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Kinds of Tones and their function
Linguistics are not in complete agreement about the precise number of tones which are used by speakers of English. Some distinguish as many as eight, others work with four or five. The following tones are the ones most usually encountered.
- Fall
- Rise – fall
- Fall – rise
- Rise
- Level (flat)
- High
- Low
- (^) The most important are the first four: rising, falling, and combinations of rising and falling tones.
- (^) Flat tones, including high and low tones, aren’t common and don’t have many uses, so we won’t talk about them.
- (^) However, rising and falling tones can each have many different meanings. Keep this in mind: one intonation pattern does not mean one thing. The same intonation can have different meanings in different situations.
- (^) Also, intonation is flexible. There are rules, but the rules are not one hundred per cent fixed. Different people speak in different styles.
Importance of Intonation in Social
Interaction
TURN-TAKING : Giving the floor to another person or taking your turn in a conversation INFORMATION STRUCTURE : Major stress items pick out the most important words in the sentence.
What will happen if I don’t use intonation appropriately?
- (^) You may mislead your listener or your audience. For example, repeatedly using high rising intonation at the end of speech chunks and sentences can be irritating and confusing. Listeners can also get confused because they can’t distinguish between what information is finished and what is not. The speaker may also give the impression of seeking feedback or approval and therefore lacks confidence.
- (^) Now try a different intonation:
- (^) What’s wrong with using a lot of high rising intonation in presentations?
- (^) In a presentation, a series of high rising tones may communicate that:
- (^) • you haven’t finished a piece of information. This can be confusing for listeners because they need to understand each piece of information so they can build understanding as they progress through the presentation with the speaker.
- (^) • you are uncertain or tentative about what you are saying. This can be a problem if you want to communicate your thoughts with confidence.
2. Rise
This tone conveys an impression that something more is to follow. For example: A: (wishing to attract B’S attention.) Excuse me. B: Yes (B’S reply is, perhaps, equivalent to what do you want?) A: Do you know John Smith? B: Yes (Inviting A to continue with what she intends to say about John Smith. The response with a fall would make it difficult for A to continue).
3. Fall – rise
This tone shows limited agreement, uncertainty, and doubt. For example: A: I have heard that it’s a good college. B: Yes (B does not completely agree and A would probably expect B to go on to explain why he was reluctant to agree).
5. Level
This tone is neutral and uninterested. High level Yes No Low level Yes No It is used in English language in a restricted context. It almost always conveys a feeling of routine, uninteresting or boring. For example: A teacher calling names of the pupils from a register.
Recap
- (^) Fall – gives the impression of finality
- (^) Rise- conveys an impression that something more is to follow.
- (^) Fall-Rise – shows limited agreement, uncertainty and doubt.
- (^) Rise-Fall – conveys rather strong feelings of approval, disapproval or surprise
- (^) Level- tone is neutral and uninterested (usually calls “flat”)
Functions of intonation
- (^) Attitudinal functions
- (^) Accentual functions
- (^) Grammatical functions
- (^) Discourse functions
Say “HELLO”
● to a friend you meet regularly ● to a friend you haven’t seen for 10 years ● to a neighbor whom you don’t like ● to a 6 month old baby ● to someone doing what he shouldn’t ● to know if someone is listening (phone)
Analysis of attitudinal functions
- (^) Four alternative approaches are proposed by the analysts to analyze attitudinal functions and formulate some basic functions of intonation for the English language learners.
How to express a certain attitude
- (^) 1-Different voice qualities for different attitudes
- (^) 2-Different pitch range in different ways
- (^) 3-Different keys: high key, mid key or low key
- (^) 4-One may use different facial expressions, gestures and body movements
