- •Phonetics as a subject (general notes).
- •Phonetics as a subject, its branches.
- •Connection of phonetics with other sciences.
- •The phoneme theory (the definition of a phoneme, its functions).
- •Phonological schools. Methods of Phonological analysis.
- •Methods of the phonemic analysis
- •The English Vowel system.
- •1. Stability of articulation
- •2. Position of the tongue
- •3. Position of the lips
- •Classification of the English vowels.
- •1. Stability of articulation
- •2. Position of the tongue
- •3. Position of the lips
- •The English Consonant system.
- •9. Classification of the English consonants.
- •Assimilation. Types of assimilation.
- •Word-stress or accent in English (its nature, functions, position in words).
- •Word stress in a language performs three functions.
- •Place of word stress in English.
- •Syllable formation and syllable division.
- •Word-stress and sentence-stress, their difference.
- •Theories of syllable formation and syllable division.
- •English Intonation (general notes).
- •Intonation in unemphatic speech.
- •17. Intonation in emphatic speech.
- •The ascending scale; the sliding scale; the level scale; the scandent scale.
- •18. Functions of intonation.
- •D. Crystal distinguishes the following functions of intonation.
- •19. The English Tunes.
- •20. Received pronunciation and general American pronunciation.
18. Functions of intonation.
There is no general agreement about either the number or the headings of the functions of intonation which can be illustrated by the difference in the approach to the subject by some prominent Russian phoneticians. T.M. Nikolayeva names three functions of intonation: delimitating, integrating and semantic. L.K. Tseplitis suggests the semantic, syntactic and stylistic functions the former being the primary and the two latter being the secondary functions. N.V. Cheremisina singles out the following main functions of intonation: communicative, distinctive (or phonological), delimitating, expressive, appellative, aesthetic, integrating. Other Russian and foreign phoneticians also display some difference in heading the linguistic functions of intonation.
D. Crystal distinguishes the following functions of intonation.
• Emotional function's most obvious role is to express attitudinal meaning -sarcasm, surprise, reserve, impatience, delight, shock, anger, interest, and thousands of other semantic nuances.
• Grammatical function helps to identify grammatical structure in speech, performing a role similar to punctuation. Units such as clause and sentence often depend on intonation for their spoken identity, and several specific contrasts, such as question/statement, make systematic use of it.
• Informational function helps draw attention to what meaning is given and what is new in an utterance. The word carrying the most prominent tone in a contour signals the part of an utterance that the speaker is treating as new information.
• Textual function helps larger units of meaning than the sentence to contrast and cohere. In radio news-reading, paragraphs of information can be shaped through the use of pitch. In sports commentary, changes in prosody reflect the progress of the action.
• Psychological function helps us to organize speech into units that are easier to perceive and memorize. Most people would find a sequence of numbers, for example, difficult to recall. The task is made easier by using intonation to chunk the sequence into two units.
• Indexical function, along with other prosodic features, is an important marker of personal or social identity. Lawyers, preachers, newscasters, sports commentators, army sergeants, and several other occupations are readily identified through their distinctive prosody.
19. The English Tunes.
In general, linguists distinguish several main types of English intonation. The two basic types are:
falling intonation
rising intonation
Other main types of intonation include:
high fall, low fall, fall-rise, high rise, midlevel rise, low rise.
Falling intonation is the most common type of standard unemphatic intonation in English.
It is used for asking and giving information in normal, quiet, unemphatic style.
Sounds more categorical, confident and convincing than rising intonation.
Falling intonation is used on the last stressed syllable of the sentence in:
Statements (declarative sentences): We live in \MOScow. He doesn’t have a \CAR.
Special questions: Where do you \LIVE?
Commands (imperative sentences): \STOP it! Sit \DOWN.
Exclamatory sentences: What a wonderful sur\PRISE!
The last part of alternative questions (after “or”): Do you want /TEA or \COFfee?
Tag questions (When we the speaker is sure that the answer will be “yes”): You \LIVE here, \DON’T you? (The speaker is sure and expects the answer “yes”.)
Rising intonation in English is a pretty complicated phenomenon.
It can express a number of various emotions, such as: non-finality, surprise, doubt, interest, politeness, lack of confidence.
Rising intonation in English is very different from rising intonation in Russian.
Standard rising intonation in English first goes down a little and then up, and doesn’t go as high as the rise in Russian does.
Rising intonation is used in:
General questions: Was she glad to /SEE him?
Dependent or introductory parts of sentences: If he /CALLS, ask him to \COME.
The first part of alternative questions (before “or”): Would you like an /APple or a \PEAR?
Direct address: /SIR, you dropped your \NOTEbook.
Enumerating items in a list: She bought / bread, / cheese and to\MAtoes.
Tag questions (when we the speaker is not sure that the answer will be “yes” or wants your oppinion): It’s a beautiful \TOWN, /ISN’T it? (The speaker thinks that the town is beautiful but asks for your opinion and confirmation.)