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I N T R O D U C T I O N
I N T R O D U C T I O N
I N T R O D U C T I O N
I N T R O D U C T I O N
I N T R O D U C T I O N
INTONATION
I n t o n a t i o n is a complex
unity of variations in pitch,
stress, tempo and timbre.
T h e p i t c h c o m p o n e n t of intonation, or melody, is
the changes in the pitch of the voice in connected speech.
S e n t e n c e s t r e s s , o r a c c e n t , is the
greater
prominence of one or more words among other words in the
same sentence.
T e m p o is the relative speed with which sentences and
intonationgroups are pronounced in connected speech.
S p e e c h t i m b r e is a special
colouring of voice which
shows the speaker’s emotions, i. e. pleasure, displeasure, sorrow,
etc.
Intonation serves to form sentences and intonationgroups,
to define
their communicative type, to express the speaker’s
thoughts, to convey the attitudinal meaning. One and the same
grammatical structure and lexical composition of the sentence
may express different meaning when pronounced with different
intonation.
e. g.
→
→
→
→
→
Isn’t it ri
/
diculous? (general question)
→
→
→
→
→
Isn’t it ri
\
diculous! (exclamation)
Long sentences,
simple extended, compound and complex,
are subdivided into i n t o n a t i o n g r o u p s . Intonation
group division depends on the meaning of the sentence, the
grammatical structure of the utterance and the style of speech.
Each intonationgroup is characterized
by a definite intonation
pattern. The number of intonation groups in the same sentence
may be different.