Focus

Focus in Hindi is marked by a expansion of the register used for the LH of the the focus word, followed by a compression of register for following LHs. Focus is treated in greater depth in my paper given at the Indianapolis ASA. The degree of register compression varied from quite little to virtual deaccenting (no evidence of LH tonal excursions), depending on the degree of emphasis placed by the individual speaker and his/her typical pitch range. I've included three examples of focus, the same ones I used in the ASA paper: one with virtual deaccenting, one with a lesser degree of compression, and one with very little compression at all.

Last Updated: 12/03/97