Speech, Song and the Minor Third; Jeremy Day-O'Connell, Ph.D.
This paper reports on the first laboratory study of an idiosyncratic linguistic phenomenon: the 鈥渟tylized interjection,鈥� which is most recognizable to English speakers in the vocative expression, 鈥淵oo-hoo!鈥澨� The stylized interjection, as described throughout the musicological and linguistic literature, is associated with a particular intonational formula--the 鈥渃alling contour鈥�--and intriguingly, with a purportedly cross-cultural musical fingerprint: the interval of the minor third.听 A reading task was used to systematically compare the stylized interjection to four other linguistic forms along a number of acoustic dimensions (involving pitch, duration, intensity, and timbre).
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Results establish the characteristics of the English stylized interjection, suggesting its interpretation as 鈥渟ung speech,鈥� and thereby elucidating its unique sound-meaning correspondence. Implications for music anthropology and music-language studies, especially vis-a-vis scales and intervals, will also be discussed. Finally, I will describe an ongoing cross-cultural extension of this study, which utilizes elicitations of infant-directed speech.
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Bio
Jeremy Day-O鈥機onnell is a faculty member in the Department of Music at Knox University, Illinois.听 He completed both a Ph.D. and an M.A. in Musicology at Cornell University (2002, 1997).听 His undergraduate degree, from Swarthmore College, was in Music and Mathematics. He was been on faculty at Knox since 2004.
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His research interests include the study of the commonalities in music and language, and in particular, the phenomenon of stylized intonation.
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Both linguists and musicians have long been intrigued with stylized intonation, or the use of intoned syllables in spoken language, often purported to approximate the minor third (as in 'Yoo-hoo,' 'Bye-bye,' etc.). This phenomenon (and especially its apparent -- but largely undocumented-- universality) raises provocative questions about the relationship between music and language.
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These questions have inspired 'Music, Language, and the Minor Third,' which will be the subject of Dr. Day-Connell鈥檚 invited lecture.
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Dr. Day O鈥機onnell is a visiting scientist at CIRMMT through December of this year, on sabbatic leave.
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Wine and cheese refreshments will be served following the talk.