- •2.Nasal plosion
- •8. Intrusive r
- •9.Combinations of voiceless consonants with [r] [tr, pr, kr, str, skr, 6r, fr, sr]
- •10. Combinations of alveolar and interdental consonants with [r] [tr, dr, 0r, 6r]
- •11. Absence of assimilation in some consonant clusters
- •12. Elision in consonants clusters.
- •13.Vowels in stressed and unstressed syllables in English.
- •14. Reduction of function words in English. Words always weak in unstressed position.
- •15. Reduction of function words in English. Words which may be both weak and strong in an unstressed position.
- •17. A Falling nuclear tone, due to its categoric and definite character, adds greater semantic weight to a non-final group in comparison with the Low Rising pattern.
- •19. Initial Parentheses
- •20. Final Parentheses
- •21. Initial Reporting Phrases
- •23. Intonation of Reporting Phrases in Reported Speech
- •24. Initial Direct Address
- •25 Final and Medial Direct Address
- •26. Common features of friendly conversational formulas (greetings, expressions of gratitude).
- •27. Common features of casual conversational formulas (greetings, expressions of gratitude).
- •28. Common features of normal conversational formulas (expressions of gratitude, apologies, farewells).
- •29. Intonation of straightforward statements.
- •30. Intonation of implicatory statements. Friendly statements.
- •31. General Questions
- •32. Special Questions
- •33. Alternative Questions
- •34. Disjunctive (Tag) Questions
- •35. Intonation of imperatives.
29. Intonation of straightforward statements.
These are statements which convey information in a straightforward manner without any implications. They are pronounced with the nuclear Falling tone (high, mid or 1 о w) which is normally carried by the last important word of an utterance and is commonly combined with a high level head:
— 'What 'time shall we meet?
— 'Let's make it "Monday afternoon.
Whenever it is necessary to give more prominence to all or some of the words in the prenuclear part of an utterance a stepping head (which may have a broken variant) or a s 1 i d i n g (falling) h e a d are used:
a) — 'Has he ever Worked as a teacher? — He 'used to be a 'tutor at'London'UniVersity.
b) — 'Did she 'show you her birthday /presents? — Yes. She got a lovely 'present from her aunt.
Statements pronounced with any of the pitch varieties of the Falling tone are final, complete, definite and categoric in meaning. At the same time each of them conveys a different attitude of the speaker to the situation and to the listener. Thus, straightforward statements with a High Fall sound light, energetic and have the effect of the speaker's personal involvement in .the situation. A Low Fall gives a considered, serious and weighty note to a statement. Statements with a Mid Fall convey a neutral, calm and quiet attitude:
1. — What will you 'do next?
— I'll 'add some 'dry fruit.
2. — 'Where shall meet you?
— 'Near the booking-office.
3. — Why did he 'run away?
— I 'haven't the 'slightest idea.
30. Intonation of implicatory statements. Friendly statements.
Statements pronounced with the nuclear Falling- Rising tone (Divided or Undivided) are known as implicatory statements.
Due to the specific character of the Fall-Rise such utterances give the impression that the speaker wants his hearer to understand more than the words themselves convey. The additional meanings implied by this tone include contradiction, correction, contrast, hesitation, apology, cordiality, warning. The exact implication is nearly always clear from the situation and the lexical content of the utterance:
1. — It's one of the test *German films I've seen.
— It's Italian, (correction)
2. — I |think they have 'all finished writing their essays.
— Ann /hasn't, (contrast)
3. — 'Let's go 'out and *do the Chopping now.
— But it ^hasn't •stopped training /yet. (contradiction)
The nuclear Fall-Rise in implicatory statements, as is shown in the examples, can be preceded by different kinds of head (high level, stepping, fa 11 ing), but a sliding head with its falling variant is the most typical.
Friendly Statements
Friendly statements are characterised by the nuclear Low Rising tone and a high-pitched prenuclear part (normal or high prehead, high level or stepping head). Utterances with this intonation pattern lack'the definiteness and finality of falling tunes and the implicatory note of the falling-rising ones. They sound warm, lively and encouraging.-
1. — 'Don't be Mong, Ann.
— I 'shan't be 'later than /usual.
2. — 'Please, 'hurry up, /Jane.
— I'll be 'ready in a /minute.