VSCEP

Lecture B1
Tonicity & the Nucleus
Kate Scott © Kate Scott and Patricia Ashby

WHAT IS A NUCLEUS?
Intonational phrase (IP) structure
 An intonational phrase is a stretch of speech over which an identifiable intonation contour operates
 EVERY intonational phrase contains a NUCLEAR accent = NUCLEUS
 Other components are optional. They fit round the nucleus in a fixed order:

 Today we are concentrating on the nucleus and tail

Accents
 An accent is a stressed syllable with pitch prominence, i.e. with noticeably higher or lower pitch than a preceding
syllable or where pitch movement begins
 The nucleus is the last accented syllable in the IP. So:
o Non-nuclear accents are always pre-nuclear. They are in the head – Wednesday’s lecture.
o The tail contains no accents.
 In English, the function of accents is to focus attention on parts of the message (so words in the tail are not so
important).

WHAT IS TONICITY?
 The nucleus is also known as the tonic syllable, hence tonicity.
 It can occur anywhere in an IP – the end, the middle or the beginning.
 Tonicity refers to the location of the nucleus. Tonicity affects meaning.

10
Summary
Intonational phrase: stretch of speech
Accent: stressed syllable with pitch prominence
Nucleus: last accent in the IP
Tonicity: location of the nucleus (focusing attention)

LOCATING THE NUCLEUS

Unmarked tonicity
BASIC DEFAULT RULE: The nucleus is the stressed syllable of the last content word
When ALL the information is new to the context:
(1) What are you doing at the weekend ||
Going on a trip to Stonehenge ||

Here, the speaker 'focuses' attention on the whole message. This is BROAD focus. Broad focus keeps the listener paying
attention until the end of the whole IP

(2) What's Janet doing? ||

Buying a kilo of potatoes ||

Again, the speaker 'focuses' attention on the whole message: BROAD focus.

Old and New Information

When the last content word is old (given in context) the nucleus occurs earlier, on the last piece of new information.

(8) How many potatoes is she buying?

She's buying a kilo of potatoes||

 In this context, "potatoes" in the answer is old (given) information. It is not the focus of attention. It is de-
accented.
 Focus is narrowed onto an earlier part of the IP, "a kilo". This is EARLY, NARROW focus.
 The nucleus is the stressed syllable of the focused word. Here: ki
 "-lo of potatoes" is now the tail.

(9) Did you say she's buying a kilo of potatoes?

Peeling a kilo of potatoes ||

 In this answer, "a kilo of potatoes" is all old information and is de-accented.
 Again, this is EARLY, NARROW focus
 NOTE: the nucleus is at the very beginning of the IP, but still, as always, it is the final accent in the IP.

(10) who wants to make an early start ||

I want to make an early start ||