Intonation in Communication Skill:

Recent Research Discourse , both in theoretical linguistics and in foreign language pedagogy ,has focused on describing

rules for the comprehension and production of coherent verbal interaction . The contributing elements of coherent interaction are not simply the rules of grammatically in any given language, but also the pragmatic or functional rules which governs the use of utterances in spoken discourse.

Key words

• Linguistics, linguistics pedagogy, intonation, prosody,stress,pitch,accent,pragmatic,contextual,discourse,coherent.

What is Intonation

• Intonation is fundamental to genuine communication because communicative competence is the ability not only to formulate grammatically correct utterances, but also to signal interactional strategies , such as interrupting , asking for clarification, taking the floor, changing the subject, concluding an argument, or constrain a hearer to reply

Interact ional nature of Language competence

• In the last 20 yr., researches in linguistics have focused on pragmatics. Pragmatics is concerned with the underlying relationship between the grammatical structure of an utterance and its function or use in the larger discourse and is defined as “the general study of how context influences way we interpret sentences.”

• Other factors , such as what is appropriate in a particular social situation and the effect of an utterances on the interlocutor, must also be taken into account .These functional and discourse approaches are thus subsumed under the rubrics of sociolinguistics.

communication

• We all know that communication in its simplest form is conveying of information from one person to another. It is a general phenomenon.

• Intonation is a very important part of communication.

• intonation is significant variation in pitch from one part of an utterance to another. it is an integral part of phonetics.

• The meaning of an English utterance drives not only from its changing sound pattern, but also from associated patterns of Intonation.

Stress and Intonation

• Stress and intonation are linked phenomenon; they work together to give the effect of “prominence” or accent. Accented syllables can be said with level pitch, high or low, or with a change in pitch.

• Prominence of accent depends on four factors:

• 1.stress2.pitch3.quality4.quantity.

Form and function

• intonation

• Form function • Nature of pitch variation pitch variations are • linguistically significant • Nature of pitch variation includes tone group, tonic syllable and

nuclear tone. • A stretch of speech over which one pattern of pitch variation

extends is called a tone group. A tone group may consist of one syllable. while speaking we divide long utterances into small, manageable groups of words, between which we pause. Punctuation can be used in determining tone groups in a particular utterance.

Tone group

• 1. level static • 2.Moving kinetic • 3.Nuclear tone • Yes-one tone group • I want to finish this work /before he

returns-two tone groups • Do you know /that he is planning to write a

book/on the controversial subject of higher education-three tone group

Tonic syllable

• In a tone group which contains more than one syllable, there is one syllable that stands out prominently out of the rest syllables and initiates a major change in pitch direction…this is tonic syllable.

• The postman didn’t come ‘yesterday.

• Have you met him be’fore?

• In these two sentences yes and fore are called tonic syllable while the rest of the accented syllable are said with level or static tones.

Nuclear tone

• This tone is a kinetic tone carried by the tonic syllable or the nucleus , in tone group. this tone creats major change in pitch direction. this can of several types, mainly 6 types….

• High fall

• Low fall • High rise • Low rise

• Fall rise • Rise fall

juncture

• It the transition from one segmental phoneme to another.It is either close or open …

• A+name=an aim

• Six+tea+cups=sixty cups

• That+stufft=tha’s tough

• The+waiter+cut+it =the way to cut it

• How+strained=hous trained

Test sentences

• 1.She dressed and fed the baby

• She dressed /and fed the baby.

• 2.she gave her dog biscuits.

• She gave her dog/biscuits.

• 3.the parable shows what/ suffering men /can create.

• The parable shows/what suffering/men can create.

FUNCTION OF INTONATION

• In English, intonation may be grammatical or attitudinal. It may be grammatical in two senses. The function of a sentence may be modified by intonation to achieve a meaning that could have been achieved by giving the sentence a different grammatical form.

Grammatical function

• He o ‘ften mows the lawn. (declarative sentence) • He o/ften mows the lawn.(grammatically

declarative but function as a question)• There is a social sense in which intonation may

be grammatical. It may happen that a sentence is grammatically ambiguous and only by means of intonation can we be clear of what grammatical structure we should give the sentence and thereby disambiguate it.

sentences

• We didn’t go to the museum because it was raining.

• The different structures can be revealed by paraphrase.

• 1. we did not go to the museum (not because of rain.)

• We did not go to the museum (because it was raining)

Attitudinal function

• Intonation is perhaps the chief means by which the speaker conveys his attitudes and emotions.

• May I have your pen?

• Can I have your pen?

Test sentences

• Why does he like this book?

• why do we go to her place?

• Shut the door.

• Give me a glass of water.

• can he do this?

• We won’t come today.