Phonology II

INTONATION: the voice pitch varies continuously. Patterns of pitch variation over an utterance
(whatever we say) or series of utterance. The melody of speech. We produce a melody when
we speak, we don’t talk in a monotone. How the voice moves? From low to high or vice versa.

Characteristics

 Significant: brings about a change of meaning

 Systematic: it has rules
 Characteristic: each language has its own system of intonation

English speakers face 3 types of decisions as they speak (the three T’s)

 Tonality: the division of the spoken material into chunks. These chunks are known as
Intonation Phrases or IP. Each IP has its own intonation pattern or “tune”. Division of the
spoken material into IPs. System where our utterance is divided into smaller units with
meaning. When I speak I divide my sentences into groups. Each unit will have a specific
melody. These units of meaning of information are units of “intonational phrases” or IP.
The more IPs I divide my speech, the more emphatic, emotional I will sound. We don’t
make a pause after each IP.
 Tonicity: speakers use intonation to highlight some words as important for the meaning
they wish to convey. To highlight an important word, we accent it. Nucleus (most
important accent in the IP, pitch movement initiator) placement to highlight an important
word. Focus important information. Connected with focus, narrow or broad.
 Tone: what kind of pitch movement. Melody that starts on the nucleus. Applied the
melody. This movement helps us identify whether this info is complete, incomplete, etc.
Most important tones are: fall, rise, fall-rise and level.

PITCH: movement of our voice

Three variables

1. Direction of the pitch movement

2. The degree of pitch movement
3. The placement of this pitch movement within the speaker´s own voice range.

1
Anatomy of an IP

The nucleus: it is always present, if no nucleus, no IP. The most important accent in the IP. It is
the place where the pitch changes or the pitch movement for the nuclear tone begins. It carries
the main pitch change. A tone unit must contain a tonic syllable, otherwise it is incomplete.

The tonic syllable may be placed earlier in the tone group, where there is a word of greater
importance to the message.

Occasionally, it may be a non-lexical word.

Onset: the first accent before the nucleus. Marks the beginning of the head.

Head: the part extending from the onset to the last syllable before the nucleus.

Pre-head: part before the head. Contains only unstressed syllables up to the first accent (onset)

Tail: the part of the IP that follows the nucleus. It contains non-prominent syllables. All the
syllables after the nucleus.

Functions of intonation

1. Attitudinal: to express attitudes or emotions

2. Grammatical or syntactic: to identify grammatical structures
3. Focusing: to show what is new and what is already known
4. Discourse/cohesive: it signals how sequences of clauses and sentences go together in
spoken discourse, to contrast or cohere. Mark ideas with punctuation.
5. Psychological: it helps us organize speech into units that are easy to perceive,
memorize and perform. Connected with tonality, the division of our speech into unit.
Organize the message in our brain.
6. Indexical: it may act as a marker of personal or social identity (mother, lawyer, lover)

Fall, rise and fall-rise

Default tone: most frequent.

Fall: for statements, exclamations, wh- questions and commands. Fall on the main parts of an
utterance

Non fall for: yes-no questions. On the subordinate or dependent part.

2
Which tones to which IPs?

Statements:

a) Fall: what we say is potentially complete. Expressed with confidence, definitely and
unreservedly. It signals finality.
b) Rise: potentially incomplete.

Fall: endpoint always low.

Rise: spread over the nuclear syllable and all the following ones.

Fall-rise: take place on the nuclear syllable or between that syllable and the next and the rise
begins on the last stressed syllable. It may express the following:

 Non finality
 Implication
 Contrast
 Reservations about what is said
 Tentative remark
 Polite corrections
 Partial corrections

Wh- questions: default tone is a fall. The speaker knows and tells. Can also be said with the
encouraging rise. This has the effect of making it more gentle.

Yes-no questions: default tone is the rise. An insistent fall is also possible. This makes the
question more insistent, serious. Ex. Guessing games, when a speaker repeats a question
because the other person did not hear properly.

Tag questions with reverse polarity:

a) Rise: when genuinely asking

b) Insistent fall: expecting the other person to agree. It has the force of an exclamation
(they always have a fall)

Independent elliptical questions: default tone is yes-no rise. Function: keep the conversation
going.

Checking: usually said with a rise. Ex. Pardon question rise.

3
Echo question: uses some or all of the same words as used by the previous speaker, but with
a rise.

Interjections and greetings: fall

Leading and trailing tones: rising tones

Many phrases or clauses do not stand alone, but are attached to some other element. They are
not complete by themselves. If a dependent element precedes the main element, we say it is
leading. Because it leads us to the main idea. We are going to use a fall-rise, but I can also use
a rise. If it follows the main element, we say it is trailing. With a trailing dependent element, the
most usual tone is a rise.

Connection with sentences that have two clauses, subordinated and main clause. Or a
highlighted adverb at the beginning.

Nucleus: syllable that bears the nuclear tone. We give it a prominent change in pitch.

In an IP there may be other accents in addition to the nuclear accent. If so, the nucleus is the
last accent in the IP. Any other are “pre nuclear”. The first is known as the onset.

The nucleus is typically placed on the last content word. The nucleus typically falls on the last
lexical item (LLI rule)

New vs old information

We deaccent old info. If all the info is new, then we can accent all the lexical items (so the
nucleus is placed on the last lexical item)

Old info

 Repeated words
 Synonyms
 Hypernyms
 Hyponyms count as new info

Focus: the concentrations of attention on a particular part of the message.

 Broad: we bring everything into focus. Means that the focus domain is the whole IP.
When all the information mentioned in the IP is new. The focus embraces the whole
clause. We followed a rule: the last lexical item rule (LLA rule) When everything is new,

4
 the nucleus will fall on the last lexical item, the last content word. Ex. In answer to the
question What happened?
 Narrow: we can focus selectively on one part of the message. Only part of what we say
is brought into focus. Part of the information is already given, shared by the speakers. It
does not attract the nucleus. Contrast is an obvious case of narrow focus.

Focus domain: the part of the IP that is placed in focus. The nucleus tells us where the focus
domain ends.

Contrastive focus (narrow): the nuclear accent draws attention to a contrast the speaker is
making. Any following material within the same IP is unaccented and forms part of the tail.

Pronouns

 We do not accent personal pronouns. However, we do accent a pronoun if it is placed in

contrastive focus. Ex. I am as surprised as you are.
 The complement of the verb to be regularly receives the nucleus, even if it is a pronoun.
 In clause final position the possessive (mine, yours, etc) tend inherently to convey new
information, and attract the nucleus. Ex. Give me hers, and I’ll take his.

EXCEPTIONS TO LLI RULE (broad focus)

Nucleus in a function word

Narrow focus: yes-no answers and tags

Yes-no questions: the nucleus goes on the word yes or no (or a synonymous adverb) if they
are only answers. If they are followed by a short sentence fragment involving a verb, the
nucleus falls on the operator (auxiliary or modal verb)

HAVE/GET + noun + verb: Ex. I have some letters to write (I have to write some LETTERS)
The sentence has to end in the verb. If the sentence is longer, this is not an exception.
Causative have/get is also an exception. It is contrastive, the noun attracts the nucleus.

Wh questions ending in a verb: Ex. Where does your father work? In this cases the nucleus
falls on the object noun. The nucleus does not fall on the object when the verb has further
complementation

Empty words: general words. Ex. Things, place, stuff, people, someone, whatever. They are
general so they don’t attract the nucleus although they are content words.

5
Existential there: ex. There is, there are, there was, there were. There + be + noun +
clause/verb/adverb

We put the nucleus on the noun that follows the existential there. Ex. There is a big stain on my
shirt. (on my shirt is an adverb of place and sometimes final adverb of time and place are
deaccented. Not always. Specially yesterday, today, etc)

Event sentences: typically involves an intransitive verb which denotes (dis)appearance or

misfortune. In such sentences it is commonly the subject which receives the accent though the
whole sentence is in broad focus.

They are short sentences which contains an intransitive verb (without a D.O) When we found
these sentences, the nucleus falls on the noun. Of course, there has to be a noun, not a
pronoun. The noun receives the nucleus even though is in broad focus. Ex. The milkman called
(expresses appearance)

Element of predictability. Ex. A kettle cannot do much than boiling. There is information that is
predictable and, generally, what is predictable is deaccented. It is information than can be
considered, in a way, given.

Explanation: NOUN + verb/be + adjective. Ex. A: Why did you buy it? B: The price was right

The nucleus falls on the noun, not on the adjective. Pay attention to the context. When I give an
explanation is an exception because the nucleus does not fall on the last lexical item (LLI rule)

Final adverbials: has to be time and place because adverbs of manner attract the nucleus.

Ex. I went to London on Thursday.

If they are both important, we can have 2 IPs. Two falling tones because you are giving new
information.

Prepositions: cases in which they get the nucleus

a) Wh-questions in which there is no lexical material (content words) Ex. What´s it for?
b) Preposition immediately following a wh-word. Ex. What about it?

Wh + to be + pronoun

 If a direct or indirect wh-question has the pattern wh-word-be-pronoun, then the nucleus
goes on the verb “be” itself. Ex. Tell me how you ‘are.

6
  If a speaker answers the question “how are you?” by repeating the same words back,
there is normally a change of tonicity. The answer has contrastive focus on “you”,
therefore “you” attracts the nucleus.
 If the verb “be” consists of more than one word (ex. Has been, will be), the nucleus goes
on the second term. The same applies in the corresponding indirect questions.
 If the word following “be” in a wh-question of this type is a demonstrative rather than a
pronoun, then the nucleus tends to go on the demonstrative. Ex. Who´s ´that?
 Intonational idioms. Ex. Here you are.

Words such as “too, as well, either, anyway, anyhow” and synonyms attract the nucleus despite
being function words.

Ex. A: I´m going to the library. B: Oh, I’ll come ‘too.

Final but not nuclear

 Empty words (things, people) do not attract the nucleus.

 Pro-forms: “one” as a pronoun, not accented.

Vocatives

 Names, darling, sweetie… Names that I used to address someone.

 A vocative at the beginning of an utterance is accented, and normally has its own IP,
thus becoming nuclear. Can be said with a fall or a fall rise.
 Accent it to indicate who we are talking to, perhaps when there are other people within
earshot: ex. ‘Hi, ´Peter!
 Final vocatives are generally not accented but attached to the preceding IP as (part of)
the tail.

Final reporting relative clauses

 Ex. He said, he asked, he told me.

 Followed by quoted words: they are usually out of focus. The nucleus goes on the
appropriate item among the quoted words, and the reporting clauses forms a tail to the
IP.
 Ex. A: Where did she find such rare antiques? B: On a recent trip she took.
 The nucleus does not fall on the verb but on the previous noun.

7
  If the relative clause is longer, that is no longer an exception. The nucleus will be found
somewhere else. It has to end with a verb.

Adverb of time and place

 Adverbs in general are usually accented. Adverbs and adverbial phrases of TIME and
PLACE are often not accented when at the end of an IP, even if they contain new
information. They form part of the tail.
 There are also many cases in which final adverbs and adverbial phrases of time and
place are important to the message, and are therefore brought into focus and receive a
nuclear accent:
Ex. He´s got a tat’ttoo on his ‘arm ! ‘not on his leg

Adverbs of manner do tend to bear the nucleus if they are at the end of the clause. They
remain out of focus. Like adverbs of place and manner, they go in the tail, with the nucleus on
some earlier word

a) Alternatively accented: if necessary, of course, please, thanks, thank you, in a way, for
a change, in fact, as a matter of fact, I would/should have thought, I imagine, enough.
b) Generally unfocused: then (inferential), though, or so, even, sort of, as it were, a bit,
you know.

“Indeed” is accented. However, to shoe surprise or annoyance, we do not accent it.

“Again” id accented if used in its basic sense of “one more time”, since its contrastive. Not
accented when it means “back to a previous state”

Phrasal verbs

 Verb + adverbial particle: phrasal verbs are lexically double stressed (exceptions: pour
down)
 Verb + prepositional particle: mostly lexically single-stressed: primary stress on the
verb.

Adverbs and adverbial phrases are usually accented, prepositions and prepositional particles
are not.

In, on and by are both prepositions and adverbs. They are typically accented when they are
used as adverbs but not when used as prepositions. If they are at the end of the clause,
adverbs attract the nucleus. But prepositions repel it.

8
Nucleus on the last noun

Final verbs and adjectives

Constructions and idiomatic expressions in which final verbs and adjectives tend to be
deaccented.

 Verb at the end of a sentence or clause: a final verb is usually deaccented and the
nucleus goes on the preceding noun.
Ex. How´s the homework going?
 Noun + final defining relative clauses. Ex. Look at the tie he´s wearing!
Same for final adjectives.
 HAVE or GET + noun + verb: nuclear accent on the noun. Ex. I have some work to do.

Event sentences

Describe event, misfortune, appearance or disappearance, where the verb is intransitive. The
nucleus tends to be located on the subject, provided it is lexically filled. Descriptions of the
weather count as event sentences, so do the statements relating to unpleasant bodily
sensations. Ex. My arm´s hurting.

Ex. The kettle´s boiling, the police arrived, my car broke down.

Accenting old material

 Re-using the other speaker´s words: the first speaker asks the second for information.
Supplying that information involves repeating a word just used by the first speaker. Thus
the same word is re-used by the second speaker and the information it conveys is new.
So it has to be brought into focus.
 Re-using your own words: repeat ourselves for emphasis giving the same information
more than once and presenting it afresh each time, focusing on it anew.

Idiomatic expressions in which repeated words get accented: more and more, hours and hours,
again and again, face to face, from day to day.

Pre-nuclear patterns

 If there are any accents before the nucleus, the first such accent (the onset) constitutes
the beginning of the head of the intonation pattern.

9
  The syllable (if any) before the first accented syllable are called the pre head.
 Varieties of falls
 Neutral fall. Plain statement. It is the pitch you would expect if no other meaning or
connotation was intended.
 Three particular varieties: high fall, low fall and rise fall.
a) Rise fall: involves a complex pitch movement, starting with a rise from a mid-
pitch to a high pitch and then a fall from high to low, finishing on a low pitch. Two
meanings: the speaker is impressed (statements, exclamations, yes-no
questions) or challenge, even disapproval (all clause types)
 The difference of tone meaning between the high fall and low fall is the degree of
emotional involvement. The high fall implies greater interest on the part of the speaker,
greater excitement.

Varieties of rise

 The neutral rise sounds a little like a query. Incomplete information.

 High rise: checking, pardon questions, echo questions. Also tone for up talk statements.
Suggest surprise or even disbelief.
 Low rise: supportive, showing interest, routinely encouraging further info.
 Wide rise: associated with the non-solidarity of indignant or truculent disagreement.
 Mid-level: leading dependent tone.

Focus minus expressions

Group of words, phrases and expressions that will not normally attract because they are
semantically predictable, old information or do not contribute significant information to the
context.

a) Cohesion markers: really, actually, as a matter of fact, in fact, though, if

possible, on the other hand, for a change, then, of course, thanks, if necessary,
for example.
b) Hearer appeal markers: I mean, I am afraid, you known, please, mind you.
c) Approximatives: or something, or two, in a way
d) Time space markers: now, this morning, yesterday, anywhere, here, there
e) Textual markers: he said, he asked, I think, I believe, I suppose.
f) Nouns of wide denotation: place, thing, person, colour, time, boy, girl.

10
Compounds: groups of words. Generally, 2 and noun + noun, which form a unit of meaning.
Two words can be separated and form words.

Single-stressed compounds

a) Doer of the action: taxi driver, book seller, tin opener, hair dryer, goal keeper, food
processor, fortune teller, dressmaker.
b) Kind of: current account, headache, teaspoon, hand bag, bookshop, credit card, post
office, question tag, punctuation mark.
c) Adj + noun: long established compound: high school, blackboard, grandfather, dark
room
d) Ing (gerund): boarding school, running shoes, sleeping bag, steering wheel.
e) Noun + ing: noun is the object of the verb: bookkeeping, time consuming, role playing,
time saving.
f) Noun + past participle: moth eaten, V-shaped, moonlit, air-conditioned
g) Some combinations of verbs and nouns: heartbreak, daybreak, playboy
h) Uncountable nouns, snowflake, cornflake, sand dune, waterfall

Double stressed compounds

a) Place or time: country house, winter holidays, kitchen sink, evening meal
b) 2nd noun made of the first: apple sauce, fruit salad, lemon pie, olive oil (exceptions:
juice, cake, bread, paper, milk, water)
c) 2 nouns 2 referents: baby boy, woman doctor, twin sister, student teacher, woman
driver
d) Proper names, place names or names of institutions: Hyde Park, Times Square,
Park Avenue, River Thames (exceptions: street, gate, high school, secondary school,
Pizza Hut)
e) Tittles: James I, William the Conqueror
f) Colours: navy blue, bottle green
g) Acronyms: USA, FBI.

TONES

Low drop: neutral fall. Low fall. The voice going down from mid to low. Low pre head, high
head, low tail.

11
High drop: neutral fall. starting point is going to be higher. The voice falls, it drops. Also a falling
tone, the voice goes down. The degree of pitch is different. The falling tone is produced from a
higher position. It ends at the same point but starts at a different one. Low pre head, high head,
low tail. The nucleus has to be higher than the head.

Take off: neutral rise. Movement from low to mid or mid-high. Low pre head+ low head +
nucleus: low rise + low rising tail. There has to be a nucleus. The voice goes up. If there is a tail,
it starts low and goes up. Every syllable that follows is higher than the previous one. Nucleus is
the last low syllable.

Low bounce: neutral rise. From low to mid or mid-high. Low pre head + high head + nucleus:
low fall + rising tail. There has to be a head, which is high. If there is no head, then it has to be a
high pre head. We need something higher. If there is a tail, it is rising (same as takeoff) It is
used for incompleteness, to show continuity, to check information, open lists. The difference
with the takeoff is that the low bounce need a prehead or head and it to be high. The takeoff has
another obligatory element apart from the nucleus. Genuinely interested, encouraging.

Switchback: fall rise. Falling head + fall rise + low rising tail. Going down and then going up.
Before the nucleus. If there is a pre head, it falls. If there is a tail, it is low. We use it to express:
non finality, implication, contrast, reservations about what is said, tentative remark, correction.

Long jump: falling tone. Rising head. The low drop has a low fall; the high drop has a high fall
as the long jump. The difference is in the head: which rises. It is an emphatic tone: show
surprise, complain, strong emotions. If you want it to be more emphatic, we use a high pre
head. Every syllable I say is a bit higher than the previous one.

High dive (or plus rise): fall and then a rise. 2 nuclear that forms 1 IP. The falling tone is the
most important of the two. It is considered the primary nucleus because it contains the major
information. The second nucleus is said with a rise. Minor information. Convergence. It can
disappear. The part that has the rise becomes the tail. The function of the rise is to convey the
felling of convergence (want to bring the listener close to you). The first nucleus goes on a word
referring to a mental state or an intensifying word.

Level tone/terrace: used to show continuity, it signals it. There is a nucleus, if there is a head, it
is high. Ex. Time to think, when we make a list.

Suprasegmental features

 Loudness: in a spoken utterance, syllables are never produced with the same intensity.

12
  Pitch: during speech, pitch changes continuously. The pitch goes up and down.
 Length: variable. Variations are used for a variety of linguistic purposes (vowel length,
syllable length, utterance length)

Topic and comment

We can divide an assertion into two parts:

a) Topic: (subject or theme) typically said with a non-falling tone (dependent fall-rise or
rise) It is what we talk about. Typical. Occupied by the subject, can also be occupied by
adverbs of time. To highlight, to make it stand out.
b) Comment: the thing we say about the subject or topic. Fall. Occupied by the predicate.

This subject and predicate go together and form an IP. Sometimes, I can decide to separate the
topic from the comment. I can either use a rise or slower. The fall-rise add emphasis; it can be a
signal of contrast.

13