Fundamental Intonation Patterns and their Use.

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 1031.

1. The Glide Down (the Low Fall):This intonation pattern is used:

1.In statements, final, categoric, calm, reserved.

2.In special questions, calm, serious, flat, reserved, very often unsympathetic.

3 In imperatives, calm, unemotional, serious.

4.In exclamations, calm, unsurprised, reserved.

1. The Interrupted Glide Down (the Accidental Rise:This intonation pattern is used if the speaker wants to make one word of the descending head more prominent than the others he pronounces it a little higher than the preceding syllables thus breaking their descending succession. This non-final rise is called accidental. It never occurs on the first stressed syllable as this syllable is always the highest in the descending head.

1. The High Jump (the High Fall): This intonation pattern is used:
1. In statements, conveying personal concern or involvement, sounding lively, interested, airy; very common in conversation.
2. In questions: a) in special questions, sounding lively, interested.

b) in general questions, conveying mildly surprised acceptance of the listener's premises.

3. In imperatives, sounding warm.

4. In exclamations, very emotional.

1. The Glide Up (the Low Rise ):This intonation pattern is used:
1. In statements, not categoric, non-final, soothing, reassuring, (in echoes) questioning, sometimes surprised.
2. In questions: a) in special questions, expressing sympathy, interest; with the nuclear tone on the interrogative word, puzzled.

1. The High Rise: This tune is used in questions echoing, calling for repetition or additional information, it may express disapproval, puzzlement.
2. The High Dive (the Fall-Rise)– This intonation pattern is used:

1.In statements,expressing concern, reproach, contradiction, correction, hurt feelings, sometimes soothing;

The Fall-Rise is also used in non-final intonation-groups or in sentences of different communicative types instead of the low-rising nuclear tone to draw particular attention to one of the words for the purpose of contrast or to intensify the significance of the communicative centre.

Questions for self-control:

1. What are the structural elements of prosody?

2. What is rhythm as a linguistic notion?

3. What does the type of rhythm depend on in speech?

4. What do intonation patterns serve in speech?

5. What are the parts of the intonation pattern?

6. What are the fundamental intonation patterns and their semantic functions in English?