Which of the following are features that appear when sounds are connected in speech?

Which of the following are features that appear when sounds are connected in speech?

• A. Discourse markers
• B. Prosodic features
• C. Phonemes
• D. Intonation only

Answer: (B)

When sounds are connected in speech, the rhythm, pitch, and emphasis patterns—the way the voice rises and falls, which syllables get emphasis, and the overall flow of timing—become noticeable. These are the prosodic features: intonation, stress, rhythm, tempo, and loudness. They travel across word boundaries and help convey meaning, mood, focus, and sentence type in fluent speech. That’s why prosodic features are the best choice here. Intonation is part of prosody, but calling it “intonation only” misses the broader set of patterns that show up when speech connects. Phonemes are the individual sounds, and discourse markers are words that organize discourse, not the acoustic patterns that ride across connected speech.

When sounds are connected in speech, the rhythm, pitch, and emphasis patterns—the way the voice rises and falls, which syllables get emphasis, and the overall flow of timing—become noticeable. These are the prosodic features: intonation, stress, rhythm, tempo, and loudness. They travel across word boundaries and help convey meaning, mood, focus, and sentence type in fluent speech. That’s why prosodic features are the best choice here. Intonation is part of prosody, but calling it “intonation only” misses the broader set of patterns that show up when speech connects. Phonemes are the individual sounds, and discourse markers are words that organize discourse, not the acoustic patterns that ride across connected speech.