Laetitia Compaore

Ancien doctorant

General presentation

Doctorante

Thèse

Title : Prosodic Analysis of Moore: Tone and Intonation

PhD Defense : 2017-07-12

Inscription : à Paris 7

Jury :

Rapporteur : Emmanuel Nikièma, Professeur, Université de Toronto
Rapporteur : Didier Demolin, Professeur, Université  Sorbonne Nouvelle
Examinatrice : Hiyon Yoo, Maître de conférences, Université Paris Diderot
Examinatrice : Elisabeth Délais, Professeur, Université Paris Diderot
Examinatrice : Annie Rialland, Directeur de recherche émérite, CNRS / Université Sorbonne Nouvelle
Directeur de thèse : Philippe Martin, Professeur émérite, Université Paris Diderot

Abstract :

This dissertation describes the role of prosody in the organization of oral speech in Moore (a tone language spoken in Burkina Faso). It investigates the realization of intonation as a sign of prosodic structure in an African tone language. The main problem dealt in this study is: how does intonation work in moore, a tone language in which tone has already an important phonological role? The aim of the analysis is to explain the realization of tone and intonation in order to identify a prosodic structure which will account for the prosodic organization in moore. The theoretical framework is based on P. Martin’s theory of intonation in romance languages (2009, 2013, and 2015).

The phonetic realization of tone was first examined. This study confirms that the relative height of the pitch is the main acoustic parameter used to distinguish the two types of tones in moore. Then the analysis of the relation between tone and intonation reveals that the realization of tones is affected by intonation especially at prosodic boundaries. Finally, based on the identification of prosodic events, the study of moore oral speech (both spontaneous and reading speech) organization shows that acoustic parameters such as: duration of pauses, final syllable lengthening and F0 variations are found with perceived boundaries.