IV. Note the difference in the degree and in the devices of expressiveness used in formal and informal speech varieties.

a) a speech at a meeting

The “building of the ”factory is "coming to its “end. It’s ˈpractically “over. ¯One, of ‘course, ˈunder‚stands that it ^↗all ^↗means a "great “change,│a ˈchange to be ˈfelt "not to“day,│ˈnot “now,│but ˈsome ˈtime ‘later. But we "must ^↗get ^↗ready ^↗for it to“day,│_\\now. I ˌmean ‚food, ‚housing, ‚transport and ‘other ˌthings.

b) a talk between mother and daughter at home

ˆCatherine, I’m “never ˌgoing on a"nother school ‘trip as ˈlong as I _\\live. ˈSecond ˙form _\children, ˈsecond ˙form ˆkids. They should be ˆin a ˌZoo│ˌnot _\\visiting it. For ‘one ˌthing I ‚couldn’t “stop the little ˇdears ˈfeeding the _\animals│– "huge ‘notices wherˈever you _\looked│“ˈDo ˙not ˈfeed the _\animals”. And ˈwhat did _\they do? "Stuffing “sandwiches through the “bars on every oc‘casion,│and ˆI ˙couldn’t ^↘run ˙up and ˙down the ˇbuilding “telling them ˌall to _\stop.

c) down the rabbit-hole

‘Well,│after ^↘such a ^↘fall as ˇthis I shall ˈthink ˆnothing of ^↘falling ^↘down-ˇstairs. I ˈwonder ˙how many “miles I’ve ˌfallen. ¯Oh, ˇdear, my ˈpoor ˙little cat ‚Dinah “will ˙miss me to˙night. I ^↘hope they’ll re^↘member her ^↘saucer of ‘milk at ˇtea-time. It’s a ^↘very “long ˌway ‚down. Perˌhaps I’m ‚falling “through the ˌEarth. ‘Well, ‘that was ‚lucky, ˈthese ˙lovely ˙soft ˇleaves have ‘broken my ˌfall ˆnicely.

Practice Activities

I. Choose the appropriate response (a, b) for the given stimulus-utterances according to the speech situation.

1. Patient: Morning, Doctor. Need your advice badly.

Doctor: a) Sit down, please. What seems to be the matter?

(moderately loud, normal tempo, distinct)

b) Sit down, please. What seems to be the matter?

(moderately loud, fast, lax)

2. Hotel manager: What about the food? Are you well fed there?

a) No complaints, thank you.

(moderately loud, normal tempo, distinct)

b) No complaints, thank you.

(moderately loud, fast, lax)

3. Two friends in a cafe: It’s nearly five. Have you ordered tea?

a) Yes, a long time ago.

(moderately loud, fast, lax)

b) Yes, a long time ago.

(loud, slow, tense)

4. Technical adviser: We’ve just got their report.

Director of a firm: a) Have they finished the building of the factory?

(loud, normal tempo, distinct)

b) Have they finished the building of the factory?

(moderately loud, fast, lax)

5. Manager: Have they singed the letter?

Secretary: Yes.

a) We must be on time with this firm’s order.

(soft, fast, lax)

b) We must be on time with this firm’s order.

(moderately loud, normal tempo, distinct)

6. A telephone call to Chairman: Is the day for the meeting fixed?

Chairman: a) Not yet, but I’ll let you know a bit later.

(moderately loud, normal tempo, distinct)

b) Not yet, but I’ll let you know a bit later.

(moderately loud, fast, lax)