Speech production varies among individuals, having an effect on both segments (vowels and consonants) and suprasegmental properties (prosody). Previous literature has shown that listeners can adapt...Show moreSpeech production varies among individuals, having an effect on both segments (vowels and consonants) and suprasegmental properties (prosody). Previous literature has shown that listeners can adapt to variability in the speech production of segments. This study explores whether listeners can also adapt to variability in the production of suprasegments as lexical tones. Our experiment demonstrates a selective adaptation effect in lexical tone perception: repeatedly hearing Mandarin tone1 syllables biased perception of a subsequent tone continuum towards more tone2 responses. Moreover, the selective adaptation effects generalize to novel syllables, especially with onsets dif- ferent from the ones during the exposure. These findings demonstrate that listeners adapt flexibly to variability in the suprasegmental properties of speech, enhancing our understanding of the role of listener adaptation in speech perception.Show less
This paper researches tone in Bobo Madare North, a Niger-Congo, Mande language (ISO 639-3: bbo), spoken in Mali and Burkina Faso, closely related to Sya. After examining its basic principles...Show moreThis paper researches tone in Bobo Madare North, a Niger-Congo, Mande language (ISO 639-3: bbo), spoken in Mali and Burkina Faso, closely related to Sya. After examining its basic principles regarding tone, a limited overview of tone in the verb system is given. The paper proceeds to investigate tone in the noun system. Morphologically simple nouns, inflection (pluralisation), some compounding and derivation, as well as tone processes happening across word boundaries (definite and possessive constructions) are investigated. The author makes use of her own research data, applying principles of autosegmental phonology for her analysis. Bobo Madare North has three underlying tones with automatic and non-automatic downstep, tone spreading and (local?) upstep.Show less
The 21st century film iteration of Batman was created by Christopher Nolan who reimagined the character and his story in The Dark Knight Trilogy by adopting a darker, grittier, more serious tone....Show moreThe 21st century film iteration of Batman was created by Christopher Nolan who reimagined the character and his story in The Dark Knight Trilogy by adopting a darker, grittier, more serious tone. This thesis will explore how the shift in tone moved the films away from fantasy into what might be termed a heightened reality, thereby allowing for the creation of a more complex, Batman-orientated narrative. Moreover, this thesis will demonstrate how these changes deepened the superhero genre and brought to the foreground the ambiguous, morally gray nature of the main protagonist, which resulted in the redefinition of how a superhero can be presented and understood, and lifted the ‘superhero film’ above being mere escapist entertainment.Show less
