What features are superimposed on the segmental chain of sounds?

The segmental chain of sounds, which refers to the individual phonemes (sounds) in a language, has several features superimposed upon it. These features, which are often called suprasegmental features, operate at a level above the individual sounds and contribute to the meaning and prosody of speech.

Here are some key suprasegmental features:

1. Stress:

* Word stress: The emphasis placed on a particular syllable within a word. For example, "REcord" vs. "reCORD.

* Sentence stress: The emphasis placed on certain words in a sentence, conveying meaning and focus. For example, "I went to the store."

2. Intonation:

* The rise and fall of pitch in speech, indicating the speaker's attitude, intention, and grammatical structure.

* Intonation can signal questions, statements, exclamations, and other types of utterances.

3. Rhythm:

* The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in speech.

* Different languages have different rhythmic patterns, contributing to their distinctive sound.

4. Tone:

* In tonal languages (like Mandarin Chinese or Vietnamese), pitch is used to distinguish the meaning of words.

* A single sound can have different meanings based on its tone.

5. Length:

* The duration of a sound, which can be influenced by stress or the surrounding sounds.

* Some languages use vowel length to distinguish words.

6. Juncture:

* The pauses and breaks in speech, which help separate words and phrases.

* Juncture can also indicate grammatical relationships between words.

7. Prosody:

* The overall "melody" of speech, including intonation, stress, rhythm, and other features.

* Prosody plays a crucial role in conveying meaning and conveying the speaker's emotions.

These suprasegmental features work together to create a complex and meaningful system of communication beyond the individual sounds of language. They provide information about the structure, emphasis, and intent of spoken language.