- •Contents
- •Preface
- •Key to phonemic and other symbols
- •Introductory Corrective Course Academic Thematic Syllabus
- •Notes on english phonetics
- •The organs of speech
- •Articulation Basis of English
- •The English Vowel System
- •The Chart of English Vowel Phonemes
- •English Monophthongs
- •English Diphthongs
- •The English Consonant System
- •Chart of English Consonant Phonemes
- •Vowel Reduction
- •Full and Reduced Forms
- •List of Full and Reduced Forms
- •Assimilation
- •Directions of Assimilation
- •Degrees of Assimilation
- •Types of Partial Assimilation
- •Word Stress
- •Accented types of words
- •English Intonation. Its Components.
- •Communicative Types of Sentences
- •The Segments of Intonation Group
- •Types of Pre-Heads
- •The System of Scales
- •Scales in Detail The Stepping Scale
- •The Sliding Scale
- •The Scandent Scale
- •The Level Scale
- •Terminal Tones
- •The Low Fall
- •The Low Rise
- •The Fall-Rise
- •Sentence Stress
- •Variations in Sentence Stress
- •Logical Stress
- •Some Rules of Syntagmatic Division
- •Complex and Compound Sentences
- •Direct Address
- •Parentheses
- •Author’s Words
- •Graphical rules
- •Vowel № 1/I:/
- •Vowel № 2 //
- •Vowel № 3 /e/
- •Vowel № 4 //
- •Vowel № 5 //
- •Vowel № 6 //
- •Vowel № 7 //
- •Vowel № 8 //
- •Vowel № 9 //
- •Vowel № 10 //
- •Vowel № 11 //
- •Vowel № 12 //
- •Tongue twisters
- •Practical assignments Stress
- •Linking of words in connected speech
- •Assimilation
- •Rhythm and Rhythmic Groups
- •Scales and Terminal Tones
- •Word Phonetic Analysis Model
- •Sentence Phonetic Analysis Model
- •Preparatory Tests Preparatory Test 1
- •Preparatory test 2
- •Preparatory Test 3
- •Preparatory test 4
- •Pedagogical classification of pronunciation errors and problems
- •Phonetic and grammar terms
- •Recommended literature
Terminal Tones
Nuclear tones that finish any syntagm according to their function can be terminal or non-terminal.
The terminal tone is variation in pitch produced during the final stress-tone unit of the terminal intonation groups.
The terminal tone is an inseparable part of any intonation contour, because its main function is to distinguish the communicative types of utterances.
According to their structure the terminal tones fall into two types:
Consisting of the nucleus only:
e.g. He is free.
Consisting of the nucleus with the tail:
e.g. He is busy.
According to the direction of the pitch change they fall into three principal groups:
The group of falling tones:
The Low Fall /m/ (simple tone)
The High Fall /m/ (simple tone)
The Rise-Fall /m/ (complex tone)
The group of rising tones:
The Low Rise / m/ (simple tone)
The High Rise / m/ (simple tone)
The Fall-Rise / m/ (complex tone)
The group of the level tones:
The Low Level /m/ (simple tone)
The Mid Level /m/ (simple tone)
The High Level /m/ (simple tone)
The Low Fall
The nucleus of the Low Fall starts at or a bit below the mid pitch level of the normal range and falls to the normal range and falls to the bottom, the tail syllables take the low pitch. As any falling tone it is final and chategorical in character. Besides, the Low Fall conveys some attitudes of its own, it sounds formal, serious, firm or calm, cool, reserved, phlegmatic, depending on the prehead and scale that precede it.
The Low Fall can be combined with any type of scale and the scale adds much to the attitudinal meaning of the pattern.
The Low Fall preceded by the Descending Stepping Scale is used in categorical statements, basic special questions, basic commands and exclamations.
Descending Stepping Scale + Low Fall
Categorical statements (businesslike, formal)
e.g. My friend is a student of English.
John is Mary’s brother.
Mary is writing a letter.
Basic Special Questions (businesslike, serious)
e.g. When do you get to the office?
What do you usually do in the evenings?
Basic commands (businesslike, firm)
e.g. Try to do it now.
Go and fetch some chalk.
Basic exclamations (businesslike, formal)
e.g. Many happy returns of the day.
Thank you very much!
In insistent general questions this pattern sounds serious and urgent.
e.g. Do you really leave tomorrow morning?
Low Level Scale + Low Fall (phlegmatic, detached).
e.g. He leaves tomorrow morning.
The Low Rise
The Low Rise consisting of the nucleus only starts at or near the bottom of the normal voice range and rises to the mid pitch level.
e.g. Yes,he was away.
If there is a tail to it the nuclear syllable takes the low level pitch and the tail-syllables carry the rise.
e.g. Certainly, he was busy yesterday.
The Low Rise sounds non-final, non-categorical, encouraging further conversation. Preceded by the Low Level Scale the Low Rise gives the utterance a perfunctory ring. That is why it is often called a perfunctory tone.
It can be used in all communicative types of utterances.
Non-categorical statements
Descending Stepping Scale + Low Rise – encouraging further conversation
e.g. He knows it much better.
John’s Mary’s brother.
Low Level scale + Low Rise – perfunctory
e.g. He knows it much better.
John’s Mary’s brother.
Special Questions
Descending Stepping Scale + Low Rise –interested
e.g. What do you usually do in the evening?
Low Level scale + Low Rise – perfunctory
e.g. What do you usually do in the evening?
What if we meet tonight?
Basic General Questions
Descending Stepping Scale + Low Rise – really interested
e.g. Is anyone away from the lesson?
Haven’t you been at the library?
Is he studying science?
Low Level scale + Low Rise – perfunctory
e.g. Is anyone away from the lesson?
Haven’t you been at the library?
Imperatives
Descending Stepping Scale + Low Rise –encouraging
e.g. I’m so upset – cheer up, don’t worry.
Come along, hurry up.
Exclamations
Descending Stepping Scale + Low Rise –airy, encouraging
e.g. Sorry I must be off.– So long, my dear. See you later.