General questions

In RP the more usual and more polite way is with the low rise (a high rise is more frequent in GA); if a potentially accented syllable is available before the nucleus, then this will take a high pitch: (It's going to rain I'm afraid.) Do you 'really think (LR) so? (I'm really enjoying myself.) Is 'this your first (LR) visit to London? (The large size costs a pound.) Is 'that the new (LR) price?

A falling tone (high or low) is brusque and demanding: (Can you remember where I left my new shoes?) Are they in the `wardrobe? (Tom explained it all to me.) But do you under`stand it? (I can't find my pen anywhere.) Are you sure you brought it `with you?

A rise-fall marks a question as an exclamation: (He didn't even leave a message.) Now isn't that pe cu liar(R-F)! (I'm going to Spain tomorrow.) Aren't you luck y(R-F)! (He refused to help me.) Would you be lieve (R-F) it!

Special questions

The usual tone is falling (low or high): (She wants you to send an apology.) What's it got to do with `her? (You mustn't tell her.) Why `not?(She didn't get the job.) How do you know (LF)?

The alternative tone is the low rise (more likely a high rise in GA[1]). Sounds more tentative: (I can't do it.) Why can't I (LR) help? (We're off on Thursday.) When are you leaving (LR)? (I'm afraid it didn't work.) Why did you do it that (LR) way?

High rise to ask for repetition: (He's completely irresponsible.) What (HR) did you say? (He's an absolute idiot.) I beg (HR) your pardon? (Her name was Pettigrew before she was married.) What (HR) did you say she was called?

Disjunctive questions (tags)

They are most commonly negative if a preceding statement is positive, and vice versa (reverse polarity tags). Two alternatives: a falling tone (high or low) or a rising tone (usually low rise). Both types of tone expect agreement, the fall demanding it, the rise leaving open the possibility of disagreement: (It's a long way from the shops.) It's right on the outskirts / `isn't it? (I had a lovely time.) Yes/the day did go well/`didn't it? (Lend me your copy of Shakespeare.) You will look after it /`won't you? (Where did I put my golf clubs?) You left them in the garage / did n't you(LR)? (He asked me to drive him there.) But you won't be able to go / will (LR) you? (Who was that woman he was with?) It was his sister / was n't(LR) it?

Constant polarity tag. Only low rise. The meaning is a thoughtful echo of a statement from the preceding speaker: (I think he's going to emigrate.) So he won't marry her / won't (LR) he? (Rachel's gone out with John.) She's still seeing him / is (LR) she?

Imperatives

Abrupt imperatives have a falling tone. Polite ones, at least suggesting that the listener has a right to refuse, are said with a rising tone (mostly low rise, sometimes fall-rise): (I've decided to lend him my car.) Don't be such a silly `fool. (What should I do now?) Go and wash the `car. (You shouldn't have spent all that money.) Don't be ang ry(LR) about it. (I'm afraid I've had enough of you.) Give me another chance (LR). (I have a very delicate job to do here.) Be care ful(LR).

The use of a rising tone softens the imperative. Sometimes the rising tone is combined with a tag: (Can I have some more wine?) Help yourself / won't (LR) you? (Her nerves are terrible.) See if you can help/ will (LR) you? (I'm doing my best.) Well /hurry up / can't (LR)you?

Exclamations

Falling tone (including rise-fall): What a beautiful `day! How `stupid he is! What a very silly thing to `do! What a pa lav er(R-F)!

Individual words, esp. nouns and adjectives, with a falling tone, e.g. `Nonsense! You `idiot! `Marvellous!

THE SEMANTIC FUNCTIONS/MEANINGS of nuclear tones are difficult to specify in general terms. Roughly speaking, the falling tones carry with them a sense of COMPLETION and FINALITY and are categoric in character. The rising tones carry a sense of INCOMPLETION and are non-categoric in character. The level tones express HESITATION and UNCERTAINTY.

☻ THE LOW FALL (downward curve): Final, complete, definite, categoric, calm, reserved, considered, weighty, matter-of-fact but interested.

e.g.: I didn’t quite catch that. Show me your ticket, madam. How much is it? A: Would you like an apple? B: Thank you.

☻ THE HIGH FALL LOW FALL VS HIGH FALL (NO HEAD)

Sentence Types	(Low Pre-Head+) Low Fall (+Tail)	(Low Pre-Head+) High Fall (+Tail)
statements	Final, categoric, calm, reserved. Whose book is this? – It’s Mother’s.	Conveying personal concern or involvement, sounding lively, interested, airy; very common in conversation. Do you know the man? – No. (I don’t.) Yes. (I do.) Where’s my copy? – Peter took it for you.
Special questions	Calm, serious, flat, reserved, very often unsympathetic. One book is missing. – Which?	Sounding lively, interested. I shall be late, I’m afraid. – How late?
imperatives	Calm, unemotional, serious. I’ll send it to him. – Don’t. How can I get in touch with Nick? – Phone him.	Sounding warm. What’s the matter? – Look. (It’s raining.)
exclamations	Calm, unsurprised, reserved. Would you like an apple? – Thank you. He’s just arrived. – Fine!	Very emotional. It’s eight o’clock. – Heavens! (I’m late.)

☻ THE LOW RISE when used in statements, makes them sound not categoric, assertive and separative, but soothing and reassuring, reserving judgement. It encourages further conversation and may sometimes give a hint of self-confidence and self-reliance.

There’s nothing to get upset about. I promise I won’t tell anyone. We all make mistakes sometimes. All in good time.

Low rise is a typical contour for non-final sense-groups very closely connected with the following sense-group.

I opened the door quietly, (and caught him red-handed.)

I’d no sooner set eyes on him (than I knew he was seriously ill.)

☻THE HIGH RISE is essentially an interrogatory tone. The feeling of non-finality and incompleteness, characteristic of the LR, is brought to its extreme form in the HR, expressing the speaker’s active searching for information. This is obvious in those utterances where the high rise turns into a question a sentence, which is built grammatically as a statement. e.g.: You like it? HR is often used in echoed utterances (We start tomorrow. — You start tomorrow?), 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.

Note: Prosody, and especially intonation, is an important feature of sociolinguistic identity. A well-known example is the way some regional English accents routinely use a rising tone at the end of statements, instead of the falling tone found there in most parts of the English-speaking world. Rising-tone accents, often described as ‘musical’ or ‘lilting’, include those typical of Northern Ireland, Wales, and parts of NE England.

In recent years, attention has been drawn to the increasing use of a particular type of rising statement intonation in what are traditionally known to be falling accents. This is the use of high-rising contour.

Although this usage has been noted in several other parts of the English-speaking world, it has certainly been a very noticeable feature of Australian and New Zealand English, at least since 1960s.

Why is it used? Why should a statement end with an intonation pattern which would normally be associated with the function of a question? Here is the result of a recent linguistic study:

♦Women used it twice as much as men.

♦Teenagers used it ten times more often than people over 20, and people in the 20-30 age group used it five times as much as those over 70.

♦Working-class people used it three times as much as middle-class people.

♦Ethnic minorities used it two to three times more often than members of the majority group.

Two kinds of explanations have been proposed for the phenomenon:

☼ One hypothesis focuses on the social differences, and suggests that the tone is preferred by the less powerful members of society. It acts as an (unconscious) expression of uncertainty and lack of confidence, perhaps even subservience and deference. One view argues that women have come to use the tone because of their subservience to men. It is also a widely held view in relation to nationhood. In a Perth (Western Australia) radio programme in 1980, several members of a studio audience expressed the view that Australians used the tone because of their uncertain and still evolving national identity.

☼ An alternative explanation is that the high rising tone is used as natural and widespread feature of conversational interaction. A speaker might introduce it for any of the several discourse reasons – as an informal check to see if the listener has understood, as a request for empathy or some other from of feedback, or even as an indication that the speaker has not yet finished speaking. (After D. Britain & J. Newman, 1992)

☻THE FALL-RISE (Low Fall + Low Rise, High Fall+ Low Rise; Undivided: NO, Divided: i THINK his face is FAMILIAR.). “Fall-rise is an implicatory tone. It always gives the impression that something has been left unsaid, and that the speaker expects his listener to imagine the extra meaning.” (Roger Kingdon)

The falling part marks the idea which the speaker wants to emphasize and the rising part marks the addition to this main idea.

He is thirty. – He is thirty-five. (a mild correction)

We’ll go there. – You shan’t. ( a contradiction )

I must be on time. – You’ll be late. (a warning)

It’s all so awful. – Cheer up. (encouraging, pleading)

Good night, Betty. – Good night, Mrs. Sandford. (friendly, polite)

☻THE RISE-FALL implies all the definiteness, finality, etc., associated with the other falling tone contours. It particularly shows that the speaker is greatly impressed (whether favourably or not). This tone has an intensifying function very similar to the use of the word “ even ”. You aren’t trying. = … even trying.

The R-F is disclaiming responsibility, expressing warmth, admiration, sarcasm, indignation, sounds impressed, challenging, antagonistic).

☻THE MID-LEVEL is usually used in non-final intonation groups expressing non-finality: What did Tom say? – Naturally, he was delighted.

In dialogic speech tones range in the following way: the High Fall, the Fall-Rise, the Low Rise, the Low Fall.

THE PITCH RANGE & LEVEL

Pitch levels: high, mid (medium), low.

The interval between two pitch levels is called the PITCH RANGE (normal, wide, narrow).

● THE TONE-UNIT AS THE MINIMAL UNIT OF INTONATION DESCRIPTION

The elementary structural and meaningful segment of the text is a sense-group or a syntagm. A sense-group is a part of the utterance which is organized syntactically, has a definite meaning and is characterized by definite intonation means (a tone-unit).

I’ll ask what to do about it.

pre-head head nucleus = tail

semantic centre/

focus / prominence

REVIEW QUESTIONS:

---

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14