The Psycho-Biology Of Language by Zipf George Kingsley

Author:Zipf, George Kingsley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis (CAM)

8.SUMMARY

We have viewed the chief phenomena of accent and have gained some insight into the dynamics of accent as applied to morphemes and syllables, and have found that among other factors relative frequency of occurrence is of considerable importance. Let us, in conclusion, briefly view our findings from a distance with the intention of evaluating their significance and of bringing them more into perspective with common daily experience.

An average person, if asked about the elements of speech which he is accustomed to accent would doubtless reply that he accented the important elements; pressed further, he would probably add that these were also the significant elements, though it is doubtful that he could name all the criteria whereby comparative significance was determined. One criterion which would probably not come to his mind is that of relative frequency; on the other hand, he probably would feel that he tended to accent the unusual in occurrence, unusual in the sense either of being rare in occurrence or of being in an unaccustomed setting. For the unusual, be it rare or in unfamiliar setting, is that to which one is inclined to call attention in speech. If there is a difference in accent between the commonplace and the unusual, it is not remarkable if we find that the unusual generally possesses the greater accent. But if we view the stream of speech as gestures in arrangement, may we not say that the unusual is also the less frequent, certainly in the case of rarity, and possibly, too, at times in the case of unfamiliar surroundings; a tendency to accentuate the unusual will then reveal itself, as we have found, in a statistical analysis of relative frequencies.

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