Variability, overlap, and cue trading in intonation

We modeled the Greek H*, L+H*, and H*+L pitch accents using functional principal component analysis, followed by statistical modeling and curve reconstruction. The accents were distinguished by F0 height and shape. The data also exhibited cue trading between F0 and duration, as well as systematic context-driven variation and general variability, which led to category overlap comparable to that reported for vowel contrasts. These findings indicate that intonation categories are more similar to segmental categories than previously thought, supporting the view that the study of intonation phonetics and phonology should follow the same principles as the study of segments.