Using a variety of methods—including production and perception tests, fMRI, and Rapid Prosodic Transcription—the authors challenge some basic assumptions that have informed the study of Japanese sentence-level prominence over the past thirty years. This book is a welcome new perspective on a well-studied topic.

Michael Kenstowicz, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

This book provides not only a comprehensible overview of the past literature on Japanese prosody, but also novel findings obtained through several methodological approaches that have not been implemented in earlier studies. Highly recommended for those who are new to the field of intonational phonology as well as for experts on Japanese prosody who are interested in fresh insights from state-of-the-art research.

Shinichiro Ishihara, Lund University