Supra-segmental features

In Kriol, the primary stress is usually on the first syllable. Hence /’dilib/ ‘tea’, /’ginu/ ‘canoe’. In Torres Strait Creole words derived from English normally retain their original stress (Shnukal 1991: 185).

The intonation patterns of Kriol and Torres Strait Creole are comparable to those of English except for a distinctive pattern associated with ongoing action, in which the pitch of the verb rises and is maintained over the verb’s successive repetitions, accompanied by vowel lengthening before a final fall or rise. Such a pattern would accompany a sentence such as: “ay bin wed wed wed wed wed wed najing, ‘I waited for ages but nothing (came)’” (Sharpe and Sandefur 1977: 53). Fraser (1977) observes that in Fitzroy Crossing Children’s Pidgin there are three contours: a “sequence contour” in which the primary stress is on the first syllable and the secondary stress on the final, with higher pitch; an “emphatic contour” in which the final syllable receives primary stress, length and higher pitch; and a “question contour” where the primary stress and pitch rise are on the final syllable.

Sharpe and Sandefur (1977) and Fraser (1977) have observed among Kriol speakers a characteristic laryngealization accompanying high-pitched segments. This may be especially in evidence in certain speech acts with a scolding or correcting function.