28
Ishiro Miyake,
the drum beats : ( i ) the interval which follows the accented syllable is
lengthened ; (2) the interval between the rhythmic groups is lengthened.
In the scheme 1-2', the time from 2 to 1' is constantly longer than
i to 2', but in i'-2, 1' to 2 is in some cases shorter than 2 to 1'. This
is due to the same fact noted before, that the interval between the rhythmic
groups includes a pause. The same phenomenon is more marked in the
scheme i-2'~3 than in i'-2-3.
Tables XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX give the lengths of the accented and
unaccented syllables. In the ratios the average length of the accented
syllable is always regarded as the unit. The unit of measurement of the
average length is ff= 0.001s.
The following facts can be seen in the tables : ( 1 ) the accented syl¬
lable is always longer than the unaccented syllable; (2) the last syllable
of a rhythmic group is not lengthened unless it is accented. In this re¬
spect the length of a syllable differs from the length of an interval.
V. Intensity and pitch in rhythm of speech.
According to Mitford,1 2 the strengthened syllables in English have
an acuter tone or a higher note. The fact can be abundantly proved,
he supposed, if we find or coin a word which is composed of syllables
without variety of vowel sound and pronounce it with a strong accent
on either syllable.
Müller 2 noticed that in a larynx separated from the body the pitch
of the tone might be raised by an increase of the force of blast. He
thought that one of the modes of producing high notes without increas¬
ing the tension of the vocal ligament is to blow with greater force, by
which means the notes may without difficulty be raised through a series
of semi-tones to the extent of a “ fifth.”
I found it possible to make some observations concerning the relation
between intensity and pitch in the records which were taken in the pre¬
ceding experiments. It must be remembered that the subjects of the
experiments were requested to recite, in a scanning manner, a series of
a sounds, changing the intensity according to the prescribed rhythmic
scheme, no instruction being given as to the pitch of the tone.
The wave lines in the records corresponded to the periods of the cord
vibrations (see Fig. 8). The first step in the study of the pitch in the
1 Mitford, Inquiry into the Principle of Harmony in Language and of the Mechanism
of Verse, Modern and Ancient, 57, London 1804.
2 Müller, The Physiology of the Senses, Voice and Muscular Motion, with the
Mental Faculty, trans. by Baily, London 1848.