Structure and Function

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 984.

Plan

GENERAL CHARACTER OF ENGLISH INTONATION

Lecture 5

Practical task

1. Make a glossary of the main notions and give their definitions.

2. Divide these words into phonetic syllables. Give their syllabic structural patterns.

3. Mark the stress in the following words: profile, capitalize, unintelligibility, temperamental, qualify, situate, dictate, desert (verb), desert (noun), bare-headed.

1. Structure and function of intonation.

2. Notation.

3. Rhythm.

Intonation is a language universal. There are no languages which are spoken as a

monotone, i.e. without any change of prosodic parameters, but intonation functions in

various languages in a different way.

There is wide agreement among linguists that on perception level prosodyis a complex, a whole, formed by significant variations of pitch, loudness, tempoand rhythm(i.e. the rate of speech and pausation) closely related. Some linguists regard

speech timbre as a component of intonation. On perception level a complex unity formed by significant variations of 1) pitch, 2) loudness (force) and 3) tempo is called intonation. Thus, prosody and intonation relate to each other as a more general notion (prosody) and its part (intonation).

On the acousticlevel pitch correlates with the fundamental frequency of the vibration of the vocal cords; loudness correlates with the amplitude of vibrations; tempo is a correlate of time during which a speech unit lasts. Each syllable of the speech chain has a special pitch colouring. Some of the syllables have significant moves of tone up and down. Each syllable bears a definite amount of loudness. Pitch movements are inseparably connected with loudness. Together with the tempo of speech they form an intonation patternwhich is the basic unit of intonation. An intonation pattern contains one nucleus and may contain other stressed or unstressed syllables normally preceding or following the nucleus. The boundaries of an intonation pattern may be marked by stops of phonation, that is temporal pauses. Intonation patterns serve to actualize syntagms in oral speech. The syntagm is a group of words which is semantically and syntactically complete. In phonetics actualized syntagms are called intonation groups.

Not all stressed syllables are of equal importance. One of the syllables has the greater prominence than the others and forms the nucleus (focal point, semantic centre, focus, prominence)of an intonation pattern. Formally the nucleus may be described as a strongly stressed syllable which is generally the last strongly accented syllable of an intonation pattern and which marks a significant change of pitch direction, that is where the pitch goes distinctly up or down. The nuclear tone is the most important part of the intonation pattern without which the latter cannot exist at all. On the other hand an intonation pattern may consist of one syllable which is its nucleus.

According to Roger Kingdon [1958] the most important nuclear tones in English are:

Low Fall – ̖No.

High Fall – `No.

Low Rise –¸No.

High Rise – ´No.

Fall-Rise – ˅No.

Rise-Fall –٨No

These tones are called KINETIC or MOVING (кінетичні тони) because the pitch of the voice moves upwards or downwards, or first one and then the other, during the whole duration of the tone.

The meanings of the nuclear tones are difficult to specify in general terms. Roughly speaking the falling tone of any level and range expresses “certainty”, “completeness”, “independence”. Thus a straight-forward statement normally ends with a falling tone since it asserts a fact of which the speaker is certain. It has an air of finality, e.g.:

Where's John? – He →hasn't ̖come yet.

What's the time? – It's ↘nearly `five o' ̖clock.

A rising tone of any level and range on the contrary expresses “uncertainty”, “incompleteness” or “dependence”. A general question, for instance, has a rising tone, as the speaker is uncertain of the truth of what he is asking about, e.g.:

I think I'll go now. – →Are you ¸ready?

Michael is coming to London. – ↘Is he `coming ¸soon?

1. The English Low Fallin the nucleus starts somewhat higher than the mid level and usually reaches the LOWEST PITCH LEVEL. It is represented graphically with a

downward curve on the tonogram and its tone mark in the text is ↘

The use of the Low Fall enables the speaker to convey in his utterance an impression of neutral, calm finality, definiteness, resoluteness. Phrases with the Low Fall sound categoric, calm, neutral, final.

2. The English High Fall in the nucleus starts very high and usually reaches the

lowest pitch. The High Fall provides a great degree of prominence, which depends on the height of the fall. Its tone mark in the text is ↘ .

The use of the High Fall adds personal concern, interest and warmth to the features

characteristic of the Low Fall. The High Fall sounds lively, interested and airy in statements, it sounds very emotional and warm, too.

3. The English Low Rise in the nucleus starts from the lowest level and reaches

the medium level (the nuclear variant).

The Low Rise conveys a feeling of non-finality, incompleteness, hesitation. Phrases pronounced with this tone sound not categoric, non-final, encouraging further conversation, wondering, mildly puzzled, soothing.

4. The English High Risein the nucleus rises from a medium to a high pitch.

The High-Rise expresses the speaker's active searching for information. It is often

used in echoed utterances, calling for repetition or additional information or with the

intention to check if the information has been received correctly. Sometimes this tone is

meant to keep the conversation going.

5. The Fall-Riseis called a compound tone as it actually may present a combination of two tones: either the Low Fall-Low Rise or the High Fall-Low Rise. The Low Fall-Rise may be spread over one, two or a number of syllables; the High Fall-Rise always occur on separate syllables.

The Fall-Rise is a highly implicatory tone. The speaker using this tone leaves something unsaid known both to him and his interlocutor. It is often used in statements and imperatives. Statements with the Fall-Rise express correction of what someone else has said or a contradiction to something previously said or a warning. Imperatives pronounced this way sound pleading. Greetings and leave-takings sound pleasant and friendly being pronounced with the Fall-Rise:

e. g. He is ↘thirty. – He is ↘thirty-↗five (a mild correction).

We'II ↘go there.–- You ↘↗ shan't. (a contradiction).

6. The Rise-Fallis also a compound tone. In syllables pronounced with the Rise-

Fall the voice first rises from a fairly low to a high pitch, and then quickly falls to a very

low pitch; e. g.:

Are you sure? – ↗↘Yes.

The Rise-Fall denotes that the speaker is deeply impressed (favorably or unfavorably). Actually the Rise-Fall sometimes expresses the meaning of “even”. E.g.:

You aren't ↗↘trying. (You aren't even trying).

This nuclear tone is used in statements and questions which sound impressed, challenging, disclaiming responsibility, imperatives pronounced this way sound hostile

and disclaiming responsibility. E.g.:

Don't treat me like a baby. – Be ↗↘sensible then.

7. The Mid-Leveltone in the nucleus is pronounced on the medium level with any

following tail syllables on the same level. Its tone mark in the text is > and it is marked on the tonogram with a dash: –.

The Mid-Level is usually used in non-final intonation groups expressing non-finality without any expression of expectancy. E. g.:

Couldn't you help me? >At present | I'm too busy.

The English dialogic speech is highly emotional, that's why such emphatic tones

as the High Fall and the Fall-Rise prevail in it. It is interesting to note, that the most

frequently occurring nuclear tone in English the Low Fall occupies the fourth place in

dialogic speech after the High Fall, the Fall-Rise and the Low Rise.

Encouraging or polite denials, commands, invitations, greetings, farewells, etc. are

generally spoken with a rising tone.

What shal I do now? – →Do go ¸on.

Could you join us? – →Not ¸now.

Low-Level toneis very characteristic of reading poetry. Though occasionally heard in reading Mid-Level toneis particularly common in spontaneous speech functionally replacing the rising tone.

The change in the pitch of the word which is most important semantically, is called a nuclear tone.Other words in the sentence also important for the meaning are stressed but their pitch remains unchanged. The nucleusmay be preceded or followed by stressed and unstressed syllables. Stressed syllables preceding the nucleus together with the intervening unstressed syllables form the head of a tone unit.Initial unstressed syllables make the pre-head.Unstressed and half-stressed syllables following the nucleus are called the tail.

Usually a nucleus will be present in a tone unit; other elements may not be realized, i. e. the possibilities for combining the elements of a tone unit may be as follows: