SPOKEN DISCOURSE and NATURAL GRAMMAR

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SPOKEN DISCOURSE and NATURAL GRAMMAR

• Andrej A. Kibrik (kibrik_at_comtv.ru)

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Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter
Vera Podlesskaya
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Context

• Project Night Dream Stories
• Corpus of 130 Russian spoken stories
• Speakers children of school age and adolescents
• Discourse type narrative
• Important spoken Russian language
• Unimportant age of speakers and content of
  stories

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Research questions

• Linguists ideas of what language is like are
  largely shaped by written language
• Speech is the primary form of language
• in phylogeny
• in ontogeny
• in quantity
• A logical would-be approach start with the
  primary, simpler phenomenon, and thereafter
  examine how it adapts to the secondary medium
• A practical approach take spoken language as
  is and see what emerges, and how it is different
  from or similar to the extant views of language
• What the grammar of spoken Russian is like?

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Plan of talk

• Discourse transcription
• Elementary discourse units (EDUs)
• Two issues in the grammar of spoken Russian
• How EDUs correspond to grammatical units
• Sentence?
• Suggestions for less studied and unwritten
  languages

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Transcription of spoken discourse

• Due to its transient, ephemeral nature, sound as
  such does not lend itself easily to scientific
  analysis
• Discourse transcription convert the sound into a
  graphic representation
• Well-developed for English, Italian
• We are doing it for Russian
• This conversion involves dozens of decisions
• Transcription must be systematic and reproducible
• Not just a set of conventions but a process
  through which essential properties of spoken
  language are revealed

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Main components of our discourse transcription

• Segmentation (lines)
• Pauses
• Pitch accents
• Tempo (of different scope)
• A number of other prosodic phenomena
• Punctuation marks
• and some others

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Example

• ....(1.5) /\????? ...(0.5) ?????-??,
• Lake some
• ..(0.3) (??? /\?????,
• Either river
• ??? /\?????,
• or lake
• ?? ??-????? \?????,
• but I guess lake
• ?????? ??? ..(0.2) ???-??-?w
  because somehow...(0.6) \????????? ?????,
• small such
• \?????????.)
• minor
• ....(1.0) ?-?h ...(0.7) ????? /???? and ac
  ross it..(0.3) ???-?? \?????? ?????-??,
• somehow log some
• ???? \?????.
• like bridge

• ....(1.5) /\Ozero ...(0.5) kakoe-to,
• ..(0.3) (Ili /\recka,
• ili /\ozero,
• no po-moemu \ozero,
• potomu cto ..(0.2) kak-to-oW ...(0.6)
  \malenkoe takoe,
• \nebolšoe.)
• ....(1.0) i-iH ...(0.7) cerez /nego ..(0.3)
  kak-to \brevno kakoe-to,
• tipa \mosta.

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Segmentation (lines)

• ....(1.5) /\????? ...(0.5) ?????-??,
• Lake some
• ..(0.3) (??? /\?????,
• Either river
• ??? /\?????,
• or lake
• ?? ??-????? \?????,
• but I guess lake
• ?????? ??? ..(0.2) ???-??-?w
  because somehow...(0.6) \????????? ?????,
• small such
• \?????????.)
• minor
• ....(1.0) ?-?h ...(0.7) ????? /???? and ac
  ross it..(0.3) ???-?? \?????? ?????-??,
• somehow log some
• ???? \?????.
• like bridge

• ....(1.5) /\Ozero ...(0.5) kakoe-to,
• ..(0.3) (Ili /\recka,
• ili /\ozero,
• no po-moemu \ozero,
• potomu cto ..(0.2) kak-to-oW ...(0.6)
  \malenkoe takoe,
• \nebolšoe.)
• ....(1.0) i-iH ...(0.7) cerez /nego ..(0.3)
  kak-to \brevno kakoe-to,
• tipa \mosta.

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Pauses

• ....(1.5) /\????? ...(0.5) ?????-??,
• Lake some
• ..(0.3) (??? /\?????,
• Either river
• ??? /\?????,
• or lake
• ?? ??-????? \?????,
• but I guess lake
• ?????? ??? ..(0.2) ???-??-?w
  because somehow...(0.6) \????????? ?????,
• small such
• \?????????.)
• minor
• ....(1.0) ?-?h ...(0.7) ????? /???? and ac
  ross it..(0.3) ???-?? \?????? ?????-??,
• somehow log some
• ???? \?????.
• like bridge

• ....(1.5) /\Ozero ...(0.5) kakoe-to,
• ..(0.3) (Ili /\recka,
• ili /\ozero,
• no po-moemu \ozero,
• potomu cto ..(0.2) kak-to-oW ...(0.6)
  \malenkoe takoe,
• \nebolšoe.)
• ....(1.0) i-iH ...(0.7) cerez /nego ..(0.3)
  kak-to \brevno kakoe-to,
• tipa \mosta.

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Pitch accents

• ....(1.5) /\????? ...(0.5) ?????-??,
• Lake some
• ..(0.3) (??? /\?????,
• Either river
• ??? /\?????,
• or lake
• ?? ??-????? \?????,
• but I guess lake
• ?????? ??? ..(0.2) ???-??-?w
  because somehow...(0.6) \????????? ?????,
• small such
• \?????????.)
• minor
• ....(1.0) ?-?h ...(0.7) ????? /???? and ac
  ross it..(0.3) ???-?? \?????? ?????-??,
• somehow log some
• ???? \?????.
• like bridge

• ....(1.5) /\Ozero ...(0.5) kakoe-to,
• ..(0.3) (Ili /\recka,
• ili /\ozero,
• no po-moemu \ozero,
• potomu cto ..(0.2) kak-to-oW ...(0.6)
  \malenkoe takoe,
• \nebolšoe.)
• ....(1.0) i-iH ...(0.7) cerez /nego ..(0.3)
  kak-to \brevno kakoe-to,
• tipa \mosta.

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Tempo

• ....(1.5) /\????? ...(0.5) ?????-??,
• Lake some
• ..(0.3) (??? /\?????,
• Either river
• ??? /\?????,
• or lake
• ?? ??-????? \?????,
• but I guess lake
• ?????? ??? ..(0.2) ???-??-?w
  because somehow...(0.6) \????????? ?????,
• small such
• \?????????.)
• minor
• ....(1.0) ?-?h ...(0.7) ????? /???? and ac
  ross it..(0.3) ???-?? \?????? ?????-??,
• somehow log some
• ???? \?????.
• like bridge

• ....(1.5) /\Ozero ...(0.5) kakoe-to,
• ..(0.3) (Ili /\recka,
• ili /\ozero,
• no po-moemu \ozero,
• potomu cto ..(0.2) kak-to-oW ...(0.6)
  \malenkoe takoe,
• \nebolšoe.)
• ....(1.0) i-iH ...(0.7) cerez /nego ..(0.3)
  kak-to \brevno kakoe-to,
• tipa \mosta.

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Other prosodic phenomena

• ....(1.5) /\????? ...(0.5) ?????-??,
• Lake some
• ..(0.3) (??? /\?????,
• Either river
• ??? /\?????,
• or lake
• ?? ??-????? \?????,
• but I guess lake
• ?????? ??? ..(0.2) ???-??-?w
  because somehow...(0.6) \????????? ?????,
• small such
• \?????????.)
• minor
• ....(1.0) ?-?h ...(0.7) ????? /???? and ac
  ross it..(0.3) ???-?? \?????? ?????-??,
• somehow log some
• ???? \?????.
• like bridge

• ....(1.5) /\Ozero ...(0.5) kakoe-to,
• ..(0.3) (Ili /\recka,
• ili /\ozero,
• no po-moemu \ozero,
• potomu cto ..(0.2) kak-to-oW ...(0.6)
  \malenkoe takoe,
• \nebolšoe.)
• ....(1.0) i-iH ...(0.7) cerez /nego ..(0.3)
  kak-to \brevno kakoe-to,
• tipa \mosta.

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Punctuation marks

• ....(1.5) /\????? ...(0.5) ?????-??,
• Lake some
• ..(0.3) (??? /\?????,
• Either river
• ??? /\?????,
• or lake
• ?? ??-????? \?????,
• but I guess lake
• ?????? ??? ..(0.2) ???-??-?w
  because somehow...(0.6) \????????? ?????,
• small such
• \?????????.)
• minor
• ....(1.0) ?-?h ...(0.7) ????? /???? and ac
  ross it..(0.3) ???-?? \?????? ?????-??,
• somehow log some
• ???? \?????.
• like bridge

• ....(1.5) /\Ozero ...(0.5) kakoe-to,
• ..(0.3) (Ili /\recka,
• ili /\ozero,
• no po-moemu \ozero,
• potomu cto ..(0.2) kak-to-oW ...(0.6)
  \malenkoe takoe,
• \nebolšoe.)
• ....(1.0) i-iH ...(0.7) cerez /nego ..(0.3)
  kak-to \brevno kakoe-to,
• tipa \mosta.

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Segmentation elementary discourse units (EDUs)

• Definition of EDUs prosody
• Pausing pattern
• Single accentual center
• Single tonal pattern (contour)
• Single temporal pattern
• (Single loudness pattern)
• In terms of physiology
• Coincide with an exhalation

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Example

• ..(0.2) /????? ? ???? \??-?????,
• ..(0.2) /Vyšla s ètoj \ka-arety,
  I.got.out from this coach,
• ..(0.2) ?????? ? \?-????,
• ..(0.2) zaxožu v \ë-olku,
• I.enter into fir.tree

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Prototypical pausing pattern

• ..(0.2) /????? ? ???? \??-?????,
• ..(0.2) /Vyšla s ètoj \ka-arety,
  I.got.out from this coach,
• ..(0.2) ?????? ? \?-????,
• ..(0.2) zaxožu v \ë-olku,
• I.enter into fir.tree

EDU-initial pauses
No pauses inside EDUs
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Single accentual center in each EDU

• ..(0.2) /????? ? ???? \??-?????,
• ..(0.2) /Vyšla s ètoj \ka-arety,
  I.got.out from this coach,
• ..(0.2) ?????? ? \?-????,
• ..(0.2) zaxožu v \ë-olku,
• I.enter into fir.tree

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Accentual center prototypical tonal and temporal
patterns
0.1
0.17
0.14
0.25
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Deep neurophysiological foundations of EDUs
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Organization of mice movements while exploring
territory

• Consists of individual segments runs, or spurts
• Spurts are separated by short periods of
  standstill
• Each spurt starts with a period of high
  acceleration
• At the end of a spurt there is a significant
  deceleration
• Each spurt is directed towards a goal that is
  attained at the end

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Content of EDUs

• EDUs appear to be not only prosodic units, but
  display unity in terms of their content
• Cognitively represent one focus of consciousness
  (W. Chafe)
• Semantically represent one event/state
• Grammatically coincide with a clause

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EDUs AND GRAMMATICAL CONSTITUENTS

• Prosodically identified EDUs correlation with
  clauses
• EDU clause 70
• EDU lt clause 23
• EDU gt clause 7

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A sequence of clausal EDUs

• ????? ??? ???? /???,
• Then more one dream
• ....(1.7) ?? ???? ..(0.1) ??????? ????-/???,
• after me was.running Baba-Jaga
• ....(1.3) ?? ?????-? ? ?? ??? /?????,
• in general I from her run
• ...(0.8) ?-? ..(0.4) ?????
• and think
• /???? ?? ??? \?????????.
• Where PTCL I run
• ....(1.1) ?-? ..(0.3) ??? ??? ..(0.2) /???
• And just house ..(0.4) ??-C?
  \??????? ?? ?????-?\????????.
• C.C. Capwell from Santa Barbara
• ?..(0.4) ? /?????? ? ????,
• I run into it
• ? /??? ????? \????.
• and there stands wardrobe

• Potom ešce odin /son,
• ....(1.7) za mnoj ..(0.1) ?begala Baba-/Jaga,
• ....(1.3) ?v obšcem-m ja ot neë /begu?,
• ...(0.8) i-i ..(0.4) dumaju
• /Kuda že mne \pobežat?.
• ....(1.1) I-i ..(0.3) ??? ??? ..(0.2) /dom
  ..(0.4) Si-Si \Kepvela iz Santa-?\Barbary?.
• ?..(0.4) Ja /vbegaja v nego,
• i /tam stoit \škaf.

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Short EDUs

• Prospective 6.4
• Anticipatory topic 0.7
• False start 5.7
• Retrospective 9
• Echo 3.9
• Increment and parcellation 4.2
• Split 2.5
• Regulatory EDUs 4.9
• TOTAL 23

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Anticipatory topic z34, z43

• ..(0.3) ? /???????,
• ..(0.3) a /sobacka,
• and doggy
• ??? ?????? \??????,
• ona bystro \begala,
• it fast ran
• ? /??,...(0.6)
• a /on,...(0.6)
• and it
• \???????? ?? ??? ???????.
• \polovina ?v nëm tolko?.
• half in it only

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Echo

• Retrospective elaboration to one of the clause
  constituents
• Duplicates the morphosyntactic characteristics of
  the constituent in question

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Echo a typical example

• ?????? ????????? /??????,
• Begala bezdomnaja /sobaka,
• Was.running homeless dog
• ..(0.2) /??????? ????? /?????? \???,
• ..(0.2) /bolšoj takoj /cërnyj \dog,
• big such black Great.Dane

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Echo elaboration of an anaphoric pronoun

• ? ? ???? ..(0.1) /????-???? ? ????,
• I ja poba ..(0.1) /podo-oš?l k nemu,
• And I FST approached to it
• ..(0.3) ?? ? ????? /??????,
• ..(0.3) nu k ètomu /derevu,
• well to this tree
• ? ???????? /???????? ????-??,
• u kotorogo /sverkalo cego-to,
• at which glittered something

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Echo not just nominative

• /\????????,
• /\????????,
• I.open
• ? ?????? ???? ??? /?????? ...(0.7) ????? \???????
  .
• ? ?????? ???? ??? /?????? ...(0.7) ????? \??????
  ?.
• and in.front me so hang seven corpses
• ....(1.1) ???? /?????? \??????????,
• ....(1.1) ???? /?????? \??????????,
• seven corpses of.strung-up (GEN)
• ..(0.3) ?????? \/????????.
• ..(0.3) ?????? \/????????.
• notably Chinese

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Increment

• An extra constituent is appended to an already
  formed clause
• This constituent fits well into the clause
  structure

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Increment attribute to an actant

• ? /????? ? ??????? ?????-?? ..(0.4) \?-???????.
• I /vdrug ja uvidela kakuju-to
  ..(0.4) \k-korobku.
• And suddenly I saw some box
• ..(0.3) ? /???????? \??????.
• ..(0.3) S /bantikom \sverxu.
• With ribbon on.top

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Increment a circumstant

• /???????,
• /Nyrnula,
• I.dove
• ? \???????.
• i \poplyla.
• and started.swimming
• ...(0.7) ? ??? ??? /??????????,
• ...(0.7) I vot tak /polucilos,
• And this way it.happened
• ? /???????,
• ja /doplyla,
• I reached.by.swimming
• ..(0.4) ??? /?????,
• ..(0.4) pod /vodoj,
• under water

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Long EDUs some sources

• Finite verbs gt epistemic markers
• Finite verbs gt quotative markers
• Verb serialization

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Epistemic marker N14 45

• ...(0.9) ????? ? ..(0.3) /?-??????????,
• ...(0.9) Potom ja ..(0.3) /p-prosypajus,
• Then I wake.up
• ...(0.8) ???-???? ? ?-???? ..(0.2)
  ...(0.8) vsë-taki ja s-sebja ..(0.2)
• still I myself
• ?? \???? ???-?? /???????? ??? ??_
• ne \znaju kak-to /razbudil cto li_
• not know somehow awakened perhaps

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Quotative marker verb of speech Z14

• ??? ??????? ????? /??-??? ???,
• Èto govorjat novaja /mo-oda tam,
• This they.say new fashion there
• ? ????????????? /???? ????? v vosemnadcatom /
  veke novaja
• in eighteenth century new
• ????? \??-??? ?????.
• takaja \mo-oda pošla.
• such fashion appeared

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Quotative marker verb of thinking n06

• ? ??? ..(0.1) ???-?? ??? ???? /??????? ???? ??????
  ??,
• I vot ..(0.1) kak-to mne bylo /strašno tuda zaxo
  dit,
• And here somehow to.me was scary there enter
  
• ..(0.3) ?????? ??? ????? \?????-?,
• ..(0.3) potomu cto dumaju \upadu-u,
• because I.think I.will.fall.down
• ?-?? \???? ??? ??? \?????,
• n-ne \znaju cto èto \takoe,
• not know what that such
• ..(0.2) \????? ??????,
• ..(0.2) \upadu duma?ju,
• I.will.fall.down I.think

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Serialization N26 113

• ...(0.6) ??? ???????
• ...(0.6) ona govorit
• she says
• /?????? ????? \/????
• /Sadis delaj \/sama
• Sit do yourself

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Serialization verb union N21

• ? ? ??? ??? ???? /???? ? \????????.
• I ja ego pri ètom /stoju i \protiraju.
• And I it with all.that stand and wipe

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Interim summary EDUs and grammar

• Topical issue in the grammar of natural spoken
  discourse
• How units of speech correspond to grammatical
  units?

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THE PROBLEM OF SENTENCE

• Sentence is supposedly a fundamental unit of
  language
• Linguists generally use this notion relying on
  conventions of punctuation in written language
• But there are not obvious periods and question
  marks in speech
• Is sentence real?

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The canonical situation

• In narrative discourse, there is a difference
  between final and non-final EDUs
• Canonical prosody of a final EDU (period
  intonation) falling tone in the primary accent
• Canonical prosody of a non-final EDU (comma
  intonation) rising tone in the primary accent

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A canonical example z1611-12

• ? ????? ? ??? ...(0.5) ??????????? /?????,
• and kogda ja vot ...(0.5) vozvrašcajus /domoj,
  and when I well return home
• ?? ???? /??? \????????.
• na ètom /son \koncilsja.
• on that dream ended

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Non-canonical situation Comma with a falling tone

• ....(1.5) /\????? ...(0.5) ?????-??,
• Lake some
• ..(0.3) (??? /\?????,
• Either river
• ??? /\?????,
• or lake
• ?? ??-????? \?????,
• but I guess lake
• ?????? ??? ..(0.2) ???-??-?w
  because somehow...(0.6) \????????? ?????,
• small such
• \?????????.)
• minor
• ....(1.0) ?-?h ...(0.7) ????? /???? and ac
  ross it..(0.3) ???-?? \?????? ?????-??,
• somehow log some
• ???? \?????.
• like bridge

• ....(1.5) /\Ozero ...(0.5) kakoe-to,
• ..(0.3) (Ili /\recka,
• ili /\ozero,
• no po-moemu \ozero,
• potomu cto ..(0.2) kak-to-oW ...(0.6)
  \malenkoe takoe,
• \nebolšoe.)
• ....(1.0) i-iH ...(0.7) cerez /nego ..(0.3)
  kak-to \brevno kakoe-to,
• tipa \mosta.

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Systematic difference between two kinds of fall

• Final fall (period) targets at the absolute
  bottom of the speakers F0 range
• Non-final fall (comma) targets at several dozen
  Hz (2 to 5 semitones) higher
• Final fall (period) steady falling on the
  post-accent syllables
• Non-final fall (comma) lack of falling on
  post-accent syllables, often rise of tone (V-bend)

46
F0 graph
12
10
12
8
5
\ozero,
\malenkoe \nebol
\brevno kakoe
\mosta.
takoe,
šoe. -to,
47
Clause chaining

1. I had a dream,
2. that I was in church,
3. and I was playing there,
4. some game,
5. and I have my girl friend there,
6. with me,
7. in church,
8. we are playing some game,
9. everybody prays,
10. and then there was a very beautiful icon there,
11. very-very much so,
12. so bright,
13. so big,
14. I liked it very much,
15. and then from the heaven came out the Blessed
    Virgin,
16. and Jesus Christ,
17. the baby,
18. and also God came out.

48
Clause chaining (contd)

1. And
2. and they were in church,
3. and everybody approached them,
4. and started stroking,
5. the baby on his head,
6. and the baby had such a thing,
7. the shining one,
8. around his head,
9. and everbody rejoiced,
10. that the baby of Jesus Christ was born.

49
Subordinate clause in a different sentence

• ..(0.4) ? ????? ???? \?????????.
• ..(0.4) a potom menja \razbudili.
• and then me they.awoke.
• ..(0.4) \???????.
• ..(0.4) \Babuška.
• Granny.
• ..(0.3) ?? ???? ? \????? ????.
• ..(0.3) Nu ctob v \školu idti.
• Well for to school go.

50
Sentence?

• In spoken discourse, it is possible to identify
  groups of EDUs that can count as sentences
• Sentence boundaries are identified prosodically
  rather than syntactically
• Sentences often contain dozens of EDUs and
  coincide with whole episodes or even whole
  stories
• On the other hand, a subordinate clause often
  appears in a different sentence than the main
  clause
• Speakers evidently enjoy a significant freedom in
  how they combine clauses into a sentence
• Generally, sentence is a far less obvious, less
  basic, and much harder identifiable unit of
  language than an EDU (or clause)

51
Russian as an exotic language

• Numerous phenomena, usually attributed in
  typology to certain exotic languages, are
  attested in spoken Russian (and some of them with
  high frequency)
• anticipatory topic
• echo
• increment
• epistemic markers
• quotative markers
• serialization
• clause chaining

52
At the same time

• Many supposedly prominent elements of Russian
  grammar are not used
• participles
• converbs
• deverbal nouns

53
Some conclusions

• The process of transcribing spoken discourse
  reveals important properties of a languages
  grammar
• Without such excercise many grammatical phenomena
  may remain unnoticed
• While other phenomena can be overemphasized
• If one looks at the most basic form of language
  use, that is, spoken discourse,
• and uses frequency as a criterion of a
  phenomenons significance,
• then one can get a realistic assessment of what
  is important in a languages grammar
• This is what can be called natural grammar
• Prosody is extremely important the amount of
  information it conveys is comparable to the
  lexico-grammatical information

54
Implications for less studied, newly written or
unwritten languages?

• Linguists are often the first to create texts
  in such languages
• Sound recording, then transcribing
• Input undergoes significant modification
• many elements are not represented (prosody,
  pauses, hesitations, false starts)
• important elements are added (notably punctuation
  marks)
• If this is not done systematically, the
  ontological status of the resulting object is far
  from clear
• It serves, however, as the basis for further
  conclusions about the languages grammar

55
Suggestions

• Develop explicit discourse transcription for a
  language under investigation
• This is no less important than for big
  languages with a tradition of literacy
• It is possible to rely on the conventions already
  developed for big languages
• Discourse transcription is a flexible tool, and
  every linguist can use the degree of detail that
  matches his/her goals

56
Experience with other languages

• Pulaar, Atlantic (Andrej Kibrik)
• Kuwait dialect of Arabic (Vera Cukanova)
• Eastern Armenian (Viktorija Xurshudjan)

57
Pulaar discourse transcription

• Genre griots saga
• Semi-improvisation
• Accompanied by playing a hoddu a string
  instrument

58
West African griots
59
Example

• (8.3) omo jogii sehil,
• ko mbiyeten sehil,
• neââo dingiral.
• (1.5) nde âum woodnoo,
• (0.9) tuggude e karaas amen fay dow,
• (0.4) ndeen (0.3) neââo na wona neââo maa,
• (0.3) ? ngonon yeewtidiièe dingiral
• ? haa suddee
• tawi hay huunde alaa âon
• so wonaa tawa ko denâe èii kaawmaa walla èii
  yummaa.

• She had a friend,
• what we call a friend
• a person of youths meetings at the village
  square.
• This has been like that for ages,
• beginning from our generation and through the
  youngest one,
• a person becomes your person,
• so that your are co-participants of meetings in
  the village square,
• until one is covered by a veil (that is, till one
  marries),
• and then there is nothing between the two of you,
• unless it happens that thats a cousin on ones
  mother side

60
Segmentation

• (8.3) omo jogii sehil,
• ko mbiyeten sehil,
• neââo dingiral.
• (1.5) nde âum woodnoo,
• (0.9) tuggude e karaas amen fay dow,
• (0.4) ndeen (0.3) neââo na wona neââo maa,
• (0.3) ? ngonon yeewtidiièe dingiral
• ? haa suddee
• tawi hay huunde alaa âon
• so wonaa tawa ko denâe èii kaawmaa walla èii
  yummaa.

• She had a friend,
• what we call a friend
• a person of youths meetings at the village
  square.
• This has been like that for ages,
• beginning from our generation and through the
  youngest one,
• a person becomes your person,
• so that your are co-participants of meetings in
  the village square,
• until one is covered by a veil (that is, till one
  marries),
• and then there is nothing between the two of you,
• unless it happens that thats a cousin on ones
  mother side

61
Pauses

• (8.3) omo jogii sehil,
• ko mbiyeten sehil,
• neââo dingiral.
• (1.5) nde âum woodnoo,
• (0.9) tuggude e karaas amen fay dow,
• (0.4) ndeen (0.3) neââo na wona neââo maa,
• (0.3) ? ngonon yeewtidiièe dingiral
• ? haa suddee
• tawi hay huunde alaa âon
• so wonaa tawa ko denâe èii kaawmaa walla èii
  yummaa.

• She had a friend,
• what we call a friend
• a person of youths meetings at the village
  square.
• This has been like that for ages,
• beginning from our generation and through the
  youngest one,
• a person becomes your person,
• so that your are co-participants of meetings in
  the village square,
• until one is covered by a veil (that is, till one
  marries),
• and then there is nothing between the two of you,
• unless it happens that thats a cousin on ones
  mother side

62
Various prosodic features

• (8.3) omo jogii sehil,
• ko mbiyeten sehil,
• neââo dingiral.
• (1.5) nde âum woodnoo,
• (0.9) tuggude e karaas amen fay dow,
• (0.4) ndeen (0.3) neââo na wona neââo maa,
• (0.3) ? ngonon yeewtidiièe dingiral
• ? haa suddee
• tawi hay huunde alaa âon
• so wonaa tawa ko denâe èii kaawmaa walla èii
  yummaa.

• She had a friend,
• what we call a friend
• a person of youths meetings at the village
  square.
• This has been like that for ages,
• beginning from our generation and through the
  youngest one,
• a person becomes your person,
• so that your are co-participants of meetings in
  the village square,
• until one is covered by a veil (that is, till one
  marries),
• and then there is nothing between the two of you,
• unless it happens that thats a cousin on ones
  mother side

63
Punctuation

• (8.3) omo jogii sehil,
• ko mbiyeten sehil,
• neââo dingiral.
• (1.5) nde âum woodnoo,
• (0.9) tuggude e karaas amen fay dow,
• (0.4) ndeen (0.3) neââo na wona neââo maa,
• (0.3) ? ngonon yeewtidiièe dingiral
• ? haa suddee
• tawi hay huunde alaa âon
• so wonaa tawa ko denâe èii kaawmaa walla èii
  yummaa.

• She had a friend,
• what we call a friend
• a person of youths meetings at the village
  square.
• This has been like that for ages,
• beginning from our generation and through the
  youngest one,
• a person becomes your person,
• so that your are co-participants of meetings in
  the village square,
• until one is covered by a veil (that is, till one
  marries),
• and then there is nothing between the two of you,
• unless it happens that thats a cousin on ones
  mother side

64
Canonical, short, and long EDUs

• (8.3) omo jogii sehil,
• ko mbiyeten sehil,
• neââo dingiral.
• (1.5) nde âum woodnoo,
• (0.9) tuggude e karaas amen fay dow,
• (0.4) ndeen (0.3) neââo na wona neââo maa,
• (0.3) ? ngonon yeewtidiièe dingiral
• ? haa suddee
• tawi hay huunde alaa âon
• so wonaa tawa ko denâe èii kaawmaa walla èii
  yummaa.

• She had a friend,
• what we call a friend
• a person of youths meetings at the village
  square.
• This has been like that for ages,
• beginning from our generation and through the
  youngest one,
• a person becomes your person,
• so that your are co-participants of meetings in
  the village square,
• until one is covered by a veil (that is, till one
  marries),
• and then there is nothing between the two of you,
• unless it happens that thats a cousin on ones
  mother side

65
Conclusion

• Basic phenomena are same or comparable
• There are specific differences basis for future
  typological research
• Focusing on spoken language and prosody really
  affects a linguist's understanding of what is
  important in grammar and what grammar is about
• Languages with a tradition of literacy, and
  strong emphasis on their written form, appear
  very different if looked at in their oral form
• For the languages with a lesser or no tradition
  of literacy, it is not less important to pay
  attention to a systematic representation of their
  sound shape, especially prosody

66
Final word

• ?????? ?????? ?? ?? ????,
• ?? ??????????? ???? ??????
• You need not be a poet,
• But a citizen that you must be
• (N. Nekrasov)
• ?????????? ?????? ?? ?? ????,
• ?? ?????????? ???? ??????
• You need not be a linguist,
• But a phonetician that you must be