Chp 6: Prominence and Intonation in Discourse

How many intonation contours are there for getting someone's attention?

There are two. Used either to call a person's name or announce one's own presence.

What is one way to provide learners with opportunities to listen for prosodic features in native speakers' speech?

Podcasts!

Pitch contours across one word.

Pitch contours across one word does not change the fundamental meaning of the word itself, but reflects the discourse context within which the word occurs.

What are six of the best pedagogical suggestions relating to intonation and discourse?

1. Direct students' attention to a few major patterns. 2. Alert students to difference between the punctuation system and the intonation system. 3. Distinguish between the intonation of isolated sentences and the intonation of segments in extended discourse.

Four more facts about intonation units.

1. Faster speech has fewer intonation units. 2. Slower speech has more intonation units. 3. Too many pauses create too many unintentional prominent elements. 4. Blending and linking happen within intonation units, but not across unit boundaries.

What are five common intonational patterns in North American English?

1. Finality. Expressing and eliciting facts. 2. Uncertainly. 3. Nonfinality. 4. Getting Attention. 5. Expressing Emotion.

Functions of Intonation.

1. Intonation reflects the grammatical function of an utterance. A question's intonation is different from a statement's intonation. 2. Intonation conveys an attitude or emotion.

What are the three circumstances governing the placement of prominence?

1. New information. 2. Emphatic stress. 3. Contrastive stress.

What are the four key elements of a though group or intonation unit?

1. Pauses before and after. 2. One prominent element. 3. Intonation contour of its own. 4. Usually a grammatically coherent internal structure.

Which four sentence constructs have a final fall in pitch on the last syllable of the intonational phrase to signal finality or certainty?

1. declarative statements. 2. commands. 3. tag questions. 4. WH-questions. because they elicit factual details.

What is the intonation contour for open-choice alternative questions?

2. 1*. 1*. 3. Each of the alternatives receives the focus through low, level one, pitch on the prominent syllable.

What is the intonational pattern for disinterest or boredom?

2. 1*. 1. So that a low tone is used on the final or only prominent syllable of an utterance.

What is the uncertainty contour used with Yes No questions, statements as questions, either or questions, tag questions signaling uncertainty, repetition questions, and echo questions?

2. 1*. 3. The pitch starts in the middle, falls to the low level on the most prominent syllable of the thought group, and then interpolates to the high level at the beginning of the next word, with an even further rise in pitch on the final syllable of the utterance.

What is the finality contour of declarative statements, commands, and WH-questions?

2. 3*. 1. The pitch starts in the middle, rises to the high level on the most prominent syllable of the thought group, and then falls to the low level at the beginning of the next word, with an even further drop in pitch on the final syllable of the utterance.

What is the intonational pattern for calling someone?

2. 3*. 2. This is similar to that of non finality because the final tone is a nonterminal fall to pitch level 2. But one important difference is the first syllable is lengthened more than usual, as a parent calling a child for dinner.

What is the intonational pattern for announcing one's self?

2. 3*. 3. where a high plateau is maintained instead of a final fall.

What is the intonational pattern for surprise or disbelief?

3. 1*. 3. 4. Whereby the first syllable receives a high tone, the prominent syllable receives the focused low tone, the syllable immediately following receives a high tone, and the final syllable receives an extra high tone, the ending rise indicative of uncertainty.

What is the intonational pattern for excitement?

3. 1. 4*. 1. Whereby the first syllable receives a high tone, the syllable just before the prominent syllable receives a low tone, the prominent syllable receives an extra high tone, and the final syllable receives a low tone, indicative of finality.

What does a rise or a fall of intonation indicate?

A rise on the prominent syllable followed by falling intonation signals certainty or finality, such as in a declarative statement. A fall on the prominent syllable followed by rising intonation signals uncertainty, such as in a questions

*uninverted Yes No question.*

A statement that functions as a question because of the rising intonation, but does not have the characteristic subject verb inversion of question form. For example. John cooked dinner?

*thought group.*

A thought group is a discrete stretch of speech that forms a semantically and grammatically coherent segment of discourse. Sometimes written discourse provides markers for these divisions, sometimes not.

What is *pitch*?

Pitch is the relative highness or lowness of a speaker's voice. The phonetic meaning of pitch is relative to the differentiated pitch levels of a given speaker, not across speakers or between genders.

*elicitation device.*

A way of speaking that obtains a response or information from an interlocutor.

*intonation contour.*

An intonation contour is the movement of pitch within an intonation unit. The pitch can vary from extra high to low. Pitch and prominence can be said to have a symbiotic relationship, and the interrelationship of these phenomena determines the intonation contour of an utterance.

*intonation unit.*

An intonation unit is the same segment of discourse as a thought group, but referring also to the fact that each segment has its own intonation contour or pitch pattern, and typically contains one prominent element. There can be several intonation units in a sentence.

*open-choice alternative question.*

An open-choice alternative question gives the listener free choice of the alternatives being offered. It is unclear if other options are available, and the listener can reject all of the alternatives.

*uninverted WH-question.*

An uninverted WH-question is one in which the interrogative pronoun follows the subject and verb. For Example. Two plus two is what?

4. Teach students to think in terms of the speaker's intention in any given speech situation. 5. Alert students to similarities and differences in intonation between the native language and the target language

And 6. Use the notions of given and new information. Or contrast, where relevant. To explain shifting focus in ongoing discourse. That means that the speaker will emphasize contextually salient information and deemphasize what is given or predictable.

*appositive constructions.*

Appositive constructions are phrases or clauses that follow and modify a noun giving added information, such as nonrestrictive relative clauses.

What is the main feature of the nonfinality contour?

As a contour comes to a near close, it only raises or lowers to pitch level 2 to indicate the speaker isn't finished speaking, which a level 3 or level 1 pitch would indicate. This is called a nonterminal fall, or a 2. 3. 2. contour, or a nonterminal rise, or a 2. 1. 2. contour.

Why is the intonational pattern for saying a name dependent on the speaker's intent?

Because it he's saying his name because someone asks what it is, then it's the finality contour. 2. 3*. 1. If he's stating it to check in, it's 2. 3. 3. If he's calling for someone else, it's 2. 3. 2. If he's uncertain, as in. Is that you, Bob? Then it's the uncertainty contour. 2. 1. 3.

Why are nonterminal falls or rises necessary?

Because utterances that are longer or syntactically more complex are usually divided into more-managable thought groups, each of which has prominent syllables receiving high or low pitch and ends with a non terminal fall or rise to indicate the speaker's intent to continue.

What is the difference between the intonation contour for closed-choice alternative questions and open-choice alternative questions?

Close-choice alternative questions: 2. 1*. 2 for each item, then 2. 3. 1 for the final item. Open-choice alternative questions: 2. 1*. 1*. 3. where each item is given prominence with the level one pitch, until it finally rises up after the last option.

*closed-choice alternative questions.*

Closed-choice alternative questions are also called Or Questions. The hearer of these questions has no other options available and is expected to select from the closed set of choices presented.

What its the intonation contour of closed-choice alternative questions?

Closed-choice alternative questions use the same intonation contour as listing information: each alternative receives a 2. 1*. 2. intonational sequence with a nonterminal rise, until the final item, which receives the standard finality intonation pattern of 2. 3*. 1.

*contrastive stress.*

Contrastive stress is when two parallel elements receive prominence within a given utterance. It can also happen across speakers, particularly when making a correction.

*echo questions.*

Echo questions occur when a speaker repeats a question either because the speaker is uncertain whether they heard it correctly, or wants more time in before responding. Because of the uncertainty, a 2. 1*. 3. contour is used, even for WH-questions.

*emphatic stress.*

Emphatic stress is the quality given to a word when the speaker wishes to place special emphasis on it.

Where does pitch vary?

English makes use of pitch variation over the length of an entire utterance, even if the utterance is only one word.

Why might pitch be difficult for some learners?

If learners speak a tonal language, they may have difficulty adjusting to the very different intonational structure of English, transferring certain aspects of tonal structure from their L1 to their production of English words.

*intonation.*

If pitch represents the individual tones of speech, then intonation can be thought of as the entire melodic line. Intonation involves the rising and falling of the voice to various pitch levels during articulation.

What is a problem language learners might have with learning prominence?

In languages with more flexible word order, the highlighting of information may often happen by moving various sentence elements to the beginning or end of an utterance, not by placing more stress on them.

Length of the ending 1*. 3. contour.

In a 2. 1*. 3. contour, if the prominent syllable is the last syllable of the thought group, the contour becomes more pronounced because it is compressed into the space of the final syllable.

Length of the ending 3*. 1. contour.

In a 2. 3*. 1. contour, if the prominent syllable is the last syllable of the thought group, the contour becomes more pronounced because it is compressed into the space of the final syllable.

*interpolate.*

Interpolate is the action of the pitch as there is a gliding rise or fall between two points. It does not jump from one pitch level to another.

Besides intent, what else can intonation express?

Intonation can express emotion besides intention.

Which is more important for marking boundaries in conversation, grammar or intonation?

Intonation is more important for marking boundaries in conversation than grammar.

Can the 2. 3*. 1. finality intonation contour ever be altered?

It doesn't change from 2. 3. 1. but the high 3 point can come sooner or later in the intonation unit depending on 1. where the new information falls. 2. whether a WH-question is emphasizing result or agent. Or 3. specific contexts in which a certain word is highlighted for special emphasis.

What is a caution for language learners regarding the boredom contour?

L1 transfer can result in students using too many low tones too frequently to mark the focus word in their utterances. This may lead to interlocutors perceiving unintentional disinterest or monotony.

What help do learners need regarding prominence and intonation?

Learners need extensive practice in distinguishing the subtle shades of meaning that are conveyed through prosodic cues. Nonnative speakers are often perceived as rude, bored, or abrupt due to the prosodics of their speech. Teachers need to make this salient and concrete.

What's a third area learners need help in regarding prominence and intonation?

Learners often associate an ending rise with all questions, not realizing some, such as WH-questions and tag questions, can end with a fall.

What's a fourth area learners need help in regarding prominence and intonation?

Learners often do not hear the difference between open and closed choice alternative questions, and so will answer yes or no when a choice is expected.

What is the intonation contour of a repetition question?

Like tag questions, a shortened 1*. 3. pitch contour is used since the first word is prominent in this type of question.

word stress vs. prominence.

Placement of word stress is dictated by the word's etymology and other factors, such as affixation, spelling, and grammatical category. Where as prominence is sensitive to meaning, discourse, context, speaker's intent, and syntactic boundaries.

When are the pitch levels used?

Normal conversation moves among low, middle, and high pitch, with low or high signaling the end of an utterance. Extra high pitch is reserved for a strong emotion, such as surprise, great enthusiasm, or disbelief, and often used in contrastive or emphatic stress.

Number Four. New information tends to receive prominence and generally occurs toward the end of an utterance.

Number Five. If the speaker wishes to place special emphasis on a given element, that element will receive emphatic stress.

Number Two. When any word receiving stress has more than one syllable, it is only the word's most strongly stressed syllable that carries the sentence stress.

Number Three. Within an intonation unit, there may be several words receiving sentence stress but only one main idea or prominent element (or in the case of contrastive stress, two prominent elements).

The Six Rules of Stress

Number one. Some degree of sentence stress tends to fall on all content words within an utterance.

*parenthetical expressions.*

Parenthetical expressions are related to appositive constructions and uttered as nonfinite asides. They can either be 2. 3*. 2. or 2. 1*. 2. depending on the context and speaker. If the are at the end of an utterance, they fall to to a level 1 pitch to indicate the end of the utterance.

What is the intonation contour of an utterance with an appositive?

Pre-appositive, the utterance has a 2. 3. 2. contour, ending with a nonfinal pitch, then the appositive follows with 1. 2. 1. 2., peaking on the appositive's prominent syllable during the first rise, dropping back to one and ending on a level two, before finishing with a 2. 3*. 1. contour.

*prominence.*

Prominence is focus given to a word by the speaker, or which word the speaker wishes to highlight.

*prosody.*

Prosody is the combined force of intonation, volume, tempo, and rhythm.

*display question.*

Questions that ask the addressee to display knowledge that they've already learned or heard. Frequently used by adults in various authority positions, who already know the answer, when speaking to children.

*repetition questions.*

Repetition questions perform the function of asking for repetition, typically because the speaker could not hear what was said. Repetition questions can follow statements, yes no questions, or WH-questions.

*tag questions signaling uncertainty.*

Tag questions signaling uncertainty are more like true Yes No questions in that they are used to elicit a yes or no answer or seek seek further clarification.

What is the intonation contour of appositive constructions?

The intonation contour of the appositive construction itself is 1. 2.* 1. 2.

What is the authors' main point of the chapter?

The main point of this chapter is that although English grammar limits the syntactic possibilities of an utterance, prosodic elements interact with syntax to convey a range of meaning and speaker intent in spoken discourse.

In a closed-choice alternative question, what does the finality drop to a level one pitch on the last item signify?

The drop to pitch level 1 indicates there are no other options and the speaker is expected to make a choice.

How is the 2. 3. 1. Finality contour used with tag questions?

The statement before the tag question follows the 2. 3*. 1. finality contour. The tag question only has a 3*. 1. contour. That is a high tone on the prominent syllable, followed by a syllable-final low tone on the pronoun, which all tag questions of this type end with. Together: 2. 3. 1. 3. 1.

How is the 2. 1*. 3. uncertainty contour used with tag questions?

The statement preceding the tag question follows a 2. 3. 2. intonation contour as a declarative sentence; however, it does not drop at the end as low due to the tentativeness. The tag question carries the 1*. 3. uncertainty contour. Together they follow a 2. 3*. 2. 1*. 3. contour.

Pitch levels.

There are four levels of phonetic pitch in English. 1. low. 2. middle. 3. high. 4. extra high.

*tag question eliciting agreement.*

These are tag questions that are used by a speaker to request confirmation from the interlocutor or make a point. They function almost like a statement, signally certianty.

What's the difference between intonation and prominence?

They go hand in hand. Intonation is used to mark prominence, while it is necessary to know which words are prominent to correctly speak the tones and intonation contours. Both are used to highlight information.

How can the WH-question's use of the 2. 3*. 1. contour cause trouble for learners?

They may be surprised that not all questions end with a final rise in intonation in English.

What's a second area learners need help in regarding prominence and intonation?

They often cannot hear important cues being delivered through prosody, such as humor, sarcasm, and irony. They understand the native speaker's verbatim message, but not the intended message.

What are uninverted Yes No questions used for?

Uninverted yes no questions are used. 1. to ask the interlocutor to repeat something. or 2. to make an assumption and get the interlocutor to confirm it because the speaker has a good reason to expect a yes answer.

What its the intonation contour of listing information?

When elements occur in a series, such as when listing information, each item in the series receives a 2. 1*. 2. intonational sequence with a nonterminal rise, until the final item, which receives the standard finality intonation pattern of 2. 3*. 1.

Do utterances ever end on a nonfinal pitch level 2?

Yes. Native speakers do this something to add suspense or to leave something unsaid or implied.

When contrast between two elements in an intonation unit is signaled, both of these elements tend to receive contrastive stress.

in such cases, the intonation unit will have two prominent elements.

In any class where oral skills are taught, the interaction of discourse, on the one hand, and prosody and grammar, on the other, must be highlighted and taught, since contextually appropriate control of stress and intonation

is an essential part of oral communicative competence that is usually not self-evident to nonnative speakers.