Соколова - теоретическая фонетика англ

fective. Admittedly, rhythmical effect in public speaking is achieved by a combination of lexical, syntactic and prosodic means. For example, rhythmicality may be created by repetitions, in which syntactic parallel­ ism may be accompanied by the repetition of intonation patterns.

In conclusion we must consider the problem of the acquisition of English rhythm by Russian learners of English. In spite of the fact that Russian belongs to the group of stress-timed languages as well as Eng­ lish, correct usage of English rhythm proves to be rather difficult for Russian learners. The following aspects are to be considered here:

1.The traditional exercise that is recommended is to beat the rhythm so that to practice regular rhythm. Despite the arguments among pho­ neticians about the isochrony of English rhythm it is necessary to master stress-timed rhythm. Special focus in such exercises should be given to the contrast between stressed (strong) and unstressed (weak) syllables, since it is a very important aspect of English rhythm.

2.It is important to use weak forms in prepositions, articles, auxiliaries, conjunctions, personal and possessive pronouns, which generally occur in unstressed positions.

3.Russian learners should be particularly careful in rhythm-unit break. The division into rhythmic groups does not necessarily coincide with potential sense groups.

4.For advanced learners it is essential to master the rhythmic organiza­ tion of larger rhythmic units with regard for the style and genre of speech.

Summary

Intonation is a language universal. It is indispensable in communi­ cation.

Intonation is defined as a complex, a whole, formed by significant variations of pitch, loudness and tempo (the rate of speech and pausa­ tion) closely related. The term "prosody" is used in suprasegmental phonetics alongside with the term "intonation".

Each component of intonation can be described as a system. Pitch is described as a system of tones (Fall, Rise, Fall-Rise and so on), pitch

levels (keys), which can be high, medium and low, and pitch ranges (wide, medium and narrow). Loudness is described as normal, increased (forte) or low (piano). Tempo includes rate of speech and pausation. The rate ofspeech can be normal, slow and fast. Pauses are classified ac­ cording to their length, their position in the utterance (final - non-fi­ nal) and their function (syntactic, emphatic and hesitation pauses)

Viewed on the acoustic level each component of intonation has its own acoustic correlate. The acoustic correlate of pitch is fundamental frequency of the vibrations of the vocal cords; loudness correlates with intensity, tempo correlates with time (duration) during which a speech unit lasts. All of them are closely interconnected in the processes of speech production and speech perception

The intonation pattern is the basic unit of intonation. It serves to actualize syntagms into intonation groups. The nuclear tone is the most important part of the intonation pattern. The nuclear tone may be fol­ lowed by the tail. The two other components of the intonation pattern, the head and the pre-head form its pre-nuclear part.

Intonation is as a powerful means of communication. The commu­ nicative function of intonation embraces all its numerous uses, which can be grouped into the following functions: distinctive or phonological; organizing; pragmatic; rhetorical; social; stylistic.

Performing its distinctive function intonation can differentiate the syntactic (communicative) types of sentences, attitudinal meanings, the actual meaning of sentences.

Intonation serves to structure the text. On the one hand, it delimi­ tates the text into smaller units, on the other hand, it ties together small­ er units into bigger ones.

Intonation conveys the information content of an utterance. It high­ lights the most important information in an utterance and helps to dis­ tinguish which information is new (the rheme) and which information is known to the listener (the theme).

Intonation plays a very important role in structuring spoken dis­ course. At the same time it reflects the influence of the context, both verbal and extralinguistic, on the speech realization.

Speech rhythm is defined as a regular occurrence of stressed sylla­ bles in a speech continuum. English is a stress-timed language. In such languages rhythm is based on a larger unit than syllable, the rhythmic group. The stressed syllables in the rhythmic group form peaks of prom­ inence.

r

Speech rhythm is regulated by the style of speech. Maximum rhyth­ micality is observed in poetry. Rhythm performs the functions of de­ limitation and integration, aesthetic and pragmatic functions.

Chapter V

PHONOSTYLISTICS

5.1.The problems of Phonostylistics

5.1.1.Phonostylistics as a branch of phonet­ ics

5.1.2.Extralinguistic situation and its compo­ nents

5.1.3.Style-forming factors

5.1.4.Classification of phonetic styles

5.2.Stylistic modifications of speech sounds

5.3.Stylistic use of intonation

5.3.1.Phonostyles and their registers

5.3.2.Informational style

a)spheres of discourse

b)informational texts (reading)

c)infonoational monologues (speaking)

d)informational dialogues

e)press reporting and broadcasting

5.3.3.Academic style

5.3.4.Publicistic style

5.3.5.Declamatory style. Artistic reading

5.3.6.Conversational style

5.1.The problems ofPhonostylistics

5.1.1.Phonostylistics as a branch of phonetics

So far we described phonetic units as part ofthe language system. When language is used in speech phonetic units undergo various changes so it can be assumed that pronunciation is not homogeneous. These variations of phonetic units are the result of numerous factors which are referred to as extralinguistic, because they lie outside the system of the language. The bundle of these factors forms the extralinguistic situation.

The chapter that follows is based on the idea that the information about stylistic variations is significant for teaching phonetics. The branch ofpho­ netics which carries this information is phonostylistics. The purpose of this chapter is to offer a brief introduction into the main topics covered by pho­ studies. It would not be accurate to say that phonostylistics is a new branch of phonetics. It is rather a new way of looking at phonetic phe­ nomena, which came as a result of detailed analysis of spoken discourse.

Nobody would want to deny the fact that oral speech is the primary me­ dium oflanguage expression. So when linguists became involved in investi­ gating language in use they realized that language is not an isolated phe­ nomenon, it is part of society. In real life people fmd themselves in various situations. In these situations language is used appropriately, i. e. people select from their total linguistic repertoires those elements which match the needs of particular situations.

This fact changed the whole approach to the language. Rather than viewing the language as an object with independent existence, a thing to be described for its own sake, it became evident that it must be seen as a tool, a means ofcommunication, and it is only in the context of communication situation that the essential properties of a linguistic system can be described and

It is obvious that much of what people say depends directly or indirect" ­ lyon the situation they are in. Here we should point out two things. On the one hand, variations of language means in different life situations are nu­ merous, on the other hand, these variations have much in common as they are realization of one system. That means that there are regular patterns of variation in language, or, in other words, language means are characterized by a certain pattern of selection and arrangement.

The principles ofthis selection and arrangement, the ways ofcombining the elements form what is called "the style". Style integrates language means constructing the utterance and at the same time differentiates one utterance from another.

It must be noted that the category of style is not new in linguistics. The branch oflinguistics which is concerned with styles is called stylistics (func­ tional stylistics), it studies the expressive potential ofthe language elements, for the most part the levels of grammar and lexis. However, the phonetic level has its own characteristics and qualities and needs specific methods of investigation.

As it was already mentioned, certain nonlinguistic features can be correlated with language use. The latter can be studied on the phonetic

level, which is the area ofphonostylistics. Its aim is to analyse all possible kinds of spoken utterances with the main purpose of identifying the pho­ netic features, both segmental and suprasegmental, to explain why such features are used and to classify them into categories with regard for their function.

5.1.2. Extralinguistic situation and its components

Before describing nonlinguistic factors and their phonetic correlates it is necessary to explain what is understood by the extralinguistic situation. The analysis shows that it can be described in term.'l of three component'l, i. e. purpose, participants and setting. These components distinguish situa­ tions as the context in which speech interaction takes place. Thus, a speech situation can be defmed by the co-occurrence of the following elements: two or more participants related to each other in a particular way, particular aim of communication, communicating about a particuI<ll

in a particular way.

Figure 12

Let us consider each of the components.

Purpose can be described as the motor which sets the chassis ofpartici­ and setting going. It directs the activities of the participants through­ out the situation to complete a task. Such purposes can be viewed in terms

ofgeneral activity types and in terms ofthe activity type plus a specific sub­ ject matter. There appear to be a considerable number of general types of activities, such as working, teaching, learning, conducting a meeting, play­ ing a game, etc. Such activity types are socially recognized as units ofinter­ action that are identifiable.

It should be noted that activity type does not identifY directly the pur­ pose in a situation. It only specifies the range of possible purposes that par­ ticipants will orient toward in the activity. The notion of purpose requires the specification of contents as a more detailed level than that of activity types. This can be called "subject matter" or "topic".

a marker of various characteristics of people, both individual and social. In other words, the way people speak retlects their background. "Certain as­ pects of social variation seem to be of particular linguistic consequence. Age, sex and social class have repeatedly shown to be ofimportance when it comes to explaining the way sounds, constructions and vocabulary vary" (D. Crystal, 1995: 364).

Age can be associated with the role structure in the family and in social assignment ofauthority and status and with the attribution UlHvlvm levels of competence. According to D. Crystal, "age is one of

the most noticeable features in speech. We have little difficulty identifying a baby, a young child, a teen-ager, a middle-aged person, or a very elderly person from a tape recording" (D. Crystal, 2007: 283). The speech behav­ iour ofa person does not only convey information about his/her age but also about the age ofthe listener, or the receiver of the verbal message. Thus, old people speak and are spoken to in a different way from young people. For instance, an elderly person usually speaks in a high-pitched voice, the speech rate is slower. People generally use higher pitch levels speaking to younger children.

Gender is another factor which is included into the "partlclpants U com­ ponent. Gender differences in pronunciation are quite numerbus and in most cases there is a marked phonetic contrast between male and female. For instance, there is a tendency for women to produce more standard, careful pronunciation as opposed to more careless speech of men in which certain sounds may be omitted. Women tend to use certain intonation pat­ terns that are seldom used by men, etc.

There is one more characteristic to be taken into account. That is the emotional state ofthe speaker at the moment ofspeech production which is likely to be retlected in his pronunciation.

Another characteristic to be considered here is the social status of the participants, i. e. their belonging to a particular class, their education, oc­ cupation and so on. There are distinctive features of pronunciation which are associated with "educated" and "uneducated" speech, or absence of articulatory precision. Admittedly, "the famous linguistic

nal of social class in Britain is the pronunciation offinal ng in such words as running" (D. Crystal, 2007: 309). In socio-cultural terms we must consider the social status of the speaker, what social group orc1ass he belongs to. Ob­ viously, the pronunciation of an Oxford don will be very different from that of a London cab driver.

Another important aspect is the character of participants' relation­ ship which is retlected in the tenor of discourse, which can be formal or informal, friendly or unfriendly. It affects greatly the choice of intona­ tion.

Speech behaviour also retlects the social roles that people exercise: head ofthe family, son, teacher, friend and so on. So when we identify the social identity of a person and the way it is retlected in pronunciation we are to consider both his/her belonging to a particular social group and the social roles he/she performs.

Setting, or scene can be defined by several features: The first of them is a physical orientation of participants, which is to some extent deter­ mined by the activity they are engaged in. It is quite obvious that a public speech and face-to-face interaction are bound to be different in phonetic terms in a number of ways.

Scenes may be arranged along bipolar dimension offormal-informal. The kind of language appropriate to scenes on the formal, or "high" end of the scale is then differentiated from that appropriate to those on the or "low" end. Comparing English and Russian we could assume such differentiation follows universal principles, so that "high" forms

oflanguage share certain properties such as elaboration of syntax and lex­ icon, phonetic precision and rhythmicality, whereas "low" forms share properties including ellipsis, repetition, speed and slurring. So pronunci­ ation features may be expected to be markers ofthe scene or at least of its position in the formal-informal dimension.

5.1.3. Style-forming factors

We have attempted to give an outline of what is generally understood by the extralinguistic situation and its constituents. It is easy to see, how numerous the factors, determining variation in language usage, are. Ad­ mittedly, we are mainly interested in the variation of phonetic means. To analyze and describe them we must single out constant and definite fea­ tures of the situational circumstances of the lan!,'Uage event that are rele­ vant for the phonetic level of analysis. These features, or factors, that re­ sult in phonostylistic variety are:

-the purpose, or aim ofcommunication;

-the degree offormality of the situation;

-the degree of spontaneity;

-the speaker'sattitude.

may be called a style forming factor, while all the others cause modifications within a particular style, which accounts for the existence of different ldnds and genres of texts within each phonetic style.

All the above-mentioned factors are interdependent and interconnected. They are singled out with the purpose ofdescribing phonetic phenomena.

Now we shall consider each ofthe factors and try to explain what sort of phonetic variations may correlate with each of them.

The aim ofcommunication can be described as the general strategy ofthe language user. In other words, it is what the language is being used for: is the speaker trying to persuade, to exhort, to discipline. Is the speaker teaching, advertising, amusing, controlling, etc. ? The speaker selects a number of functional phonetic means which would make the realization of the par­ ticular aim more effective.

For the purposes ofthis book we consider it adequate to distinguish following aims of communication:

giving information

-educating

-producing emotional impression

-influencing a person's mind (persuading)

-conversing.

Inside these basic aims we can distinguish many more minor types, that cause variations of phonetic means.

Among the extralingustic factors determining the use ofphonetic means it is the fonnality of the situation which is often referred to. It is obvious that the process of speaking is based on the recognition of social roles and rela­ tionships. The interaction of individuals depends upon their learning and accepting the roles of social behaviour. Social relationships are reflected in the degree of formality of the discourse. The degree of formality indicates how the speaker interacts with the listener.

As it was already mentioned, formality results from the character of re­ lationships among the participants of language events, ranging from ex­ treme degrees of formality to extreme degrees of informality. So we might say that spoken language shapes relationships, it defmes and identifies them, and it is the category of formality which shows ifwe speak the right kind of language. According to the degree offormaJity speech situations are gener­ ally described in terms offormalinformal, official unofficial.

There is another factor which is often mentioned in connection with the degree of formality. It is the number of addressees. Discourse can be

public or non-pUblic. Speech is qualified as public when the speaker is lis­ tened to by a group of people; non-public communication occurs in face­ to-face interaction. It would be fair to mention that there is no direct cor­ relation between the formality of the situation and public - non-pUblic character ofcommunication. Thus, a public presentation may be rather in­ formal, while speech interaction involving two participants may be quite formal.

Another important extralinguistic factor is the degree of spontaneity. If we examine speech situations we can distinguish between those in which people speak spontaneously as opposed to those in which they speak non­ spontaneously, as actors and lecturers generally do. The types of speech sit­ uations that lead to spontaneous speech are: everyday conversation, sports commentaries of an event actually taking place and so on.

Analyzing the most important characteristics of a spoken spontaneous text we should first of all mention a phenomenon called "hesitation". The hesitation phenomenon breaks the regularity and evenness of the phonetic form. There appear pauses of various length and quality, which seldom oc­ cur at phonetic juncture; lengthening of sounds within words and in the word final position. A spontaneous text is characterized by a number of rel­ evant features both on segmental and suprasegmentallevels: simplification ofsound sequences, non-systematic rhythm; incomplete melody contours; abundance of pauses, varying loudness, narrow pitch range, varying tempo (from very fast to very slow).

In teaching English, especially spoken English one should be well aware of specific phonetic markers of natural speech. A student of English should be specially taught such peculiarities. Otherwise a spoken text would sound urmatural.

The speaker'sattitude is another category which is included into the set of style-forming factors. It is common knowledge that a communication situation is part of a human being's life situation. So it is natural for a lan­ guage user to consider the situation from his/her point of view, revealing personal interest and involvement in what he or she is saying. Obviously, the attitude of the speaker both to the message and to the other participants of communication is reflected in his/her choice of phonetic means.

We should mention that all these extralinguistic factors in their combi­ nation determine the choice of phonetic means in different fonns of com­ munication. Generally two forms of communication are distinguished ac­ cording to the number of participants involved in a speech activity: monologue and dialogue. A monologue is the participation of one individ­

ual in speech production. A dialogue involves the participation of others. An important feature to be considered here is that in monologuing the speaker does not expect an immediate response, while in a dialogue there is interaction: participants expect each other to respond. PhonostyJistic pecu­ liarities ofdifferent forms ofcommunication will be described in 5.3.

5.1.4. Classification of phonetic styles

All the extralinguistic factors that were described contribute to the for­ mation ofa particular phonetic style. It should be mentioned that there ex­ ist different classifications ofphonetic styles. Each ofthese classifications is based on the criterion, which the scholar who created it considers to be the most reliable. Thus, S. M. Gaiduchick distinguishes five phonetic styles: solemn (TOp)[(eCTBeHHbIH), scientific-business (Hay'mO-)l.eJ10Bolt), official business (TOp)[(eCTBeHHO-)l.eJ10Bolt), everyday (6bITOBOH) and familiar (He­ rrplfHY)[()l.eHHblli) (S. Gaiduchick, 1972) As we can see the above-men­ tioned classification correlates with the system of functional styles of the language. The styles are differentiated on the basis of spheres ofdiscourse. A different principle of classification is suggested by Y A. Dubovsky who singles out the following five styles: informal ordinary, formal neutral, for­ familiar and declamatory. The divisioIi is based on different degrees of formality or rather familiarity between the speaker and the listener. Within each style subdivisions are observed. But as the author himselfwrites, it is rather a principle ofpresenting texts for description and analysis because "no theory has yet created a completely symmetrical clas­ sification ofspeech acts" (Y Dubovsky, 1978).

We think that the classification ofphonetic styles should be based on the purpose of communication, which is the most significant extralinguistic factor. However, when choosing an adequate criterion for the classification we should take into consideration the difference between the segmental and suprasegmental levels of analysis. The point is that stylistic variations of sounds and intonation result from different combinations of extralinguistic factors. Thus, stylistic modifications of sounds are caused primarily by the degree of formality, while variations of intonation are basically determined by the aim of communication. The degree ofthe influence of each factor is also different as regards segmental and suprasegmental units. So in the clas­ sification of phonetic styles presented here we tried to combine both seg­ mental and suprasegmental characteristics oforal discourse not only for the purpose ofphonostylistic analysis but also for the purpose ofteaching Eng­

lish pronunciation. Further on we are going to look in more detail at the stylistic modifications of sounds and intonation and specify the particular extralinguistic factors which bring about these modifications.

Table 4

The Influence of Extralinguistic Factors

on Segmental and Suprasegmental Characteristics of Speech

Five phonetic styles can be singled out according to the purpose ofcom­ munication:

I. Informational style;

2.Academic (Scientific) style;

3.Publicistic (Oratorial) style;

4.Declamatory (Artistic) style;

5.Conversational (Familiar) style.

Figure 13

Classification of Phonetic Styles

We could add that any style with very few exceptions is seldom real­ ized in its pure form. Each text is likely to include phonetic characteristics of different styles. In such cases we talk about overlapping or fusion of styles.

We might conclude by saying that we hope this will be a useful of knowledge for a learner ofEnglish because to be able to communicate ef­ it is necessary to develop the awareness of different phonetic styles of the language. He or she should learn to discover the patterns

which differentiate style varieties to understand why people speak in a certain way and to determine what form of phonetic expression they may choose, because the style should be as natural as dress and fit the time, the

place and the person. The awareness ofphonostylistic variations ofspeech is essential both for the correct interpretation of spoken discourse and for the adequate speech production, in fact it is a basic component of speech culture and communicative competence.

5.2. Stylistic Modifications of Speech Sounds

Stylistic sound variations are brought about by the extralinguistic situation of the discourse. The first thing that counts in the stylistic modifications ofsounds is the character of relationship between the par­ ticipants of discourse, which is manifested in the degree of formality. It is assumed that in formal situations the participants tend to monitor their linguistic behaviour, their pronunciation tends to be careful and is characterized by articulatory precision. In informal situations where speakers are more relaxed speech is generally faster and less careful. In­ formal speech used in everyday conversation is often referred to as fast (rapid) colloquial speech.

It is obvious that the extent to which coarticulation and simplifica­ tion processes are displayed in connected speech depends on the style and tempo of speech. In formal speech the articulation is more careful and precise. In informal casual discourse (fast colloquial speech) these processes are more marked. In this section we shall give an overview of the modifications of speech sounds in the chain of speech which take place under the influence of the extralinguistic factors.

The most frequent modifications of consonants in rapid colloquial speech are:

alveolar stops [t], [d] and in some cases [n] are modified underthe in­ fluence ofthe following velar or labial consonant, e. g.

[s], [z] assimilate more often than in formal speech, they are modified under the influence of the following palatal [j] and become palato­ alveolar:

[d] are affected by the following [j] in a similar way: and turn into palato-alveolar affricates. Tn this case both the place and the manner of articulation are involved in assimilation:

in informal casual speech complete assimilation of consonants often takes place:

[t] tends to be reduced to a glottal stop before a plosive consonant:

In fast colloquial speech we can also observe elision ofconsonants. Eli­ sion can be defined as a complete loss or disappearance ofa speech sound, usually due to the increased rate of speech. The most typical cases of con­ sonant elision are:

elision of [h] in personal and possessive pronouns he, his, her, him and the auxiliary verbs have, has, had: What has he done? [-7wutClZ r ,dAn];

tends to be elided when preceded by [;x]: always [';XWIZ], all right

[t] and [d] are often elided in consonant clusters when followed by an­ other consonant: next day ['neks 'del], mashedpotatoes ['m~J nextpoint [,neks 'p;)mt], second term ['sekn 't3:rn];

in the definite article the can be elided: and the reason for this [Cln o'rtzn fCl OIS].

As regards stylistic modifications of vowels we should point out that the realization ofreduction as well as assimilation and accommodation depends on the style of speech. In rapid colloquial speech reduction may result vowel elision, the complete omission of the unstressed vowel. Elision may occur both within one word and at word boundaries: history ['hIstn], factory

['f~ktn], phonetics [f'netlks], correct [krekt], perhaps [ph<eps], come along

['k1l.m 'luI)] , get another [get 'n1l.0Cl], after all

In contrast to slow formal speech in which vowels have comparative quality stability, in rapid informal speech we can observe frequent sound variability. Typical simplification processes in fast colloquial speech are:

reduction of [i:] and [u:] both in quantity and quality

1 don't believe it [A daon(t) a new aspect [a 'n(j)u

monophthongization of diphthongs

here and there ['hIr an '0£] really strange ['[ah 'stremd3] now they ['na

South ofItaly ['sa9 av 'dahl

and now we come to [an nA wr 'kAm ta] hope to settle it [ha ta

elision of schwa in the preposition or particle to:

next to the door ['nekst t oa 'dJ:] to see them ['ts!"

back to London ['b<ek t 'iAndn]

elision of [I] in initial position

extremely [kstri:mh]

it's necessary [is 'nesasan] it'spaid well [ts

Numerous simplification processes that were described are an attribute of informal casual speech, while prepared educated speech is characterized by articulatory precision. In terms of pronunciation teaching it is necessary to familiarize the foreign learners of English with these segmental modifica­ tions, because they must be ready to recognize and decode them in the chain ofspeech. However, they should be aware oftheir stylistic colouring and avoid extreme forms ofsimplifications outside fast colloquial speech..As regards the . modifications of speech sounds that are the result of coarticulation processes in connected speech they should definitely be practised and mastered.

5.3. Stylistic Use of Intonation

5.3.1. Phonostyles and their registers

This section sets out to give a detailed description of each phonetic style, to provide and explain a framework for understanding variations of style which match the needs of particular situations.

In our view the conception that the intonational style markers are restricted to certain kinds of situational contexts and above all to the speakers' aim in communication is extremely valuable. Thus the intonational style is seen as some kind of additive by which a basic content of thought may be modified. Style is seen asthe variable means by which a message is communicated.

It is already widely accepted that the purpose of communication deter­ mines the types of information conveyed in oral texts. They may be intel­ lectual, attitudinal (emotional, modal) and volitional (desiderative). Each of these types is realized by means of specific prosodic parameters.

It may be said that there is a strongly marked tendency for prosodic fea­ tures to form a basic set of recurrent patterns, which is occasionally accom­ panied by the introduction of specific prosodic and paralinguistic effects.

The set of stylistically marked modifications of all the prosodic features represents the model ofa particular phonetic style.

It should be mentioned here that each phonetic (intonational) style ex­ ists in a number of variants which depend on a particular combination of extralinguistic factors. We call these variants registers. Registers can be ob­ served in specific spheres of discourse.

Prosodic characteristics which form the model of a particular style are modified according to the forms of communication (monologue, dialogue, polylogue) and the types of speech production (speaking and reading), the degree of spontaneity and formality and also in some cases methods of de­ livery (see Tables 5, 6).

We must admit, however, that any intonational style is an extremely complex and heterogeneous phenomenon. Even a single speech act involves an extraordinary range of factors and could be considered from different, sometimes even conflicting points of view.

Confronted with all these difficulties a specialist in phonostylistics must ask himself/herself what the goal of analysis is and direct his/her attention

.to the essentials. In this book the description will be focused on those style forming features that may be of interest for would-be teachers of English and find practical application in their work.

5.3.2.Informational Style

a)spheres of discourse

phonetIC style is sometimes qualified as "neutral", since it is the least marked kind of situationally influenced English. It is perceived as neutral be­ cause the main purpose ofthe speaker is to convey information without the ex­ pressing personal concern and involvement. Evidently, there are theoretical and practical reasons to use it as the starting point ofphonetic styles description.

Where is this style manifested in its pure form? First of all, in the written variety of an informational text read aloud. The written speech, the reading, should not be subjected to the contextual variables and the commonest and "ideal" situation for this register is the reading ofsuch texts in class. They may be labeled as informational texts.

Press reporting and broadcasting, especially the reading ofthe news cov­ erage over the radio is another variant ofinformational style.

The news bulletin and broadcast talk have both written and spoken tences which are of equal importance for the simple reason that they were written specially to be read aloud. The informational style is realized in other spheres ofcommunication: business and legal intercourse, thlireading of ad­ ministrative documents and so on (see Table 5).

The degree of formality in the character of participants' relationship in different variants ofthe informational style presentation may smooth the bor­ derline between them. Thus it would be wrong to identifY this style as formal, because the degree offormality may vary. As it was stated earlier, the contours of the intonational styles in speech reality have not been very defmitely out­ lined yet and there are overlaps ofphonetic styles. So the most informal real­ ization ofany kind ofinformation in the form of a dialogue may be identified as conversational style, and, respectively, extra formal presentation of infor­ mation may be attributed to an academic style talk and so on.

We shall limit out description ofinformational style to two common vari­ ants: educational information and press reporting/broadcasting. The table below shows the correlation between the informational style registers, and speech typology (see Table 5).

Roughly speaking, any variety of the language, both written and spoken, may be presented either by reading or speaking in a prepared or spontaneous way in a formal or informal manner.

We would like to attempt now to suggest certain spheres of discourse in which the informational style could be heard in relation to forms of com­ munication and the number of participants involved (see Table 6).