Abstract
This study investigates pitch as a vocal cue in Nigerian broadcast reportage within the framework of Interactional Prosody proposed by Couper-Kuhlen and Selting (2010). Broadcastreading is institutionally constrained to convey neutrality, composure, and informational clarity. However, systematic phonetic evidence on how pitch is organised to achieve these communicative effects in Nigerian broadcast English remains limited. Adopting an acoustic-phonetic approach, recorded news excerpts produced by Nigerian broadcasters were analysed in Praat to obtain pitch values (Hz) across selected syllables and lexical items within prosodic units. Anchored in Interactional Prosody’s view that pitch movement, prominence, and contouring structure spoken turns and signal interactional stance, the analysis reveals consistent pitch peaks on informationally salient words (e.g., state, were, affected, heavy, calm), moderate pitch range, and controlled declination characteristic of formal broadcast delivery. These patterns indicate that Nigerian news readers deploy regulated pitch prominence to highlight key information while maintaining institutional objectivity and composure. The findings demonstrate that pitch in Nigerian broadcast reportage operates as a structured phonological resource for signalling informational salience within a highly controlled interactional register. The study therefore extends the applicability of Interactional Prosody to institutional broadcast speech and contributes to the phonological description of professional Nigerian English prosody.
Keywords: Pitch, Vocal cue, Nigerian, Broadcast Reportage
DOI: 10.36349/sojolics.2026.v02i01.031
author/Racheal Musa Dada
journal/Sokoto JOLICS 2(1) | June 2026 |
