INTONATION AND PROSODY.

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 451.

SUPRASEGMENTAL LEVEL.

Syllables (words, sentences, texts) are the basic units of the segmental level. They are segmental units, it means that they are small parts of something bigger. Syllables unite into rhythmic groups, intonation groups, utterances, texts in speech.

But our speech is more than a combination of unites such features of speech has tone, rhythm, stress (not word stress, but utterance stress), tempo, pauses are laid over the combination of units and together with these unites they create the meaning of the utterance. Sometimes these features alone (without the participation of syllables and words) can change the meaning of an utterance.

Ex. Marry ,said / her sister is a ‘student.

,Marry/ said her ,sister/ is a ‘student.

The combinations of features mentioned above is called intonation or prosody. Intonation is a complex unity of speech melody, utterance stress, tempo, rhythm and voice timbre which enables the speaker to express his or her thoughts, emotions and attitude to the content to the utterance their partner in the communication and situation.

Acoustically , intonation is the combination of fundamental frequency , intensity and duration.

Speech melody is related with fundamental frequency, tempo with duration, stress and rhythm are related with the combination of frequency, intensity and duration. The term prosody is basically used in the same sense as the term intonation. The difference is the same features can be studied on the basis of some segmental unites with intonation. These units are rhythmic group, intonation group, utterance,text. With prosody these unites are syllable, rhythmic group, intonation group, utterance, text.