Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
YD;K 8Il
EEK 81.2AHm
C59
COKOJlOBa
C59
M. A. H,!lJl.
P. M. THxoHoBa, E. JI.
(J)pcH,uHHa.
M. A
COKOJIOBa,
11. C. THXo-
192 c.
ISBN 978-5-9279-0153-1
B yqc6HHKC H3JIafaJOTCH OCHOBbI TCOpCTJ:IlIeCKOfO Kypca (j)OHCTHKH aHrJIHHC
KOfO H3bIKa.
B6
Introduction
10
12
14
CTpmr COBpCMeHHOfO aHfJIHHcKOro H3bIKa H paCCMOTPeHbT np06JIeMhI HCrrOJIb30BaH.IDI (j)OHCTHIICCKHX C)J,HHI1IJ, B rrpoIJ,CCCC KOMMYHI1KaIJ,HH. Kypc HanpaBJIeH
Ha (j)OpMHpoBaHHc TCOpeTH'fCCKOH 6a3bI, Hco6xo;rJ:HMOH )J,JIH o6yqeHHH aHrJIHH
CKOMY IlPOH3HOillCHHIO.
Y,llK 811
EEK 81.2AHrn
ISBN 978-5-9279-0153-1
analysis ........................................................................
1.4.4. Methods of establishing the phonemic status of speech
28
29
30
32
http://www.phoenix.dubna.ru
E-mail: pat&uk@dubna.ru
35
39
45
45
47
Summary ...................................................................... 48
5]
51
53
53
55
56
Contents
Summary ...................................................................... 66
Contents
116
a) spheres of discourse
120
128
infonnational dialogues
133
Summary
of intonati on
79
4.6. Rhythm
........... 96
105
105
107
109
112
163
163
164
166
172
177
178
180
182
183
188
190
INTRODUCTION
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
segmental
phonetics
suprasegmental
phonetics
Phonetics has two aspects: on the one hand, phonology, the study of the
functional aspect of phonetic units, and on the other, the study of the sub
stance of phonetic units.
Before analysing the linguistic function of phonetic units we need to
know how the vocal mechanism acts in producing oral speech and what
Introduction
The height of the speaking voice depends on the frequency ofthe vibra
tions. The more frequently the vocal cords vibrate the higher the pitch is.
The typical speaking voice of a woman is higher than that ofa man because
the vocal cords of a woman vibrate more frequently. We are able to vary the
rate of the vibration thus producing modifications of the pitch component
of intonation. More than that. We are able to modify the size of the puff of
air which escapes at each vibration of the vocal cords, i. e. we can alter the
amplitude of the vibration which causes changes of the loudness of the
sound heard by the listener.
From the larynx the air-stream passes to supraglottal cavities, i. e. to the
pharynx, the mouth and the nasal cavities. The shapes of these cavities
modify the note produced in the larynx thus giving rise to particular speech
sounds.
There are three branches of phonetics each corresponding to a different
stage in the communication process described above. Each ofthese branch
es uses a special set of methods.
The branch of phonetics that studies the way in which the air is set in
motion, the movements of the speech organs and the coordination of these
movements in the production of single sounds and trains ofsounds is called
articulatory phonetics. Articulatory phonetics is concerned with the way
speech sounds are produced by the organs of speech, in other words the
mechanisms of speech production.
Acoustic phonetics studies the way in which the air vibrates between the
speaker's mouth and the listener's ear, in other words, the sound wave.
Acoustic phonetics is concerned with the physical properties of speech
sounds and uses special technologies to measure speech signals.
The branch of phonetics investigating the perception process is known
as auditory phonetics. Its interests lie more in the sensation ofhearing which
is brain activity, than in the physiological working of the ear or the nervous
activity between the ear and the brain. The means by which we discriminate
sounds - quality, sensation of pitch, loudness, length, are relevant here.
branch of phonetics is of special interest to anyone who teaches or
studies pronunciation.
As it was mentioned above, phoneticians cannot act only as describ
ers and classifiers of the material form of phonetic units. They are also
interested in the way in which sound phenomena function in a particular
language and what part they play in manifesting the meaningful distinc
tionsofthe language. The branch of phonetics that studies the linguistic
function of consonant and vowel sounds, syllabic structure, word accent
Introduction
10
and prosodic features, such as pitch, loudness and tempo is called pho
nology.
In linguistics, function is usually understood as discriminatory func
tion, that
the role of the various elements ofthe language in the distin
guishing ofone sequence of sounds, such as a word or a sequence ofwords,
from another of different meaning. Though we consider the discriminatory
function to be the main linguistic function of any phonetic unit we cannot
ignore the other function of phonetic units, that is, their role in the forma
tion ofsyllables, words, phrases and texts. This functional or social aspect of
phonetic phenomena was first introduced by I. A. Baudouin-de-Courtenay.
Later on N. S. Trubetskoy declared phonology to be a linguistic discipline
and acoustic phonetics to anatomy, physiology and
acoustics only. This conception is shared by many foreign linguists who in
vestigate the material form and the function of oral speech units separately.
Russian linguists proceed from the view that language is the medium of
thought and can exist only in the material form of phonetic units. That is
why they consider phonology a branch of phonetics that investigates its
most important social aspect.
2
Branches of Phonetics
articulatory
phonetics
auditory
phonetics
acoustic
phonetics
functional phonetics
(phonology)
11
12
Introduction
13
tance for language teachers and language learners in the context of cross
cultural communication.
One more example ofinterdisciplinary overlap is the relation oflinguis
tics to psychology. Psycholinguistics as a distinct area ofinterest developed
the sixties, and in its early form covered the psychological implications of
an extremely broad area, from acoustic phonetics to language pathology.
Nowadays no one would want to deny the existence ofstrong mutual bonds
between linguistics, phonetics in our case and psychology. Here are some of
the problems covered by psycholinguistics: the acquisition of language by
children, the extent to which language meditates or structures thinking;
extent to which language is influenced and itself influences such things as
memory, attention, perception; the problems of speech production and
speech perception; speech pathology.
Phonetics is also closely connected with a number ofnon-linguistic dis
ciplines which study different aspects ofspeech production and speech per
ception: physiology, anatomy, physics (acoustics). In phonetic research
they use mathematics, statistics, computer science.
There is one more area phonetics is closely connected with. It is the
study of non-verbal means ofcommunication.
How do people communicate?
Too often there is a difference between what we say and what we think
we have said, though we use appropriate grammatical structures, words and
intonation. It may even cause a break in communication.
It may happen because we speak with our oral organs, but we converse
with our entire bodies. Conversation consists of much more than a simpJe
interchange ofspoken words. All ofus communicate with one another non
verbally. It means that we communicate without using words and involving
movements of different parts of the body.
It is believed that 7% of communication is conveyed by words, 38%
by sounds and intonation and 55% - by non-verbal means. They are: facial
expression, gestures and postures.
D. Crystal insists that the meaning of particular nuclear tones depends
on the combination with particular facial expression.
Non-verbal elements express very efficiently the emotional or the mod
al side of the message.
The study of non-verbal means of communication is called kinesics.
The analysis ofspoken discourse often includes references both to the pho
netic and non-verbal aspects ofspeech communication. So we can say that
phonetics overlaps with kinesics.
Introduction
14
The field of phonetics is thus becoming wider and tends to extend over
the limits originally set by its purely linguistic applications. On the other
hand, the growing interest in phonetics is partly due to increasing recogni
tion of the central position of language in every line of social activity. It is
important, however, that the phonetician should remain a linguist and look
upon phonetics as a study of the spoken form oflanguage. It is its applica
tion to linguistic phenomena that makes phonetics a social science in the
proper sense of the word.
15
For those who work in speech therapy, which handles pathological con
ditions ofspeech, phonetics forms an essential part ofthe professional train
ing syllabus. Phonetics also enters into the training of teachers of the deaf
and dumb people and can be of relevance to a number of medical and den
tal problems.
Phonetics has proved extremely useful in such spheres as investigations
in the historical aspects of languages, in the field of dialectology; designing
or improving systems of writing or spelling (orthographies for unwritten
languages, shorthand, spelling reform), in questions involving the spelling
or pronunciation of personal or place names or of words borrowed from
other languages.
At the faculties of foreign language in this country two courses of pho
netics are introduced: practical and theoretical phonetics.
Practical or normative phonetics studies the substance, the material
form of phonetic phenomena in relation to meaning.
Theoretical phonetics is mainly concerned with the functioning ofpho
netic units in the language. Theoretical phonetics, as we introduce it here,
regards phonetic phenomena synchronically without any special reference
to the historical development of English.
This course is intended to discuss the problems of phonetic science
which are relevant to English language teaching. The teacher must be sure
that what he/she teaches is linguistically correct. In this course we are to
bring together linguistic theory and EFL practice. We hope that this book
will enable the teacher to work out a truly scientific approach to pronuncia
tion teaching.
In phonetics as in any other discipline, there are various schools whose
views sometimes coincide and sometimes conflict. Occasional reference is
made to them but there is no attempt to describe and compare all possible
traditional and current approaches to the phonetic theory.
As you see from the above, the purpose of this book is to consider the
role of phonetic means in communication and to serve as a general intro
duction to the subject of theoretical phonetics of English which will en
courage the student and the teacher of English to consult more specialized
works on particular aspects.
The authors ofthe book hope that the readers have sufficient knowledge
of the practical course of English phonetics as well as of the course of gen
erallinguistics, which will serve as the basis for this course.
The description of the phonetic structure of English will be based on
Received Pronunciation (RP).
Chapter I
OF SPEECH SOUNDS
1.2. Transcription
1.3. Main Trends in the Phoneme Theory
17
<! ... B )!{flBOH pel [11 rrpOH3HOCl1TCSl 3Ha'Il1TCJlbHO oOJIbruee, 'ICM Mhl OfihlKHOBeHHO ,llYMa
1963:
Ho H
,lI.aJIbmC, TOJlbKO TaKoe o6LUec B3iKJ:IO mlJI Hac B JIMHrBI1CTHKC, KOTopoe ,llHcpcpcpeHQll
PYCT ,llaHHYIO rpyrrrry (CKa)!{CM pa3Hbie 'a') OT )lpyroti: rpynI1hl, HMClOmCH ,lI.pyrOH
CMbICJl (HarrpllMCp, OT COJ03a 'H', rrpOH3HeceHHoro rpOMKO, rucrrOTOM H T.,ll. ). BOT 3TO
o61IIee 11 Ha3bIBaeTCli cpoHeMofi. TaKHM 06pa30M, Ka)KtJ:aH cpOHeMa onpe,lleJIJIeTCSl rrpe
)I()le BCCro 'I'eM, 'ITO OTJIfitlaeT ee OT ,llPYrllX cpOHeM TOfO )!{e Sl3blKa. DnarO,llapJI 3TOMY
Bce cpOHeMbI Ka)!{tJ:oro ,llaHHOro H3bIKa 06pa3YJOT C,llIlHYJO CllCTCMY I1POTHBOIIOJlO)!{
HOCTeti:, r,llC KaiKJ:~b[H 'fJICH onpe,lleJIJICTCJI cepHCH pa3JlH'IHb[X rrpOTMBOIIOnO)!{CHHH KaK
OTil.CJIbHhlX CPOHCM, TaK H HX rpynrr.
18
\.
Material aspect
Abstract
Functional aspect
\.
19
20
allophones are generally paid equal attention to. In teaching the pronuncia
tion of [d], for instance, it is hardly necessary to concentrate on an allo
phone such as [d] before a front vowel as in Russian similar consonants in
this position are also palatalized. Neither is it necessary to practise specially
the labialized [d] after the labial [w] because in this position [d] cannot be
pronounced in any other way. Carefully made up exercises will exclude the
danger of a foreign accent.
Allophones are arranged into functionally similar groups, i. e. groups of
sounds in which the members of each group are not opposed to one an
other, but are opposable to members of any other group to distinguish
meanings in otherwise similar sequences. Consequently allophones of the
same phoneme never occur in similar phonetic context, they are entirely
predictable according to the phonetic environment and cannot differenti
ate meanings.
But the speech sounds (phones) which are realized in speech do not
correspond exactly to the allophone predicted by this or that phonetic envi
ronment. They are modified by phonostylistic, dialectal and individual fac
tors. In fact, no speech sounds are absolutely alike.
Phonemes are important for distinguishing meanings, for knowing
whether, for instance, the message was take it or tape it. But there is more to
speaker-listener exchange than just the "message" itself. The listener may
get a variety of information about the speaker: about the locality he lives in,
regional origin, his social status, age and even emotional state (angry, tired,
excited), and a lot of other facts. Most ofthis social information comes not
from phonemic distinctions, but from phonetic ones. Thus, while phone
mic evidence is important for lexical and grammatical meaning, most other
aspects of communication are conveyed by more subtle differences of
speech sounds, requiring more detailed description at the phonetic level.
There is more to a speech act than just the meaning ofthe words.
The relationships between the phoneme and the phone (speech sound)
may be illustrated by the following scheme:
Figure 4
phonostylistic variation
dialectal variation
individual variation
)--1
21
22
the word CROem. But Russian-speaking people do not observe this differ
ence because the three vowel sounds belong to the same phoneme and
thus the changes in their quality do not distinguish the meaning. So we
have good grounds to state that the phoneme is an abstract linguistic
unit, it is an abstraction from actual speech sounds, i. e. allophonic
modifications.
As it has been said before, native speakers do not observe the differ
ence between the allophones of the same phoneme. At the same time they
realize, quite subconsciously of course, that allophones of each phoneme
possess a bundle ofdistinctive features, that make this phoneme function
ally different from all other phonemes of the language concerned. This
functionally relevant bundle of articulatory features is called the invariant
of the phoneme. Neither of the articulatory features that form the invari
ant ofthe phoneme can be changed without affecting the meaning. All the
allophones of the phoneme [d], for instance, are occlusive, fore lingual,
If occlusive articulation is changed for constrictive one [d] will be
replaced by [z], cf. breed - breeze, deal- zeal; [d] will be replaced by [g]
if the forelingual articulation is replaced by the backlingual one, cf. dear
gear, day - gay. The lenis articulation of [d] cannot be substituted by the
fortis one because it will also bring about changes in meaning, cf. dry
try, ladder - latter, bid - bit. That is why it is possible to state that occlu
sive, forelingual and lenis characteristics of the phoneme [d] are general
ized in the mind of the speaker into what is called the invariant of this
phoneme.
On the one hand, the phoneme is real, because it is realized in speech
in the material form of speech sounds, its allophones. On the other hand,
it is an abstract language unit. That is why we can look upon the phoneme
as a dialectical unity of the material and abstract aspects. Thus we may
state that it is the material form of speech sounds, its allophones. Speech
sounds are necessarily allophones of one of the phonemes of the language
concerned. All the allophones of the same phoneme have some articula
tory features in common, i. e. all of them possess the same invariant. Si
multaneously each allophone possesses quite particular phonetic features
which may not be traced in the articulation of other allophones of the
same phoneme. That is why while teaching pronunciation we cannot ask
our students to pronounce this or that phoneme. We can only teach them
to pronounce one of its allophones.
The articulatory features which form the invariant of the phoneme are
called distinctive or relevant. To extract the relevant feature of the pho
23
24
1.2. Transcription
It is interesting at this stage to consider the system ofphonetic notations
which is generally termed "transcription". Transcription is a set of symbols
representing speech sounds. The symbolization of sounds naturally differs
according to whether the aim is to indicate the phoneme, i. e. a functional
unit as a whole, or to reflect the modifications of its allophones as well.
The International Phonetic Association (IPA) has given an accepted
inventory of symbols, used in different types of transcription.
The first type ofnotation, the broad or phonemic transcription, provides
special symbols for all the phonemes of a language. The second type, the
narrow or allophonic transcription, suggests special symbols for speech
sounds, representing particular allophonic features. The broad transcrip
tion is mainly used for practical purposes (in EFL teaching and learning, for
example), the narrow type serves the purposes of research work.
The striking difference among present -day broad transcriptions of Brit
ish English is mainly due to the varying significance which is attached to
vowel quality and quantity. Now we shall discuss two kinds of broad tran
scription which are used for practical purposes in our country. The first type
was introduced by D. Jones. He realized the difference in quality as well as
in quantity between the vowel sounds in the words sit and seat, pot and port,
pull and pool, the neutral vowel and the vowel in the word earn. However, he
aimed at reducing the number of symbols to a minimum and strongly in
sisted that certain conventions should be stated once for all. One of these
conventions is, for instance, that the above-mentioned long and short vow
els differ in quality as well as in quantity. D. Jones supposed that this con
vention would relieve us from the necessity of introducing special symbols
to differentiate the quality of these vowels. That is why he used the same
symbols for them. According to D. Jones' notation English vowels are de
noted like this: [I] - [i:], [e] - [ee], [A] - [a:], [J] - [J:], [u] - [u:], [a] - [a:].
This way of notation disguises the qualitative difference between the vowels
[I] and [i:], [J] and [J:], [u] and [u:], [a] and [a:] though nowadays most pho
neticians agree that vowel length is not a distinctive feature ofthe vowel, but
is rather dependent upon the phonetic context, i. e. it is definitely redun
dant. For example, in such word pairs as hit - heat, cock - cork, pull- pool
the opposed vowels are approximately of the same length, the only differ
ence between them lies in their quality which is therefore relevant.
More than that. Phonetic transcription is a good basis for teaching the
pronunciation ofa foreign language, being a powerful visual aid. To achieve
25
good results it is necessary that the learners of English should associate each
relevant difference between the phonemes with special symbols, i. e. each
phoneme should have a special symbol. If not, the difference between the
pairs of sounds above may be wrongly associated with vowel length which is
non-distinctive (redundant) in modern English.
The other type ofbroad transcription, first used by V. A. Vasilyev, causes
no phonological misunderstanding providing special symbols for all vowel
phonemes: [I], [i:], [e], [ee], [a:], [A], [n], [J:], [u], [u:], [3:], [a]. Being a good
visual aid this way of notation can be strongly recommended for teaching
the pronunciation of English to any audience.
But phonemic representation is rather imprecise as it gives too little
information about the actual speech sounds. It incorporates only as much
phonetic information as it is necessary to distinguish the functioning of
sounds in a language. The narrow or phonetic transcription incorporates
as much phonetic information as the phonetician desires, or as he can
distinguish. It provides special symbols to denote not only the phoneme as
a language unit but also its allophonic modifications. The symbol [h] for
instance indicates aspirated articulation, cf. [k(h)eIt] - [skeIt]. This type
of transcription is mainly used in research work. Sometimes, however, it
may be helpful, at least in the early stages, to include symbols representing
allophones in order to emphasize a particular feature of an allophonic
modification, e. g. in the pronunciation of the consonant [1] it is often
necessary to insist upon the soft and hard varieties of it ("clear" and
"dark" variants) by using not only [1] but also [1] (the indication of the
"dark" variant).
26
tant to look upon the phoneme as a unity of its three aspects: material, ab
stract and functional.
The "mentalistic" or "psychological" view regards the phoneme as an
ideal "mental image" or a target at which the speaker aims. Actually pro
nounced speech sounds are imperfect realizations of the phoneme existing
in the mind but not in the reality. Allophones of the same phoneme cannot
be alike because of the influence of the phonetic context.
According to this conception allophones of the phoneme are varying
materializations of it. This view was originated by the founder of the pho
neme theory, the Russian linguist I. A. Baudauin de Courtenay. Similar
ideas were expressed by E. D. Sapir. This point of view was shared by other
linguists, A. Sommerfelt (Sommerfelt 1936) for one, who described pho
nemes as "models which speakers seek to reproduce".
The "psychological", or "mentalistic" view ofthe phoneme was brought
back into favour by generative phonology, and the idea of the phoneme as a
"target" was revived, albeit under different terminology by N. Chomsky
Chomsky, M. Halle, 1968), M. Tatham (Tatham 1980) and others. Now
the basic concepts ofgenerative phonology attract much attention because
of the rapid development of applied linguistics.
The so-called "functional" view regards the phoneme as the minimal
sound unit by which meanings may be differentiated without much regard
to actually pronounced speech sounds. Meaning differentiation is taken to
be a deftning characteristic of phonemes. Thus the absence of palatalization
in [I] and palatalization of [1] in English do not differentiate meanings, and
therefore [I] and [1] cannot be assigned to different phonemes but both form
allophones of the phoneme [1]. The same articulatory features of the Rus
sian [n] and [n'] do differentiate meanings, and hence [JI] and [JI'] must be
assigned to different phonemes in Russian, cf. MOA MOAb, A02 - /lif2. Ac
cording to this conception the phoneme is not a family of sounds, since in
every sound only.a certain number of the articulatory features, i. e. those
which form the invariant of the phoneme, are involved in the differentiation
of meanings. It is the so-called distinctive features of the sound which make
up the phoneme corresponding to it. For example, every sound of the Eng
lish word ladder includes the phonetic feature oflenisness but this feature is
distinctive only in the third sound [d], its absence here would give rise to a
different word latter, whereas if any other sound becomes fortis the result is
merely a peculiar version of ladder. The distinctiveness of such a feature
thus depends on the contrast between it and other possible features belong
ing to the same set, i. e. the state of the vocal cords. Thus when the above
27
28
Now that you have a good idea of what a phoneme is, we shall try to
establish the aim of phonological analysis ofspeech sounds, to give an over
view of the methods applied in this sort of analysis and show what charac
teristics ofthe quality ofsounds are ofprimary importance in grouping them
into functionally similar classes, i. e. phonemes.
To study the sounds of a language from the functional point of view
means to study the way they function, that is to find out which sounds a
language uses as part of its pronunciation system, how sounds are grouped
into functionally similar units. The final aim of phonological analysis of a
language is the identification of the phonemes and finding out the patterns
of relationships into which they fall as parts of the sound system ofthat lan
guage.
There are two ways of analyzing speech sounds: if we define /s/ from the
phonological point of view it would be constrictive foreliIlb'1lal fortis, this
would be quite enough to remind us of the general class of realization ofthis
segment; for articulatory description we would need much more informa
tion, that is: what sort of narrowing is formed by the tip of the tongue and
the alveolar ridge, what is the shape of the tongue when the obstruction is
made (a groove in the centre of the tongue while the sides form a closure
with the alveolar ridge), and so on. So if the speech sounds are studied from
the articulatory point of view it is the differences and similarities of their
production that are in the focus of attention, whereas the phonological ap
proach suggests studying the sound system which is actually a set of rela
tionships and oppositions which have functional
Each language has its own system of phonemes. Each member of the
system is determined by all the other members and does not exist without
them. The linguistic value of articulatory and acoustic qualities of sounds is
not identical in different languages. In one language community two physi
29
cally different units are identified as "the same" sound, because they have
similar functions in the language system. In another language community
they may be classified as different because they perrorm a distinctive func
tion. Consider the following comparison: the two English [1] and[l] sounds
(clear and dark) are identified by English people as one phoneme because
the articulatory difference does not affect the meaning. English speakers are
not aware of the difference because it is of no importance in the communi
cation process.
In the Russian language a similar, though not identical difference be
tween [JI] and [JI'] affects the meaning, like inAYK andAlOK. So these sounds
are identified by Russian speakers as two different phonemes. Analogically,
the speakers of Syrian notice the difference between the [th] of English ten
and the [t] of letter, because it is phonemic in Syrian but only allophonic in
English.
Thus a very important conclusion follows: statements concerning pho
nological categories and allophonic variants can usually be made of a par
ticular language.
So the aim of the phonological analysis is, firstly, to determine which dif
ferences of sounds are phonemic and which are non-phonemic and, sec
ondly, to find the inventory of the phonemes of a language.
30
31
rule that phonemes can distinguish words and morphemes when opposed to
one another. The semantic method of identifying the phonemes of a lan
guage attaches great significance to meaning. It consists in systemic substi
tution of the sound for another in order to ascertain in which cases where
the phonetic context remains the same such substitution leads to a change
of meaning. It is with the help ofthe informant that the change of meaning
is stated. This procedure is called the commutation test. It consists in find
ing minimal pairs of words and their grammatical forms. By a minimal pair
we mean a pair ofwords or morphemes which are differentiated by only one
phoneme in the same phonetic context.
Let's consider the following example: suppose the scholar arrives at the
sequence [pin]; he substitutes the sound [p] for the sound [b]. The substitu
tion leads to the change of meaning. This proves that [p] and rbl can be re
garded as allophones of different phonemes.
Minimal pairs are useful for establishing the phonemes
If we continue to substitute [p] for [8], [d], [w] we get minimal pairs of
words with different meaning sin, din, win. So [8], [d], [w] are allophones of
different phonemes. But suppose we substitute [ph] for [p], the pronuncia
word would be wrong from the point ofview of English pronun
ciation norm, but the word would be still recognized as pin but not anything
else. So we may conclude that the unaspirated [p] is an allophone of the
same
The phonemes ofa language form a system ofoppositions in which any
phoneme is usually opposed to other phonemes of the language in at least
one position, in at least one minimal pair. So to establish the phonemic
structure of a language it is necessary to establish the whole system of op
positions. AU the sounds should be opposed in word-initial, word-medial
and word-final positions. There are three kinds of oppositions. If members
ofthe opposition differ in one feature the opposition is said to be single, like
in pen - ben. Common features: occlusive, labiaL Differentiating feature:
fortis -lenis. Iftwo distinctive features are marked the opposition is said to
be double, like in pen den. Common feature: occlusive. Differentiating
features: labial - lingual, fortis voiceless - lenis voiced. If three distinctive
features are marked the opposition is said to be triple (multiple), like in
pen - then. Ditlerentiating features: occlusive constrictive, labial - den
tal, fortis voiceless lenis voiced.
The features ofa phoneme that are capable of differentiating the mean
ing are termed as relevant or distinctive. The ones that do not take part in
differentiating the meaning are termed as irrelevant or non-distinctive. The
32
33
neutralization.
Moscow philologists claim that the interchange ofsounds manifests close
connection between phonetics as the science of the sound system and mor
phology of the language which studies grammatical meanings. Alternations
are observed in one and the same morphological units, in a morpheme, and
actualize the phonemic structure of the morpheme. Thus, the phonemic
content of the morpheme is constant. The supporters of the morphological
trend defme the phoneme as follows: 3TO .pYHKUI10HaJIhHaH .poHem'fe
CKaH e,lJ,I1HMua, rrpe,lJ,CTaBJIeHHaH PMOM rr03HUHOHHO 'fepe,11,YIOlIJ,l1XCH
3BYKOB)} (I1aHoB, 1979: 107).
The notion of .poHemqeCKHH PM, suggested by R. f. Avanesov, dem
onstrates positionally determined realizations of the phoneme. Positionally
alternating sounds are grouped into one phoneme even if they are similar or
have common features (that is common allophones) with other phonemes.
The Russian preposition c + noun may have the following realizations:
c KOJIeH
c TMMornen:
c faJIen:
c,lJ;HMOH
[c]
[c']
[3]
[3']
c illypoH [rn]
c )KeHen: [)K]
c qYKOM [rn:]
34
35
36
in terms of the latter. In the above mentioned case it is the terms of auditory
level that defme the characteristic more adequately.
Sonorants are consonants that phoneticians traditionally have a lot of ar
guments about. Sonorants are sounds that differ greatly from all other conso
nants of the language. This is due to the fact that in their production the air
passage is fairly wide, much wider than in the production of noise conso
nants. As a result the auditory effect is tone, not noise. This peculiarity of ar
ticulation makes sonorants sound more like vowels than consonants. Acous
tically sonorants are opposed to an other consonants because they are
characterized by a sharply defined formant structure and the total energy of
most of them is very high. However, on functional grounds according to their
position in the syllable sonorants are included in the consonantal category.
The great articulatory and acoustic difference of noise consonants and
sonorants could be very well relied upon as having classificatory value. The
phonological relevance of this factor (the degree of noise) could be proved
by the following oppositions:
[berk - merk]
[vi:l- wi:l]
bake make
veal - wheel
[si: ]
[si:d] [si:z]
[ti:z] [tJi:z]
[si:z] - [si:d3]
[pefS] - [perd3]
tea sea
seed seas
tease cheese
cease siege
pace - page
(occlusive constrictive)
(occlusive - constrictive)
(occlusive - afIricate)
(constrictive - atIricate)
(constrictive - affricate)
37
Figure 5
consonants
sonorants
occlusive
constrictive
2) lingual;
3) glottal.
glottal
labio-dental
mediolingual
backlingual
38
nants there could be found oppositions based on the active organ of speech
and the place of obstruction:
[p~nJ
- [t~nJ
[walJ [lalJ
[plk] [klk]
[les J - [jes]
[del] [gel]
[salJ - [hal]
[fi:t] - [si:t]
pan-tan
why lie
pick- kick
less yes
day-gay
sigh - high
feet - seat
(bilabial forelingual)
(bilabial forelingual)
(bilabial- backlingual)
(forelingual mediolingual)
(forelingual- backlingual)
(forelingual glottal)
(labio-dental- fore lingual)
39
LO this principle consonants can be oral and nasal. There are relatively few
consonantal types in English which require a lowered position of the soft
palate. They are the nasal occlusive sonorants [m], [n], and [uJ. No differ
ence of meaning in English can be attributed to the presence or absence of
nasalisation. It is for this reason that it cannot be a phonologically relevant
Ii~ature of English consonants. So it is an indispensable concomitant feature
of English nasal consonants.
Summarizing we could state that the following articulatory features are
considered to be relevant from phonological point ofview:
I) type of obstruction;
2) place of articulation and active organ of speech;
3) force of articulation.
The above mentioned articulatory characteristics are the primary ones
as they specify the essential quality of a consonant which is enough to de
scribe it as an item of a system. On this level of analysis it is the point where
the distinction becomes phonemic that matters.
However, from the point of view of pronunciation teaching we should
gain some additional information about the articulation ofa consonant like
apical- dorsal; dental, alveolar, post-alveolar, palato-alveolar; oral- nasal;
flat narrowing - round narrowing characteristics. They provide necessary
information for comparison between the English and Russian consonants.
It is for this reason that these characteristics are normally included into de
scriptions.
The most important characteristic ofthese vowels is that they are acous
tically stable. They are known to be entirely different from one another both
articulatory and acoustically. Consequently they may well be said to form
boundaries ofthe"phonetic field ofvowels" in modern man's language. The
40
commonest vowel system adds two other vowels to the minimum triangle to
give a five vowel system of the type:
41
[pen
p~n] pen
pan
pm] pen pin
- bi:n] bin - been
42
It is common knowledge that a vowel like any sound has physical duration
time which is required for its production. When sounds are used is connected
speech they are influenced by one another. Duration is one ofthe characteristics
ofa vowel which is modified by and depends on the following factors:
1) its own length;
3) phonetic context;
43
[I]
[u]
[A]
[i:]
[u:]
[a:]
44
may approximately have the same duration as the [I] vowel in bid because it is
generally known that a voiced consonant following a vowel increases its
length. But still the words bid and bead are perceived as different words be
cause the vowels are different in quality, [I] being front-retracted, pure
monophthong, and [i:] being front close (narrow variation) and a diphthon
gized vowel. The conclusion that follows is that vowel quantity cannot be
considered a minimal distinctive feature since it varies under the influence of
different phonetic context. So it is an incidental feature that characterizes
vowels of a certain quality. Summarizing we may say that this is an approach
to quantity of English vowels from phonological point ofview.
It may be worth mentioning that the [ee] vowel being classed as histori
cally short tends to be lengthened in Modern English, especially before
lenis consonants [b], [d], [g], [d3], [m], [nl, [z].ln this position [ee] has the
same quantity as long vowels [i:], [a:], [J:], [u:], [3:]. This extra length, as
A. C. Gimson points out, serves an additional distinctive feature and the
qualitative-quantitative relation of [ee] - [e] tends to become of the same
type as [i:] [I]. From this point ofview [ee] can possibly belong to the sub
class of long vowels, and consequently the twelve English long vowel pho
nemes may be divided into six phonetic pairs which members differ both in
quality and in quantity and of the two factors it is likely that the quality car
ries the greater contrastive weight.
There is one more articulatory characteristic that requires our attention.
That is tenseness. It characterizes the state ofthe organs ofspeech at the moment
ofthe production ofvowels. Special instrumental analysis shows that historically
long vowels are tense while historically short vowels are lax. This characteristic is
of extra-phonological type so tenseness may be considered an indispensable
concomitant feature ofEnglish long vowels. On these grounds it can be included
into classificatory description of vowels because it might be helpful in teaching
students ofEnglish since there are no tense vowels in Russian.
Summarizing we could say that phonological analysis of articulatory
features of English vowels allows us to consider as functionally relevant the
following one characteristic: tongue position.
The rest of the features mentioned above, i. e.lip position, character of
vowel end, length and tenseness are indispensable constituents of vowel
quality. Though they have no phonological value they are quite important in
teaching English phonetics.
We might conclude by saying that we have tried to look at the consonan
tal and vocalic systems of the English language from phonological point of
view. This sort of analysis enables us to defme what properties displayed by
45
or
(lie chain of speech. The most common type of such changes is assimila
I ion. Assimilation takes place when a consonant is adjusted in order to be
t~()me
46
,~\
force of articulation.
Phonemes
47
lated to the initial voiceless fortis consonant of the following word: she's
jive, have to do it, does Pete like it? It should be noted that only fricatives
are affected by this type of assimilation, while plosives [b, d, g] remain
voiced in similar context, big size, goodfellow.
3. Contracted forms of the verbs "is" and "has" may retain voice or be
devoiced depending on the preceding consonant (incomplete progres
sive assimilation): that's [5] right; Tom's [z] gone; Jack's [s] done it.
Assimilative voicing and devoicing can also be observed in the pro
nunciation of the possessive suffix's or s', the plural suffix of nouns (e)s
and the third person singular Present Simple of verbs: girl's, beds, reads,
lerv'
1.5.3.2. Modifications ofvowels
The phonetic process that affects English vowels in connected speech is
called reduction. By vowel reduction we mean shortening or weakening of
I he sound, or, in other words, shortening in length that is usually accompa
48
Summary
The phoneme is a minimal abstract linguistic unit realized in speech in
the form of speech sounds opposable to other phonemes of the same lan
guage to distinguish the meaning of morphemes and words.
According to this definition the phoneme is a unity of three aspects:
functional, material and abstract.
Sununary
49
50
Chapter II
posed to one another in the same phonetic context. The main procedure is
called commutation test. It consists in finding minimal pairs of words and
their grammatical forms, i. e. pairs of words or morphemes which differ in
only one sound in the same phonetic context. To establish the phonemic
structure of a language it is necessary to establish the whole system of op
positions. All the sounds should be opposed in word-initial, word-medial
and word-final positions.
There are special difficulties in establishing the phonemic status of
sounds in their weak position. This problem is approached in different ways
by the Moscow and St. Petersburg phonological schools.
The application of phonological analysis shows that English phonemes
are grouped into classes according to the distinctive (phonemic) features.
The following features are distinctive for consonants: type of obstruction
(manner of articulation), place of articulation and active organ of speech
and force of articulation. The phonemic feature of vowels is vowel quality
(tongue position).
The articulation ofsounds in connected speech is affected by their pho
netic environment. Speech sounds influence each other in the chain of
speech. Modifications of speech sounds that occur due to this influence are
called assimilation, accommodation, reduction and elision.
2.1.
2.2.
2.3.
2.4.
syllable fonnation
syllable division
Before we look at the English syllable in detail we should note that the
study of the syllable has for a long time occupied an important place in Iin
52
It
Division (Phonotactics)
53
Here we should point out that due to its structure the English language
developed the closed type of syllable as the fundamental one while in
Russian it is the open type that forms the basis of syllable formation. The
II umber ofthe syllable structural varieties is 23. The structure ofthe English
syllable reveals variations in the number of prevocalic consonants from I
to 3 and post vocalic consonants from I to 5.
As to the number ofsyllables in the English word it can vary from one to
oight, like in [kAm] come, ['SIb] city, [,fcem(a)li]jamily, fSlm'phsltI] simplicity,
IAI1'ncetJ(a)r(a)li] unnaturally, fmkampceU'blhti] incompatibility, ['Amn'tehd3i
'1)JI<lti] unintelligibility.
So far we have described some of the aspects of syllable structure of
English. The other aspect is syllable division.
54
The results of instrumental analysis show that the point of syllable division
in words like ['plh] pity, ['tupIk] topic, ['me3a] measure, [,bubI] Bobby is inside
sian learners of English. They should keep in mind that in the Russian lan
guage the stressed syllable in the structure (C) VCV (C) is always open, like
In such cases it is the native speaker's intuition that could be relied on.
The subconscious feeling of a new pronunciation effort makes him divide
the words ofsuch types into [,ek-stral. This natural way ofdivision is fixed in
the pronunciation dictionary.
In compounds word like ['t3ustrcek] toast-rack it is the morphological
criterion that counts because the boundaries of the syllable should corre
spond to morpheme boundaries.
55
an aim - a name
mice kill - my skill
an ice house - a nice house
peace talks - pea stalks
plate rack - play track
Sometimes the difference in syllabic structure might differentiate the
semantic structure of an utterance:
Chapter III
56
WORD STRESS
II
58
nounce just one word there is a certain pitch change typical of a spoken
sentence. This phenomenon will be considered in the section of this book
devoted to intonation.
The nature of word stress can be studied from the point of view of pro
duction and perception. The production of stressed syllables requires more
muscular energy. Greater muscular effort and muscular activity produce
higher subglottal pressure and an increase in the amount of air expelled
from the lungs. On the acoustic level this extra articulatory activity leads
to the increase of intensity, duration and fundamental frequency of the
stressed syllable. On the perception level it corresponds to the increase of
loudness, length and pitch.
.1
Table 1
Production and Perception ofthe Stressed Syllables
Production and Perception
Stressed syllable
Production level
Acoustic level
Increase
quency
Perception level
Increase ofioudness,
tonic (musical)
59
As regards the English word there is no agreement among linguists about the
role of particular acoustic parameters in creating the effect of syllable promi
nence. In other words, they have not arrived at the conclusion yet as to which of
them contributes to a greater extent to our perception of a syllable as a stressed
one. The English linguists D. Crystal (1969) and A. Gimson (1981) agree that
English word stress is a complex phenomenon, marked by the variations in force,
pitch, quantity and quality. Different scholars rank these parameters in different
ways, however each description of English word stress includes loudness, pitch,
length and quality. Let us give a brief overview ofeach of these parameters.
When we hear a word we often perceive the stressed syllable as louder than
unstressed ones. It is the result ofgreater muscular effort which forces the stream
ofair between the vocal cords which vibrate more vigourously. It creates the ef
fect of greater loudness. However it is impossible to increase the loudness only
without changing other characteristics ofthe syllable.
The syllable is perceived as prominent ifthere is a change ofpitch on it. The
acoustic correlate of pitch is the frequency ofthe vibrations of the vocal cords.
"Ifall syllables are said with low pitch except for one said with high pitch, then
the high-pitched syllable will be heard as stressed and others as unstressed"
(Roach, 2001). The placement of pitch change marks the seat of the stress. It
be noted that it is not the direction of pitch change that matters here,
what counts is the movement itself. The fIrSt syllable in the word 'import will be
perceived as stressed both when pronounced with the falling or the rising tone
(.import, )mport). The shift of stress to the second syllable (import) will be ac
companied with a pitch movement on the second syllable.
The length of syllable contributes to the effect of prominence. A greater
amount of energy in the production of stressed syllable leads to the increase of
its length as compared to the unstressed syllables.
The quality of vowels also plays a certain role in creating the effect ofstress.
A syllable tends to be perceived as prominent ifit contains a vowel which is dif
ferent in quality from the vowels in other syllables. \bwels in unstressed syllables
are affected by quantitative and qualitative reduction and vowels in stressed syl
lables are not. It creates a contrast which increases the prominence of
stressed syllable.
To sum up, it is generally acknowledged that English word stress is a com
plex phenomenon formed by interdependent components: loudness,
length and vowel quality. As regards the ranking ofthe components they are not
equally important, but they generally work in combination.
60
61
Position of Stress
fIxed
free
62
de'velop.
The number of syllables in a word influences the number ofstresses and
to a certain extent the position of stress. There are stress patterns typical of
('operate).
Stress attracting suffIXes include such suffIXes as -ade, -eer, -ee, -esque,
-ette (cru'sade, mounta'neer, refu'gee, ,ciga'rette, pictu'resque).
In some cases this factor is to be considered together with another one
the number ofsyllables in a word. For example, the verbal suffix -ate is stress
attracting in the words containing two syllables (migrate), but in words con
taining more than two syllables it is stress-fIXing; it fixes the stress on the
third syllable from the end (com'municate).
63
64
65
lowing order: the syntactic category of the word (nouns behave differently
from verbs and adjectives), syllable weight, morhological structure (the ad
dition of suffixes can have consequences for the way that a word is stressed)
(Ph. Carr, 1999).
The study of the factors listed above can give some guidance as regards
the placement of word stress in Modern English. However, it is generally
acknowledged that the accentual pattern of English words is liable to insta
due to the inner typological proccesses that are a result of the histori
development of the language. These processes are described as tenden
cies in the placement of word stress.
Figure 9
recessive tendency
retentive tendency
66
Summary
\\brd stress is a greater degree ofprominence ofa syllable or syllables as
compared to the other syllables of a word.
The stressed syllables are pronunced with more muscular energy than the
unstressed ones. On the acoustic level stressed syllables are characterized by
increased intensity, duration and fundamental frequency, which correspond
to increased loudness, length and pitch on the perception level.
There are two types of word stress: dynamic and musical (tonic).
English word stress is a complex phenomenon formed by interdepen
dent components: loudness, pitch, length and vowel quality.
The syllables in a word have different degrees ofprominence. In English
they generally distinguish three linguistically relevant degrees of stress: pri
mary, secondary and weak. Some scholars also include tertiary stress, but
the first classification is more acceptable for teaching English as a foreign
language.
Summary
67
Chapter IV
INTONATION
4.1. Definition of Intonation
4.2. Components of Intonation
4.3. Intonation Pattern as the Basic Unit of
Intonation
4.4. Notation
4.5. Functions of Intonation
4.5.1. Communicative function as the basic
function of intonation
4.5.2. Distinctive function
4.5.3. Organising function
4.5.4. Intonation in discourse
4.5.5. Pragmatic function
4.5.6. Rhetorical function
4.6. Rhythm
4.6.1. Speech rhythm. Definition. Typology
4.6.2. Rhythmic group as the basic unit of
rhythm
4.6.3. Rhythm in different types of discourse
4.6.4. Functions of rhythm
4. 1. Definition of Intonation
In this chapter we shall focus on intonation, the topic ofparticular theo
retical and practical interest. It is the sphere of suprasegmental phonetics.
The flow ofspeech does not consist only ofsegmental units (speech sounds),
there are also other phonetiC means that characterize a sequence of speech
sounds. They are called suprasegmental or prosodic means.
Intonation is a language universal. There are no languages which are
spoken as a monotone, i. e. without any change of prosodic parameters. But
intonation functions in various languages in different ways.
69
70
IV. Intonation
71
\ariations in voice pitch occur within the normal range of the human
voice, 1. e. within the interval between its upper and lower limits. Three pitch
levels (keys, registers) are generally distinguished: high. medium and low.
high
- - - - - - - - - - medium
- - - - - - - - - - low
The pitch range is the interval between two pitch levels. When we speak
about the pitch range of the whole intonation unit we mean the interval be
tween the highest-pitched and the lowest-pitched syllables. Pitch ranges
maybe normal, wide and narrow.
Iwide
Inormal
Inarrow
The rate of speech can be normal, slow and fast. Generally, the parts
72
It is clear that pauses can perfonn various functions. Besides the seg
mentation ofthe speech continuum, pauses contribute to the temporal and
rhythmical organization of speech.
As it was already said pauses are easily perceived when there is a stop of
phonation. However there are cases when we perceive a pause when there is
no stop ofphonation. It happens because a stop ofphonation is not an
factor indicating an intonation group boundary. Thus, the impression ofthe
boundary between speech segments may be created by perceivable pitch
change, either stepping down or stepping up, depending on the direction of
the nuclear tone movement.
All the three components ofintonation, i. e. pitch, loudness and tempo
form the intonation pattern, the basic unit of intonation.
73
II -
I
I
-+ Last tSummer v we
-+ Last tSummer v we
The phrase above can be pronounced with either two or three intona
tion groups.
The intonation pattern may include the following components: the nu
clear tone (nucleus), the head, the pre-head and the taiL Now we shall dwell
in more detail on each of these components.
Figure 10
pre-head
nuclear tone
Not all the stressed syllables in the intonation group are of equal prom
inence. To highlight the most important word the speaker accents it, adding
pitch prominence. One of the syllables has greater prominence than the
others. It is the nucleus or the focal point (focus). The nucleus may be de
scribed as a syllable which is marked by a significant change in pitch direc
tion, i. e. where the pitch goes distinctly up or down. The nuclear tone is
most important part ofthe intonation pattern. The intonation pattern can
not exist without it. At the same time the intonation pattern may consist of
one syllable, which will be
The nuclear tones are generally grouped into simple (Low Fall, Low Rise
and others), complex (Fall-Rise, Rise-Fall) and compound (Rise + Fall +
Rise). According to R. Kingdon, the most important nuclear tones in Eng
which should be included in the course of pronunciation for foreign
learners, are: Low Fall, High Fall, Low Rise, High Rise, Fall-Rise (R. King
don, 1958). D. Crystal postulates "a major division of nuclear tones into two
74
Chapter
rv. Intonation
types: falling, the fInal direction of pitch movement being downward in each
case, and rising, the fmal direction of pitch movement being upward. The
category oflevel tone retains an ambiguous status in respect of this division"
(D. Crystal, 1969). According to J. \\ells "the most basic distinction among
English nuclear tones is that between falling and non-falling" (J. Wells, 2006).
A. Cruttenden claims that there are three main factors which are the basis for
the classifIcation of nuclear tones in English: the initial movement
nucleus: fall or rise or level; the beginning point ofthis initial movement: high
or low; a second change of pitch direction following the nucleus, which pro
duces such tones as rise-fall and fall-rise. He distinguishes seven nuclear
tones: Low Fall, High Fall, Low Rise, High Rise, Fall-Rise, Rise-Fall and
Mid-Level (A. Cruttenden, 1986).
The meanings of nuclear tones are difficult to specify in general terms.
Roughly speaking, the falling tone of any level and range expresses "fInali
ty", "completeness", "certainty", "independence".
75
'" Those who 'work in the voffices I "'ought to take 'plenty of ,e:xerci~e.
"'When ['come Vback I we will ~talk about it a,gain.
The Fall-Rise is also chosen by speakers when they want to refer to
something already mentioned in the conversation or to the information
shared by the speakers and the hearers.
When can we meet? - We could meet on v Sunday (but not on Monday, but
it might not suit you).
The falling-rising tone, as its name suggests, consists of a fall in pitch
followed by a rise. If the nucleus is the last syllable of the intonation group
the fall and rise both take place on one syllable the nuclear syllable. Other
wise the rise occurs in the remainder ofthe tone unit:
I'm afraid I can't manage it. - In vview o/'all the >circumstances I "'whv not
'try a,gain ?
'>I. First we'll dis'cuss >one othing IVthen will 'pass on to a,nother.
Mid- Level tone is particularly common in spontaneous speech func
tionally replacing Low Rise.
We should also mention such nuclear tones as Rise-Fall and Rise-Fall
Rise. They add refmement to speech, but it is generally recommended to
introduce these tones at the advanced level, when foreign learners have al
ready mastered the basics of English intonation.
We have given a very general overview of the basic nuclear tones. Each
of these tones can express other meanings in particular contexts. Some of
them will be considered in the section "Functions of Intonation".
76
Ascending type
Level type
-,
Compare the types ofhead in the following phrases:
"'"Why are you 'making such a 'mess of it?
"'".
.."."Why are you 'making such a 'mess of it?
...
.'
" ....
77
... ..
The examples show that different types of pre-nuclear patterns do not
affect the grammatical meaning of the sentence but they can convey
speaker's attitude.
Summing up, we may say that minimally an intonation pattern con
sists of one syllable, which is its nucleus, Maximally it may include three
other elements: the head, the pre-head and the tail.
The meaning of the intonation group is the combination ofthe mean
conveyed by the terminal, pre-nuclear part, pitch level and pitch
range.
Obviously the elements of the intonation pattern can be combined in
various ways and express a variety of meanings, Compare the meanings of
the following utterances:
Not at ,all. (calm, reserved)
~ Not at ,all. (weighty, considered)
~ Not at ,all. (encouraging, friendly)
~ Not at 'all. (questioning)
~ Not at 'all. (surprised)
~ Not at \fall. (protesting)
The number of possible combinations is more than a hundred, but not
all of them are of equal importance. So in teaching it is necessary to select
a limited number ofintonation patterns which are frequently used in Eng
lish discourse and which have a particular communicative value.
In these sections we have considered in a very general way the compo
nents of intonation. It follows from this overview that all of them are
closely interconnected in the processes of speech production and speech
perception. We must point out here that the changes in pitch, loudness
and tempo are not accidental variations. The rules governing these chang
es are highly organized. Irrespective of the individual prosodic character
istics that can be traced in each speaker, these changes tend to become
standardized, so that all speakers of the language use them in similar ways
under similar circumstances. These characteristics of intonation struc
tures may be called intonation units which form the prosodic system of
English.
78
4.4. Notation
What is the best suitable way of representing intonation in the text?
There are a variety ofmethods for recording intonation patterns in writ
ing and we can look at the advantages and disadvantages of some of the
commoner ones. The first three methods reflect variations in pitch only:
1. The method introduced by Ch. Fries (1965) involves drawing a line
around the sentence to show relative pitch heights:
ton
t
i
In
79
3 1
We believe it is clear from the above that this system deserves recogni
tion not only because it reflects all relevant variations of the two prosodic
components of information but also because it serves a powerful visual aid
for teaching pronunciation.
Our further point will be the description of the functional aspect ofinto
nation in different textual discourse units. To establish the linguistic relevance
ofprosodic features it is necessary to look for contrasts or oppositions, which
can show their linguistic significance. In the next section we are going to look
at each component of intonation, or, in other words, each prosodic feature,
pitch, loudness and tempo and the way they function in speech.
4. 5. Functions of Intonation
4.5.1. Communicative function as the basic function ofintonation
Our further point will be the description of intonation on the func
tionallevel. Intonation is functional, i. e. it is used in a language for par
80
ticular purposes and is never merely decorative. Within any language into
nation is systemic: different speakers tend to use the same patterns for the
same purposes. If the speaker uses wrong intonation he can easily slip in
accent or can even be misunderstood.
Intonation is a powerful means of human communication. It has a
great value for expressing ideas and emotions and contributes to mutual
understanding between people. One of the aims of communication is the
exchange of information between people. The meaning of an English ut
terance, i. e. the information it conveys to a listener, derives not only from
the grammatical structure, the lexical composition and the sound pattern.
It also derives from variations of intonation, in other words the prosodic
parameters ofthe utterance.
Because of the complex nature of intonation and its high linguistic
potential, there is no agreement among phoneticians about the functional
aspect of intonation. The functions of intonation have been very differ
ently described and classified. Thus, T. M. Nikolaeva (2004) names three
functions: the functions of delimitation, integration and semantic func
tion. N. V. Cheremisina (1982) singles out the following functions: com
municative, distinctive (or phonological), culminative (accentual), inte
grative, delimitating, expressive, aesthetic. According to A. Gimson
(1981) intonation has two basic functions: accentual and non-accentual.
The classification of P. Roach (2001) includes attitudinal, accentual,
grammatical and discourse functions. D. Crystal (1995) distinguishes the
following functions: emotional, grammatical, informational, textual, psy
chological, indexical. J. C. Wells (2006) recognizes such functions as at
titudinal, grammatical, focusing (accentual, informational), discourse
(cohesive), psychological, indexicaL
It can be argued that since intonation is viewed as a powerful means of
communication, its basic function is communicative. It follows from this
that it is impossible to divorce any function of intonation from that of
communication. No matter how many functions are named, all of them
may be regarded as the realization of the communicative function.
The communicative function of intonation embraces all its numerous
uses, which can be grouped in the following way: the use of intonation to
distinguish meanings and the use of intonation to organize, or structure
the oral text. The first can be described as the distinctive (phonological)
function and the second - as the organizing function of intonation. In this
chapter we shall also give an overview of pragmatic, rhetorical and social
functions of intonation.
81
82
Chapter IV .Intonation
-7
It can be seen from these examples that it is the change of the nuclear
tone that leads to the change of the syntactic type of sentence.
The following sentence can be pronounced in different ways.
Not ,once.
When pronounced with Low Fall it means that the speaker has not read
the book.
Not Vance.
When pronounced with Fall-Rise it means that the book has been read
several times.
Similarly, the meaning is changed in the following phrases:
83
attitudinal meaning
It is not only the nuclear tone but the pre-nuclear pattern as well
head, the pre-head) that can differentiate the attitudinal meaning.
As you have seen from the examples given above it is the opposition ofter
minal tones that can differentiate all kinds of meaning: the syntactic type of
sentences, attitudinal meaning and the actual meaning of the sentence. The
number of terminal tones which indicates the number ofintonation groups in
an utterance is also relevant for the meaning. Different phrasing, or subdivision
ofsentence into intonation groups, may result in differences in meaning.
For example, the sentence My sister, who lives in the South has just ar
rived may be interpreted in two different ways.
--~
84
My sister I who lives in the South I has just arrived. I It means "My only
sister who happens to live in the South ... "
My sister who lives in the South Ihas just arrived. I It means "That one of
my sisters, who lives in the South ... "
In a written text this difference in meaning is sometimes marked by
punctuation, while in oral speech it is expressed by intonation.
As regards the other components of the intonation pattern (the pre
head, the head) they differentiate only attitudinal meaning. Being pro
nounced with the high pre-head, "Hello" sounds more friendly than when
pronounced with the low pre-head:
Hel,lo! - -Hel,lo!
More commonly, however, different kinds of pre-heads, the same as
pitch ranges and levels fulfil their distinctive function not alone but in com
bination with other prosodic constituents.
85
Where's my copy?
DeJightful.
or: De'lightful.
86
II
87
88
Chapter IV Intonation
89
90
teraction there are two aspects to be taken into account here: the role of
intonation in organizing dialogues and the role ofprosody in structuring the
interaction itself (turn taking, interruptions and so on).
We shall start with the organization of connections between phrases,
with considering how one idea leads on to another. Intonation is one of
the means that fulfils this connection, performing the integrating func
tion.
Obviously, in a spoken discourse a phrase does not exist in isolation, it
is closely connected to other phrases, especially to the one preceding it.
So a phrase exists in a certain verbal context and is relevant to this context.
Let's look at the following dialogue:
A: Where is John?
B: He is in the house.
91
John.
We can
that it is an elliptical sentence and the meaning is"John is in
the house"'. The same phrase will have a different structure and meaning in
a different context:
John.
The full form of response is "They saw John", a phrase in which the
sequence "John" is now an object. So the two utterances "John" appear
identical in isolation, but different contexts allow us to see their differ
ence.
Analysing the role of intonation in discourse we must consider both
the verbal context and the speech situation. The example given above il
lustrates the connection between the information structure, L e. the
placement of the nucleus, with the verbal context and the speech situaSo the study of intonation in discourse is based on detailed analysis
of the context, both the immediate verbal context and broader context
of speech interaction.
When we view intonation in relation to discourse special attention is
given to the relevant factors which determine the choice of intonation in
particular context. Generally two areas are considered in this respect: the
use ofintonation to focus the attention ofthe listener on the most impor
tant elements of the message and the use of intonation to regulate the
conversational behaviour (A. Cruttenden, P. Roach, A. Wichmann).
As regards the first area, it was already mentioned that in speech in
teraction the placement of the nuclear tone depends on the verbal con
text, i. e. on what has already been said. Compare the position of the
nuclear tone in the following short conversations.
92
93
Hello, Anna. It's ages since I've seen you. How are you doing?
- Oh, still at the same place, you know, but enjoying it.
The High Fall at the end of the first utterance and the High Rise at the
end ofthe second utterance signal that it is the turn ofthe other participant
Last time I as I am sure YOU remember I we discussed the functions ofinto
to speak. The rising tone encourages further conversation.
nation.
Similarly, intonation can show what particular type ofanswer is expect
Thank you very much for coming I nice of you to give us your time.
ed from the listener. Compare two short dialogues:
prosodic characteristics of the intonation group containing low
- Who do you think will help?
key information as compared to the other intonation groups in the utter
- ,Jack will, ,won't he?
ance are lower pitch level, narrower pitch range, increased tempo, lower
- Well, I hope so.
loudness. As a result these intonation groups are perceived as subordinate,
The Low Rise in the tag question indicates that the speaker expects an
parenthetical or just less important.
answer and wants his partner to express either agreement or disagreement.
Intonation can also be used as a reference to the information shared by
the participants ofdiscourse. Speakers use falling tones in the parts of the ut
- The food is very expensive here.
terance which they think is unknown to the listener. They use the Fall-Rise
- It .is, .Isn't it?
when they refer to the information shared by themselves and the listeners.
The Low Fall in the
question is a signal that no answer is expected
- What shall we give July?
94
II
95
96
I could have given a quick account ofthe history II could have said what it
was like to be a student here a hundred years ago I I could have told you about
the great museums I and libraries Iand college chapels.
It is important to note here that discourse can take many forms, deter
mined by the situation in which it takes place, the participants and their
relationships. Intonation is subject to variation depending on the extralin
guistic situation. These recurrent variations are described in terms ofpho
netic styles. Intonation can perform the stylistic function, which will be
described in Chapter V.
4.6. Rhythm
97
4.6. Rhythm
languages
rhythm
syllable-timed
stress-timed
98
99
4.6. Rhythm
nization will be very different and may even produce the effect of arhyth
micality. P. Roach comments on such variations in English speech rhythm
in the following way: " ... in speaking English we vary in how rhythmically
we speak: sometimes we speak very rhythmically (this is typical of some
styles of public speaking), while at other times we speak arythmically (that
is, without rhythm) - for example, when we are hesitant or nervous. Stress
timed rhythm is thus perhaps characteristic of one style of speaking, not of
English speech as a whole; one always speaks with some degree of rhythmi
cality, but the degree will vary between a minimum value (arythmical) and
a maximum (completely stress-timed rhythm)" (P. Roach, 2001). It is true
to say that any style of speech has some kind of rhythm, but the character
and degree of rhythmicality differ in different styles.
Admittedly, maximum rhythmicality is observed in poetry. In verse the
effect of rhythmicality is created by a hierarchy of rhythmic units. The basic
rhythmic units in metric verse are: the foot, the line, the stanza. The foot is
formed by the stressed syllable and the unstressed syllables that precede or
follow it. The line contains one or more intonation groups with an equal
number offeet in them. On the prosodic level the rhythm in a line is secured
by the similar number of syllables, their temporal similarity, descending
melody contour, tone and intensity maximum at the beginning, tone and
intensity minimum at the end and a final pause. These parameters make the
a stable rhythmic unit. The stanza has a fixed number of lines.
Obviously, the effect of poetic rhythm is not created by prosody alone.
There is a number of devices which contribute to this effect: rhyme, asso
nance (repetition of similar vowels), alliteration (repetition of similar con
sonants)' repetition, syntactic parallelism and so on.
Chapter IV Intonation
100
(R. Frost)
In prose we can also observe a hierarchy of rhythmic structures. The
basic rhythmic unit here is rhythmic group (one stressed syllable with un
!\tr4~!\!\I~d syllables attached to it). Rhythmic groups blend together into in
tonation groups, which form phrases and phonopassages. The similarity
of the prosodic organization of these text units creates the effect of regu
larity. Thus in prose an intonation group, a phrase and a phonopassage
have a number of common features in their prosodic organization: the
beginning of the rhythmic unit is characterized by the tone and intensity
maximum and the decrease oftempo; the end ofa rhythmic unitismarked
by a pause, the tone and intensity minimum, descending terminal tones.
So it is prosody that forms the rhythmicality of a prosaic text read aloud.
The following extracts from modern fiction illustrate the rhythmic orga
nization of prose:
4.6. Rhythm
101
102
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
Summary
103
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 of speech 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.
104
Chapter V
PHONOSTYLISTICS
5.3.3.
5.3.4.
5.3.5.
5.3.6.
Academic style
Publicistic style
Declamatory style. Artistic reading
Conversational style
106
Chapter V. Phonostylistics
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 ofthis
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
107
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
purpose
setting
108
Chapter V. Phonostylistics
109
110
Chapter V Phonostylistics
111
Chapter V. Phonostylistics
112
113
Phonetic units
Extralinguistic factors
Suprasegmental (intonation)
---
Five phonetic styles can be singled out according to the purpose of com
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
informational
style
conversational
style
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 of English 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
114
Chapter V Phonostylistics
[s], [z] assimilate more often than in formal speech, they are modified
under the influence of the following palatal [j] and become palato
alveolar:
miss you
this year
115
[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:
about you
let me ['lemrnt]
nice shoes ['nalf'Ju:z]
didn't go ['dld!)?'kg3U]
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 of reduction 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:
116
Chapter V. Phonostylistics
extremely [kstri:mh]
it's necessary [is 'nesasan]
it's paid 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 ofcoarticulation processes
in connected speech they should definitely be practised and mastered.
117
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.
Figure 14
The Role of the Degree of Formality in Phonetic Style Formation
~onal informal
Conversational
L_
Academic
118
Chapter V. Phonostylistics
119
Table 5
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, thli reading 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).
.l=
...-5
Speech typology
'9
!!
<:>
r!l
:~
'Q
~b.()
.e~
!..
=-~
'Q'E
<:> ~
~!
'!'!j
,
u;'"
~ Zl
b.()~
Q.I 01
QCI.
._
=-,;
.8 .9
~.
'" =:
,!.
01
~-=
e
...=<:> '"'"
<.I
:g
z!.
b.()
. .....,=
~
Informational
i style registers
<Il
b.()
~~
...,
<:>
~
~
Q.I
'"
-=~
I8. ..
<:>
CI.
-;
;a
CI.
=
g
<.I
:=
=
~
~
=
=
1 l
~ .s.
: I
Educational in
formation
Press reporting
and broadcasting
,----
Table 6
\1lrieties of the language and forms of communication
Spheres
of dis
course
(Regis
ters)
-----~-~-
Monologue
Dialogue
.s.!
t,
Monologue
.s.!
OJ
:=
'@
<.I
:=
.l<:>=
Dialogue
...:==
<.I
i=:
I
Polylogue
~=
CI.
...=
=:
.s.!
::.c
Readingto
a lis
tener
Read
ingin
class
Speaking
public
Talkingto
a lis
tener
Talkingin
class
Just
talking
Round
table
talks
Talkingon
the
events
over
the TV
Talkingto
a lis
tener
Comment
ingon
the
events,
discussing
them
Just
discussing
the
events
Round
table
talks of
commen
tators
Educational
infor
mation
Reading
in class
Press
reportingand
broadcasting
Reading Read
news
ing
covernewsage over paper
the ra
to a
dio, Tv, lis
reading tener
newspa
perin
class
=:
~I~
.s.!
::.c
=
=-
120
Chapter V. Phonostylistics
Now that we have outlined the contours of the style, our next step
will be to analyse prosodic characteristics of this particular intonational
style. The following prosodic parameters should be considered: pitch
(variations of pitch direction, pitch level, pitch range), loudness, tempo
(the rate of the utterance and pausation). It also includes rhythm and
timbre as they have very specific suprasegmental expression of various
emotional, expressive and evaluative overtones.
It would be fair to admit here that when faced with a text of some
kind what appears to be a mass of coordinated data a starting point
for analysis is often difficult to choose.
As it was suggested above, the ideal start is an informational text,
most commonly heard in class. The analysis of it here is carried out by
the procedure of systematic phonological opposition: the phonostylistic
organization of reading will be systematically compared with the spoken
version (in the forms of a monologue and dialogue).
The description of the informational phonetic style will proceed in
the following order:
1. The phonostylistic analysis of the written informational texts
I
(reading).
2. The analysis of the spoken variety of such texts.
3. Comparative analysis of spoken and written informational mono
logues.
b) informational texts (reading)
121
I
Any phonostylistic analysis falls into several steps. Obviously the
first procedure will be the description ofthe speech situation which com
prises the purpose, setting and participants. In reference to this text we
may say that the main purpose of the reader is to give information. The
speaker sounds dispassionate and rather reserved.
The presenter of the text is a student of Oxford University who has
advanced RP accent. The reading is addressed to a group of students,
Russian learners of English.
The next step is to define other extralinguistic factors, the degree of
preparedness among them. The analysed text may be characterized as
half prepared as it was read through beforehand.
communicative centre of a phrase
122
Chapter V. Phonostylistics
The -+most 'interesting and bi'zarre time ofthe year to visit ,Cambridge
is during ,May Week.
Pre-nuclear patterns are not greatly varied: falling and level types of
heads prevail. Several falls within an intonation group are typical:
II
123
Table 7
Prosodic Characteristics of Informational Texts Reading
VOice colouring
Delimitation
Style-marking
prosodic
features
Accentuation
of semantic
centres
Loudness
Levels and
ranges
Rate
Pauses
Rhythm
Terminal tones
Pre-nuclear
patterns
Contrast be
tween accent
edand unac
cented
segments
not great
Much has been said earlier about the differences between reading and
speak.ing. Our aim here is to demonstrate them on the prosodic level using
concrete examples. Now the text "May Week in Cambridge" was repro
duced spontaneously by the same speaker in the form of a monologue. He
did it in a rather formal manner and addressed the same group ofstudents.
May Week in Cambridge
(Reproduction)
-+As you probably >know I the uni"'versities of'Oxford and ,Cambridge I are
the -+two 'oldest universities in
I and be-+c;ause of>that, I because of
their ,age I they have -+many
which to Joreigners \ might -+appear
very ,strange. II-+One ofthese tra>ditions I is 'May Week in 'Cambridge. III This
124
Chapter V. Phonostylistics
Terminal tones are fmal and categoric, the emphasis being achieved by
the use of high (medium) abrupt falls, or several falls within one interpausal
unit. Low rising and Mid-level tones are common for initial or non-final
intonation groups to bind them together into a phrasal unit:
II
'Personally I I come from 'Oxford University, Iso ....1 know tfar more about
'Oxford. II
As the monologue is quite spontaneous the contrast between accented
and non-accented segments is great; centralized type of stress helps to un
derline the semantic centres:
What I ....mean ,bumping races I is when the ,aim is >to I >bump \ ....back ofthe
'boat \ in front ofyou I on the ....Cam ,river. III
As the speaker addresses a comparatively small group of people the
loudness is not greatly varied but for the decrease towards the end of the
passage. The increase ofloudness is evident at the start of the phonopassage
and on its emphatic communicative centres. This may be also referred to
levels and ranges.
The rate ofutterances is remarkably varied. In the majority of cases it is
normal, but increases towards allegro on less significant units and decreases
towards lento on emphatic centres of the phrase or supraphrasal units.
The length of pauses depends on their syntactical and semantic value,
the maximum length being at the passage boundaries.
This spoken monologue is characterized by non-systematic rhythrni
cality; the rhythmicality within the phonopassage is achieved by the
nation of all prosodic parameters.
125
Table 8
Prosodic Characteristics of Infonnational Monologue (Speaking)
\bice colouring
Delimitation
--------------
Stylemarking
prosodic
features
Loudness
Chapter V. Phonostylistics
126
Accen
tuation of
semantic
centres
127
Levels and
ranges
Rate
Pauses
Rhythm
Table 8 (Continued)
Stylemarking
prosodic
features
Terminal
tones
Table 9
Phonostystic
characteristics
Speaking
Pre-nuclear
patterns
Voice
colouring
dispassionate, businesslike, re
served, occasionally interested
The contrast
between ac
cented and
unaccented
segments
Delimitation
phonopassages
phrases - intonation
groups; pauses are
mostly at syntactical
junctures normally of
medium length, but for
the end of the passage
Loudness
normal (piano)
throughout the text,
varied at the phonopas
sage boundaries
Levels
and
ranges
Rate
normal (moderate) or
slow, not variable
Pauses
Our task now is to compare the prosodic characteristics ofthe two vari
eties ofthe language in this register. The results ofthe comparison are shown
in Table 9.
We can make the following conclusion:
1. Written text (read aloud) and spoken text belonging to the same pho
netic style have different prosodic realizations.
2. In oral speech prosodic characteristics are more vivid, expressive and varied.
3. The speaker often uses some hesitation phenomena (hesitation pauses,
semantic noises and temporizers) intentionally, which enables him to
obtain the balance between formality and informality and establish con
tact with the public.
4. The speaker uses various hesitation phenomena unintentionally which
enables him to gain the time in search for suitable expression or idea
and thus not interrupt the flow of speech.
Other
style
marking
prosodic
features
128
Chapter V. Phonostylistics
5.3.
Use ofIntonation
129
130
Chapter V Phonostylistics
131
B: Isuppose
A: Well, what the university offers one. fJihy, for example one would choose...
B: Oh,Isee.
tation
Chapter V. Phonostylistics
132
Table 10 (Continued)
Loudness
Levels and
ranges
Rate
slow or
--------------------------
Pauses
Rhythm
------
~------+---------~~~~~~~~~.~~~~~~~~~.
Accen
tuation
ofse
mantic
centres
uneven, as flexible
Terminal
tones
I-------lc~c~~~
Pre-nuclear
patterns
The contrast
betweenac
cented and
unaccented
segments
133
It has already been stated above that press reporting and broadcasting is
a rather complicated non-homogeneous phenomenon and may be varied
from the stylistic point of view.
The chief function of a newspaper and news bulletin is to inform, to
present a certain number of facts to a reader, a listener, or a viewer with the
effect of giving the impression of neutral, objective, factual reporting. All
types of discourse in that style share some important prosodic features.
It should be noted, however, that the speech of radio and television an
nouncers is somewhat different, because a TV news reader accompanies
vocal expression by non-verbal means of communication (facial expres
sion, gestures). The radio announcer tends to exaggerate certain prosodic
features to be better understood by the listeners.
Here is an example of radio news coverage:
Chapter V Phonostylistics
134
135
close connection is expressed by the use of the Low Rising Tone in the ini
tial intonation group:
At the "'opening 'meeting in ,London olast ,night I Sir -+John Stone... 'criti
I the "'standard of'motorway driving in this ,country. He ,said that there
was ,evidence I that "'many ofthe 'basic 'disciplines of ,motorwav use I had yet
to be vlearned I by British ,drivers.
One can see here that in the text sentences are not long and not compli
cated in their structure. The intonation groups are quite short so that the
listener would not lose thread of what is being reported.
Terminal tones are usually final and categoric, falls prevail. Falling-ris
ing tones (or even Rise-Fall- Rises) are often heard in the initial short into
nation groups introduced to draw the listener's attention:
II
Table J I
---------------
\bice colouring
Delimitation
Stylemarking
prosodic
features
Loudness
Levels and
ranges
Rate
Pauses
Rhythm
136
Chapter V. Phonostylistics
Table 11 (Continued)
Accen
tuation of
semantic
centres
Tenninal
tones
Pre-nuclear
patterns
!------_t_
between the
accented and
unaccented
2. The prosodic parameters are not greatly varied in both registers of the
style except for such occasions in news bulletins when pitch levels,
types of heads and pauses are alternated to break the monotony of
speech and draw the listeners' or viewers' attention to something very
important in the message. This often happens when events are enu
merated. Marked prosodic variations are also observed at the be
ginning and the end of each new paragraph or topic.
3. Voice quality is a very important marker of news coverage reading. It is
very easily identified, often labelled as "distant", "indifferent", "im
partial", "neutral". It is true, of course, for events of routine charac
ter. When tragic events are broadcast, for instance, all the prosodic
features are changed to convey the meaning.
4. In the "news bulletin reading" the use ofbroken descending heads and
fall-rises on initial intonation groups is more common.
5. Pauses tend to be longer, the general tempo is faster than in the reading
of informational educational texts.
6. The "broadcast" reading is more properly rhythmically organized.
Highly skilled newsreaders are capable of making the meaning clear
by careful control of rhythm.
137
You will "'all have 'seen from the 'handouts I which you have in vfront of
you I that 01 pro"'pose to di'vide this 'course of v lectures I on the 'urban and
'architectural de'velopment of, London I into "'three 'main ,sections, II and per>
-haps I I could 'Just point 'out, 'right at the he.,ginning, I that there will be a
"'good 'deal of 'overlap be.tween them. II T.hey are in-+tended to >stand I as
,separate, I -+self-contained ,units. 111'deed, \ I would 'go as far as to >say I that
'anyone \ who "'tried to 'deal entirely 'senaratelv with the ,past, I the ,present, I
and the ""course ofdevelopment in the yfuture, I would be 'misrepre'senting the
'way in which 'urban 'growth takes ,place. II
Now by -+way ofintro,duction, I I'd "'like to 'try and 'give some indi>cation
of"'how 'London it'selfQ,riginated; II of""what de'velopmental 'treI:lds. were built
,into ,it, as it ,were, \from the -+very ,outset; I and of how -+these >trends have
-+ affected its ,growth. II
It -+started, of,course, I not as vD11, but as
cities. II The, Ramans built
a "'bridge a'cross the >Thames I at a "point where the 'estuary was 'narrow
g'nough to "make this a practical'propo,sition; \ and the en-+campment as.,saci
a1d with this obridge I"'grew 'up on the 'north 'bank ofthe ,river.
The -+principal Jim ofthis enr-ampment Iwas "'on the 'site now 'occupied by the
, Tower. 111-+ Further to the vwest, at a "point where the 'river was ~fordable, I flf.L '~
- Ithe -+Abbey of, Westminster - Iwas ,founded, Iand the "'two 'towns 'grew 'up oSide
by ,side -I ""one centred on the vilomaJ:l camp, Iand the -+otheron the ,Abbey.
-+Now in my ,next ,lecture I I "hope to 'demonstrate in Vdetaill that "'this
'state ofgf'fairs I this double vfocus, I as we might ,call it - I was of"'crucial
importance for the 'subsequent 'growth o!,London as a '@'
138
Chapter V. Phonostylistics
1'd like you to consider what happened as the two towns began to expand.
What do you think the main consequences ofthe expansion were?
The speaker outlines the points he is going to lecture about, uses all sorts
of phrases to cla.ri1Y his position and underline each new item in the text:
You will all have seenfrom the handouts which you have infront ofyou that
I propose to divide this course oflectures on the urban and architectural devel
opment ofLondon into three main sections and perhaps I could just point out,
right at the beginning that there will be a good deal ofoverlap between them.
Indeed l wouldgo asfar as to say. ..
Now by way ofintroduction Iid like to try and give some indication of..
Now in my next lecture Ihope to demonstrate in detail. ..
The relationship between the lecturer and the audience is on the whole
rather formal. At the same time he sounds interested, involved, enthusiastic
about the subject of his talk.
Table 12
"11ft
ve,
lIltpV:S11ll:\,
edifying, instructive,
self-assured
Delimitation
Style-marking prosodic
features
phonopassages - phrases
intonation groups
Loudness
Levels and
ranges
remarkably varied within the passage; gradual decrease within the supraphrasal unit
Rate
139
Table 12 (Continued)
-~~ ses
Accen
tuation of
semantic
Rhythm
I Tel: minal
Iton es
centn,,_
Pre -nuclear
pat terns
140
Chapter V Phonostylistics
141
On the other hand, the proper response ofthe audience inspires the speaker
and stimulates him for an ever more successful talk.
One would always expect a political and judicial speech to be given in a
forceful and lively manner because the effects offailing to be convincing is
likely to be severe for speakers, politicians and judges especially. These
speeches are easily identified due to a set ofspecific grammar constructions,
lexical means and intonation patterns.
These features are absolutely predictable because they are markers of this
style. For example, a very notable and common stylistic feature used here is
parallelism - the repetition ofsyntactical, lexical and prosodic structures.
Basically political speeches, addresses of Governments tend to be very
formal, so a great number of "high-flown" phrases, set expressions are com
mon to this style as is seen from an imaginary political speech taken as a
model from the Advanced English Course:
The '>I.time has 'almost 'come, 'ladies and ,gentlemen, I when the '>I.Gov
ernment must 'ask 'YOU II the e'>l.lectors of'Great ,Britain I to re-+new, its
,mandate. It is as a -+member ofthe ,Government I that I'>I.stand be'fore you this
,evening. I and the '>I.task I have 'set ll1J:,~1 is to re'>l.view 'many >things I which
the -+Government has (L,chieved I since the '>I.lasf 'General Ejection I and to
-+outline the ,path I which we '>I.hope to 'follow in the future, ,when, I as I am
-+confident will be the ,case, I you re-+turn us to ,office I with an even "greater
'parliamentary maJority.
-+ No one will deny I that ~hat we have been 'able to 'do in the 'past 'five
,vears I is es-+pecially ,striking in -+view ofthe
I which we in'>I.herited from
the 'previous ,Government. With '>I.wages and 'prices 'spiralling, upwards; I with a
'>I.record 'trade >deficit Iorhundretis ofmillions of,pounds, I and with the -+pound
>sterling IaFflicted by the evapo'ration ofinternational >confidence the '>I.coun
try was 'then on the tbrink offi'nancial di,saster I and eco'nomic coUapse...
142
Chapter V. Phonostylistics
Table 13 (Continued)
Accentua- Pre-nudear
patterns
tion of
semantic
centres
Table 13
Delimitation
Stylemarking
prosodic
features
Loudness
Ranges and
levels
Rate
Pauses
Rhythm
Aceentua Terminal
tion of
tones
semantic
centres
143
144
Chapter V. Phonostyiistics
they
from the audience; the "feedback" in their case being almost cer
non-verbal language. Methods of achieving,
145
tions between the ways of reading: "The reader has two entirely different
options: he can either enter into the text, interpret it and "perform" it as if
he himself were speaking to the listener, saying as it were "this is what the
text means"; or he can stand outside the text and simply act as the medium,
saying that is what the text says" (D. Brazil 1980: 83). Artistic reading is
defmitelya skilled activity that can be judged by aesthetic criteria.
Intonation properties ofthe text read out loud depend on the type
written text.
It is common knowledge that prose, which describes an action or a se
ries ofactions to tell a story, is called narrative:
We got out at Sonning and went for a walk round the village. It is a most
fairy-like little nook on the whole river. It is most like a stage village that one
builds of bricks and mortar. Every house is smothered in roses and now, in
early June, they were burstingforth in clouds ofdainty splendour. ..
(Jerome K Jerome. Three Men in a Boat)
T
~
'I'
"t:
'4'
146
Chapter V. Phonostylistics
think, talk or act are as important as the events themselves and contribute
largely to our enjoyment. When appreciating a piece of prose it is necessary
to understand how these qualities or devices help a story to develop and how
they add colour to it.
One should also bear in mind that any story is a unity, though divided
into passages. It is very important to understand how pieces of narrative are
put together. A reader responds to a text, its linguistic clues (internal evi
dence), but also to situational clues (external evidence). In responding to a
text the reader usually takes into account all he/she knows of the environ
ment: what is going on, who is involved as well as what part the language
plays.
Evidently the next step will be to break the text into phonopassages that
may not coincide with the written passages. Then the passage should be split
into phrases, the latter into intonation groups. The most necessary proce
dure, of course, is to underline the communicative centres in each intona
tion group and choose the prosodic features which will be appropriate and
will effectively express the meaning.
A writer helps his characters to come alive not only by describing the
way they act but also by letting us hear them speak. Thus narrative or de
scriptive prose can be interrupted by dialogue. Effective dialogue enables
the reader to feel that he is actually witnessing what is going on.
Dialogues are author's reproduction ofactual conversation and in read
ing aloud a reader should bear in mind the characters of the speakers, their
social background and the atmosphere, the environment, in which the con
versation takes place.
The author sometimes provides us with clues as to how the speech ofthe
characters should be interpreted:
He came into the room to shut the windows while we were still in bed and I
saw he looked ill. He was shivering, hisface was white, and he walked slowly as
though it ached to move.
"What's the matter, Schatz?"
"I've got a headache. "
"You'd better go back to bed."
"No, I'm all right. "
"You go to bed. I'll see you when I'm dressed. "
But when I came downstairs he was dressed, sitting by the fire, looking a
very sick and miserable boy ofnine years. When I put my hand on hisforehead
I knew he had a fever.
,,
147
The conversations are strikingly different in style and for their charac
teristics see corresponding sections of the chapter. We must mention here,
however, that most literary texts comprise descriptions, narrations and dia
logues.
The experimental data of the research works on the artistic reading al
low us to say that its prosodic organization depends on the type of the liter
ary text - descriptive, narrative, dialogue; on the character of the described
events, schemes and objects (humorous, tragic, romantic, dreamy, imagi
native and so on) and of course on the skills of the reader. But it is always
clearly marked by its expressiveness, personal involvement on the part ofthe
author, emphasis, by the entire range of prosodic and paralinguistic effects
and it is all felt through skilful reading (see Table 14).
Table 14
Model Intonation Characteristics of the Declamatory Prose Reading
Voice colouring
Delimitation
Style-mark
ing prosodic
features
Loudness
Levels and
ranges
variable
Rate
Pauses
Rhythm
148
Chapter V. Phonostylistics
Table 14 (Continued)
Accen
tuation of
semantic
centres
Terminal
tones
Pre-nucle
arpatterns
varied, contain patterns which have both common emphatic and non -emphatic usage; for the emphasis the
following patterns are most frequently used: Low Head
+ High Fall, High Head + Low Fall, High Head +
High Fal, Stepping Head + High Fall
The con
not great
trast be
tween ac
cented and
unaccented
segments
On the prosodic level the markers ofthe declamatory style reading are:
1. Slow tempo, caused by the lento rate ofutterances and prolonged paus
149
150
Chapter V. Phonostylistics
Well... maybe, but... take responsibility; the ... the ... you don't need
as great a sense ofresponsibility for you ... your kind ofwork as you
do in teaching - all those children, all those parents...
Brenda: No, but you do have your. .. your. .. your colleagues at work you
have a certain amount ofresponsibility to them.
151
152
Chapter V. Phonostylistics
Well, ... maybe, but... take responsibility for your kind ofwork as you
do in teaching - all those children, all those parents...
153
On the prosodic level the field researchers provide us with data that
us to do some generalizations:
1. Conversations fall into coordinated blocks, consisting of supraseg
mental and supraphrasal units tied up by variations within the length of
pauses, speed, rhythm, pitch ranges, pitch levels and loudness.
2. Since there are no restrictions on the range and depth of emotions
which might be displayed in conversational speech situations they will allow
entire range of prosodic effects.
3. In the description ofprosodic characteristics ofthis phonetic style we will
begin by saying that intonation groups are rather short, their potentially lengthy
tone units tend to be broken. These short interpausal units are characterized by
decentralized stress and sudden jumps down on communicative centres:
Jane:
4. The heads are usually level, or rarely, falling. Falling heads occur only
in groups consisting ofseveral stressed syllables.
5. As for the nuclei, simple falling and rising tones are common. Em
phatic tones occur in highly emotional contexts. High pre-nuclear syllables
are very frequent, e. g.
-Do you think it ,matters?"
"- I'd -"rather be thin than Jat."
154
Chapter V. Phonostylistics
e. g.
Richard: ,Oh,
it.
you
So, tempo is very flexible in this style. It is uneven with and between ut
terances.
7. Interpausal stretches have a marked tendency towards subjective
rhythmic isochrony.
Now to conclude the description of prosodic characteristics we would
like to point out that the impression that the intonation is rather "chaotic"
in conversations is completely wrong. Suprasegmental features form a basic
set of recurrent patterns which is occasionally disturbed by the
of specific prosodic and paralinguistic effects which depend upon the mo
an individual is
Now we shall examine another, very specific register of conversational
style - telephone conversations. This sphere of communication is limited
in certain important respects by the special situation, which imposes a num
ber of restrictions.
The conversationalists who can see each other are able to place a great
amount of reliance on the facilities otTered by such things as gesture and the
presence ofa common extralinguistic context.
Telephone conversations lack these facilities to a large extent and so
have a tendency to become more explicit than ordinary conversations
a different use of "indicator" words such as pronouns which may be vague
in their reference ifit cannot be seen who or what is referred to.
The telephone situation is quite unique being the only frequently oc
curring case of a conversation in which the participants are not visible to
each other, so there is some uncertainty in keeping up the give-and-take
between the participants.
A different range of situational pressures is exerted upon the partici
pants, and consequently a range of linguistic contrasts which they are per
mitted to choose differs somewhat.
The participants avoid long utterances without introducing pauses.
Pauses cannot be long, because anything approaching a silence may be in
terpreted by the listener either as a breakdown of communication or as an
for interruption which may not have been desired. \biced hesi
the gap (drawls, random vocalizations, repetitions
155
156
Chapter V. Phonostylistics
Our book cannot pretend to explore in any depth or with any adequacy
such vast areas, but it seems worth making attempts to trail some of the
more significant strands in the relationships and that's what we tried to do
here.
Summary
When used in speech phonetic units undergo various changes under the
influence of extralinguistic factors. The bundle of these factors forms the
extralinguistic situation. The extralinguistic situation determines the choice
oflanguage means, phonetic means in particular.
Phonostylistics is a branch ofphonetics which studies the way phonetic
units (both segmental and suprasegmental) are used in particular extralin
guistic situations.
The extralinguistic situation can be described in terms of three compo
nents, i. e. purpose, participants and setting. These components distinguish
situations as the context in which speech interaction takes place.
Purpose is the most important factor that guides the communication. It
is the task that is achieved in the course of communication. Participants are
people involved in communication. Speech is a marker of various charac
teristics of people, both individual and social: age, gender, family back
ground, occupation, social roles. The scene (setting) includes the physical
orientation of participants, which is connected with the type of speech ac
tivity they are engaged in. Scenes can also be described in the following
tenus: public - non-public (private), formal informal, monologuing
dialoguing - poliloguing. The channel ofcommunication is also to be taken
into consideration: face-to-face interaction telephone communication,
mass media communication.
The extralinguistic factors, that determine the choice ofphonetic means
and result in phonostylistic variation are:
the purpose, or aim ofcommunication;
the degree of formality ofthe situation;
the degree of spontaneity;
speaker's attitude.
The purpose, or aim ofcommunication may be called a style forming fac
tor, while all the others cause modifications within a particular style, which
account for the existence of different kinds and genres of texts within each
phonetic style. All the factors are interdependent and interconnected.
Summary
157
Chapter VI
British English
Received pronunciation
Changes in the standard
Regional non-RP accents of England
Welsh English
Scottish English
Northern Ireland English
159
Though in the past thirty years sociolinguistics has come of age and is a
fast expanding and increasingly popular subject it should be fair to mention
here that language is indissolubly linked with the society; in it we can see a
faithful reflection of the society in which people live.
It is quite clear, of course, that such fields of science as linguistics, so
ciolinguistics, psycholinguistics are inseparably linked in the treatment of
various language structures. For example, the subject matter of ethnolin
guistics gradually merges into that of anthropological linguistics, sociolin
guistics, stylistics and social psychology.
Some scholars consider functional stylistics to be a branch of sociolinguis
tics since it studies the distinctive linguistic characteristics of smaller social
groupings (such as those due to occupational class, age and sex differences).
In the case of English there exists a great diversity in the spoken realiza
tion of the language and particularly in terms of pronunciation. The variet
ies of the language are conditioned by language communities ranging from
small groups to nations. Now speaking about the nations we refer to the na
tiona variants of the language. In their treatment we follow the conception
of A. D. Shweitzer. According to him national language is a historical cat
egory evolving from conditions of economic and political concentration
which characterizes the formation of a nation. In other words national lan
guage is the language of a nation, the standard of its form, the language of a
nation's literature.
It is common knowledge that language exists in two forms: written and
spoken. Any manifestation of language by means of speech is the result of a
highly complicated series of events. The literary spoken form has its na
tional pronunciation standard. A ."standard" may be defined as "a socially
accepted variety of a language established by a codified norm of correct
ness" (Macaulay, 1977: 68).
Today all the English-speaking nations have their own national variants
of pronunciation and each of them has peculiar features that distinguish it
from other varieties of English.
It is generally accepted that for the "English English" it is "Received
Pronunciation" or RP; for "The American English" - "General American
pronunciation"; for the Australian English - "Educated Australian".
Standard national pronunciation is sometimes called an "orthoepic norm".
Some phoneticians, however, prefer the term "literary pronunciation" .
Though every national variant of English has considerable differences in
pronunciation, lexis and grammar, they all have much in common which gives
us ground to speak of one and the same language - the English language.
160
It would not be true to say that national standards are fIxed and immu
161
---,
162
It is well worth to understand that classes are split into different major
and minor social groups (professional, educational, cultural, age, sex and so
on). Correspondingly every social community has its own social dialect and
social accent. D. A. Shakhbagova defines social dialects as "varieties spoken
by a socially limited number ofpeople" (Shakhbagova, 1982).
So in the light of social criteria languages are "characterized by two
plans of socially conditioned variability - stratificational, linked with soci
etal structure, and situational, linked with the social context of language
use" (A. D. Shweitzer, 1983: 6).
Having had our main terms straightened we may speak now of the "lan
guage situation" in terms of the horizontal and vertical differentiations of
the language, the first in accordance with the spheres of social activity, the
second - with its situational variability.
It is evident that the language means are chosen consciously or subcon
sciously by a speaker according to his perception of the situation, in which
he finds himself. Hence situational varieties ofthe language are called func
tional dialects or functional styles and situational pronunciation varieties
situational accents or phonostyles.
It has also to be remembered that the language ofits users varies accord
ing to their individualities, range of intelligibility, cultural habits, gender
and age differences. Individual speech of members of the same language
community is known as idiolect.
Now in conclusion it would be a perfectly natural thing to say that lan
guage in serving personal and social needs becomes part ofthe ceaseless flux
ofhuman life and activity. Human communication cannot be comprehend
ed without recognizing mutual dependence of language and context. The
mystery of language lies, if nowhere, in its endless ability to adapt both to
the strategies of the individual and to the needs of the community, serving
each without imprisoning either. This is what makes sociolinguistics as a
science so important. In this book, though, we shall focus our attention on
territorial modifications of English pronunciation viewing them as an ob
ject of sociolinguistic study.
163
Varieties of English
---------
English -based
pronunciation standards
( English English
-------I
American-based
pronunciation standards
American English )
( Welsh English
( Scottish English
( Northern Ireland English
--{ Irish English
-{ Australian English
Ii
164
Table 15
British English Accents
English English
,----=
Southern
Scottish English
._
Northern
f-.-----~I---------
Welsh
English
-----
Educated
Scottish
English
.. -.
Regional
varieties
Northern
Ireland
English
I. Southern
1. Northern
1--------- -------1------ ----
2. EastAnglia 2. Yorkshire
3. South West
3. North-\\est
-----
4. \\est Midlands
--------
'----------
--------
2) Yorkshire accents;
165
We can say that RP is a genuinely region less accent within Britain: you
cannot say which area of Britain the speakers of RP come from, which is not
the case for any other type of British accents.
It is fair to mention, however, that only 3-5% ofthe population of Eng
land speak RP. According to British phoneticians (Ch. Barber, 1964;
A. Gimson, 1981; A. Hughes and P. Trudgill, 1980) RP is not homogeneous.
A. Gimson suggests that it is convenient to distinguish three main types
within it: "the conservative RP forms, used by the older generation, and,
traditionally, by certain professions or social groups; the general RP forms,
most commonly in use and typified by the pronunciation adopted by the
BBC, and the advanced RP forms, mainly used by young people of exclu
sive social groups - mostly ofthe upper classes, but also for prestige value in
certain professional circles" (Gimson, 1981: 88).
In the last edition of ''An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English"
by A. C. Gimson, revised by Alan Cruttenden (2001) a new classification of
RP types is given:
General RP
Refined RP
Regional RP
By "Regional RP" they mean standard pronunCiation norm in particu
geographical regions which are commonly close to the national RP but
reflect regional peCUliarities.
Many native speakers, especially teachers of English, college and uni
versity professors (particularly in the South and South-East of England)
have accents closely resembling RP. P. Trudgill and J. Hannah call them
Near-RP southern.
There is one regional type of RP which is widely discussed now under
the name "Estuary English" which is very close to "Advanced RP" or
"Near- RP accent".
It is often spoken by young people who want to avoid the "snobbish"
accent and at the same time to sound trendy and fashionable
Figure 16
'JYpes of English RP
(Received Pronunciation)
National RP
refined, conservative
Oxford ~ng1ish.
King's ~nglish
general
mainstream.
BBC English
[:=000
Estuary English
near-RP
accent
II other
RP
regional
accents
166
zation was just one part of a complete change of pattern in the long vowels.
He claims that there is some resemblance to this process today and other
167
168
[a]
[<e]
[u]
~[a]/ [e]
[A] /
[I]
169
4. Changes in length
It is an accepted fact that English vowels vary in length according to
the phonetic context - the consonant they are followed by (voiceless,
voiced), syllabic border, the degree of stress, the types of nuclear tone and
so on.
Actually nowadays there are changes in vowel length that are influ
enced by other factors. There is, for example, a strong tendency for the
so-called short vowels to be lengthened, and it is interesting to note that
this lengthening can be heard sporadically in many words in any posi
tion.
The lengtheningof[r] is often heard in big, his, is; of[u] ingood; [A] in
come. It should also be mentioned that [I] is often lengthened in the final
syllable, i. e. very, many: ['veri:], ['meni:].
Short vowels fe, <e] are also very frequently lengthened in yes, bed,
men, said, sad, bad, bag and so on. This tendency has considerably in
creased in the past few years.
170
['beta]
f'leta1
['Ieda]
171
172
173
------------------------------
We can al~() 111111' III", IIhlllV northern speakers while they do not have
have [u:J mlllt'l 111,111 H ill words such as hook, book, look. They there
fore distinguish plIII-, III., ";I,d, nnd buck, which in the South sound [buk]
and [bAk], in till' NIlIIII d', 11'11 II. I and [buk]:
[A]
I'd "'like to
'"*parents were divorced...
.,,"111
North
p.nll
[bu:k]
I""d
[buk]
'"*LoveIyd
. "
?
\ ay, \lsn
t It.
c) Common use of rising tones in special questions, expressing interest
and personal involvement on the part of the speaker.
1,'1
....111 II
~-----------~----------------~
path
It 111111
dance
Idll
one
but
I South
Ih,d I
I [ba:d]
~ 11111
South
blood
III'
One more major 11111111 Mouth differentiating feature involves the final
[i:] like in words city, /llIIIIr'I" etc. In the north of England they have
the south of England 1111 ',,' words are pronounced with
Vowels
One of the main differences between these groups of accents is in the
phoneme inventory - the presence or absence of particular phonemes.
Typically, the vowel fAl does not occur in the accents of the north:
North
~----------~~~------------~
e,
Before the vok'l!t-..II II ,IIIWI{ II, s1 and certain consonant clusters con
taining initial [n 1111 I111I I' I i'l pl'Onounced in the North instead of
North
city
1',,11
['SIb]
money
I'IIIA ni:]
['mum]
Consonants
It has been mentiolll'll ilhove that some English accents are, "rhotic" or
"r-full" and others are "ll!1ll"rhotic" or "r-less". Rhotic accents are those
which actually pronoulh',' 11'1, corresponding to orthographic "r" in words
174
175
like bar andfarm. This [f] sound is post-vocalic and is most often heard in
6. RP [30] sounds as [eeo]: soaked [s30kt] - [s<okt];
Scotland, Ireland and in the southwest of England.
may be [<d]: now [nao]
7. RP
In most regional accents the glottal stop is more widely used than in RP.
In some areas, especially the north-east of England, East AngJia and North
Consonants
ern Ireland, the glottal stop may also be pronounced simultaneously with
the voiceless [p, t, k], most strikingly between vowels: pity ['pJt?i:].
1. [h] in unstressed position is almost invariably absent;
Many non-RP speakers use In] in the suffIX "-tng" instead of [u]; sitting
2. [1] is widely spread in Cockney speech: paper ['p<11pd], butterfly
['sltm]. In the western area of central England which includes Birmingham,
['bA1tdflal] ;
Manchester and Liverpool they pronounce lUg]: singer ['SIUgd], wing
[wIUg]
3. the contrast between [0] and [f] is completely lost: thin [frn], booth
Now about [j]-dropping. In most accents [j] is dropped after It, s]: stu
4. the contrast between [0] and [v] is occasionally lost: weather ['wevd]
dent ['stu:ddnt], suit [so:t]. In parts of the north the change has progressed a
good deal further, it is lost after [0]: enthusiasm [en'0u:zldzm].
5. when [0] occurs initially it is either dropped or replaced by [d]: this [diS],
In large areas of eastern England [j]
lost after every consonant. In
them [(d)dm];
London [j] is lost after [n, t, d]: news [nu:z], tune [tu:n].
6. [I] is realized as a vowel when it precedes a consonant and follows a
vowel, or when it is syllabic: milk [mlvk], table [teIbv]; when the preced
A. Southern English Accents
ing vowel is [J:], [I] may disappear completely;
is
Vowels
1. [A] is realized as [<1]: blood [blAd] - [bl<id];
2. [ee] is realized as [E] or lEI]: bag [b<g] - [bEg], [bElg];
(,Slti:];
4. when [J:] is non-final, its realization is much closer, it sounds like [0:];
pause [pJ:z] - [po:z]; when it is final, it is pronounced as [J:d]: paw
- [PJ:d];
5. the diphthong
['Ialdi:] ;
Vowels
I. RP rA1 is realized as
love [IAV]
]76
4. [eI] , [3U] are either monophthongs, or much narrower diphthongs that the
ones in the south of England, or they may even sound as opening diph
thongs [Ie], [uoJ: bay [be:], [bleJ, plate [ple:t), [plJet], boat [bo:t],
5. words that have "al" in spelling - talk, call, all, are pronounced with
[a:]: [ta:k], [ka:l], [a:IJ;
6. RP words with [3:] are pronounced with [J:] in a broad Tyneside accent:
first [hst], shirt [fJ:tJ; sofirst,jorced; shirt, short are homonyms;
7. raIl is [81]: right
may have
177
[,slti:];
3. words like dance, chance which in RP have [a:] are pronounced with
lee]: [deens], [tJeens];
e. g. about [';;1bu:t].
The principal phonological differences between WE and RP are the
following:
Consonants
5. in parts of Northumberland and Durham [r] may be uvular (in its pro
duction the tongue and the uvula, not the tongue and the alveolar ridge
take part).
Yorkshire accents
Yorkshire and Bradford accents are identical with northern vowel fea
tures in points 1, 3, 4 (only many speakers pronounce words which have
"ow", "ou" in spelling with [3UJ: know [3U]; with northern consonant fea
tures in point 3.
Now having accomplished the description of regional non- RP accents
of England we would like to say that we didn't attempt to give a detailed ac
count of all the regional differences in accents of remote rural areas. We
concentrated on urban accents which are more likely to be encountered by
foreign tourists.
8, the vowels [101, Ith)1 do not occur in many variants of Welsh English:
fear is ['fi:jal, poor Is I'PU:W;;1].
Consonants
1. Welsh English is nOIH'hotic, [r] is a tap, or it is also called a flapped
. Intrusive und linking [r] do occur.
178
we must first make clear that the status ofScottish English is still debated.
Some linguists say that it is a national variant. Others say that it is a dialect.
English has been spoken in Scotland for as long as it has been spoken in
England. In the Highlands and Islands of northern and western Scotland,
however, Gaelic is still the native language of thousands of speakers from
these regions. A standardized form of this language, known as Scots, was
used at the court and in literature until the Reformation. Then it was gradu
ally replaced by English. Incidentally a number of writers and poets of the
likes of R. Burns retained their native language.
Nowadays educated Scottish people speak a form of Scottish Standard
English which grammatically and lexically is not different from English
used elsewhere, although with an obvious Scottish accent. We must admit,
however, that non-standard dialects of Scotland still resemble Scots and in
many respects are radically different from most other varieties of English. It
is very difficult to understand them for students who learn RP.
At the moment there is currently a strong movement in Scotland for the
revival of Scots. Nevertheless Scottish Standard English is still more presti
geous and in this book we concentrate on Scottish English as used and spo
ken by educated urban Scots.
As for the status of Scottish English, in this book it will be treated as a
dialect though it is fair to say that there is much in favour of calling it a na
tional variant of English.
Vowels
1. Since Scottish English is rhotic, i. e. it preserves post-vocalic [r], vowels
such as RP [Ia], [3:], [lOa], loa] do not occur:
179
beer
bird
hurt
bard
moor
RP
Scottish English
[b3:d]
[h3:t]
[ba:d]
[moa]
[hArt]
[ba:rd]
[mm]
4. The RP
[~]
not ________
______ [not]
note
socks
[soksl
soaks
[a:]: after
Consonants
1. Scottish English consistently preserves a distinction between fMl and
[w 1: which [Mltf] witch
2. Initial [p, t, k] are usually non-aspirated.
180
7. -ingis [Ill].
8. [h] is present.
181
Vowels'
Non-systematic Difference
Some words have pronunciation distinctively different from RP:
RP
length
raspberry
realize
though
tortoise
Scottish English
e]
[leU
['ru:zbn]
[e]:
[!O]:
[03U]
[a]:
['b:tas]
[u]:
[0]:
[;):]:
[n]:
[aI]:
[au]:
[;)1]:
pit
bee _.
pet [pet], bed I
bay [be], bear 1
but [bAt];
pat [pat], bard 11)I]l'dl, halllwll, dance [dans], haif[haf];
put [put], boolll.mli. pull Ipoll, pool I pull, poor [pur];
boat [bot], boartl IIlC11'(j I, pole' Ipoll, knows [noz], nose [noz],pour [par],
pore [par];
paw [P;):], dol/ld,l;ll, /HIIIS(' 11>'1:~,1;
cot [kut];
buy [bal], tic/ellnulj:
bout [buut];
boy [b;)I].
The following
above.
The
nol~':1 UII
rcad in ";>;>VvlaLIVll
L in words
,
tally it may be u dip"l
the
villi"hl~~;
Consonants
1. [I] is mainly l'l"[lI';
182
city ['slrli:];
183
184
nitely than in British Received Pronunciation of the word [fa:]. On the oth
er hand, there is a vocalic or vowel-like and syllabic [r] that occurs in words
like bird, murmur, after a vowel and before a consonant.
4. One more peculiar feature of pronunciation of vowels in American
English is their nasalization, when they are preceded or followed by a nasal
consonant (in such words as take, small, name, etc. ). Nasalization is often
called an American twang. It is incidental and need not be marked in pho
nemic transcription.
6. There are four mixed or central vowels in GA: [3], [aJ, [A], [a]. They
differ markedly from RP vowels in articulation and distribution.
7. The three RP vowels [u], [ee], [a:] correspond to only two vowels in
GA- [a] and [eel. This combined with the articulatory differences between
RP [u] and GA [a] and a difference in vowel distribution in many sets of
words makes it very complicated. The following chart vividly shows it:
RP
dad
[ee]
dog
path
dance
half
185
Consonants
1. The RP allophonic differentiation of [I] does not exist in GA. In all
positions [I] is fairly dark.
GA
[ee]
Asia
cordial
either
leisure
lever
schedule
shone
tomato
vase
RP
GA
['erIal
['kJ:dral]
['a loa]
['le 3a]
['li:va]
[,Jedju:l]
[fun]
[ta'ma:tau]
[va:z]
['eI 3 a]
[brjal]
[,i:oar]
['li:3 ar1
[,Ievar]
[,skedjal]
[faun]
[ta'meltau]
[veIz]
186
GA they
187
RP
'-""
GA
-"\,
Stress Differences
GA
RP
ballet
beret
[,b::elel]
GA
[b::e'lel]
..
.~~.~
RP
[e'dres]
[sIge'ret]
[m::ege'zi:n]
[n's3:tf]
[e'dAlt]
[IlJ'kwalan]
GA
['::edres]
[,slgeret]
['m::egazm]
['nsatf]
['::edAIt]
['llJkwalen]
RP
\.
GA
-'
",
RP
Or it may have a level tone in GA:
Really?
RP
GA
,../
Intonation Differences
GA intonation on the whole is similar to that of RP. But there are, of
course, some differences that shOUld be mentioned here.
I. In sentences where the most common pre-nuclear contour in RP is a
gradually descending sequence, the counterpart GA contour is a medium
Level Head:
~~~--------======:-:--~---~-.~~-.- ~
188
../
GA
-. ---
GA
.. .-/
Goodnight.
\.-/
It is certain that we have not covered here all the cases of different into
nation structures used in RP and GA. Recently there have appeared in this
country several papers and books on the subject, so for further information
see those books.
Summary
Variations in pronunciation can be accounted for with reference both to
geographical and social factors. In contemporary dialectology phonetic di
versity is explained on the basis of the analysis of regional variants alongside
with such indicators as age, gender, education, occupation.
Summary
189
REFERENCES
References
191
References
192
1958.
Press, 1995.
Units and Synt"f'tif'
1973.
Social Class and Education. Edinburgh, 1977.
Macaulay K.
O'ConnorJ. D. Phonetics. London: Penguin, 1977.
O'Connor J. D. and Arnold G. F. Intonation of Colloquial English: A Practical Hand
book. London: Longman, 1973.
\:1
I,
i\