We now turn our attention to larger units of speech. We consider how an expert listener manages to identify grammatical patterns in the words that have been decoded. We also consider what information a listener obtains from the way in which intonation shapes the speech signal. There is logic in discussing syntax and intonation together, because, as will become clear, they are quite closely interconnected.

These two systems play a part in decoding but also contribute to meaning building. To give a simple example, if a speaker says we're leaving, the listener recognises the grammatical pattern that has been used (a matter of decoding) but can only fully understand it by relating it to context and co-text (does it refer to now or to the future?). Similarly, features connected with intonation often assist decoding by marking the end of an ‘idea unit’, but they also add to overall meaning by highlighting the most important element in the unit or by indicating the mood or attitude of the speaker. We will consider both types of function in the present chapter.

Syntax and decoding

Recognising syntactic units

First language processing

Having found matches for a group of words, a listener has to trace the grammatical structure that binds them together. This operation is known as parsing.