The Sliding Head

The Sliding Head is formed by a sequence of slides, i.e. downward pitch changes, associated with each fully stressed syllable of the head (indicated by m). The stressed syllables in the Sliding Head may be said on the same pitch or form a gradual ascent or descent. The most common of all the Sliding Heads is the Gradually Descending Sliding Head. The descent in pitch has a jumpy character. This is due to the pitch contrast between the end of the preceding stress-group and the beginning of the following: the latter is higher in pitch as a result of a considerable downward pitch change inside the preceding stress-group realized either as a glide on the stressed syllable (when there aren’t any unstressed syllables following) or as a jump in pitch between the stressed syllable and the following unstressed ones,

e.g.: We haven’t been hearing from Jake for `ages.

_______________________

The Sliding Head is most frequently combined with the Fall-Rise. It is widely used in lively expressive conversations and in reading emotionally coloured texts.

The Scandent (or Climbing) Head

The head of an utterance is sometimes formed by a sequence of ‘climbs’, i.e. upward pitch changes associated with each fully stressed syllable of the head (indicated by m). The upward movements are realized either inside the stressed syllable (when there are no unstressed syllables) or in the unstressed syllables which are then pronounced on a higher pitch than the preceding stressed syllable. The stressed syllables may form a level, descending, or ascending contour. The Level Scandent Head is heard in speech more often than the other two:

I’d rather do it my`self (The Level Scandent Head)

_______________________

Utterances said with the Scandent Head sound lively and expressive. The exact modal meaning conveyed by the head depends on the nuclear tone and the communicative type of an utterance. Combined with the High Rise in Yes/No questions the Scandent Head often expresses surprise, incredulity. E.g.: A: I’ve been to the football match today. – B: Haven you been to the library?

The Scandent Head combined with the Fall may express the speaker’s irritation or cheerfulness and interest. The exact meaning is always clear from the context, e.g. I hate doing `nothing.

Speech exercises

<== попередня сторінка	\|	наступна сторінка ==>
Ex. 3 Read the utterances with the Broken Descending Head.	\|	Ex. 1 Read out the utterances with the Low Head. Make sure it sounds cool and reserved.

Не знайшли потрібну інформацію? Скористайтесь пошуком google:

Генерація сторінки за: 0.004 сек.