Теоретическая фонетика английского языка (803492), страница 23
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As a result these intonation groups are perceived as subordinate,The Low Rise in the tag question indicates that the speaker expects anparenthetical or just less important.answer and wants his partner to express either agreement or disagreement.Intonation can also be used as a reference to the information shared bythe participants ofdiscourse. Speakers use falling tones in the parts of the ut- The food is very expensive here.terance which they think is unknown to the listener. They use the Fall-Rise- It .is, .Isn't it?when they refer to the information shared by themselves and the listeners.The Low Fall in thequestion is a signal that no answer is expected- What shall we give July? and the agreement of the partner is assumed.- As she likes vreading! we could -"give her a ,book.
In the analysis of spoken discourse special attention is given to the in- How about going out on Friday? teractional me(lning of language means. To explain how language unitsI've got a -"meeting on v Friday. function in social context scholars rely on the pragmatics of discourse.In natural speech both the placement and the choice of nuclear tonereflect numerous implications of social interaction. 1.
C. Wells gives an interesting example ofthe situation which he witnessed himself. "A taxi-driver was picking up two passengers who had a lot ofluggage. The driver loadedmost ofthe cases into the boot ofthe car, but could not find room for the lastone. So he finally placed it on the back seat. One passenger said to the oth. er: "We've solved that problem". The placement of the nucleus on that,4.5.5. Pragmatic functionAccording to contemporary ideas in pragmatics speech communication is effective when people follow special rules which govern speechinteraction and which are recognized by all members of the languagecommunity. "Pragmatics studies the factors which govern our choice of,94 language means in social interaction and the effects of our choice onothers" (D. Crystal, 1995).There are two important aspects in this definition. First, our choiceof language means, and prosodic means in particular, is determined bythe rules of speech behaviour in a particular speech situation.
For example, if a person asks a question he or she expects to get an answer, orif a person wants to engage you in a small talk and makes a commentabout the weather, you are supposed to react in a similar way. Second, bychoosing different language means, including the prosodic means, wecan produce different kinds of influence on the listeners.As regards the pragmatic function of intonation, it consists in the useof intonation with a specific purpose.
In other words, when used in discourse, intonation serves to actualize the speaker's pragmatic aim.the choice of the nuclear tone can be the result of the pragmatics of discourse, i. e. what the speaker wants to achieve in the course ofspeech interaction. Thus, a statement can be used as a request for information and then the rising tone will be used instead of the falling tone:Intonation can contribute to greater expressiveness of an utterance. Sliding Head and High Fall in combination with wide pitch range, increasedloudness and slow tempo make the following utterances very expressive:This ""car is ""terribly ex'pensive.The ""food was 'terrible, I am oSorry to oSay.Into""nation 'plays a very im'portant 'role in 'human communi,cation.Emphatic pauses are often used to make the sentence more expressive.I was so exhausted I that at the end ofthe holiday I I needed I a holiday.""Come and ,help me.....Do be ,careful.,Wait for ,me.Here is another example of the pragmatic use of intonation in socialspeech interaction.
In a British university a pasta dish was offered on themenu at lunch time. It was served as a complete dish (big portion) or withvegetables (smaller portion). The students discovered that if they said "I'llhave the pasta" with a final fall, they were served a big portion, because thecaterer presumed that notlling else was to follow. After a pause the studentsadded "and chips, carrots and peas, please" so the caterer had to add vegetables to the already full plate. "The pasta fall" is a good illustration ofhowthe choice of nuclear tone affects the meaning of tile utterance and howintonation is used for very practical purposes (A. Wichmann, 2000).It should be mentioned that the pragmatic use of intonation is also associated with its ability to affect the intellect and emotions of the listener.IIThe pragmatic function of intonation is manifested in all types of discourse, but it is particularly vivid in the discourse which is specificallydesigned to implement pragmatic goals.
Admittedly, it is especiallyvant in literary texts and in public speaking. In this context the pragmaticfunction is referred to as the rhetorical function of intonation.4.5.6. Rhetorical functionYou are ,coming?You really be,lieve it?A command which is normally pronounced with a fall will function as apolite request when said with a rise or a warning when pronounced with afall-rise:954.5. Functions ofIntonationChapter IV.
IntonationIIn rhetorical discourse the main goal of the speaker is persuasion. Thepublic speech is planned, structured and delivered as an oral text aimed atinfluencing the intellect, the emotions of the listeners or both. Naturally,when presenting the speech in public the speaker chooses the prosodicmeans which will contribute to the implementation of his or her goals andobjectives and make the speech effective. Here are some examples.Now Ithe reasonfor thiy was Ithat in the middle ofthe 19" century Iin BritainIthere had been a very Iviolent Idebate Iabout thefuture ofeducation.The phrase is divided into short intonation groups, emphatic pausesare used.
The tempo is slow. The pitch range is wide. Peculiar accentuation when every word is stressed, even the preposition in, the use of Sliding Head and High Falls make the utterance sound weighty. The wholeutterance is perceived as very expressive.In rhetorical discourse prosodic parameters are frequently radicallychanged, which contributes to the pragmatic effect. When the speakerwants to convey important information the tempo is slowed down and thelength of pauses increases.English has never been a syllable-timed language.III Until nowll.Another technique is the use of repetitions, when prosodic parallelismoften accompanies syntactic parallel constructions.96Chapter IV.
IntonationI could have given a quick account ofthe history II could have said what itwas like to be a student here a hundred years ago I I could have told you aboutthe great museums I and libraries Iand college chapels.Besides conveying information intonation is used to impress, affectthe listeners and thus it performs the pragmatic or rhetorical function.Summing up, we can say that intonation plays a very important rolein making communication effective.Discussing the use of intonation in discourse we should mention another important function, which is referred to as social, or indexical.Intonation is a marker of personal and social identity.
According to D.Crystal, lawyers, preachers, sports commentators, teachers are readilyidentified through their distinctive prosody (D. Crystal, 1995). Intonation can be an indicator of the social status of an individual and his orher social role.In particular speech situations intonation can express the dominanceof one of the participants.
He might use wider pitch range, slower tempo, use the rising tone instead of fall-rise as a referring tone and so on.You were supposed to have done it by the twenty fourth. - The twenty-tSixth, IOthink. - The twenty sixth ofMay? Surely not. It is important to note here that discourse can take many forms, determined by the situation in which it takes place, the participants and theirrelationships. Intonation is subject to variation depending on the extralinguistic situation. These recurrent variations are described in terms ofphonetic styles. Intonation can perform the stylistic function, which will bedescribed in Chapter V.4.6. Rhythm974.6.
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