A perceptual-acoustic study of the pragmatic marker you know in egyptian english spoken discourse

Abstract EN

This paper examines the prosodic features of the Pragmatic Marker (PM) you know in English spoken discourse produced by Egyptian speakers.

The prosodic features examined in this study include initial and final pitch, duration and the type of tone associated with the PM you know.

These features are identified by applying auditory perception and acoustic measurements to the PM you know in an English discourse produced by male and female Egyptian speakers and one native speaker as an example of the typical native use.

For the auditory measurement, a jury of five English language experts are consulted.

For the acoustic measurement, you know is analyzed each time it occurs using a computer-aided method (PRAAT).

The results show that the PM you know is used to serve such pragmatic functions as signaling repairs, marking content, and providing common grounds between interlocutors.

The results also prove that the PM you know is used with a level tone (about 10 times) by the Egyptian speakers.

The female Egyptian speakers tend to have higher pitched PM you know at final position than their male counterparts.

The PM you know tends to have the same duration in the cases of both male and female speakers.