PATTERNS OF INTONATION: THE FALLING TUNE AND THE RISING TUNE

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 How Intonation Works:

1. The full description of intonation patterns is very complex.

2. Here, only some fundamental points will be explained.

3. Within each tone group, there will be the normal English combination of stressed (strong) and unstressed (weak) syllables.

4. One syllable within the tone group will be even more strongly stressed than the other stressed syllables, known as the nuclear syllable.

5. The nuclear syllable carries the main focus of information and any new information.

6. The usual position for the nuclear syllable is on the final lexical word in the tone group.

7. However, the nuclear syllable can appear in other positions if the sense in the sentence requires it.

8. It had a lot of rust in it.

Spoken English:

1. Normal placement: Linda was wearing that black skirt.

2. Contrastive placements:

   - Linda was wearing that black skirt (not a red one).

   - Linda was wearing that black skirt (a particular skirt referred to already).

   - Linda was wearing that black skirt (not just carrying it).

   - Linda was wearing that black skirt (you said she wasn't).

   - Linda was wearing that black skirt (it wasn't Jill wearing it).

3. The nuclear syllable sounds louder than the other stressed syllables and has a change of pitch.

4. The two most common pitch movements are:

   - Rising pitch: yés

   - Falling pitch: yès

5. It is also possible to have:

   - Fall-rising pitch: y s>

   - Rise-falling pitch: yês>

6. Effects of rising or falling pitch on sentences with tag questions:

   - They're coming on Monday, aren't they? (Statement anticipating the listener's agreement)

   - They're coming on Monday, aren't they? (Question seeking an answer, yes or no)

Now, let's take a detailed look at each of the intonation tunes.

3.2 The Falling Tune:

The falling tune is usually employed in declarative sentences, commands, exclamations, and wh-questions (questions demanding information). These sentences typically feature both stressed and unstressed syllables, spoken at different pitch levels. The first stressed syllable is the highest in pitch, with each subsequent stressed syllable gradually descending until the final fall on the last stressed syllable or word.

Statements:

1. Joseph works hard at home.

2. The tutor has taken the book from him.

3. He got it wrong.

Commands:

1. Remove the books on my chair.

2. Sit under the table.

3. Don't disobey your parents.

Wh-questions:

1. Why are you so early?

2. Who gave you the address?

3. How did he park his car?

Exclamations:

1. What a lovely child!

2. What a pleasant surprise!

3. What a beautiful dress it is!

The above examples illustrate the falling pitch pattern in ordinary speech. However, when a special contrast is intended, any word—whether a content or grammatical word—could receive an emphatic stress.

The Rising Tune:

The rising tune is used in questions that demand only a 'yes' or 'no' answer (polar questions). This tune is also employed to convey a speaker's attitude of indifference and to list items. Study the following examples:

Polar Questions:

1. Is the chocolate sweet?

2. Will Tuesday be ideal for traveling?

3. Did you sleep last night?

Utterances showing indifference:

1. You can do what you want if you want to.

2. I think that's wrong.

Listing Items:

- A falling tone is used at the end of a list to show that the list is complete.

  - Would you like tea, coffee, fruit juice, or lemonade? (That's all I'm offering.)

  - We need some tomatoes, beans, fish, and flour.

Please note that when listing items, the pitch of your voice should rise in the non-final items, but should 'fall' on the final item in the list.

Intonation and the Nigerian English Situation:

There is a general lack of seriousness towards the study of intonation in Nigerian English. The attitude seems to be that a native-like intonation sounds foreign, and therefore, many make no attempt to acquire it. The reason for this is not difficult to know. Many Nigerian languages are tonal, such as Yoruba and Igbo. In a tonal language, a difference in pitch in an otherwise identical syllable indicates a change of meaning. For instance, the Yoruba word 'ko' when uttered on a high pitch means 'to learn', on a middle pitch, it means 'to write', and on a low pitch, it means 'to refuse'. Now, it may interest you to know that every word in English has its own accentual pattern, and the fact that tone is not lexical in the language does not imply that words can be pronounced anyhow. It is proper for anyone studying English to also acquire the rhythm and intonation of English speech.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE:

Indicate the appropriate intonation tunes that should be used for the following utterances:

1. Can I see you for a minute, please?

2. The lecturer's office has two chairs, a wall clock, and a table.

3. When did you arrive in Nigeria?

4. Keep the door open.

5. What a beautiful dress!

Conclusion:

It is crucial to consistently use the correct intonation pattern in spoken English, especially if the speaker aims to achieve the desired effect. As demonstrated, intonation not only helps distinguish between simple sentence types in English but also conveys the speaker's attitude.

5.0 Summary:

Intonation serves both grammatical and attitudinal functions in English. The rise and fall in the pitch of the voice are significant in spoken English, indicating whether a sentence is a statement, command, question, or exclamation. Moreover, it conveys the speaker's attitude towards the listener or the discussed subject.

As far as the grammatical function of intonation is concerned, the general view is that specific intonation patterns are associated with specific sentence types. However, it is important that you remember that as we discuss the functions of the various intonation tunes, reference will always be made to stressed and unstressed syllables since stress and intonation work together to convey special meaning in speech.

   REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Bamgbose, A. (1971). The English Language in Nigeria. In Spencer

(ed), The English Language in West Africa. London: Longman.

Couper, K. (1986). An Introduction to English Prosody. London:

Edward Arnold.

Cruttenden, A. (1997). Intonation. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Cruttenden, A. (2001). Gimson’s Pronunciation of English. 6th ed,

Revised and edited version of A. C. Gimson’s original book.

London: Edward Arnold.

Elugbe, B. (2000). Oral English for Schools and Colleges. Ibadan:

Heinemann Educational books.

http://www.english.unitecnology.ac.nz

http://www.ex.ac.uk/-bosthause/Lecture/hockett.htm

http://www.celt.stir.ac.uk/staff

Kachru (ed). The Other Tongue: English across Cultures. London:

Pergamon Press.

Kreidler, C. W. (1989). The Pronunciation of English. Oxford:

Blackwell