Intonation and syntax in spoken language systems

Abstract

The present paper argues that the notion of "intonational structure" as formulated by Pierrehumbert, Selkirk, and others, can be subsumed under the generalised notion of syntactic surface structure that emerges from a theory of grammar based on a "Combinatory" extension to Categorial Grammar. According to this theory, the syntactic structures and the intonation structures of English are identical, and have the same grammar. Some simplifications appear to follow for the problem of integrating syntax and other high-level modules in spoken language systems.