Terminal Tones

CONTENTS

PREFACE 4

KEY TO PHONEMIC AND OTHER SYMBOLS 5

ACADEMIC THEMATIC SYLLABUS 6

NOTES ON ENGLISH PHONETICS 7

THE ORGANS OF SPEECH 7

ARTICULATION BASIS OF ENGLISH 8

THE ENGLISH VOWEL SYSTEM 8

THE ENGLISH CONSONAT SYSTEM 11

VOWEL REDUCTION 12

ASSIMILATION 14

WORD STRESS 16

ENGLISH INTONATION. ITS COMPONENTS 17

THE SEGMENTS OF THE INTONATION GROUP 18 THE SYSTEM OF SCALES 19

TERMINAL TONES 24

SENTENCE STRESS 27

LOGICAL STRESS 30

SOME RULES OF SYNTAGMATIC DIVISION 30

GRAPHICAL RULES 33

TONGUE TWISTERS 41

PRACTICAL ASSIGNMENTS 45

WORD STRESS 45

LINKING OF WORDS IN CONNECTED SPEECH 46

ASSIMILATION 47

RHYTHM AND RHYTHMIC GROUPS 53

SCALES AND TERMINAL TONES 54

WORD PHONETIC ANALYSIS MODEL 58

SENTENCE PHONETIC ANALYSIS MODEL 58

PREPARATORY TESTS 59

PEDAGOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF PRONUNCIATION ERRORS 63

PHONETIC AND GRAMMAR TERMS 65

RECOMMENDED LITERATURE 70

Preface

English Pronunciation Made Simple: An Introductory Course for Students of English is designed to help first-year students acquire correct articulation, practise rhythm and basic intonation patterns of the English language. The book is an attempt to fill a real gap in the materials available on practical phonetics.

The bulk of the theoretical material on English practical phonetics presented in the manual has been used for many years in teaching first-year students and has, in the authors’ opinion, passed the test of time.

In preparing the manual for publication, the authors have enlarged the original material by including exercises in practising English articulation and intonation, the list of tongue twisters, preparatory tests and a list of phonetic and grammar terms with transcription.

The material presented has been developed for use in the classroom as well for students working alone.

The manual concentrates on elements of pronunciation which help students to overcome difficulties in acquiring English pronunciation, understand and be understood in English as well as develop a competence for effective speaking.

Key to phonemic and other symbols

Vowels

Short vowels	Long vowels	Diphthongs
/I/ pit, it /e/ wet, end /{/ cat, apple /V/ run, up /Q/ hot, opposite /U/ put, would   /@/ ago, doctor /i/ happy, cosy /u/ influence, annual	/i:/ see, eat /A:/ part, arm /O:/ saw, always /u:/ too, you /3:/ her, early	/eI/ day, eight /aI/ my, eyes /OI/ boy, join /@U/ low, open /aU/ how, out /I@/ near, here /e@/ hair, where /U@/ tourist

Consonants

/b/ bee, about /d/ do, side /f/ fat, safe /g/ go, big /h/ hat, behind /j/ yet, you /k/ key, week /l/ led, allow

/m/ map, lamp /n/ nose, any /p/ pen, sop /r/ red, around /s/ soon, us /t/ ten, last /v/ vet, live /w/ wet, swim

/z/ zoo, loves /dZ/ general, age /N/ hang, hoping /D/ that, other /T/ thin, bath /S/ ship, push /Z/ measure, usual /tS/ chin, catch

Other symbols

/"/ put before the syllable with main stress

/%/ put before the syllable with secondary stress; partially stressed syllable

°m the Low Fall

Îm the High Fall

,m the Low Rise

æm the High Rise

↑m Accidental/Special Rise

ëm the Fall-Rise

^m the Rise-Fall

Ìm the stressed syllable of the Sliding Scale

Ëm the stressed syllable in the Scandent Scale

Introductory Corrective Course

Academic Thematic Syllabus

№	Topic Areas	Hours/ Dates
1.	Phonetics. The Phoneme. The Allophone. Transcription. The Organs of Speech. The Classification of English Vowel Phonemes. The Classification of English Consonant Phonemes. The Articulation Basis of English. The Rhythmic Group. The Syntagm. The Low Fall. The High Fall. The Regular Descending Stepping Scale. Intonation of Statements. Imperative. Intonation of General, Alternative, Special and Disjunctive Questions. /@, I, e, {, aI, eI, i:/ /h, T, D, p, b, t, d, k, g, m, n, s, z, j, Z/	1^st week
2.	Word Stress. Sentence Stress. Logical Stress. Vowel Reduction. Reduced forms of the verbs BE, DO and Personal Pronouns. Intonation of Greetings. Intonation of Appositions. The Low Rise. The Low Pre-Head. The High Pre-Head. /U, V, @U, Q, A:, u:/ /f, v, l, r, N/	2^nd week
3.	Intonation of Direct Address. The Fall-Rise. Intonation of Words of Gratitude. Intonation of the Word “Please”. Intonation of Request. Intonation of Enumeration. /3:, O:, U@/ /w/	3^rd week
4.	Assimilation and its Types.	4^th week

NOTES ON ENGLISH PHONETICS

Phonetics is a branch of linguistics, which deals with the investigation of the sound means of a certain language from the point of view of their articulation, acoustic qualities and semantics.

The phoneme is the smallest linguistic unit, which is capable of differentiating the meaning and grammar forms of words.

Phonemes are elements of language. The number of them is quite definite for every separate language. In British English there are 44 phonemes: 20 vowel phonemes and 24 consonant ones. In speech they manifest themselves in the form of phonemic variants or allophones.

The allophone is a material representation of the phoneme in speech. They appear in connected speech as a result of assimilation or reduction or due to the individual speech habits. The number of allophones in a language is unlimited.

Phonetic transcription is a sort of phonetic alphabet, a system of symbols in which every phoneme is supposed to have its own symbol. It helps in learning a foreign language.

THE ORGANS OF SPEECH

In learning a foreign language as a speciality it is necessary to know in detail the structure and function of the speech apparatus. The organs of speech are as follows:

1. The nasal cavity.

2. The mouth cavity.

3. The pharyngal cavity (the pharynx).

4. The tongue: the blade of the tongue with the tip; the front of the tongue; the back of the tongue; the root of the tongue.

5. The root of the mouth: the alveoli (the teeth ridge); the hard palate; the soft palate; the uvula.

6. The teeth: the upper teeth; the lower teeth.

7. The lips: the upper lip; the lower lip.

8. The larynx.

9. The vocal cords.

10. The windpipe.

11. The lower jaw.

The movable speech organs are called active, they are as follows: the tongue, the soft palate with the uvula, the lips, the lower jaw and the vocal cords. The passive organs of speech are: the teeth, the alveoli, the hard palate.

Articulation Basis of English

The summary of all main principles of articulation of a certain language is called the articulation basis. The main points of difference between the articulation basis of English and Ukrainian are as follows:

1. The tongue is tenser and bulkier in English and has a retracted position for most of the phonemes.

2. The lips are also tenser and less movable than in Ukrainian. They are mostly spread (with the lower teeth revealed) or neutral (flat articulation).

3. English forelingual consonants (there are 12 of them) are usually apical: they are articulated with the tongue-tip against the alveoli /t, d; s, z; S, Z; tS, dZ; n, l/ or against the teeth /T; D/, while the Ukrainian ones are as a rule cacuminal.

4. All English consonants are hard (except for /S, Z/ and have no palatalized oppositions while the Ukrainian ones have (ліс – лис; люк – лук). Palatalisation in English is a phonetic mistake.

5. The English word-final voiced consonants must not be devocalised, yet they are weak (bag, sad). The English word-final voiceless consonants are strong (night, weak, tape).

6. The English plosive voiceless /p, t, k/ are pronounced with aspiration, while there are no aspirated consonants in the Ukrainian language.

7. The English sonorants /m, n, l/ are tenser and longer than the corresponding Ukrainian ones and they are syllabic when post-tonic and preceded by a consonant: /"prIz0m, "teIb0 l /

The English Vowel System

The vowel is a speech sound in the production of which the air stream coming out of the lungs meets no obstruction on its way.

The English vowel system consists of 20 vowel phonemes, which can be classified according to the following principles:

1. According to the stability of articulation we distinguish 12 monophthongs (2 diphthongoids among them) and 8 diphthongs.

2. According to the position of the bulk of the tongue we distinguish:

- front vowels with: the fully front /i:, e, {/ and the front-retracted /I/;

- central vowels /@, 3:, V/;

- back vowels with: the back advanced /U, A:/ and the fully back /O:, P, u:/.

3. According to the tongue-height we distinguish:

- high: narrow /i:, u:/ and broad /I, U/:

- mid: narrow /e, 3:/ and broad /@, O:/;

- low: narrow /V/ and broad /{, A:, P/

4. According to the duration (length) we distinguish long and short vowel phonemes.

5. According to the degree of muscular tension we classify them into tense (all long vowels) and lax (all short vowels).

6. According to the lip position they are distinguished as labialised (rounded) and non-labialised (unrounded).

The Chart of English Vowel Phonemes

	Front	Front- retracted	Central	Back advanced	Back
High	narrow	i:				u:
broad		I		U
Mid	narrow	e		3:
broad			@		O:
Low	narrow			V
broad	{			A:	P

English Monophthongs

The monophthong is a vowel in the production of which the organs of speech do not change their position throughout the whole duration of a vowel.

I. All English front vowels have the following features in common.

1. The bulk of the tongue is pushed forward.

2. Its front is raised in the direction of the hard palate.

3. The tongue-tip is placed at the lower teeth.

II. All the back vowels are characterized by the following common features.

1. The bulk of the tongue is pushed backward.

2. Its back is raised in the direction of the soft palate to different heights (high, mid, low).

3. The tongue-tip is drawn from the teeth /u:, O:/.

4. The lips are rounded, except for /A:/ and /V/.

III. The central vowels have the following features in common.

1. The front and the blade of the tongue are equally raised. They are neither pushed forward nor retracted, occupying an intermediate position.

2. The tongue-tip is at the lower teeth.

3. The lips are spread for /3:/ or neutral for /@/.

English Diphthongs

The diphthong is a monophonemic combination of two vowel elements with gliding articulation.

The stressed element of a diphthong (which is always the first one in English) is called the nucleus, the second one is called the glide.

There are eight diphthongs in English. According to the type of nucleus they fall into three groups:

- front diphthongs /I@, eI, e@, aI, aU/;

- central diphthong /@U/;

- back diphthongs /OI, U@/.

According to the type of glide they are grouped into:

- /I/ gliding diphthongs: /eI, aI, OI/;

- /@/ gliding diphthongs: /I@, e@, U@/;

- /U/ gliding diphthongs: /aU, @U/.

Note. The sequences /aI@/ and /aU@/ are biphonemic combination of a diphthong and the neutral /@/. The glide in them is very indistinct, e. g. In an °hour.|| The "Tower of °London.|| But the possessive pronoun ‘our’ is monophonemic, e. g. In our ° country.||

The English Consonant System

The consonant is a speech sound in the production of which the air stream coming out of the lungs has to overcome a certain obstruction on its way.

The English consonant system consists of 24 consonant phonemes which can be classified as follows:

1. According to the type of obstruction (occlusives, constrictives, occlusive-constrictives, or affricates).

2. According to the articulatory organ (labial, lingual, pharyngal).

3. According to the prevalence of noise over the musical tone (noise consonants and sonorants).

4. According to the work of the vocal cords (voiced and voiceless).

5. According to the position of the soft palate (oral and nasal).

Chart of English Consonant Phonemes

	Labial	Lingual	Pharyngal
Bilabial	Labio-dental	Forelingual	Media-lingual	Back-lingual
dental	apico-alveolar	palato-alveolar	post-alveolar
Occlusives	Plosives (noise consonants)	p b			t d				k g
Nasal sonorants	m			n				N
Constrictives	Fricatives (noise consonants)		f v	T D	s z	S Z				h
Sonorants	Medial	w					r	j
Lateral				l
Occlusive-constictives (affricates)					tS dZ

Vowel Reduction

Vowels in unstressed syllables are pronounced less distinctly than those in stressed syllables. It is possible to speak about three types of vowel reduction:

QUANTITATIVE, QUALITATIVE, COMPLETE (ZERO) REDUCTION.

I. Quantitative reduction results in the change of the length (quantity) of a vowel in an unstressed syllable. It affects long vowels and diphthongs which become half-long or short, e. g.

°We have done it. /wi:/-long

We have °done it. /wi·/ - half-long

We °did it. /wi/ - short

Diphthongs become half-long when followed by an unstressed syllable, or short, when followed by a stressed one, but it is not reflected in transcription, e. g.

°I’ve done it.

I have °done it.

I °did it.

II. Qualitative reduction is connected with the change of the quality of a vowel. There are two types of it.

1. Qualitative soft reduction, resulting in the /I/ phoneme. The letters “e, i, y” correspond to it in spelling: e xpect, cin e ma, cit y, serv i ce.

2. Qualitative hard reduction, resulting in the neutral vowel /@/. The letters “a, o, u” and the suffixes –er, -ar, -or, -ous correspond to it in spelling: fam ous, pil o t, mel o dy, act or, pol ar.

III. Complete reduction results in a full disappearance of a vowel in an unstressed position. It occurs before the syllabic sonorants /m, n, l/ when they are posttonic and preceded by a consonant: conversation /Sn/, written /tn/, pencil /sl/ as well as in different /"dIfÿr@nt/, history/"hIstÿrI/, I’m/aIÿm/, I’ve/aIÿv/.

Full and Reduced Forms

There are some words in English that retain their full forms even when they are unstressed:

1. The following words have no weak forms: ON, WELL, WHAT, THEN.

2. The negative particle ‘not’ is never reduced except when met in contracted forms: can’t, couldn’t etc.: But èwhy not? /nQt/. Of èècourse not. /nQt/

3. Prepositions in sentence-final or sense-group final positions are so slightly reduced that the quantity of short phonemes is not changed; long vowels become half-long,

e. g. "What are you °thinking of? /Qv/ "What have you °done it for? /fO·/

4. “to have” as a principal verb has no weak form though unstressed in affirmative sentences, e. g. I have a °sister. /aI h{ v @ °sIst@||/

List of Full and Reduced Forms

Full forms	Reduced Forms	Full Forms	Reduced Forms
Articles	Pronouns
The A+C A+V	/"Di:/ /"eI/ /"{n/	/D@/+C, /Di/+V /@/ /@n/	you he she we her us them your some that	/"ju:/ /"hi:/ /"Si:/ /"wi:/ /"h3:/ /"Vs/ /"Dem/ /"jO:/ /"sVm/ /"D{t/	/ju/ /hi/ /Si/ /wi/ /h3/ /@s/ /D@m/ /jO/ /s@m/ /D@t/
Prepositions
at from of into for to	/"{t/ /"frQm/ /"Qv/ /"Intu:/ /"fO:(r)/ /"tu:/	/@t/ /fr@m/ /@v/ /Int@/ /Intu+ V/ /fO/ /t@/ /tu+ V/
Verbs	Particles
can	/"k{n/	/k@n/	there to	/"De@/ /"tu:/	/D@/ /t@/ /tu+ V/
must	/"mVst/	/m@st/
shall	/"S{l/	/S@l/
do	/"du:/	/d@/ /du+V/
does	/"dVz/	/d@z/
could	/"kUd/	/k@d/
would	/"wUd/	/w@d/	Conjunctions
should	/"SUd/	/S@d/	and but than as or	/"{nd/ /"bVt/ /"D{n/ /"{z/ /"O:/	/@nd/ /b@t/ /D@n/ /@z/ /O/
have	/"h{v/	/h@v/
has	/"h{z/	/h@z/
had	/"h{d/	/h@d/
be	/"bi:/	/bi/
been	/"bi:n/
am	/"{m/	/@m/
are	/"A:/	/A/
was	/"wQz/	/w@z/
were	/"w3:/	/w@/

Assimilation

Assimilation is a phonetic process by which one sound under the influence of a sound near it acquires some articulation and acoustic likeness to that of other sound.

Assimilation results in the appearance of new phonemic variants. Each case of assimilation must be analysed from the following view points:

1. From the point of view of its direction it can be PROGRESSIVE, REGRESSIVE, RECIPROCAL, or DOUBLE.

2. From the point of view of its degree it can be COMPLETE, PARTIAL, INTERMEDIATE.

Directions of Assimilation

Considering its direction it is possible to distinguish 3 types of assimilation:

1. PROGRESSIVE

2. REGRESSIVE

3. RECIPROCAL, or DOUBLE.

1. In progressive assimilation the assimilated phoneme is influenced by the preceding one, e. g. programme, frail.

2. In regressive assimilation the assimilated phoneme is influenced by the phoneme following it, e. g. tall, garden.

3. In reciprocal assimilation the adjacent phonemes influence each other, e. g. train - /t/ becomes post-alveolar and /r/ becomes partially devoiced.

Degrees of Assimilation

Considering its degree assimilation can be classified into:

1. COMPLETE

2. INTERMEDIATE

3. PARTIAL

1. Assimilation is termed complete when the articulation of the assimilated phoneme fully coincides with that of the assimilating one, e. g. Does she? /™dVS Si·||/.

2. Assimilation is termed intermediate when the assimilated phoneme changes into a certain third phoneme, e. g. hand + kerchief = /"h{Nk@tSIf/.

3. Assimilation is termed partial when the assimilated phoneme acquires only some features similar to those of the assimilating phoneme.

Types of Partial Assimilation

There are 4 types of partial assimilation. It can affect:

1. the place of articulation

2. the work of the vocal cords

3. the lip-position

4. the manner of producing noise

1. Assimilation affecting the place of articulation results in:

a) the dental allophones of the alveolar /t, d, n, l, s, z/ when followed by /T, D/:

shut the door all the doors open the door eighth

hold the door pass the door close the door sixth

b) the post-alveolar allophones of the alveolar /t, d, n, l/ when followed by the post-alveolar /r/: try, dry, already.

2. Assimilation affecting the work of the vocal cords results in:

a) partially devoiced allophones of /w, l, r, j, m, n/ when preceded by /p, t, k, f, T, s, S/: play, pray, pure, few, threat, friend, quite.

b) looked /k t/, finished /S t/, books /k s/, pipes /p s/.

3. Assimilation affecting the lip-position results in labialized allophones of consonants before such phonemes as /w, u:, O:/: twenty, twice, tall, quick, tool.

4. Assimilation affecting the manner of producing noise results in:

a) plosionless allophones of /p b, t d, k g/ (loss of plosion); when they follow one another either within a word or at the junction of words the first plosive loses its plosion: actor /k t/, Big Ben /g b/, don’t talk /t t/, put down /t d/, eight pounds /t p/.

b) When /p b, t d, k g/ are followed by the fricatives or affricates their plosion becomes fricative (fricative, or incomplete plosion): past five /t f/, temperate zone /t z/, hot summer /t s/.

c) When /p b, t d, k g/ are followed by the nasal sonorants /m, n/ their plosion becomes nasal: garden /d n/.

d) When /p b, t d, k g/ are followed by the lateral sonorant /l/ their plosion becomes lateral: middle /d l/, circle /k l/, good luck /d l/, uncle /k l/, little /t l/.

Note. When /p, t, k/ are preceded by /s/ they lose their aspiration: skate /s k/, steak /s t/, space /s p/.

Word Stress

Word stress (word accent) is greater prominence given to one or more syllables in a word.

Stressed and unstressed syllables differ in quantity (length) and quality. They are longer when stressed and carry vowels of full formation. When unstressed, they undergo reduction and become shorter.

Word stress should be considered from the point of view of:

1) its place in a sentence;

2) its degree.

There are two degrees of word stress in English:

1) primary or strong (marked above the syllable);

2) secondary or weak (marked under the syllable).

The place of word stress depends on the quantity of syllables in a word.

Accented types of words

1. Monosyllabic, disyllabic and trisyllabic words are stressed on the first syllable, e. g. "phoneme, "palate, "prefix, "pronoun, "family, "enemy, "imitate, "colony.

Note 1. In three-syllable words the stressed vowel is mostly read according to the second type of the syllable, e. g. f a mily.

Note 2. In words with inseparable prefixes the stress falls on the syllable next to the prefix: be"gin, pre"pare.

2. Most four-syllable words have the stress laid on the third syllable from the end, e. g. po"litical, ex"periment, hi"storical, ge"ology.

3. Compound nouns are stressed on the first component, the second though unstressed has a vowel of full formation, e. g. "blackboard /-bO:d/.

Exceptions: "arm-°chair, "ice-°cream, "tape-re°corder.

4. Polysyllabic words have the primary stress on the third syllable from the end and the secondary stress on the second pretonic syllable, e. g. %uni"versity, as%simi"lation, %possi"bility.

5. The following groups of words have two primary stresses:

- numerals (from 13 to 19): "four"teen;

- compound adjectives: "well-"known, "good-"looking;

- composite verbs: "get "up, "sit "down, "put "on;

- words with separable prefixes:

a) implying negation: un-, in-, il-, ir-, non-, dis-, e. g. unknown, inaccurate, irregular, non-aggressive, disbelief, illiterate;

b) prefixes implying assistance: sub -, vice -, e.g. subtitle, vice-minister;

c) prefixes with different meanings: mis - - meaning ‘wrong’ (misunderstand); over - - meaning ‘too much’ (overtired); pre - - meaning ‘before’ (pre-revolutionary); inter - - meaning ‘among’, ‘between’ (international); anti - - meaning ‘against’ (antiwar).

Note. Words listed under group 5 undergo variations in stress. In utterances they lose one stress or the other. When they are used attributively, the second stress is lost; when used predicatively, the first stress is lost:

Attributively Predicatively

" Fourteen ° years. He’s four ° teen.||

A " hard-working ° boy.|| The " boy is hard- ° working.||

A " well-planned ° house.|| The " house is well- ° planned.||

A " well-bred ° man.|| The " man is well- ° bred.||

English Intonation. Its Components.

The sentence possesses definite phonetic features. Each feature performs a definite task, and all of them work simultaneously. Thus,

a) Sentences are usually separated from each other by pauses. If necessary, the sentence is subdivided into shorter word groups according to sense; these are called sense groups, or syntagms.

b) The pitch of the voice does not stay on the same level while the sentence is pronounced; it fluctuates, rising and falling on the vowels and voiced consonants. The fluctuations of the voice pitch are called speech melody.

c) The word that is most important for the meaning of the sentence, i. e. the word acting as its semantic centre, is made prominent by stress and a special moving tone.

d) Other words, also essential for the meaning, are stressed but the pitch of these words remains unchanged.

e) Form words, performing grammatical functions (such as articles, prepositions, auxiliary, modal and link verbs) are usually left unstressed; they are mostly pronounced in their reduced (weak) forms.

f) Connected English speech comes as a series of closely knit groups of words, each group containing only one stressed syllable. The stressed syllables occur at approximately equal intervals of time. This interrelationship of stress and time makes rhythm.

g) The rate of speech is not constant, but is made to suit the semantic weight of each sense group of the utterance.

h) The timbre of the voice changes in accordance with the emotions experienced by the speaker.

All the phonetic features of the sentence enumerated above (speech melody, sentence stress, tempo, rhythm, pauses and timbre) form a complex unity, called intonation.

The most important components of intonation from the linguistic point of view are speech melody, sentence stress, and rhythm.

Communicative Types of Sentences

The communicative type of a sentence is a linguistic category differentiated in speech in accordance with the aim of the utterance. There are 4 types of them. They are:

1. Statements (categoric, non-categoric, implicatory).

2. Questions (special, general, alternative, disjunctive).

3. Imperatives (commands, requests).

4. Exclamations.

The Segments of Intonation Group

The intonation contour of an extended syntagm consists of three functionally important parts:

1. The pre-head.

2. The scale, or head.

3. The terminal tone.

4. The tail.

I have been "doing "English at the °institute.ÅÅ

Types of Pre-Heads

A low pre-head consists of unstressed syllables pronounced at a low pitch, or gradually ascending in pitch towards the head or the nucleus:

e.g. But you’ll be "home in "time for ¤dinner?||

A high pre-head consists of unstressed syllables pronounced on a high pitch. A high pre-head gives to the utterance an extremely emotional character and may be regarded as a feature of emphatic speech.

e. g. çHow °can you be so %obstinate?||

The System of Scales

The Scale is a phonetic unit that begins with the head group and extends to the terminal tone.

Scales can be classified as follows:

1) According to the arrangement of unstressed syllables within stress-tone groups can be:

• Stepping

e.g. Our"classes be"gin at "three o’°clock.||

• Sliding

e.g. Our Ìclasses beÌgin at Ìthree o’°clock.||

• Scandent

e.g. Our Ëclasses beËgin at Ëthree o’°clock.||

2) According to the direction of the pitch movement the scales can be classified as:

• The Descending Scale (Stepping, Sliding, Scandent)

e.g. He"promised to "be in°time.||

HeÌpromised toÌbe in°time.||

HeÍpromised to Íbe in°time.||

• The Ascending Scale (Stepping, Sliding, Scandent)

e.g. He%promised to %be in°time.||

HeÌpromised toÌbe in°time.||

HeÍpromised to Íbe in°time.||

• The Level Scale (Low, Mid, High)

e.g. He%promised to %come in°time.||

He%promised to"come in °time.||

He"promised to"come in°time.||

3) According to the regularity of their pitch movements scales can be:

• Regular

• Broken

e.g. He"promised to"come in ↑half an °hour.||

HeÌpromised toÌcome in ↑half an °hour.||

The function of the scale lies in the fact that it helps to convey different emotions. We can call this function attitudinal.

Scales in Detail

The Stepping Scale

1. The Regular Descending Stepping Scale is characterised by steplike descend of all stress-tone units. The head-unit of the contour takes the highest pitch. The unstressed syllables within every stress-tone unit are said on a level sequence.

The Regular Descending Stepping Scale is commonly used in descriptive prose and in monologue parts of a conversation. It can serve any communicative type of utterance. It sounds formal, businesslike, matter-of-fact.

e.g. I¤m a "first-year "student of the "English de°partment.||

The Regular Descending Stepping Scale can be combined with any of the six terminal tones.

2. The Broken Descending Stepping Scale

The Descending Stepping Scale can be broken on any important word (except the head one), which takes a higher pitch than the preceding stressed syllable. Then the step-like descend continues. This rise is called SPECIAL or ACCIDENTAL. It is used for several reasons:

• to avoid the monotony of a long syntagm:

e.g. I’m a "first-year "student of the ↑English de°partment.||

• to join short syntagms into longer ones:

e.g. To"morrow "morning we ↑ leave for °Kyiv.||

• to give special emphasis to an important word. There is a number of emotionally coloured words which are liable to take the Special Rise, they are: all, always, very, every, best, many, quite; all the numerals and so on.

e.g. Our "classes be"gin at ↑three in the "after°noon.||

NOTE. If the Special Rise is produced during the second accented word, the preceding stressed word takes a low-level or a mid-level pitch.

e.g Our can%teen is ↑always over°crowded.||

3. The Ascending Stepping Scale is characterised by the step-like ascend of all stress-tone units. The head-unit of the utterance takes the lowest pitch. The unstressed syllables within every stress-tone unit are said on a level sequence.

The High Level Prehead often precedes it. It can be used on any communicative type of utterance. It conveys displeasure, disgruntled protest, critical surprise.

e.g. I %thought per%haps you "might stay "up to Îsee her.|| (displeasure)

¯Are you %sure you %don’t "want to be a ælawyer, John?|| (critical surprise)

The Sliding Scale

In the Sliding Scale every stress-tone unit is said on a sliding sequence, the accented syllables take level pitches.

e.g. He Ìwrote a Ìletter on ÌMonday Îmorning.

Note. In monosyllabic stress-tone units the pitch slides during the syllable.

e.g. ÌMike Ìknows Îbetter.

The Slidindg Scale is often used in conversation.

It gives additional prominence to every accented word and sounds weighty and excited. It can be used in any communicative type of utterance, and can be combined with any terminal tone, but the preference is given to the Low Fall, High Fall and Fall-Rise. The High Descending Prehead often precedes it.

e.g. ÌMike Ìknows it °better.||

ÌMike Ìknows it Îbetter.||

ÌMike Ìknows ëbetter.||

According to its direction the Sliding Scale can be:

· The Descending Sliding Scale.

e.g. I had Ìsuch an exÌciting Ìafter°noon.||

· The Ascending Sliding Scale.

e.g. As a Ìmatter of Ìfact I’m Ìnearly Îsixty.||

· The Level Sliding Scale.

e.g. I Îdidn’t Ìfind the Ìshoes Îanywhere.||

According to its regularity the Sliding Scale can also be of two types:

· Regular

· Broken

e.g. ÌLong eÌnough to ↑soak us to the Îskin.||

He’s a Ìfirst-year Ìstudent of the ↑English de°partment.||

The Scandent Scale

In the Scandent Scale every stress-tone unit is said on an ascending sequence, the accented syllables taking level pitches. The high pre-head often begins it.

e.g. ¯It’s Ëreally Ëvery °funny.||

Note. In monosyllabic stress-tone units the pitch rises during the syllable.

e.g. ËI Ëhate Ëdoing °nothing.||

The Scandent Scale is used in colloquial speech. It sounds lively, playful, encouraging. Yet it may also convey surprise, irritation and even irony (together with the intensified stress and widened temporal range).

The Scandent Scale is used in any communicative type of utterance, giving it an emotional colouring. It can be combined with any terminal tone except for the Fall-Rise, but the preference is given to the Falling Tones. The High Level or High Ascending Pre-Heads often precede it.

e.g. ËThere is no Ëneed to Ëlose your ^temper.||

¯WherËever ™had it Îcome from.||

According to its direction the Scandent Scale can be:

· Descending

· Ascending

· Level

According to its regularity the Scandent Scale can be also of two types:

· Regular

· Broken

The Level Scale

The Level Scale according to its pitch can be of three types:

· The Low Level

· The High Level

· The Mid Level

According to the arrangement of unstressed syllables within every stress-tone unit the Level Scale can also be Sliding and Scandent.

In the Low Level Scale all the stress-tone units are said on a Low Pitch-Level. The unstressed syllables take the same pitch. The Low Level Scale can be combined with any simple terminal tone, but the preference is given to the Low Fall, the Low Rise, the Low Level Tone. It can be used in any communicative type of utterance. This Scale is characteristic of colloquial speech.

The Low Level Scale combined with the Low Fall sounds uninterested, phlegmatic or sometimes cool, and reserved (supported by the intensified stress and slowed tempo).

e.g. He %promised to %come in °time.|| (phlegmatic)

%Did he %promise to %come in °time?|| (reserved)

%Did he %promise to °come?|| (cool)

The Low Level Scale followed by the Low Rise sounds disapproving, skeptical and sometimes perfunctory.

e.g. %I can’t %give per%mission for,that.|| (disapproving)

%Can you %give per%mission for,that?|| (perfunctory)

%Who can %give per%mission for,that? | (disapproving)

%Very %nice per,mission!|| (skeptical)

The Low Level Scale followed by the Low Level tone sounds pathetic (when it is supported by the increase in stress and a slow tempo). It is used in recitation.

In the High Level scale all the stress-tone units are said on a high pitch level, the unstressed syllables taking the same pitch. The High Level Scale can be combined with any simple terminal tone but the High Fall is most frequent. This intonation pattern is characteristic of emotional speech. It can be used in any communicative types of utterance. It sounds decisive, joyful or even irritable.

Terminal Tones

Nuclear tones that finish any syntagm according to their function can be terminal or non-terminal.

The terminal tone is variation in pitch produced during the final stress-tone unit of the terminal intonation groups.

The terminal tone is an inseparable part of any intonation contour, because its main function is to distinguish the communicative types of utterances.

According to their structure the terminal tones fall into two types:

· Consisting of the nucleus only:

e.g. He is °free.||

· Consisting of the nucleus with the tail:

e.g. He is °busy.||

According to the direction of the pitch change they fall into three principal groups:

· The group of falling tones:

The Low Fall /°m/ (simple tone)

The High Fall /Îm/ (simple tone)

The Rise-Fall /^m/ (complex tone)

· The group of rising tones:

The Low Rise /, m/ (simple tone)

The High Rise / æm/ (simple tone)

The Fall-Rise / ëm/ (complex tone)

· The group of the level tones:

The Low Level /%m/ (simple tone)

The Mid Level /"m/ (simple tone)

The High Level /"m/ (simple tone)

The Low Fall

The nucleus of the Low Fall starts at or a bit below the mid pitch level of the normal range and falls to the normal range and falls to the bottom, the tail syllables take the low pitch. As any falling tone it is final and chategorical in character. Besides, the Low Fall conveys some attitudes of its own, it sounds formal, serious, firm or calm, cool, reserved, phlegmatic, depending on the prehead and scale that precede it.

The Low Fall can be combined with any type of scale and the scale adds much to the attitudinal meaning of the pattern.

The Low Fall preceded by the Descending Stepping Scale is used in categorical statements, basic special questions, basic commands and exclamations.

Descending Stepping Scale + Low Fall

· Categorical statements (businesslike, formal)

e.g. My "friend is a "student of °English.||

"John is "Mary’s °brother.||

"Mary is "writing a °letter.||

· Basic Special Questions (businesslike, serious)

e.g. "When do you "get to the °office?||

"What do you "usually "do in the °evenings?||

· Basic commands (businesslike, firm)

e.g. "Try to "do it °now.||

"Go and "fetch some °chalk.||

· Basic exclamations (businesslike, formal)

e.g. "Many "happy re"turns of the °day.||

"Thank you "very °much!||

· In insistent general questions this pattern sounds serious and urgent.

e.g. Do you "really "leave to"morrow °morning?||

Low Level Scale + Low Fall (phlegmatic, detached).

e.g. He %leaves to%morrow morning.||

The Low Rise

The Low Rise consisting of the nucleus only starts at or near the bottom of the normal voice range and rises to the mid pitch level.

e.g., Yes,Åhe was a,way.||

If there is a tail to it the nuclear syllable takes the low level pitch and the tail-syllables carry the rise.

e.g.,Certainly,Å he was,busy yesterday.||

The Low Rise sounds non-final, non-categorical, encouraging further conversation. Preceded by the Low Level Scale the Low Rise gives the utterance a perfunctory ring. That is why it is often called a perfunctory tone.

It can be used in all communicative types of utterances.

1. Non-categorical statements

· Descending Stepping Scale + Low Rise – encouraging further conversation

e.g. He "knows it much,better.||

"John’s "Mary’s,brother.||

· Low Level scale + Low Rise – perfunctory

e.g. He %knows it much,better.||

%John’s %Mary’s,brother.||

2. Special Questions

· Descending Stepping Scale + Low Rise –interested

e.g. "What do you "usually "do in the,evening?||

· Low Level scale + Low Rise – perfunctory

e.g. %What do you %usually %do in the,evening?||

%What if we %meet to,night?||

3. Basic General Questions

· Descending Stepping Scale + Low Rise – really interested

e.g. Is "anyone a,way from the lesson?||

"Haven’t you "been at the,library?||

Is he "studying,science?||

· Low Level scale + Low Rise – perfunctory

e.g. Is %anyone a,way from the ·lesson?||

%Haven’t you %been at the,library?||

4. Imperatives

· Descending Stepping Scale + Low Rise –encouraging

e.g. I’m "so up°setÅ – "cheer,up, Å don’t,worry.||

"Come a,long, Å "hurry,up.||

5. Exclamations

· Descending Stepping Scale + Low Rise –airy, encouraging

e.g. "Sorry I must be °off.||– "So,long, my dear. "See you,later.||

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