Fundamental frequency and perceived prominence of accented syllables

Accented syllables which differ in relative prominence, generally do so with respect to the frequency of their Fo maxima and the extent of Fo changes. Four cxpcrimcnlS with the same group of subjects investigated whether a prominence difference is better predicted by the difference between the Fo maxima or by the difference in the extent of Fo changes. The results show that neither measure adequately predicts perceived differences in prominence. Instead, both pilch and prominence judgments are strongly affected by the presence of baseline declination. It is concluded that for two accented syllables to be equally prominent, the second one should have lower pitch. In turn, the pitch of Fo maxima is strongly affected by the presence of baseline declination.