Фоностилистика английского языка. Учебное пособие на модульной основе

5.Analyze the extract of a dialogic text. Discuss the way in which the author provides us with clues as to how the speech of the characters should be interpreted. In what way does this conversation differ from the natural speech of living people? What phonostylistic information is left out of the printed version?

6.Are author‘s remarks as to how the text should be read important?

7.Find any extracts of your own exemplifying declamatory and scientific styles. Single out their phonostylistic peculiarities. Compare these two extracts and account for their similarities and differences. Be ready to act them out in class.

POETRY

Sonnet 66 ♫

ˈTired with ˈall \these,│for ˈrestful „death I >cry:│

„Save that, ¦ to „die,│ I ˈleave my \love aˌlone.

W. Shakespeare (1564-1616)

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♦♦♦ Unit 4. Publicistic Style

Explanation

The term ‗publicistic style‘ is a very broad label, which covers a variety of types, distinguishable on the basis of the speaker‘s occupation, situation and purpose. Publicistic style is characterized by predominance of volitional intonation patterns against the background of intellectual and emotional ones. The general aim of this intonational style is to exert influence on the listener, to convince him that the speaker‘s interpretation is the only correct one and to cause him to accept the point of view expressed in the speech. The task is accomplished not merely through logical argumentation but through persuasion and emotional appeal. For this reason publicistic style has features in common with scientific style, on the one hand, and declamatory style, one the other. As distinct from the latter its persuasive and emotional appeal is achieved not by the use of imaginary but in a more direct manner.

Publicistic style is made resort to by political speech-makers, radio and television commentators, participants of press conferences and interviews, counsel and judges in courts of law. It is the type of public speaking dealing with political and social problems (eg. parliamentary debates, speeches at rallies, congresses, meeting and election campaigns).

Any kind of oration imposes some very important constraints on the speaker. Normally, it is the written variety of English that is being used (a speech may be written out in full and rehearsed). The success of a political speechmaker is largely dependent on his ability to manipulate intonation and voice quality. In accordance with his primary desire to convince the listeners of his merits he also has to ensure a well-defined ideas combined with persuasive and emotional appeal.

The intonation adequate for political speeches is characterized by the following regularities. In the pre-nuclear part the main patterns are: (Low PreHead +) Stepping Head; (Low Pre-Head +) Falling Head. The heads are often broken due to extensive use of accidental rises to make an utterance more emphatic. The High Level Head is less frequent and the Low Level Head here is indicative of tonal subordination. By tonal subordination we refer to cases when the pitch-level of an intonation group is dependent on its neighbours, semantically and communicatively more important intonation groups being pronounced on a higher pitch-level. The nuclear tone of final intonation groups is

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generally the Low Fall; the High Fall is much less common. In non-final intonation groups both simple and compound tunes are found, namely, the Low Fall, the Low Rise, the Mid-level and the Fall-Rise. The High Fall and the High Rise are very rarely used for purposes of intra-phrasal coordination. It is interesting to note that the Low Rise and the Mid-level tones are typical of more formal discourse, whereas the Fall-Rise is typical of less formal and more fluent discourse.

The speed of utterance is related to the degree of formality, the convention being that formal speech is usually slow, and less formal situations entail acceleration of speed. Variations in rhythm are few. Pauses and the ensuing internal boundaries are explicable in semantic and syntactic terms. Intonation groups tend to be short and as a result pauses are numerous, ranging from brief to very long. Hesitation pauses are avoided, still silent hesitation pauses occasionally do occur. It is interesting to note that some of the best ripostes during a political speech come at a point when the speaker is trying to gain maximum effect through a rhetorical silence. Moreover, an utterance is often emphasized by means of increased sentence-stress and the glottal stop.

This extract from a political speech may serve as an example of publicistic

style.

Remarks of President B. Obama – Weekly Address, August 9, 2014 ♫

This week, I authorized two operations in Iraq. First, I directed our military to take action to protect our American diplomats and military advisors serving in the city of Erbil. In recent days, terrorist forces neared the city. Thursday night, I made it clear that if they attempted to advance further, our military would respond with targeted strikes. That‘s what we‘ve done. And, if necessary, that‘s what we will continue to do. We have Americans serving across

Iraq, including our embassy in Baghdad, and we‘ll do whatever is needed to protect our people.

Second, we‘ve begun a humanitarian effort to help those Iraqi civilians trapped on that mountain. The terrorists that have taken over parts of Iraq have been especially brutal to religious minorities – rounding up families, executing men, enslaving women, and threatening the systematic destruction of an entire religious community, which would be genocide.

The thousands – perhaps tens of thousands – of Iraqi men, women and children who fled to that mountain were starving and dying of thirst. The food

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and water we airdropped will help them survive. I‘ve also approved targeted American airstrikes to help Iraqi forces break the siege and rescue these families. Earlier this week, one anguished Iraqi in this area cried to the world, ―There is no one coming to help.‖ Today, America is helping. The United States cannot and should not intervene every time there‘s a crisis in the world. But when there‘s a situation like the one on this mountain – when countless innocent people are facing a massacre, and when we have the ability to help prevent it – the United States can‘t just look away. That‘s not who we are. We‘re Americans. We act. We lead. And that‘s what we‘re going to do on that mountain. As one American who wrote to me yesterday said, ―It is the right thing to do.‖

As Commander-in-Chief, I will not allow the United States to be dragged into fighting another war in Iraq. American combat troops will not be returning to fight in Iraq, because there‘s no American military solution to the larger crisis there. What we will do is continue our broader strategy in Iraq. We

continue to urge Iraqi communities to reconcile, come together and fight back against these terrorists so the people of Iraq have the opportunity for a better future – the opportunity for which so many Americans gave their lives in Iraq in a long and hard war.

Today, we salute our brave men and women in uniform – especially our courageous pilots and crews over Iraq. They‘re protecting our fellow

Americans. They‘re helping save the lives of innocent people on a mountain – people who today know that there‘s a country called America that cares for them too, and that is willing to stand up – not just for our own security, but for the dignity and freedom that belongs to all people.

The following text represents the type of public speaking at school meeting :

James Crosbie, the principal of Auckland International College ♫

Good morning everybody. First of all may I say an especially warm welcome to students joining us this term. I am James Crosbie, the principal of Auckland International College, and I am looking forward to getting to know you all much better.

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Now I am just going to go through the plan for today. You should have received your schedule already and, yes, I can see that most of you have it with you. Good. Now if you look at the arrangements for this morning you can see that when I have finished this introduction, the college administrator, Miss Judith Benton, would like to have a word with you about financial matters and other domestic details which will help to make your stay with us more comfortable. Then we will have a short break for coffee or whatever on the terrace.

After that we will get together again in the library. I shall at this point hand over to my deputy, Dr Randall, for the rest of the morning. He and other colleagues will be telling you about the college and our rules (not that many, I assure you). Also there will be information about the social programme we have put together for the next few days. The rest of the afternoon is free for you to unpack and settle in but I would be pleased to see you all for the formal dinner tonight which will be at 7.30 p.m. in the dining hall. It is, as I said, a formal dinner, so no jeans or shorts, please.

Well, thank you all for being so attentive. I hope this indicates how you approach your studies! May I introduce Miss Benton, our college administrator.

This is one more example of publicistic style, namely the interview dealing with social problems:

The Environment ♫

Presenter: Are young people today concerned about the environment? Surely, as the future generation, with responsibility for protecting the planet, it‘s the sort of thing you take very seriously indeed, isn‘t it?

Becky: Well, I think we should be, and certainly there‘s been lots of advertisements on the television recently, for saving water and switching lights off and things like that. I think the problem with our teenage age group is that because of this adult pressure for us to become environmentally friendly, it used to be cool when we were children to kind of like pick up litter for ourselves and save the animals and things like that. But when you‘re older you want to seem cool and like these things don‘t bother you so much. I see loads of litter dropped around our college. There‘s loads of people with not a lot of regard for the environment, because they can‘t be bothered, it‘s not cool enough.

Presenter: Has it almost gone the other way then, it‘s gone full cycle, so now it‘s uncool?

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Stephen: I think that when certain people treat the Earth like a person or something like that, and say you are killing the Earth, you‘re destroying it; I think that that‘s the wrong approach. I think that people should be told that they should recycle, because otherwise this planet is going to be uninhabitable. So I‘d advise them to do it for themselves, not for anyone else, not for the squirrels or anything like that. I don‘t think that enough is being done to prevent things from happening because even if you think it‘s not going to affect you in your lifetime, you wouldn‘t want maybe your children to suffer because you‘ve been particularly careless or selfish. I don‘t think enough is being done.

Becky: I think one of the problems is that if everyone obviously holds this view, then a whole mass of people aren‘t going to be doing the environmentally friendly things that they should, because they say, oh, it‘s just the factories, what can I do, the little I do can‘t make a difference. With this common attitude nothing is being done, nothing is being gained so therefore we‘re not progressing any further in saving the world. I mean certainly illnesses in teenagers such as asthma and allergies, such as nut allergies, have been increasing, and people have linked this directly to pollution. So if teenagers suffering from asthma or allergies were told about all these links, perhaps they would stop polluting because they would be thinking of their own gain, or helping their mates, rather than simply doing it because they‘re being told.

Presenter: Do you think it ought to be like it is in Germany, where it ought to be the law that you recycle, and if you don‘t you get fined?

Becky: Yes, I think that would be a really good idea, because I‘m sure if more recycling bins were available, if it was as convenient for someone in their household to recycle their products as it is just to put them in their own bins, then people would do it, people would be pleased to do it. It‘s the fact that people have to make that extra effort to find a bottle bank, or to find a paper bank. Busy working people don‘t have the time, or say they don‘t have the time to do this. You know, they‘d rather not put themselves out. So they don‘t. If it was law, then people wouldn‘t want a fine, and also if the government therefore made more options available to people, I‘m sure people would, it‘d be a really good idea.

QUESTIONS and TASKS:

1.Give semantic characteristic of publicistic style.

2.What is the general aim of this phonetic style?

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3.What does the success of a political speech-maker depend on?

4.What basic nuclear tones are used in final and non-final intonation groups?

5.Speak on the speed of utterance, rhythm and pauses.

6.What techniques does the speaker use to impress the audience?

7.Read the extract from a political speech in accordance with the recording provided. Compare it with the academic kind of lecturing (scientific style).

POETRY

The Daffodils ♫

I ˈwandered \lonely – as a >cloud

That ˈfloats on >high o‘re „vales and >hills, When ˈall at ‚once│– I ˈsaw a \crowd,

A ′host ¦ of ˈgolden „daffodils; Beˈside the „lake,│beˈneath the >trees,

ˈFluttering and „dancing in the „breeze.

The ˈwaves be„side them \danced; but >they

Out„did the ˈsparkling ˌwaves in „glee. A ˈpoet ˈcould ˙not but be \gay

In ˈsuch a “jocund \\company;

I >gazed – and >gazed – but ˈlittle „thought ˈWhat “wealth the ˌshow to \me had \brought;

For ′oft, – when ˈon my „couch I ‚lie

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In ′vacant or in „pensive ‚mood, They \flash ¦ uˌpon that ˈinward \eye Which is the "bliss of \solitude;

And ˈthen my ˈheart with „pleasure \fills

And \dances ¦ with the \daffodils.

William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

Unit 5. Familiar (Conversational) Style

Explanation

The usage of familiar (conversational) style is typical of every day English. It occurs both within a family group and in informal external relationships, namely, in the speech of intimate friends or well-acquainted people. In such cases it is the emotional reaction to a situational or verbal stimulus that matters, that‘s why the attitudinal function of intonation here comes to the fore.

Nevertheless intellectual and volitional intonation patterns may also take place. Familiar (conversational) style, unlike other styles, will allow the

occurrence of the entire range of intonation patterns existing in English. This is due to the fact that there seem to be no serious restrictions on the range of emotions and attitudes which might be displayed in a conversational situation. However, it is to be noted that within any given stretch of utterance very little occurs.

Relatively unexcited conversational situations are characterized by low pre-heads, falling or stepping heads and simple Low falling or rising tones. Monosyllabic response utterances display narrowed pitch patterns. Degrees of increasing intensity of excitement correlate with increased pitch height. As a result widened pitch patterns are typical of more excited situation. In this connection one should note the high proportion of intonation patterns with the high falling nuclear tone. The flow of conversation much depends on these patterns, as the High Fall implies, among other things, the effect of personal participation or involvement in the situation. It is extremely important for the participants in conversation to show an active interest in what is going on. Besides, mention should be made of the high frequency of compound tunes and heterogeneous heads. There is also the occasional completely unexpected placement of nuclear tone.

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In spontaneous informal conversation there is marked tendency for intonation to form a basic set of recurrent patterns. The precise nature of these patterns varies to a certain extent depending on such situational factors as the relationship of the speakers to each other, the chosen subject-matter, the fluency of an individual, his emotional state and so on. Intonation groups may be any length, but they tend to keep short.

Informal conversation is characterized by the frequency of silence for purposes of contrastive pause, as opposed to its being required simply for breathtaking. Pauses are brief and there are cases when intonation groups and sentences are not separated by any kind of pause. This style of speech is also characterized by the absence stable pattern of tempo and rhythm. Generally, the speed of utterance is quite fast. It depends on the fluency of a speaker, on his familiarity with the topic being talked about, on his experience. One of the most essential distinctive features of informal spontaneous conversation is the occurrence of the entire range of hesitation phenomena.

a)hesitation pauses;

b)hesitation drawls, lengthening of sounds, syllables and words;

c)repetitions of syllables and words;

d)false starts to words, followed by self-corrections;

e)restarting a construction or a sentence to conform more to what the speaker wants to say;

f)unfinished intonation groups often accompanied by reduced loudness of voice;

g)fillers-in such as well, and, you know, in fact, etc.;

h)random vocalizations and such phonetic oddities as clicks, trills, intakes of breath.

Hesitation phenomena accompanied with facial expressions and gestures are of primary importance in determining the acceptability of conversation. Moreover, phonetics of conversation also involves attention to such phenomena as sound symbolism (e.g. brrr, whoosh), artificial clearing of the throat or coughing for purposes of irony, various snorts and sniffs to communicate disgust and other attitudes.

As a specific type of linguistic activity spontaneous conversation is characterized by randomness of subject-matter and a general lack of conscious planning. This results in errors involving hesitation features of all kinds, frequent switches in modality, incompleteness of many utterances.

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The most noticeable aspect of informal conversation is its vocabulary. Words tend to be very simple in structure specialized terms and phraseology are generally avoided. The lack of precision in the matter of word selection is not important, any lexical item may be replaced by words like what-do-you-call-it, you-know-what-I-mean, thingummy, which function as nouns.

This dialogue provides an example of informal conversation:

HOME AGAIN ♫

Rod: Hel„lo, ‚Barbara! ˈWelcome “back! ¯You ˈlook “marvelous.

Barbara: “Rod! ˈWhat a sur“prise! ¯It‘s „lovely to ˌsee you aˌgain.

Rod: Sorry I didn‘t telephone you ¦ be fore you „left, but I ˈdidn‘t have „time, in ‚fact…

Barbara: >Oh, ˈthat‘s all \right. For„get it! Rod: \Well, ˈhow was „Italy?

Barbara: „Fun, but \tiring. Mi„lan was ‚interesting. It‘s „bigger than I exˌpected. Noisier and dirtier \too.

Rod: And ‟Florence? ˈWhat did you ˈthink of ˆFlorence?

Barbara: \Well, I‘ve never “been there beˇfore. ¯I ˈthought it was „beautiful.

More ˙beautiful than „Paris, in ‚fact. ˈHave you ever ˙been to ‟Italy?

Rod: \No, \never. I‘d „really ˌlike to ˈgo to \Rome. ˇWell, the car‘s in the

„car ˌpark. ¯Is ˈthis ˙all your ˆluggage?

Barbara: ˇYes, but the „suitcase ¦ is very „heavy. Rod: ˆBarbara! ˈWhat‘s “in it? ˇStones?

Barbara: \No, just twenty „pairs of ‚shoes! >Oh,│ it „is ˌnice to ‚see you a˙gain, ˙Rod!

It is necessary to mention that dialogues occurring in a telephone conversation also refer to spontaneous informal speech. In a telephone conversation the participants are not visible to each other and they can‘t rely on extralinguistic context to resolve ambiguities in speech. Moreover, they have to spell out words because of the distortion of certain sounds. There is also a tendency to avoid long unfilled pauses as they can be interpreted as a breakdown

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