Lecture 8: Intonation • Definition • Tune shapes • Functions of intonation • The basic English tunes • The falling tune – The glide down • The first rising tune – The glide up • The second rising tune – The take off • The falling-rising tune – The dive Definition • Intonation is the pattern of pitch changes that occurs over a phrase which may be a complete sentence When he came, I greeted him I bought some bananas, oranges, apples and grapes • The part of a sentence over which a particular pattern extends is called a tone group A short sentence often forms a single tone group, while longer ones are made up of two or more • Within the tone group, there is usually a single syllable that stands out because it carries a major pitch change A syllable of this kind is called the tonic syllable Tonic syllable • It is usually impossible to predict which syllable will be the tonic syllable in a tone group It depends on what the speaker considers important In general, new information is more likely to receive a tonic stress than material that has already been mentioned Water is a liquid Water is a liquid How was he? He was very boring Was he boring? He was very boring Tune shapes • The shape of a tune is decided partly by the number of important words in the group, and partly by the exact attitude you wish to express Important words are words which carry the most meaning in a word group Important words must be stressed, but not all stressed words are important Examples: • How was John? He was in an appallingly bad temper • Was John in a good temper? He was in an appallingly bad temper • Was John in a bad temper? He was in an appallingly bad temper Functions of intonation Attitudinal function Intonation enables us to epxress emotions and attitudes as we speak, and this adds a special kind of meaning to spoken language This is called the attitudinal function of intonation E.g Thank you • Starts high and ends low → shows real gratitude • Starts low and ends high → casual acknowledgement of something not very important • Where did you go? • Sounds more business like, interested in the Subject • Where did you go? • Interested in both the Subject of the conversation and the other speaker Accentual function Intonation helps to produce the effect of prominence on syllables that need to be perceived as stressed, and in particular the placing of tonic stress on a particular syllble marks out the word to which it belongs as the most important in the tone unit This has been called the accentual function of intonation I want to know where he’s travelling to He was very boring Grammatical function The listener is better able to recognize the grammar and syntactic structure of what is being said by using the information contained in the intonation For example, such things as the placement of boundaries between phrases, clauses and sentences, the difference between questions and statements and the use of grammatical subordination may be indicated This is called the grammatical function of intonation Those who sold quickly made a profit My son John and my daughter She’s dead Discourse function Looking at the act of speaking in a broader way, we can see that intonation can signal to the listener what is to be taken as ‘new’ information and what is already ‘given’, can suggest when the speaker is indicating some sort of contrast or link with material in another tone unit and, in conversation, can convey to the listener what kind of response is expected You love her, don’t you? Since the last time we met when we had that huge dinner, I’ve been on a diet 10 Symbols • Before the stressed syllalbe where the voice falls, we put ( \ ) • Before the stressed syllable of each other important word, we put ( ' ) • Unstressed syllables at the beginning have no mark before them • If there is a low-pitched stress near the beginning, it is marked by ( < ) And the same mark is used for stressed syllables which come after the fall 17 I waited almost twenty five minutes for the wretched man How to use the glide down 18 The first rising tune - The glide up Definition The glide up is the intonation pattern consisting of a rise at the end of a sentence but the tune starts at a high pitch How the voice rises • All syllables, either stressed or unstressed, before the rise ( the stressed syllable of the last imporant word) are treated exactly the same as in the glide down • At the stressed syllable of the last important word, the voice rises from a low pitch to one just above the middle of the voice 19 • All the syllables, stressed as well as unstressed) after the stressed syllable of the last important word are on the rise Is it true that you’re changing your job? Did you say it was your twentieth birthday today? 20 • If the sentence consists of only one important word, the voice starts at a very low pitch Forty of them were there? Symbols • We use ( / ) before the stressed syllable of the last important word to show where the rise starts • We use ( • ) before any stressed syllable within the rise • We put ( ' ) before the stressed syllable of each important word 21 • Have you been at work today John? • Could I borrow this book for a day or two? • Would you mind if I brought my mother in low to see you? 22 How to use the glide up 23 The second rising tune - The take off Definition • The take off is the intonation pattern that ends with a rise in the voice like the Glide up but any words or syllables before the rise are low • We call it the take off because like an aeroplane taking off, it starts by running along at a low level and finally rises into the air How the voice take off • The rise starts at the stressed syllable of the last important word 24 • All the syllables before the rise are said on the same low pitch as the beginning of the rise • Each syllable after the rise is a bit higher I was only trying help him with it • I wasn’t expecting him at six o’clock in the morning 25 The symbols • We use ( / ) before the rise • Any stressed syllable after this have ( • ) • Any stressed syllables before this have ( < ) You shouldn’t have given him all that money you silly boy How to use the take off 26 The falling-rising tune – The dive Definition The dive is the intonation pattern consisting of a fall from a rather high pitch to a low one and then a rise to about the middle of the voice How the voice falls and rises • The fall-rise is also connected with the stressed syllable of the last important word • If that syllable is finalin the group, the fall-rise is completed on that syllable Five Soon 27 • If there is one or several syllables following, the fall and the rise are separated The fall is on the stressed syllable of the last important word and the rise on the last syllable of all Seventy of them • If there are stressed syllables of unimportant words following the fall, the rise at the end is from the last stressed syllable Mary would probably tell you 28 • Words or syllables before the fall are said in the same way as for the glide down and glide up I may be able to come on Monday • Note that the fall of the fall-rise is always from a fairly high note Symbols • If the stressed syllable of the last important word is the final in the group, or it is followed only by unstressed syllables, we but ( v ) before 29 it • But if the fall is followed by one or more stressed syllables, we mark the fall with ( \ ) and we put ( / ) before the last stressed syllable of all Other stressed syllables between the fall and the rise have (  ) before them • Other intonation marks are the same for the gilde down and the glide up John told me he was going to holiday next week 30 How to use the dive 31 [...]...The basic English tunes • The falling tune – The glide down • The first rising tune – The glide up • The second rising tune – The take off • The falling-rising tune – The dive 11 The falling tune – The glide down 1 Definition The falling tune is the intonation pattern consisting of a fall in the voice from a fairly high pitch to... stressed syllables which come after the fall 17 I waited almost twenty five minutes for the wretched man 4 How to use the glide down 18 The first rising tune - The glide up 1 Definition The glide up is the intonation pattern consisting of a rise at the end of a sentence but the tune starts at a high pitch 2 How the voice rises • All syllables, either stressed or unstressed, before the rise ( the stressed... I borrow this book for a day or two? • Would you mind if I brought my mother in low to see you? 22 4 How to use the glide up 23 The second rising tune - The take off 1 Definition • The take off is the intonation pattern that ends with a rise in the voice like the Glide up but any words or syllables before the rise are low • We call it the take off because like an aeroplane taking off, it starts by running... ) • Any stressed syllables before this have ( < ) You shouldn’t have given him all that money you silly boy 4 How to use the take off 26 The falling-rising tune – The dive 1 Definition The dive is the intonation pattern consisting of a fall from a rather high pitch to a low one and then a rise to about the middle of the voice 2 How the voice falls and rises • The fall-rise is also connected with the... or more stressed syllables, we mark the fall with ( \ ) and we put ( / ) before the last stressed syllable of all Other stressed syllables between the fall and the rise have (  ) before them • Other intonation marks are the same for the gilde down and the glide up John told me he was going to holiday next week 30 4 How to use the dive 31