Larger phonological units
Gestures are organized into larger units, such as:
- syllables
- feet (stressed syllable + any unstressed)
- words
- phrases
These larger units are sometimes called prosodic units.
Some aspects of prosodic structure are employed contrastively within a language:
"object" (noun) vs. "object" (verb)
"light-house keeping" vs. "light house-keeping"
"1 + (3 *2)" ... = 7
"(1 + 3) * 2" ... = 8
Some aspects of prosodic structure are not employed contrastively, but differ from language to language.
Prosodic structure and "suprasegmentals"
Prosodic structure is the domain that is crucial to defining certain phonetic properties
These are suprasegmental properties