To what extent is perceived focus determined by F0-cues?

Two experiments were designed to investigate the perceptual strength of an F0-rise relative to other possible local and global cues to focus in Swedish. The contribution of F0 relative to other possible local cues was investigated by manipulating the F0-contour in naturally produced Swedish sentences. Manipulations involved a gradual reduction of the F0-rise in focused words and a gradual addition of an F0-rise in non-focused words. The possible influence of global cues was explored by varying the amount of global information. In the first experiment, subjects were presented with complete sentences. In the second experiment, they heard sentences with the last part excluded. The results indicate that the F0-rise is neither necessary nor sufficient to perceive focus; other cues, both local and global, appear also to play a role.