According to the current Slovene Orthographv (Slovenski pravopis, 2001) and the Standard Slovene Dictionary (Slovar slovenskega knjižnega jezika, 1995), the Standard Slovene language is characterized ...not only hy the dynamic but also by the so-called tonemic word accentuation (or intonation rather), also referred to as 'pitch accent'. Features of this 'tonemicitv' of certain Slovene dialects were first discussed already in the 19th centurv (Škrabec, 1870, Valjavec, 1878-95), further analyzed in detail by Toporišič (1978, 2000) and discussed more recentlv also by Srebot Rejec (2000). The tonemic accent is very difficult to acquire in the process of education because U recjuires the capacity of distinguishing between different pitch levels and pitch movements. As a rule, tonemicity is onlv acquired hy Slovene speakers spontaneously and unconsciously in the process of language accjuisition, of course only in those Slovene dialectal areas in which this accent exists. The paper presents the results of three surveys testing Slovene native speakers' perception of tonemic and non-tonemic intonation, taking into account the subjects' dialectal origin. We tested the 'acceptabilitv' of tonemic intonation as an element of spoken Slovene used in public presentations, in ajfirmative sentences (ali three surveys) and in yes-no cpiestions (two sur\>eys only), because tonemic accent is necessarily in/luenced by sentence intonation. In addition to this, we tested the level of acceptability of intentionallv incorrect intonation of individua/ lexical items within intonation units, in particular using the so-called 'low-pitched' accent in those lexical items that should be 'high-pitched' both in tonemic and non-tonemic dialects.
A Basic Reference Grammar of Slovene Derbyshire, William W; Leeming, Harry
Slavonic and East European review,
07/1995, Letnik:
73, Številka:
3
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