Basic Rules of Syntagmatic Division

1. Simple extended sentence

• The subject group and the predicate group consisting of more than one word form separate syntagms (extended subject group). One-word subject can form a separate syntagm if it is emphasised (one of the complex tones must be used on it).

• Homogeneous predicates or other members of the sentence

• An adverbial or parenthetical phrase at the beginning of the sentence.

• An apposition makes up a separate syntagm.

• Alternative and disjunctive questions

2. Complex and Compound Sentencesmake up two or more syntagms.

Speech melody (=fundamental frequency) – the change of the pitch of the voice in connected speech.

The Speech Melody:

• pitch (level) – high, mid, low;

• pitch range – wide, mid, narrow;

• pitchdirection.

The pitch direction.

One of the syllables has the greater prominence than the others and forms the nucleus – the most important part of the intonation pattern; a strongly stressed syllable, generally the last stressed syllable in the intonation group which marks a significant change of the pitch direction.

The most frequent nuclear tones are: the Low Fall, the Low Rise, the High Fall, the High Rise, the Rise-Fall, the Fall-Rise, the Fall-Rise-Fall, the Level.

According to the changes in their direction, they are kinetic (moving) and static (level: the High Level, the Mid Level, the Low Level).

According to their structure –

• simple (the Low Fall, the Low Rise, the High Fall, the High Rise) and complex (the Rise-Fall, the Fall-Rise);

divided and undivided.

The communicative task (meaning) the nuclear tones convey:

The rising tone – non-final, non-categoric, asking for information;

The falling tone – categoric, final, stating facts;

The falling-rising tone – to convey implication;

The rising-falling tone – to convey optionality, alternative etc.;

The rising-falling-rising tone – intensification, highlighting, emotional state.

The tail – the unstressed syllable(s) following the nucleus: descending, ascending or low level.

The prehead – the unstressed syllable(s) preceding the stressed element in the rhythmic group:

• low (level, ascending);

• mid;

• high (level, descending).

The scale (the head, the body) – stressed and unstressed syllables up to the nucleus.

The types of scales

• the stability of tone movement within the scale:

• regular

• broken

• the general direction within the scale:

• descending

• ascending

• level

• the localization of unstressed syllables within rhythmic groups:

• stepping

• sliding

• scandent.

The sentence (utterance) stress– the special prominence (greater intensity of fundamental frequency) given to one or more words in the utterance – strong, partial, weak.

Tempo (rate) – the speed with which utterances are pronounced in the connected speech – rapid, accelerated/decelerated, moderate, slow.

Rhythm – the regular alteration of stressed and unstressed syllables:

• simple and compound;

• a) syllable-timed – the flow of syllables is smooth without a strong contrast of stress;

b) stress-timed – based on the alteration of strong and weak syllables (English).

Pauses – connected with the temporal component of intonation:

• silent (temporal)

• perceptional (non-temporal)

• voiced (filled)

Functions of pauses:

• delimitative

• constitutive

• attitudinal

Timbre – the voice quality – whispery, soft, neutral, etc.

Functions of intonation (according to David Crystal):

• emotional – to express attitudinal meaning;

• grammatical – to mark grammatical contrasts;

• information structure – to convey what is new and known in the meaning on the utterance;

• textual – to construct utterances into larger linguistic units;

• psychological – to organize language into easily perceived units;

• indexical – to serve as markers of personal identity.

Traditionally,

• constitutive (delimitative) – to organize utterances as communicative units;

• distinctive – determines the communicative types of utterances;

• identificatory – identifies communicative and modal types of utterances.