Principals of Classification of Head Types

Principals of Classification of Head Types

The Gradually Descending Stepping Head

The High-Head

The Broken-Descending Stepping Head

The Ascending Head

The Low Head

The Sliding Head

The Scandent Head

Classification of Basic Intonation Patterns

The Rising Tone Pattern

The Falling Tone Pattern

The Falling-Rising Tone Pattern

The Rising-Falling Tone Pattern

Division of Utterances into Intonation Groups

Coordinative and Subordinate Relations, Mutual Dependence

Prosodic Coordination and Prosodic Subordination

Basic Types of Tone Sequences in English

Supraphrasal Units

Correlation between Extralinguistic and Linguistic Variation

Prosodic Peculiarities of Formal and Informal Speech

CLASSIFICATION OF HEAD TYPES

The head of an intonation-group stretches from the 1^st fully stressed syllable (the onset) & extends up to the nucleus. The head plays an important part in conveying the speaker’s attitude & feelings towards the listener, the subject-matter & the situation, it expresses the modal-attitudinal meaning & the emotional colouring of an utterance. Descriptions & classifications of heads are based on the following criteria: 1) The general contour of pitch movement over the head. 2) The pitch movement within each stress-group. 3) the distribution of relative prominence among the semantic items in the prenuclear part of an utterance.

According to the 1^st criterion head patterns in English are classified into 3 major types: 1. Descending – the 1^st fully stressed syllable is said on a high pitch, each following fully stressed syllable always begins lower than the preceding stressed syllable. E.g. I ˈthink you’d ˈbetter ˈask ˋHelen. 2. Ascending – the 1^st fully stressed syllable is said on a low pitch, each following fully stressed syllable always begins higher than the preceding one. E.g.I ˌ couldn’t ˈ possibly ˋ do it. 3. Level – there are no perceptible contrasts in the initial pitch-height of the successive stressed syllables. The Level head may be of a high, mid & low varieties.

According to the 2^nd criterion: 1. Stepping 2. Sliding3. Scandent

According to the 3^rd criterion: 1. one-peak or compact head 2. double-peak or diffuse head3. mixed type of head

THE GRADUALLY DESCENDING STEPPING HEAD

There are 2 or more fully-stressed syllables in the GDSH. Each fully stressed syllable is pronounced lower in pitch than the preceding syllable. Unstressed syllables are said on the same level as the stressed syllable. This type of head is used with any nuclear tone, in different utterences: general questions-with high-wide fall, statements can be pronounced with fall-rise undivided.. ‘What do you ‘think of his ‘new `job? (Special question, High Wide fall)

This head is sometimes called the most typical, or normal, kind of head in English. It is certainly the most frequently occurring single category of head, but this makes it a norm in a very weak sense. In fact, this head is characteristic of only some kind of English: reading aloud, formal conversation, lecturing or some other kind of didactic monologue, although it may be heard in any other variety of spoken English.

The High Head

All the syllables are said on the same rather high pitch. There is only one fully stressed syllable, i.e. one peak of prominence. This is the stressed syllable of the first important word: the onset. The other semantic items in the prenuclear part are given a smaller degree of prominence indicated by a high partial stress. The High Head is opposed to the Gradually Descending Stepping Head: there can be no more than one full stress in the High & more than one full stress in Descending. The Stepping Head presents an intensification of the High Head, which is achieved through pitch contrasts between the successive stressed syllables. It is commonly used in conversations, where it occurs more frequently than the Stepping Head.

 

4. THE BROKEN DESCENDING ST HEAD- сломанная постеп.низход. пошаговая шкала

The Broken Descending Stepping head. The gradually descending stepping head may have a monotonous effect. it can be avoided by making an upward break somewhere in the middle of the head, after which a downward movement of the pitch is resumed(возобновлено). This pattern is called The Broken Descending Stepping head

There are 3 or more fully stressed syllables in the head. The breake accurs on any fully stressed syllable beginning with the third.

The effect of an upward break is achieved by pronouncing one of the stressed syllables on a rather higher pitch-level than the preceding one. The pitch of the syllable carrying such a special, accidental, rise may or may not exceed the pitch of the onset, depending on the pitch-level of the latter and the intended degree of pitch prominence of the former. The break generally occurs on any fully stressed syllable beginning with the 3^rd.

The upward break is usually made on words of sufficient semantic importance:

1)Nouns-crowds, hundreds 2)Adjectives- awful, fantastic3)Adverb- too, more, very 4)Verbs- cry. Shout

The syllable on which a special rise is made can be indicated in diff. ways:1)By a straight upward arrow beside the high static tone 2)By a high static tone while the presiding stressed syllable is marked by a mid static tone3)By an emphatic high static tone mark after normal high static tones.

The BDSH is used in everyday English and in formal conversation.

THE LOW HEAD

The stressed & unstressed syllables are pronounced in the low pitch zone of the speaker’s voice-range. Prominence on the relevant syllables is achieved by a greater force of articulation & longer duration. The stressed syllables are indicated with a low-stress mark. It is used in combination with low nuclear tones which are often of a narrow variety. The most frequent nuclear tones are the Low Head & the Low Narrow Fall & the Low Narrow Rise. The whole utterance is pronounced within a narrow voice-range there is an impression of smaller overall prominence. Such utterances often convey a cool, detached, phlegmatic, disinterested or disapproving attitude. When full stress is given to the first important word only (the one-peak head) the intermediate partially stressed words in the Ascending Head must take a low pitch & the difference between heads is neutralized. But the Low Head isn’t the weakened variant of the Ascending Head: the Ascending is used with High tones, the Low – with Low. Partially stressed syllables don’t occur in the prehead before the two heads: there would be hard to distinguish from the head, especially in the case of the Low Head.

THE ASCENDING STEPPING HEAD

Each of the stressed syllables of the Ascending head takes a static tone pitched higher than the preceding one, so the onset syllable occupies the lowest pitch in the head. Intervening unstressed syllables are said on the same pitch as the stressed syllable to which they are attached. Since all the stressed syllables are contrasted to one another in pitch they are all regarded as full stresses, & the words carrying them as more or less equally important.

Utterances pronounced with the AH cause the listener to anticipate the main point of information at the end. The Ascending head is typically combined with the High-Fall & High-Rise. There is often a feeling of impatience, surprise, protest, disbelief or, vice versa, a note of enthusiastic approval & support.

E.g. I’ve been ˌ waiting for half an ˈ hour alˋready.

THE SLIDING HEAD

The sliding head is formed by a sequence of slides, i.e. downward pitch movements, associatedwith each fully stressed syllable of the head. To symbolize the sliding head a downward arrow is placed above each stressed syllable. The stressed syllables may start on the same pitch or form a gradual ascent or descent. The last type seems to be the most frequent. In the descending sliding head each preceding stressed syll.starts on a higher pitch than the following one, the 1^st full stress beginning on the highest pitch. The descent in pitch has a jumpy or wave-like character.

Partially stressed syll.as well as the unstressed ones gradually carry the

Pitch down, so that when a full stress is given only to the 1^st notional word and the other prenuclear words are partially-stressed(one-peak head), the pitch pattern of the head is falling rather than sliding.

For.ex. you can’t wait here all day.

The difference between sliding head and the falling one is that in the sliding h.semantic prominence is balanced and this emphasizes the meaning of the whole utterance, increasing its overall prominence. In the falling h.sem.prominence is concentrated on the 1^st semantic item(besides the nucleus). Sliding and falling heads are widely used in lively, expressive conversation and in reading emotionally coloured texts. The two heads are mostly combined with the fall-rise, although they may occur with any other nuc.tone.

THE SCANDENT HEAD

The ScH is formed by a sequence of climbs: upward pitch movements on each f-s syl of the head. The ScH is marked by an upward arrow or a climbing arrow.. The ScH expresses surprise, encouragement, improbability, interest.cheerfulness,etc.

e.g. I’d rather do it myself.

The str.syll.may also form a descending or ascending contour(the desc.scandent h, the asc.scandent h.)

Ascending scadent head with one full stress is very sim.to the ascending stepping head, although the rise in the former is more gradual. This variety of the scandent head is called the rising head. It’s indicated in the same way as the scandent h., but the tonetic mark is given to the onset syllable only.

e.g. I’m not going to promise you anything.

 

 

THE RISING TONE-PATTERN

Contour 1. High/Stepping Head + High Narrow Rise

This contour has a strong interrogative force transforming any sentence-type into a question*. The presence of the head is not relevant for the basic meaning of the contour. It is significant, however, for the effect of overall prominence attached to the interrogation.

Modal Meaning and Usage

In statements:

questioning or asking for repetition because the speaker'has failed to hear or is surprised at hearing something that another person has said.

In special questions:

calling for a repetition of the particular part of the information just given (with the nuclear tone on the interrogative word); echoing the listener's question before going on to answer it (with the nuclear tone following the interrogative word).

In general questions: echoing the listener's question in order to gain time before answering or to make sure if one has heard correctly or to show surprise (usually with a nuclear shift in the repetition).

In imperatives and querying all or part of the listener's utterance but with no

exclamations: critical intention.

Contour 2. High/Stepping Head + Mid Wide Rise

Like the previous rising pattern this contour is basically interrogative in all sentence-types but the feeling of surprise is much weaker. It is mainly used in straightforward, i.e. non-echo questions. When there is no head the question sounds casual and light, sometimes tentative. With a head it is more businesslike and formal.

Contour 3. High/Stepping Head + Low Wide Rise

Modal Meaning and Usage

In statements: without a head - non-categoric; encouraging further conver­sation;

with a head - very lively, friendly and warm, soothing, reassuring; in echoes - questioning with a note of surprise and disbelief.

In special questions: without a head, i.e. with the nuclear tone on the interrogative word, - puzzled;

with a head - interested, warm, friendly; frequently used in series of questions addressed to children.

In general questions: without a head - casual, light (overlapping with the Mid Wide Rise contour);

with a head - genuinely interested, warmer and friendlier than questions with the Mid Wide Rise (the result of greater pitch contrast with the head).

In imperatives: soothing, encouraging, calmly patronising (requests),

In exclamations: airy, bright, friendly.

Contour 4. Low Head + Low Narrow Rise

An important feature of this contour is that both the prehead and the head must be low in pitch.

Modal Meaning and Usage

In statements: in monosyllabic utterances (e.g. yes, right, well) - encouraging

further conversation, guarded; in longer utterances - casual, perfunctory, reserving judgement, sometimes disapproving.

In special questions: with the nuclear tone on the interrogative word - wondering, mildly puzzled; otherwise, very calm, but rather disapproving.

In general questions: very casual, often disapproving and critical

 

11. THE FALLING TONE-PATTERN
Falling contours all sound definite and complete, presenting information as ‘news’ which a listener is not expected to know about in advance.
Contour 1. High/Stepping Head + Mid Wide/Low Narrow Fall
Modal Meaning and Usage
In statements: with no head (or with the Low Head) – calm, reserved, dispassionate; with a Low Narrow Fall – often cool, possibly grim or surely;
with the High/Stepping Head – categoric, weighty, considered, serious.
In special questions:with no Head (or with the Low Head) – calm, detached; with a Low Narrow Fall sometimes unsympathetic, even hostile;with the nucleus on the interrogative word – insistent without interest;with the High/Stepping Head – serious, searching, intense.
In general questions: with no head (mostly in tags used as independent comments) – skeptical, uninterested, hostile (with a Low Narrow Fall); with the High/Stepping Head – assertive, urgent, sometimes skeptical.
In imperatives: with no Head – calm, controlled, rather cold; with the High/Stepping Head – very serious,strong.
In exclamations: with no head – calm, reserved, self-possessed; with the High Head – very strong and weighty.
Contour 2. High/Stepping Head + High Wide Fall
This pattern has largely the same meanings with or without a head. At the same time there is often some difference in meaning depending on the type of head – High or Stepping, because in the former case the pitch-level of the prenuclear stresses and the initial level of the nucleus are the same height while in the latter case the nucleus starts on a higher pitch than the last prenuclear stress, thus forming a pitch contrast with it.
Modal Meaning and Usage
In statements: with the High Head – light and lively, conveying a sense of involvement and personal concern;
with the Stepping Head – enthusiastic, assertive, sometimes expressing contrast or emphasis.
In special questions: with the High Head – brisk, businesslike, lively;
with the Stepping Head - considerate, concerned; with the nuclear stress on the interrogative word – insistent and genuinely interested.
In general questions: with no head (in question-tags used as independent comments) – expressing mildly surprised acceptance of the listener’s premises;
with the High head – light, lively, suggesting a point for discussion rather than asking for information; with the Stepping Head – insistent, urgent, sometimes sceptical
In imperatives (commands, orders, instructions): with the High Head – brisk, businesslike; with the Stepping Head – insistent, urgent.
In exclamations: light, airy, involved, sometimes mildly surprised.

Modal Meaning and Usage

In statements: favourably or unfavourably impressed, self-satisfied, chal-

lenging, disclaiming responsibility, mocking, ironical.

In special questions: quizzical, challenging or disclaiming responsibility, impatient

and sometimes antagonistic.

In general questions: impressed, quizzical, mocking, challenging, disclaiming

responsibility, sometimes impatient and antagonistic.

In exclamations: impressed, sometimes with a hint of accusation or irony

 

Supraphrasal Unities

The unit coming next to an utterance in the hierarchy is a SPunity (SPU). SPU in not unrestricted in its length, which does not typically exceed 4 or 5 component phrases. The identification of a SPU in spoken language is achieved with the help of prosodic features. This makes it possible to speak of the prosodic structure of a SPunity. There are constant prosodic markers distinguishing initial, median and final phrases in the unity. There are the features of pitch, loudness and tempo. Onset syllable in an initial phrase is noticeably higher than that in the following phrases, the decrease of the pitch-height being gradual in many cases. The same tendency is observed for the degree of loudness. The tempo of speech slower at the beginning and end of the SPU and faster in the middle. An important feature marking the boundary of a SPU is a pause which is considerably longer than any of the pauses separating the phrases within the unity. It is so-called three – unit pause. The degree of semantic completeness of the utterances within a SPU is reflected in the degree of finalty of its nuclear tone. The last utterance in a unity normally has a falling nucleartone with the lowest ending point (mid wide fall, low narrow fall). There is a rather higher probability for non falling tones (low rise, fall-rise) in the initial and median phrases than in the final phrase of a unity

19. Correlation between extral & linguistic variation

It is commonly known that the type of language we are using changes with the situation in which communication is carried on. A particular social situation makes a native speaker respond with an appropriate variety of language. He uses one variety of language at home, another with his friends, a third at work, and so on.

Correlation between extra-linguistic and in-linguistic variation does not necessarily imply that there are as many varieties of styles as there are extra-linguistic situations. The greatest influence in this respect is exercised by such factors as the social status of the speakers and their relations to each other, the place of communication and its subject-matter. Accordingly, the broadest and most widely recognized division of English speech is into formal and informal styles.

The formal style covers those varieties of English that we hear from a lecturer, a public speaker, a radio announcer, etc. These types of communication are frequently reduced to monologue, addressed by one person to many, and are often prepared in advance. They also include official and business talks. The informal style is used in personal every-day communication. This category contains the most frequent and the most widespread occurrences of spoken English. Most typically informal speech takes the form of a conversation, although monologue is not infrequent either.

According to the degree of formality in one case and familiarity in the other, the two styles can be subdivided:

1. Formal: a)formal-official (public speeches, official talks, etc.); b)formal-neutral (a lecture, a teacher's explanation, a business talk or an exchange of information between colleagues with variations depending on the status of the partners, a report on one's work or research before a small group of people, etc.)

2. Informal: a) informal-ordinary (a conversation on a train, bus, etc.; an exchange of remarks in a shop, cafe, post-office, railway station, etc; an everyday talk between friends, neighbours, schoolmates, etc.)

b) informal-familiar (everyday conversation between intimate friends, relatives,etc.)

This classification is, of course, very tentative and not at all complete. One could also outline further distinctions within each of the above mentioned varieties.

Oral speech is a very complicated phenomenon where too many factors are involved, besides those outlined here. Nevertheless, it is possible to find more or less vivid illustrations of each of the above mentioned varieties of speech.

 

Principals of Classification of Head Types