This paper describes the first laboratory study of an idiosyncratic linguistic form that represents a crucial point of contact between speech and song: what is referred to here as the stylized interjection. The stylized interjection, as described throughout the musicological and linguistic literature, is associated with a particular intonational formula—the calling contour—and intriguingly, with a purportedly cross-cultural musical fingerprint: the interval of the minor third. A reading task was used to systematically compare the stylized interjection to four other linguistic forms, and to compare spoken to called production. Analysis of several acoustic variables (involving pitch, duration, intensity, and timbre) demonstrates many significant effects of sentence-type and production, which together establish the characteristics of the English stylized interjection and suggest its interpretation as sung speech. The unique sound-meaning correspondence of the stylized interjection is thereby elucidated. Implications for music-language studies (especially vis-a-vis the minor third) are also discussed.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
June 2013
Research Article|
June 01 2013
Speech, Song, and the Minor Third: An Acoustic Study of the Stylized Interjection
Jeremy Day-O’Connell
Knox College
Jeremy Day-O’Connell, Music Department, Knox College, Box K-95, 2 E. South St., Galesburg, IL 61401. E-mail: jdayocon@knox.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Jeremy Day-O’Connell, Music Department, Knox College, Box K-95, 2 E. South St., Galesburg, IL 61401. E-mail: jdayocon@knox.edu
Music Perception (2013) 30 (5): 441–462.
Article history
Received:
January 02 2012
Accepted:
August 07 2012
Citation
Jeremy Day-O’Connell; Speech, Song, and the Minor Third: An Acoustic Study of the Stylized Interjection. Music Perception 1 June 2013; 30 (5): 441–462. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2013.30.5.441
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.