An Algorithm for Locating Stressed Syllables in Continuous Speech

Local increases in fundamental frequency (F0) and large integrals of energy in the syllabic nucleus are known to be among the best acoustical correlates of stress. Major syntactic constituents have been shown to have archetype rapid‐rise‐then‐gradual‐fall F0 contours, with the rise into the maximum F0 often associated with the first stressed syllable in the constituent. An automatic procedure for detecting constituent boundaries and maximum F0 positions in constituents [W. A. Lea, “An Approach to Syntactic Recognition without Phonemics,” IEEE Trans. Audio'Electroacoust. AU‐21, No. 3 (1973)] and sonorant energy and F0 functions, provided input data for an algorithm for locating stressed syllables. The first stressed syllable of a constituent was associated with a high‐energy‐integral portion near the rising F0 into maximum F0 position. Other stressed syllables were associated with high‐energy‐integral portions near local increases in F0 above a steadily falling “archetype line” from the maximum F0 position...