Prosodic Head
In a prosodic unit, the head is that part which extends from the first stressed syllable up to (but not including) the tonic syllable. A high head is the stressed syllable which begins the head and is high in pitch, usually higher than the beginning pitch of the tone on the tonic syllable. For example:
The ↑bus was late.
A low head is the syllable which begins the head and is low in pitch, usually lower than the beginning pitch of the tone on the tonic syllable.
The ↓bus was late.
Read more about this topic: Head (linguistics)
Famous quotes containing the word head:
“With his head over his shoulder turned,
He seemed to find his way without his eyes,
For out o’ doors he went without their help,
And to the last bended their light on me.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)