Lecture 8. Intonation

1. Intonation.

2. The linguistic function of intonation.

3. The implications of a terminal tone.

4. Rhythm.

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Intonation is a language universal. There are no languages which are spoken as a monotone, i.e. without any change of prosodic parametres. On perceptional level intonation is a complex, a whole, formed by significant variations of pitch, loudness and tempo closely related. Some linguists regard speech timber as the fourth component of intonation. Though it certainly conveys some shades of attitudinal or emotional meaning there’s no reason to consider it alongside with the 3 prosodic components of intonation (pitch, loudness and tempo). Nowadays the term “prosody” substitutes the term “intonation”.

On the acoustic level pitch correlates with the fundamental frequency of the vibrations of the vocal cords; loudness correlates with the amplitude of vibrations; tempo is a correlate of time during which a speech unit lasts.

The auditory level is very important for teachers of foreign languages. 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 pattern which 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 are semantically and syntactically complete. In phonetics they are called intonation groups. The intonation group is a stretch of speech which may have the length of the whole phrase. But the phrase often contains more than one intonation group. The number of them depends on the length of phrase and the degree of semantic impotence or emphasis given to various parts of it. The position of intonation groups may affect the meaning.

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The communicative function of intonation is realized in various ways which can be grouped under five – six general headings:

1) to structure the intonation content of a textual unit. So as to show which information is new or can not be taken for granted, as against information which the listener is assumed to possess or to be able to acquire from the context, that is given information;

2) to determine the speech function of a phrase, to indicate whether it is intended as a statement, question, etc;

3) to convey connotational meanings of attitude, such as surprise, etc. In the written form we are given only the lexics and the grammar;

4) to structure a text. Intonation is an organizing mechanism. It divides texts into smaller parts and on the other hand it integrates them forming a complete text;

5) to differentiate the meaning of textual units of the same phonetic structure and the same lexical composition (distinctive or phonological function);

6) to characterize a particular style or variety of oral speech which may be called a stylistic function.

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Classification of intonation patterns:

Different combinations of pitch sections (pre-heads, heads and nuclei) may result in more than one hundred pitch-and-stress patterns. But it is not necessary to deal with all of them, because some patterns occur very rarely. So, attention must be concentrated on the commonest ones:

1. The Low (Medium) Fall pitch-and-stress group

2. The High Fall group

3. Rise Fall group

4. The Low Rise group

5. The High Rise group

6. The Fall Rise group

7. The Rise-Fall-Rise group

8. The Mid-level group

No intonation pattern is used exclusively with this or that sentence type. Some sentences are more likely to be said with one intonation pattern than with any other. So we can speak about “common intonation” for a particular type of sentence.

a) Statements are most widely used with the Low Fall preceded by the Falling or the High level Head. They are final, complete and definite.

b) Commands, with the Low Fall are very powerful, intense, serious and strong.

c) Exclamations are very common with the High Fall.

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We cannot fully describe English intonation without reference to speech rhythm. Rhythm seems to be a kind of framework of speech organization. Some linguists consider it to be one of the components of intonation.

Rhythm is understood as periodicity in time and space. We find it everywhere in life. Rhythm as a linguistic notion is realized in lexical, syntactical and prosodic means and mostly in their combinations.

In speech, the type of rhythm depends on the language. Linguists divide languages into two groups:

1) syllable-timed (French, Spanish);

2) stress-timed (English, German, Russian).

In a syllable-timed language the speaker gives an approximately equal amount of time to each syllable, whether the syllable is stressed or unstressed.

In a stress-timed language the rhythm is based on a larger unit, than syllable. Though the amount of time given on each syllable varies considerably, the total time of uttering each rhythmic unit is practically unchanged. The stressed syllables of a rhythmic unit form peaks of prominence. They tend to be pronounced at regular intervals no matter how many unstressed syllables are located between every 2 stressed ones. Thus the distribution of time within the rhythmic unit is unequal.

Speech rhythm is traditionally defined as recurrence of stressed syllables at more or less equal intervals of time in a speech continuum.

Questions:

1. Name the basic components of intonation.

2. What is the connection between pitch and tempo?

3. What for do we need different nuclear tones?

4. Which nuclei are the commonest?