Leaders and Followers: Uptalk and speaker role in map tasks in New Zealand English and Australian English

Abstract

Recent work (Warren & Fletcher 2016) has considered how the shapes of uptalk rises differ from those of question rises in two antipodean varieties of English, New Zealand English (NZE) and Australian English (AusE). Both varieties appear to show some phonetic distinctions between uptalk and question rises, and while the details of the distinctions differ between the varieties, the net result is a more dynamic and dramatic rise in uptalk utterances. Other studies (e.g. Fletcher & Loakes 2010; Warren 2014) have shown that these distinctions are perceptually relevant and can be utilised in forced-choice tasks. In the current paper, the shapes of uptalk and question rises are examined in the spe..