THEORETICAL PHONETICS separate chapters Lecture 14 Components of

THEORETICAL PHONETICS (separate chapters) Lecture 14. Components of Intonation. Speech melody

(2) More about intonation Intonation is a complex unity of prosodic (intonation and pronunciation of stressed and unstressed syllables) features of speech: 1. melody, pitch of the voice 2. sentence stress 3. temporal characteristics (duration, tempo, pausation) 4. rhythm 5. tamber (voice quality). Ø Intonation is very important. It organizes a sentence, determines communicative types of sentences and clauses, divides sentences intonation groups, gives prominence to words and phrases, expresses contrasts and attitudes. Ø The two main functions of intonation are: a) communicative b) expressive. (S. F. Leontyeva. A Theoretical course of English Phonetics, p. 259)

(3) Approaches to the problem of intonation There are 2 main approaches to the problem of intonation in Great Britain: 1) contour analysis 2) grammatical. The first is represented by a large group of phoneticians: H. Sweet, D. Jones, G, Palmer, L. Armstrong, I. Ward, R. Kingdon, J. O’Connor, A. Gimson and others. It is traditional and widely used. Ø According to this approach the smallest unit to which linguistic meaning can be attached is a tone-group (sense-group). Their theory is based on the assumption that intonation consists of basic functional “blocks”. They pay much attention to these “blocks” but not to the way they are connected. They treat intonation as a layer that is superimposed on the lexicogrammatical structure. Ø In fact, according to them, the aim of communication determines the intonation structure, not vice versa. 259) (S. F. Leontyeva. A Theoretical course of English Phonetics, p.

(4) continuation The grammatical approach to the study of intonation was worked out by M. Halliday. The main unit of intonation is a clause. Intonation is a complex of 3 systemic variables: • tonality (marks the beginning and the end of a tone-group) • tonicity (marks the focal point of each tone-group) • tone (convey the attitude of the speaker) Ø They are closely connected with grammatical categories. Ø This theory is based on the syntactical function of intonation. The founder of the American school of intonation is K. Pike. In his book “The Intonation of American English” he considers “pitch phonemes” and “contours” to be the main units of intonation. He describes different contours and their meanings, but the word “meaning” stands apart from communicative function of intonation. (S. F. Leontyeva. A Theoretical course of English Phonetics, p. 259)

(5) Melody Speech melody or pitch of the voice is closely connected with sentence stress. According to Crystal, “the most important is pitch” (Crystal D. Prosodic Systems and Intonation in English, p. 120) • The tone unit is one of the most important units of intonation theory. It contains one nucleus, which is often referred to as nucleus tone, or peak of prominence. The interval between the highest and the lowest pitched syllable is called the range of a sensegroup. The range usually depends on the pitch level: the higher the pitch, the wider the range. High, medium and low pitch of the voice is shown on the staves. The change of pitch within the last stressed syllable of the tone-group is called a nuclear tone. It may occur not only in the nucleus but extend to the tail – terminal tone. (S. F. Leontyeva. A Theoretical course of English Phonetics, p. 260)

(6) Types of tones Different scholars classify tonal types differently. Henry Sweet distinguishes 8 tones: [-] level [ ] high rising [ ] low rising [ ] high falling [ ˴ ] low falling [ ] compound rising [ ] compound falling [ ] rising-falling-rising Palmer has 4 basic tones: falling, high rising, falling–rising, low rising. Kingdon distinguishes high and low, normal and emphatic tones. O’Connor and Arnold give low and high falls and rises, rise-fall, fall-rise. Halliday recognizes 7 major types: [ ], [ ], [ ⁺ ] Vassilyev gives 10 tone units. He states that tones can be moving and level. Moving tones can be: simple, complex and compound. The most common compound tones are: high fall + high fall; high fall + low rise. Level tones can be pitched at high, mid and low level.

(7) Methods of indicating intonation The basic unit of intonation is an intonation pattern: pitch movements and tempo. Two main functions of intonation are – constitutive and recognitive. Intonation also serves to distinguish communicative types of sentences and differentiate functional styles. Methods of indicating intonation are different: wedge-like symbols, staves with dots and dashes, which correspond to unstressed and stressed syllables, tonetic stress marks, numerical system, etc. the system of staves is the most vivid and popular.

(8) Tonetic units that constitute intonation pattern (contour) are the following: 1. unstressed and half stressed syllables preceding the first stressed syllable constitute the pre-head of the intonation group; 2. stressed and unstressed syllables up to the last stressed syllable constitute the head, body or scale of the intonation group; 3. the last stressed syllable, within which fall or rise in the intonation group is accomplished is called the nucleus; 4. the syllables (or one syllable), that follow the nucleus, constitute the tail, e. g. It’s been a very good ↘ evening for me. _________ ǀ ˑ˙ǀ ˑ ǀ ↘ ǀ. . . ǀ pre-head scale nucleus tail Ø The most important part of the intonation group is the nucleus, which carries nuclear stress (nuclear tone).

(9) Pre-heads and scales According to changes in the voice pitch pre-heads can be: rising, mid and low: _______ ǀ ˑ˙ ǀ ǀ ˑˑˑǀ ǀ. . . ǀ rising mid low Scales can be descending, ascending and level. • If one of the words in the descending scale is made specially prominent, a vertical arrow is placed before the dash-mark which indicates the stressed syllable on the staves, or before the word made specially prominent in the text: ↑ , e. g. John is ↑very ↘busy. § This type of scale is called unbroken descending scale.

(10) What do tones express? The falling tones convey completion and finality, they are categoric in character. The rising tones are incomplete and non-categoric. Of all the level tones mid level tone is used most frequently. The level tones express hesitation and uncertainty. Attitudinal function of intonation can be observed in utterances consisting of one word and in utterances consisting of more than a single word. In the latter cases all intonation patterns are important: nucleus, pre-head and head. (S. F. Leontyeva. A Theoretical course of English Phonetics, p. 261)

(11) Speech melody § § 13. 1 Speech melody, or the pitch component of intonation, is the variations in the pitch of the voice which take place when voiced sounds, especially vowels and sonorants, are pronounced in connected speech. The pitch of the speech sounds is produced by the vibrations of the vocal cords. Speech melody is closely connected with sentence stress. 13. 3 It is convenient for intonational analysis to distinguish certain elements, or sections, of the intonation group. The most important of these elements which is always present in the intonation group is the terminal (nuclear) tone, i. e. a change of pitch which occurs on the final stressed syllable (accentual nucleus). The nucleus may be followed by one or more unstressed or partially stressed syllables called the tail. There can be 2 variants of the terminal tone: the nuclear (with no tail) and the nuclear-post nuclear (with a tail).

(12) cont. § The terminal tone may be preceded by a scale, i. e. a series of stressed and unstressed syllables that may be pitched variously starting with the first stressed syllable (the head of the scale). § The head may be preceded by one or more unstressed syllables called pre-head. The pre-head may be low and high. The unstressed syllables of the low pre-head are pronounced on a lower pitch level than the first stressed syllable of the scale. It is usually left unmarked. The unstressed syllables of the high pre-head are pronounced on a higher pitch level than the first stressed syllable of the scale.

(13) English terminal tones 13. 7 All English terminal tones can be classified under 2 types: tones of unchanging pitch called level tones (static), and tones of changing pitch, called moving tones (kinetic). (Kingdon R. , 1959) § There are 2 main forms of pitch change: a fall and a rise. § The falling tones convey completeness and finality and are categoric in character. § The rising tones convey incompleteness and non-categoric in character.

(14) Levels of tones 13. 8 Falling tones can be high and low. In the falling tones the end of the fall is significant too, hence we can speak of the complete tones (low, mid, high) and incomplete tones (low, mid, high). 13. 30. The scales can be classified as follows: o According to their general pitch direction scales may be (a) descending, (b) ascending, (c) level; o According to the direction of pitch movement within and between syllables the descending and ascending scales may be: (a)stepping, (b) sliding, (c) scandent; o According to the pitch level of the whole scale they may be: (a) low, (b) mid, (c ) high.

(15) Gradually Descending Stepping Scale 13. 31 Gradually Descending Stepping Scale is formed by a series of stressed and unstressed syllables in which the pitch descends in “steps”, i. e. the pitch movement each stressed syllable is level, and the following stressed syllable is pitched a little lower while the unstressed syllables are pronounced on the same pitch as the preceding stressed syllables, e. g. ’How do you pro’nounce this ↘word? ǀ ˙˙˙ ˑ ǀ ‘Still ‘waters ‘run ↘deep. ǀ · ǀ In these sentences the pitch moves downwards uninterruptedly, unbrokenly up to the beginning of the terminal tone. Such variety of descending stepping scale is called Unbroken / Gradually / Regular Descending Stepping Scale. The Gradually Descending Stepping Scale is the most common and it is used with all the English tones. Such scale is categoric, considered, weighty, serious, dispassionate.

(16) Broken Descending Stepping Scale 13. 32 In this variety of scale the descending pitch movement is interrupted, broken by pronouncing one of the stressed syllables on a higher pitch than the preceding one after which the downstepping movement is resumed. The pitch within the downstepping scale is called a Special Rise (or Accidental Rise), and the scale is called the Broken Descending Stepping Scale. The pitch of this special rise is higher than the pitch of the preceding syllable, but generally it is not as high as the first stressed syllable. A special rise is indicated by an upwardpointing arrow (↑) before the syllable in which it takes place. E. g. ‘O my ‘luve’s like a ↑red, ‘red ↘rose ǀ ˙ · ˑ ǀ

(17) cont. If the special rise is made in the second stressed syllable the first stressed syllable is always pronounced on a lower pitch level, i. e. on a mid pitch. E. g. ‘Sonnet one ↑hundred and ↘sixteen. ǀ · ˙·ˑ ǀ The word pronounced with a special rise is usually a numeral, an adjective or an adverb. This scale is also used to avoid the monotony of the Gradually Descending Stepping Scale in the long sense-groups/phrases. E. g. ‘London is ‘situated on the ↑river ↘ Thames.

(18) The Gradually Ascending Scale 13. 36 The Gradually Ascending scale is formed by an ascending series of syllables in which each stressed syllable is pitched a little higher than the preceding one, e. g. I could , hardly be, lieve my ↘eyes. ǀ. . —· ˙ ǀ , Are you , very ‘busy just now? ǀ _. · ǀ o The Gradually Ascending Scale may convey such attitudes as protest, impatience, irritation; surprise, interest, involvement in the situation. ü Note: In this scale the stresses are placed below the accented words.

(19)Pitch of the head and pre-head. Terminal tone 13. 42 The pitch of the first stressed syllable – head – of the scale may vary. It may be high, mid and low. Its pitch direction may also vary. It may be level (-), sliding ( ) and rising (↗) 13. 44 The pre-head may be ascending or level: (1) its pitch may gradually rise to that of the head – the Ascending Prehead, (2) its pitch remains unchanged – the Level Pre-head; it may be low, mid, and high. He might have 'visited them ↘yesterday. ǀ. ˑ· ˙˙˙↘. . ǀ It’s a 'lovely ↘day! ǀ. . ˙ ↘ ǀ 13. 45 The terminal tone is the most important element of the sentence not only because it is always present in a sentence even if the latter consists of a single word, but also because it is the chief means of giving final shape to the sentence, determining its communicative type and distinguishing one sentence from another.

(20) Types of sentences 13. 46 According to the general aim of communication there exist 4 general communicative types of sentences: Ø (1) declarative sentences, whose aim is to state (tell, narrate, communicate) something; Ø (2) interrogative sentences, whose general aim is to ask about something; Ø (3) imperative sentences, whose general aim is to cause somebody to do something; Ø (4) exclamatory sentences, whose general aim is to express emotions along with what is conveyed in the first three types.

(21) Intonation of sentences 13. 47 There are two kinds of relationship between the grammatical structure of a sentence and intonation. • A broadly syntactical type of sentence is expressed both by the grammatical structure of its own and the intonation peculiar to it. A (a) declarative sentence expressing a categoric statement, an (b) interrogative sentence expressing a special question, and an (c) exclamatory sentence usually take a falling tone, whereas an interrogative sentence expressing a (d) general question is usually pronounced with a rising tone, e. g. (a) It 'isn’t very ↘far. (b) 'Where d’you ↘live? (c) 'What 'fine ↘weather we’re ˏhaving! (d) Is 'anyone ↗absent today? An imperative sentence may express a command or a request. Command is pronounced with a falling tone: 'Come ↘in. ǀ ↘ ǀ 'Come ↗in. ǀ ↗ ǀ

(22) Attitudes expressed by a speaker 13. 50 Uttering a sentence the speaker simultaneously expresses his attitude toward the contents of the sentence and reality: he may be speaking at home, in public, etc. , or to whom he may be speaking – to a friend or a stranger, to an adult or a child, etc. • These attitudes are extremely numerous and are expressed by various linguistic means: grammatical, lexical, intonational and by their combinations. • The greatest number of attitudes are expressed by intonation alone, by the manner in which the speaker says something: jokingly or seriously, lively or indifferently, approvingly or disapprovingly and so on. • The attitudes expressed by the speaker may be neutral and emotionally coloured, however, they often overlap.

(23) Sense-groups Ø • • • 13. 52 Many sentences may be divided into two or more sense-groups, each forming an intonation group. A sense-group is a word or a group of words forming the shortest possible meaningful unit, which has its own grammatical structure and intonation. E. g. Toˏwards 'one o’↗clock ǀ they 'reached the ↘village. The sense-group has certain intonational characteristics without which it cannot exist and which actually shape and at the same time delimit the sense-group and show its relative semantic importance. All components of intonation take part in shaping a sense-group, but it is a change in pitch at the end of a sense-group (a rise, a fall, etc. ) that is the principal means of delimiting it and of showing its relative semantic importance. The choice of the terminal tone in a non-final sense-group may depend on the degree of semantic importance the speaker attaches to this sense-group and on the degree of its connection with the following sense-group. For example, the rising tone in the sense-group “Towards one o’clock” shows that it is semantically dependent on the following sense-group and that it implies continuation.

(24) Pitch characteristics of a sense-group 13. 53 The pitch characteristics of a sense-group also include its pitch level and range. The speaker varies pitch levels to show the degree of semantic importance he attaches to sense-groups. o In English unemphatic speech the range usually depends on its pitch level: the higher the pitch level, the wider the range. 13. 54 The kind of scale used in a sense-group may also show the degree of its relative semantic importance. Thus the unbroken (gradually) descending scale shows that the speaker attaches more or less equal importance to all the words he stresses in the sense-group and does not wish to single out any special words, while the upbroken descending scale shows that the speaker attaches more importance to the words on which the scale is broken.