Practical Tasks

1. Transcribe the following words.

familiar, intonational, dominant, features, conversation, spontaneous, opposed, seriousness, subject-matter, artificial, occurrence, entire range, intonation patterns, social restrictions, conversational situation, relatively unexcited, to be characterised, monosyllabic, high proportion, personal participation, recurrent patterns, exemplified, casual vocabulary, colloquial idioms, repetition, rephrasing, incomplete sentences.

3. In the text provided find the sentences with the following word combinations, translate them and learn by heart.

1. dominant features;

2. informal conversation;

3. spontaneous dialogic text;

4. a clear boundary;

5. seriousness of the subject-matter;

6. the most useful and least artificial kind of English;

• the entire range of intonation patterns;

• social restrictions;

• monosyllabic response;

• the flow of conversation;

• to be exemplified;

• casual vocabulary;

• colloquial idioms;

• conversational openers;

4. Agree or disagree to the following.

1. It is the style of relatively informal conversation between educated people.

2. Familiar style like other styles will not allow the occurrence of a wide range of intonation patterns

3. Relatively unexcited conversational situations are characterised by low pre- heads and sliding heads.

4. The flow of conversation is characterised by the high proportion of intonation patterns with the High Fall.

5. The nuclear tone can be placed at an utterly unexpected place.

6. Intonation groups tend to be short.

7. This style is characterised by stable pattern of tempo and rhythm.

8. Repetition or rephrasing involves repetition of key words and phrases for the sake of emphasis.

6. Questions for discussion.

1. How can you characterise the notion of this intonational style?

2. What communicative means apart from verbal language are applied in conversations?

3. What intonation patterns are frequent in conversational style?

4. Why is the High Fall very typical of this style?

5. What does the variation the set of patterns used here depend on?

6. Characterise the intonation groups, pauses and rhythm of conversational style.

7. Speak on the common features of informal conversation.

7. Tapescripts

• Listen to the following conversation carefully, sentence by sentence after the tape-recorder according to the suggested intonation patterns.

The Patient and the Doctor

A very optimistic doctor is standing beside the bed of one of his patients, who has been in the hospital for several weeks. The worried patient asks him:

Patient: Am I going to get better, doctor?

Doctor: As you know, you are still quite ill.

P: Yes, I know, doctor, I know. But please don't let me go on with... with false hopes. Tell me the truth!

D: I've been studying your case in my medical books, and I've done a lot of research on your problem.

P: Please don't try to soften the blow. Tell me the truth, no matter what it is.

D: I'm convinced that we can keep you alive. Yes, and I can even say that you are definitely going to get better!

P: Wonderful! But I don't understand how you can be so sure. Up till now all the other doctors have told me that the disease. It’s fatal. How can you be sure that I'm going to get better?

D: I'm a scientist in the art of medicine. I've studied your case carefully.

P: Yes, yes... I know all of that, doctor...

• Listen to the following conversation carefully, sentence by sentence. Underline the nuclear word of each intonation group, mark the stresses and tunes. Practise reading each sentence after the tape-recorder.

D: In the latest medical journals they've published the result of a long study on this disease.

P: And what does this study show?

D: In your case, I'll continue the present treatment and I'll trust in the scientifically proven statistics.

P: And do these statistics show that I'm going to get better?

D: Exactly! It's been proven that ten percent of all the patients with this disease get better.

P: What? Only ten percent? But that's terrible! Does that mean that I have only one chance in ten of getting better? Are you trying to deceive me when you tell me that I'm going to get better?

D: Calm yourself! Calm yourself! You don't understand these things. It's a scientific problem.

P: Please, doctor, explain.

D: All right. As you will see, there are other factors that have to be considered.

P: What other factors? Please, tell me!

D: Listen to me. You are the tenth patient that I have treated for this disease...

P: Yes, yes, go on. So I'm the tenth patient that you've treated for this disease.... I still don't understand.

D: Simple mathematics, my good man. You, being the tenth, have to get well, because the other nine died!

• Listen to the following dialogue carefully, sentence by sentence. Mark the boundaries of the sense-groups and the tunes. It is not expected that each student will intone the text in the same way.

Driver: You owe me fifteen dollars, sir.

Hayseed: What? Fifteen dollars? Do you take me for a fool? You're trying to cheat me.

D: How dare you accuse me...

H: You must think I don't know my way around.

D: But...

H: Only last week I took a taxi from the station to this hotel. I know how much the trip should cost!

D: Oh...oh...all right. Now...now look...uh...

H: I have a notion to call the police.

D: Oh, no! Please don't do that! I have a sick wife and four hungry children.

H: All right! This time I'll let it go.

D: Oh, thank you, sir. And you're right. The trip isn't worth fifteen dollars...

H: You don't have to tell me that. I may come from the country, but I'm as smart as you city folks, and I know how much the trip ought to cost.

D: Yes, sir.

• Listen to your fellow-students reading the text. Be ready to analyse his / her reproduction according to the following parameters.

Characteristic features	Familiar style
Manner of presentation	a) relatively unexcited conversation b) excited conversation
Intonation patterns	(Low Pre-head) + Falling Head+Low Fall (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + Falling Head+High Fall (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + Falling Head+Rise - Fall (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + Falling Head+Low Rise (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + Falling Head+High (Medium) Rise (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + Falling Head+Mid-Level (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + High (Medium) Level Head + Low Fall (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + High (Medium) Level Head + High Fall (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + High (Medium) Level Head + Rise - Fall (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + High (Medium) Level Head + Low Rise (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + High (Medium) Level Head + High (Medium) Rise (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + High (Medium) Level Head + Mid-Level (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + Low Level Head + Low Fall (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + Low Level Head + High Fall (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + Low Level Head + Rise - Fall (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + Low Level Head + Low Rise (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + Low Level Head + High (Medium) Rise (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + Low Level Head + Mid-Level (+Tail) (Low Pre-head)+ Stepping Head+ Low Fall (+Tail) (Low Pre-head)+ Stepping Head+ High Fall (+Tail) (Low Pre-head)+ Stepping Head+ Rise - Fall (+Tail) (Low Pre-head)+ Stepping Head+ Low Rise (+Tail) (Low Pre-head)+ Stepping Head + High (Medium) Rise (+Tail) (Low Pre-head)+ Stepping Head + Mid-Level (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + Heterogeneous Head (Low Pre-head) + Heterogeneous Head+ Low Fall (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + Heterogeneous Head+ High Fall (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + Heterogeneous Head+ Rise - Fall (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + Heterogeneous Head+ Low Rise (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + Heterogeneous Head+ High (Medium) Rise (+Tail) (Low Pre-head) + Heterogeneous Head+ Mid-Level (+Tail)
The Length of intonation group	a) short b) extremely short caused by irritation
Tempo and rhythm	unstable pattern

• This exercise is meant to develop your ability to make up spontaneous dialogues according to a given situation. Here are some examples of conversational situations.

a) Two friends are talking about their visit to the theatre or the cinema.

b) An English and Ukrainian students talk about the differences in secondary education in England and Ukraine.

c) Imagine you and your friend are going to do some travelling. You want to travel by train, your friend by air.

d) You work in a travel agency. Clients come to ask about holidays. You suggest holiday trips on board different ships which would suit their requirement.

e) In recent years cinema has become a challenge to the everlasting art and entertainment to theatre. Discuss with your friend what you think the reasons for this are.