Prosody. Pitch

In many cases prosody and intonation are used as synonyms, sometimes they are differentiated. Prosody is the combination of 3 prosodic components. Prosody consists of 3 main intonation components: pitch, stress, length- suprasegmental characteristics.

Pitch is determined by the rate of vibration of the vocal cords. The greater the number of vibrations per second, the higher the pitch.

Pitch is closely connected with sentence stress. As for pitch parameters we distinguish the direction of pitch, pitch level and pitch range. Pitch changes should be viewed together with the variations of loudness. Not all stressed syllables are of equal importance. The nucleus forms are the main focus of an intonation pattern. The nucleus is a strongly stressed syllable f an intonation pattern. The pitch goes up and down.

Among Kinetic Tones we distinguish: rise, fall, fall –rise, rise-fall and rise-fall-rise. While falling tones suggest certainty, completeness. Independence, a rising one expresses uncertainty, incompleteness and dependence.

Static Tones are not moveable.

The total tone patterns are: the pre-head of the intonation group- unstressed syllables preceding the first stressed syllable. The head or scale, stressed and unstressed syllables up to the last stressed syllable. The nucleus -the last stressed syllable, the most important part of the intonation. The tail- the syllables that follow the nucleus.

Scales can be: descending, ascending and level. According to the direction of the pitch movement within and between syllables, descending and ascending scales can be: stepping, sliding, scandent.

Variations in pitch range occur within the normal range of the human voice, within its upper and lower limits, pitch levels may be high, medium and low. The range usually depends on the pitch level: the higher the pitch, the wider the range.

The more the height of the pitch contrasts within the intonation pattern the more emphatic the intonation group sounds.

As for functions of intonation 3 distinctive functions are distinguished.

Syntactically distinctive function. If it is a long sentence we may it divide into 2 or 3 intonation groups. There are as many intonation groups as many nucleus (terminal tones). The direction of pitch in terminal tones may change the meaning of the sentence. (My sister /who lives in London /has just arrived- 3 terminal groups) or (My sister who lives in London/ has just arrived-2 terminal groups)

Semantically distinctive function. The pitch changes the meaning of the sentence. (Not once)

Stylistically distinctive function. Pitch shows what kind of relationship you have in addressing

Communicative type of sentence. Pitch direction is changed but lexical sets and word order is the same.

- Close the door!

- Close the door?

Дата добавления: 2015-05-31