7.2.2. Prose
It was only when the analysis of prose rhythm was started that it was found to what extent the above generalizations hold good for all kinds of speech. Experimental phonetics gives evidence to what scholars of syntax have defined intuitively. Rhythm has been discovered even in everyday spontaneous talk (Antipova 1984).
What are the basic units of rhythm in prose read aloud? They are:
rhythmic group (other names are stress-group, accent group, foot),
intonation group (other names are tone unit, syntagma),
supraphrasal unit (other names are speech paragraph, theme unit, topic).
Naming practically identical units by different names in verse and prose is a matter of convention. Traditionally, the term "foot" as a unit containing one stress was applied to verse in poetics. However, in 1964 David Abercrombie started to use it to both conversation and spoken prose structures {Abercrombie 1964). The new convention has been revived by metrical phonology {Liberman 1975) and in more recent studies of intonation {Hirst and Di Cristo 1998). So we are free to call the basic unit of rhythm as we choose, "foot" or "rhythmic group"; the second larger unit is either an "intonation group" or "tone unit". With the next, largest unit it will be more difficult to break the tradition of "stanza" applied to verse and "supraphrasal unity" as applied to prose.
However, one thing is quite clear: the hierarchy principle and the prosody rhythm-forming function are both valid for prose, verse and even spontaneous talk, although in each mode of speech there are specific style-forming means. We will consider them now.
It is necessary to note here that apart from the basic units of rhythm there are other units which may come to the fore in particular texts with greater regularity. It was found, for instance, that a long sentence in prose which consists of a number of intonation groups and practically functions as a supraphrasal unity falls into smaller periods uniting intonation groups by two or three. These shorter periods are marked off by an overall rise and drop of pitch and by a pause longer than a pause between intonation groups (the latter becomes optional in that case). In the following piece of linguistic text the end of each period is underscored:
Conversation itself, of course, takes the most varied forms: it may be between strangers, or between acquaintances, or between intimates: it may involve exchanging information, or merely exchanging good will or perhaps ill will. There are numerous formal differences to be found between various kinds: but they all have certain basic characteristics in common.
(David Abercrombie).
An important finding here is that each small period presents a syntactical and semantical unity, just as other rhythmic elements do. Thus units of rhythm are actually units of meaning: a foot brings out one stressed word, an intonation group is normally a word combination or a clause, a small period of the kind we singled out in the above example unites two or three pragmatically similar homogeneous parts of the sentence, and, finally, the supraphrasal unity develops one theme.
Prosody with its constant rise and drop of pitch and intensity, with falling tones indicating finality and with pauses of varying length helps us to understand the text. Prosody creates rhythmic groups by uniting them, on the one hand, and by separating them one from the others, on the other. We can call these functions of rhythm structuring, cohesive, delimiting. We can paraphrase this by saying that prosody is used for cohesion of the text and for delimiting its structural elements. To this we can add the aesthetic function of rhythm which appeals to our sense of harmony.
Here is another example of prosodic composition of prose supported by experimental data:
After a very long pause/ he entered upon an account/ of this great circumstance in his life/ with an air which I thought/ raised my idea of him/ above what I had ever had before:// and gave me the picture/ of that cheerful mind of his/ before it received that stroke/ which had ever since/affected his words and actions.
(John Steele)
In this long period (read by a professional actor) there are four small periods (underscored at the end). Within each small period there is a rise of pitch and a drop at the end. In the first period, for example, the intonation groups are pronounced within the following Fo ranges: 1. 220 Hz — 100 Hz 2. 275 Hz - 95 Hz 3. 235 Hz - 85 Hz. The lowest pitch level is reached at the end of the period: 1.150 Hz 2.110 Hz 3. 85 Hz.