Communicative Types of Sentences

The communicative type of a sentence is a linguistic category differentiated in speech in accordance with the aim of the utterance. There are 4 types of them. They are:

1. Statements (categoric, non-categoric, implicatory).

2. Questions (special, general, alternative, disjunctive).

3. Imperatives (commands, requests).

4. Exclamations.

The Use of Terminal Tones

The use of terminal tone is determined by the communicative type of the sentence and by the speaker’s attitude towards what he says. There are two basic types of terminal tones in English:

1) the falling tones usually express finality and they are definite and categoric in character;

2) the rising tones are non-categorical in character and express incompleteness and non-finality.

The falling tone is used in:

1. Categoric statements. (I am a student.)

2. Special questions. (What’s the date today?)

3. Alternative questions (the second part). (Is it good or bad?)

4. Disjunctive questions (to express certainty). (You’re a teacher, aren’t you?)

5. Commands. (Read lesson 10.)

6. Affirmative exclamations (How late you are!), offers and suggestions (Let me read.)

The rising tone is used in:

1. Non-categoric (implicatory or perfunctory) statements. (He is a student of English.)

2. General questions. (Is anyone absent today?)

3. Special questions expressing friendly interest. (What’s the matter?)

4. Alternative questions (first part). (Do you stay here or go home?)

5. Disjunctive questions to express uncertainty. (You’re a teacher, aren’t you?)

6. Interrogative exclamations. (So late?)

7. Greetings. (Good morning.)

Terminal Tones

Nuclear tones that finish any syntagm according to their function can be terminal and non-terminal.

The terminal tone is a variation in pitch produced during the final stress-tone unit of the terminal intonation group. For instance,

A friend in need is a friend indeed.

The terminal tone is an inseparable part of any intonation contour, because its main function is to distinguish the communicative types of utterances.

According to their structure the terminal tones fall into two types:

1. consisting of the nucleus only; 2) consisting of the nucleus and the tail.

Types of Heads

A head beginning on a high pitch and then gradually descending in level pitches on the stressed syllables of the utterance is called a stepping head. Each stressed syllable with the following it unstressed ones is pronounced on the same level:

It’s much too late to have any regrets now.

Gradually descending scale of level pitches on the stressed syllables is a typical feature of English Intonation.

When both stressed and unstressed syllables are pronounced on the same high pitch the head is called a high head.

A scale beginning on a low pitch and remaining there is called a low head.

It’s no good apologizing now.

The stressed syllables may gradually rise towards the high-falling nucleus. In that case the head is called a rising head.

How did you manage to do that?

If the head presents a fall in pitch that is not so gradual but rather “jumpy”, we get what is called the sliding head. In that case the stressed syllables of the head are marked with the symbol []:

I doubt whether I can give an answer by then.