Class 1 The Form of Intonation PDF

THE FORM OF INTONATION Suprasegmental Phonology of English and Dialectology II INTONATION - WHAT IS IT? In the description of intonation, pitch plays a fundamental role since it is the pattern of linguistically significant variations in pitch along a stretch of utterance what constitutes intonati...

THE FORM OF INTONATION Suprasegmental Phonology of English and Dialectology II INTONATION - WHAT IS IT? In the description of intonation, pitch plays a fundamental role since it is the pattern of linguistically significant variations in pitch along a stretch of utterance what constitutes intonation. The faster the vocal folds vibrate, the higher the pitch that will be perceived and viceversa. pitch is an auditory sensation that corresponds to the physical phenomenon of the rate of vibration of the vocal folds. INTONATION - PITCH RANGE The highest and the lowest limits human voice can reach. high pitch range voice mid low INTONATION - TONE A continuous pitch movement from one level to another. high pitch range mid low INTONATION - TONES LOW FALL: ˎme ˎyes ˎno ˎalways aˎlone HIGH FALL: ˋme ˋyes ˋno ˋalways aˋlone LOW RISE: ˏme ˏyes ˏno ˏalways aˏlone HIGH RISE: ˊme ˊyes ˊno ˊalways aˊlone INTONATION - TONES FALL-RISE: ˇme ˇyes ˇno ˇalways aˇlone RISE-FALL: ˆme ˆyes ˆno ˆalways aˆlone MID LEVEL: ›me ›yes ›no ›always a›lone  INTONATION - TONALITY Utterances are divided into smaller units called tone units, intonation phrases, or intonation groups. Tone units are separated by single vertical lines. Double vertical lines also separate tone units, but they mark pauses as well. INTONATION - TONICITY Which syllable will carry the tone? Unmarked general pattern: the last lexical item (but any syllable may receive the tone depending on intended meaning). INTONATION - TONICITY STRUCTURE – THE TONIC SYLLABLE OR NUCLEUS The syllable that carries the tone becomes the tonic syllable or nucleus. Other accented syllables before the TS are marked with ˈ, ˌ or ̊. INTONATION - TONICITY STRUCTURE – THE TONIC SYLLABLE OR NUCLEUS Tail: any syllable or syllables after Head: from the first accented the tonic syllable, accented or syllable up to the tonic syllable. unaccented. Pre-head: any unaccented The tail continues the movement of syllable before the head. the TS. pre-head head TS tail INTONATION - TONICITY STRUCTURE – THE TONIC SYLLABLE OR NUCLEUS PH TS T TS PH H TS T tone unit tone unit tone unit RECAP Intonation is the linguistically significant pattern of pitch variations in a stretch of utterance. Pitch is an auditory sensation that allows us to place voice in a range from low to high. A continuous movement from a pitch level to another is a tone. Utterances are divided into tone units (tonality). RECAP The syllable in a tone unit that receives the tone is called the tonic syllable or nucleus (tonicity). The TS is the only obligatory element in a tone unit. The head of a tone unit begins with the first accented syllable and ends up right before the tonic syllable. It can be high or low pitched. The tail is that part of the tone unit that includes any syllable(s), accented or unaccented, after the TS and it continues with the pitch movement of the TS. The pre-head is any unaccented syllable(s) before the head.  READING (OPTIONAL) Collins pp 141 to 145. Roach chapters 15.1 to 15.3 and 16.1 and 16.2. REFERENCES Allen, W. S. (1958). Living English speech: stress and intonation practice for the foreign student. Longmans. Collins, B. and Mees, I. (2013). Practical Phonetics and Phonology: a resource book for students. (3rd ed.). Routledge. Cruttenden A. (2014). Gimson’s Pronunciation of English. (8th ed.).Routledge. Roach, P. (2010). English Phonetics and Phonology. (4th ed.). Cambridge University Press. Wells, J. C. (2006). English intonation: an introduction. Cambridge University Press.