linguistic features, such as the syllable, the stress, the intonation, and the duration of the syllable. These features are used to convey meaning, emotion, and emphasis in language. For example, a stressed syllable may indicate the importance of a certain word or idea in a sentence, while a slower speaking rate may indicate a pause for dramatic effect. Prosodic features are also used to mark the boundaries of sentences, clauses, and phrases.
Prosody is important for the development and acquisition of language. It is an essential tool for language teaching and for speech recognition and synthesis. Prosodic features have been found to play an important role in conveying meaning, and they are important for language processing and understanding. Furthermore, prosodic features are essential for the production of speech and for the perception of speech.
The study of prosody is often divided into two main categories: acoustic and phonetic prosody. Acoustic prosody is concerned with the physical properties of speech, such as the intensity, pitch, and duration of the sound. Phonetic prosody is concerned with the phonological properties of speech, such as the syllable structure, the intonation, and the stress patterns.
Prosody has a wide range of applications in language. It is essential for language teaching, speech recognition, speech synthesis, and text-to-speech systems (TTS). Prosodic features are also important for understanding language, and they are used to convey meaning, emotion, and emphasis in language.
References
Gibbon, D. (2020). Prosody: The rhythm of language. Oxford University Press.
Ladd, D. R. (2017). Prosodic phonology and phonetics. In The Oxford handbook of phonology (pp. 741-766). Oxford University Press.
Sproat, R. (2000). Prosody and language processing. Trends in cognitive sciences, 4(5), 204-210.
Xu, Y., Wang, X., & Wang, Y. (2014). Prosody modeling and its applications in speech synthesis and recognition. IEEE/ACM transactions on audio, speech, and language processing, 22(12), 1845-1859.