PROSODY IN THE PROCESSING OF ENGLISH SENTENCES

Abstract

Prosody refers to the suprasegmental features observed in speech, including syllable length, pitch, intonation, break durations, etc. Apart from verbal communication and reading aloud, prosody is also exhibited in silent reading as implicit prosody. Research has demonstrated that prosody has a significant impact on the processing of information during verbal communication and reading comprehension. Altered or manipulated prosody is expected to hinder sentence processing and, in some cases, could lead to misinterpretation of the intended message. Improper or inconsistent projection of prosody onto sentences could place barriers in communication and disrupt comprehension. This study looks into existing research, aiming to provide insights into the role of prosody in sentence processing, both in oral and silent reading. The focus of the study is on the interaction between prosody and syntax, its relationship with memory, and its influence on sentence processing and comprehension.