EMPHATIC NUCLEAR TONES

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 444.

Emphatic tones are used in speech for various purposes, one of which is to increase the semantic prominence of separate items of an utterance or its overall prominence. The whole voice range of an utterance is widened as compared with the normal voice range of less emotionally coloured speech.

Normal voice range Emphatic voice range

‘No! ‘‘No!

E.g. You ˡˡknow eˡˡxactly what I'm ‘‘talking aˌbout.

I'll call you as soon as I „get there.

Meaning of the contour:

· the Emphatic Rising Tones – surprise, a shocked reaction, a feeling of impatience;

· the Emphatic Falling Tones – energetic, decisive, insistent, persuasive, forceful. These Tones are often associated with a semantic contrast.

The emphatic high rising tone is most commonly used in questions to express surprise or a shocked reaction, e.g.:

a) — He has failed in his exams. — ”Has he?

b) — I told him everything I thought of him. — ”Did you?

The emphatic low rising tone in statements is often preceded by a low head. This pattern is commonly used to express a feeling of impatience, e.g.:

a) — I'm afraid I can't help him. — He can do it a„lone.

b) — What did Mr. Grey say? — He was rather „rude.

A similar feeling is conveyed by the emphatic Low Rise in imperatives, e.g.:

— I'm not going there. — Don't be ri„diculous.

The emphatic falling tones are most energetic and decisive in statements, insistent and persuasive in special questions and commands, forceful and strong in exclamations, e.g.:

a) — You must have misplaced those papers.

— I ˡcan't underˡstand what you are ‘‘talking about.

b) — It's altogether wrong.

— 'How do you ‘‘know it's wrong?

c) — He acted as if he didn't know me.

— 'How ‘‘strange.

An emphatic falling tone is often associated with a semantic contrast. The effect of contrast is increased when there are no prenuclear stresses, i.e. there is no head in an utterance, e.g.:

— It's the wrong copy. — Go and take the ‘‘right one.

The contrastive function is reinforced by a nuclear shift, e.g.:

— I can't afford the decorations. — ˡGet your ‘‘husband to do it.

However, the nucleus bearing an emphatic fall is made contrastive even when it occupies its normal, i.e. final, position in the tune, e.g.:

— I have quite forgotten about tomorrow's interview. — 'Surely you 'can't have for˙gotten ‘‘that.

When an emphatic nuclear tone is preceded by emphatic prenuclear stresses there is no contrastive effect, but the general prominence of the utterance is increased, e. g.:

— ˡˡWho's ˡˡthat ‘‘now? If those boys have come to ask for their ball again I shall scream!

In such a case emphatic stresses are frequently given not only to the notional words but also to the functional words.