How often do Yes/No questions really end in the expected H-H% phrasal tones?
A. As shown in Table 1, over two-thirds of the Yes/No questions from the experiment ended in the expected high phrasal accent H-H% [example:F2:y3], although the results varied by gender and by sentence. Female speakers ended Yes/No questions with H-H% 80% of the time, but males did so only 50% of the time. Some Yes/No questions (e.g., y4) were less likely to end in H-H% than others (e.g., y2). The other ending phrasal accents most often used were L-L% (19%), which sounded like an imperative equivalent to “Please say your name again.” [example:M1:y4]; and L-H% (9%), which conveyed some uncertainty [example:M2:y4]. The variety in y4 is because, despite the question’s wording, the speaker really wasn’t expecting a Yes/No answer, but was actually requesting that the name be repeated. Table 1. Percentage of Yes/No Questions Ending in H-H% Phrasal Accents.
