Intonation

Gral. characteristics:
Any language is spoken in a monotone, in all languages there are variations of pitch, but not all languages use these pitch variations in the same way. With ENGLISH INTONATION we mean the pitch patterns of spoken English, the speech tunes or melodies, the music features of English. i. Intonation is significant. Utterances which are different only in respect of intonation may differ from each other in meaning. The same phrase may be said in a down-right, or a reserved, or a questioning tone of voice, amongst others. ii. Intonation is systematic. We dont invent words that we use in speaking, we dont invent the sounds of which they are composed; we learn them and spend the rest of our lives using words with the same sounds. Similar ly, we dont invent tunes, we use the tones that we learnt and we dont choose them at random. Theres a limited number of pitch patterns in any language and we use them to produce definite meaningful effects. iii. Intonation is characteristic. The pitch patterns or tunes of English arent the same in form as those of other languages and they dont produce the same effect as in English. If we use a foreign tune when speaking English, we will have a foreign accent and itll be difficult to understand. The use of a tune used in English, but used in an inappropriate circumstance will lead in misunderstanding and possible embarrassment. Thank you may be said with a tune which makes it sound genuinely grateful or which another one which sounds casual. Now, if the foreign learner unintentionally uses the casual form when the listener expects another reaction, the listener will have a bar impression.

Word groups
In speech the grammatical division is marked by intonation. For example, in As a matter of fact, I hardly know him. the opening phrase will be divided from the main clause through intonation. These groups of words, phrases or clauses are called WORD GROUPS. The number of words groups we choose to use is important for the meaning. For example, we have the sentence My sister who lives in Edinburgh has just had twins. and we can divide it in 2 or in 3 groups words according to the meaning we want to reach, if we divided in 3, like My sister, |who lives in Edinburgh, |has just had twins. the meaning is, The only sister I have, who happened to be in Edinburgh but if we divide it in 2, like My sister who lives in Edinburgh |has just had twins. the meaning is different. Here we are saying one of the several sisters I have We use a single bar (|) to separate words groups which have a very close grammatical connection and a double bar (||) at the end of utterances which arent closely connected to what follows. For example: When I got there | the bus had left. ||I was furious. ||

Role of intonation
1. The division of longer utterances into grammatically relevant word groups is one of the roles of intonation. 2. The second is the use of different tunes, different patterns of pitch, for grammatical purposes.

For example: You can have ice-cream | or chocolate. said with a rising voice in the word ice-cream and a falling one in the word chocolate means that there are ice-cream and chocolate and nothing else. But if we say it with a rising voice in both words ice-cream and chocolate we are saying that they are simple examples and there is more food to eat. 3. Expressing speakers attitude at the moment of speaking to the situation which is placed. For example Thank you. said with a falling voice shows genuine gratitude, but if it raises it sounds casual.

Accent
The words in a word group dont necessarily all contribute an equal amount of information, same are more important to meaning than others. It depends on the context of the utterance. For example, consider the sentence It was an unusually dark night.. Of a beginning of a story the last three words are important. But if the sentence is answer to the question, What sort of night was it? the only two important words are unusually and dark. And if the sentence is an answer to the question Was it dark last night?, the word unusually is the most important one. If the sentence is said to make a contradiction to the sentence It wasnt an unusually dark night, was it? then, was is going to be the most important one. In speech these words stand out by means of ACCENT.

The tune of single-syllable word groups

TUNE the complete pitch treatment of a word group. The seven tunes are: 1. Low Fall 2. High Fall 3. Rise Fall 4. Low Rise 5. High Rise 6. Fall Rise 7. Midlevel The voice falls during the word from a medium to a very low pitch. The voiced falls during the word from a high to a very low pitch. The voice first rises from a fairly low to a high pitch, and then quickly falls to a very low pitch. The voice rises during the word from a low to a medium pitch or a little above. The voice rises during the word from a medium to a high pitch. The voice first falls from a fairly high to a rather low pitch, and then, still within the word, rises to a medium pitch. The voice maintains a level pitch between high and low, neither rising nor falling. Two

Nucleus and tail

No matter how long or how short the word group is, no matter how many or how few accented words it contains, the pattern of its tune from the stressed syllable of the last accented word onwards will correspond to one or other of the seven gral patterns. The

stressed syllable of the last accented word is a landmark of the highest importance, and it is on this syllable that the whole tune centres. This syllable is called the NUCLEUS of the tune and all syllables following the nucleus are the TAIL. The rising, falling or level tune endings which take place on the nucleus or start from it are known as NUCLEAR TONES; therere 7 of these nuclear tones corresponding to the 7 tunes endings already explained. The last accented word is made to stand out by a combination of stress and the pitch features of the nuclear tones. There can be no accented word in the tail, but may be a stressed one. To graphic intonation we place a single symbol immediately before the nucleus to indicate the nuclear tone; this symbol tells us, by its position and shape, which syllable is the nucleus of the tune and which of the seven main endings is used. All the rhythm of English speech depends on all the stressed in the word group, not just those in the accented words, being made to occur at approximately equal intervals of time. To mark these stressed syllables in the tail the degree sign is used. Placed low () indicates that the following stressed syllable has or begins on the lowest pitch level. Placed high () it indicates any stressed syllable of the tail which is higher than the lowest pitch. Low Fall High Fall Rise-Fall Low Rise High Rise Fall Rise Mid-Level Two `Two Two Two Two Two >Two Twenty `Twenty Twenty Twenty Twenty Twenty >Twenty Seventy `Seventy Seventy Seventy Seventy Seventy >Seventy Two Peter. `Two, you silly fool. Two, indeed! Two, I think. Two, did you say? Two, you mean? >Two, perhaps.

Pre-nuclear patterns
In word groups containing words and syllables before the nucleus, its convenient to divide the pre-nuclear pattern, that part of the tune preceding the nucleus, into 2 parts, the HEAD and the PRE-HEAD. The HEAD begins with the stressed syllable of the first accented word and ends with the syllable immediately preceding the nucleus. The PREHEAD consists of any syllable before the stressed syllable of the first accented word. It was an unusually dark night. Pre-head Head Nucleus

Heads
Low head, High head, Falling head and Rising head.

Low Head
All the syllables are said on the same low pitch as the beginning of the Low Rise. Example: Someones bound to came along soon.