Week 12.

Rhythm and Intonation

Introduction
In this study session you will learn that aspect of English speech that gives it musicality. This is

as regards rhythm and intonation. Using the right intonation to speak is vital to the making of

meaning in English.

10.1 Rhythm
Rhythm is the perceptual pattern produced during speech production where there is an

occurrence of stressed and unstressed syllables at regular intervals. The rhythm of English

speech is determined by stress; the weakening and reduction of vowels and consonants also play

a part. Remember that in the previous study session you learnt that words are categorized into

grammatical/function and lexical words. In English sentences, lexical words attract stress while

grammatical/function words do not. This means grammatical words can easily weaken. Hence,

this section will examine stress-timed and syllable-timed rhythm.

One of the definitions of rhythm is that it is the periodic repetition of an event. Thus, speech

rhythm is the periodic repetition of a particular event during speech. Every language in the world

is spoken with one type of rhythm or the other. There are two types of periodic events that may

occur during speech which dictate the type of speech rhythm a language has. These events are

the periodic repetition of syllables and the periodic repetition of stressed syllables. The

former is found in syllable-timed languages and the latter in stress-timed languages. This implies

that the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables during speech gives rise to rhythm.

The alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables gives rise to …………..

The alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables gives rise to rhythm.

10.1.1 Syllable-timed languages

Syllable-timed languages are those in which syllables are repeated periodically as all syllables

take approximately the same amount of time during speech. For each syllable, there is a rhythmic

beat which occurs at more or less equal time intervals during each speech event. The main

characteristics of these types of languages are: they have a small variety of syllable types, and

each vowel sound is pronounced in full because they do not have reduced vowels. These two

characteristics mean syllables in syllable-timed languages are similar in terms of duration.

Syllable-timed rhythm is also referred to as machine-gun rhythm. French, Spanish, Italian, and

Yoruba are examples of syllable-timed languages.

10.1.2: Stress-timed languages

Stress-timed languages have stress occurring at approximately equal intervals. This means that

roughly the same amount of time is spent between stresses, even when there are many

intervening unstressed syllables. This is because stressed syllables tend to occur at roughly equal

intervals of time. Therefore, the unstressed syllables in between give the impression of being

compressed if they are many, and expanded if they are few. English is a stress-timed language;

thus, sentence stress is the basis of rhythm in English. Stress-timing can be seen at work in the

following example:

w x y z
‘Mary had ‘bought ‘bandages at the ‘supermarket.
Since stress occurs at approximately equal intervals, stress-timed rhythm requires that more or

less the same amount of time be spent in the pronunciation of the three syllables between points

w and x, for the one syllable between points x and y, for the six syllables between points y and z

and for the two syllables between point z and the end of the utterance. It is, therefore, necessary

to compress the duration of syllables more in the stretch between y and z: ‘bandages at the, than

in the one between w and x: ‘Mary had, whereas the syllable between x and y, ‘bought and the

ones after z ‘supermarket will be relatively long. In the sentence below, the stressed syllables are

given numbers: 1 and 2 and are not separated by any unstressed syllables, 2 and 3 are separated

by one unstressed syllable, 3 and 4 by two and 4 and 5 by three.

1 2 3 4 5
´Park ´down the ´road by the ´side of the ga ´rage

Usually, unstressed syllables get shortened as they are said hurriedly when there is a need to.

Therefore, stress-timing requirements are responsible for many of the phonetic weakening found

in English, such as the reduction found in weak forms.

English is a ………………. language

English is a stress-timed language

10.2 Intonation: its nature and patterns

Intonation is an important component of the suprasegmental phonology of English and has been

defined in different ways by several linguists. O’Connor and Arnold (1973) describe it as the

‘musical features’ or speech ‘tunes or melodies.’ According to Cruttenden (1997), intonation

‘involves the occurrence of recurring pitch patterns, each of which is used with a set of relatively
consistent meanings, either on single words or on groups of words of varying length’ (7).

Therefore, pitch modulation is vital in the description of intonation and it is perceived as a rise

and fall in the pitch of the voice in spoken utterances. This fluctuation of pitch in speech is

available in all languages. The only difference is that different languages have distinct

realizations of pitch patterns which are used to perform different functions in communicative

interactions. In most African languages for example, pitch fluctuations are realized as tones. This

is what separates the meaning of ‘igbá’ (calabash) from ‘ìgbà’ (a period in time) in Yoruba

language and ‘akwá’ (egg) from ‘ákwà’ (cloth) in Igbo language. In English, however, pitch

fluctuations are realized as intonation contours. These contours are coextensive with whole

utterances (phrase, clause or sentence) in English. When we speak, our pitch can be low or high.

Intonation as a feature of language, according to Hawkins (1984:193), has three features:

i. It is Universal -- this is because every language makes use of fluctuation of speech in

spoken utterances: tonal languages use it for lexical distinctions (that is, to make a

distinction between the same sequence of segments that may be said differently to

indicate change in meaning as in the case of ‘egg’ and ‘cloth’ in Igbo language in the

previous section and from Yoruba ‘calabash’ versus ‘a period in time’); while

intonational languages use it to make grammatical distinctions (that is to indicate a

change from one grammatical category into another as in the case of ‘PROduce’

(noun) and proDUCE (verb) and to convey attitudinal meanings (that is, to express

feeling or attitude about the topic of discourse). So, if you use the intonation patterns

of another language to speak English, there might be communication breakdown.

ii. It is Functional – every language uses intonation for language specific functions. It

might signal differences in the meaning of utterances as the case is in English, while
 in Yoruba and Igbo languages it signals differences in the meaning of words (refer to

the explanation in the immediate segment).

iii. It is Systematic - this means that different speakers in the same language use the same

patterns for the same functions. This is because the sounds and intonation patterns of

a language are learned by a speaker from childhood. The frequently recurring patterns

and rules are learned and used by all speakers of a specific language.

10.3 Pitch patterns of Intonation tunes

Intonation patterns of English are best described using intonation contours which is a continuous

movement of pitch over a stretch of utterance. They are also called intonation tunes or tones.

Linguists have identified varying number of intonation tunes from two to ten. However, for the

purpose of this module we will focus on the classification of Hawkins (1984) which includes the

two basic tunes (fall and rise) and one other which has two variables (fall-rise or rise-fall). These

patterns are based on the pitch movements which occur around the nucleus (this is the word

which receives the nuclear tone) and all words which follow, in what is referred to as the post-

nucleus part of the utterance.

Let us examine the intonation tunes closely using some sample sentences. The tune will be

indicated at the beginning of the nuclear word with / ⸌/ for falling tune, / ⸍/ for rising tune, / ⸌⸍ /

for falling-rising and / '/ will indicate stressed words before the nucleus (pre-nucleus position) in

the sentence.

Falling/Fall tune: this has a fall in pitch on the stressed syllable of the nuclear word and all

other syllables after the nuclear word are spoken on the same level of pitch to which the nucleus

has fallen.
The 'boy ⸌slapped the girl hard. The 'boy 'slapped the ⸌girl hard.

________________________ _____________________________
• ▬ • ▬ ▬ •
• ▬ ▬ ▬
________________________ _____________________________

The ⸌boy slapped the girl hard. The 'boy 'slapped the girl ⸌hard.

________________________ ____________________________
• • ▬ ▬ • ▬
▬ • ▬ ▬
________________________ ____________________________

Rising/Rise tune: there are two variants of this pitch pattern. The first is where the pitch rises on

the stressed syllable of the nuclear word and keeps rising throughout to the end of the utterance.

The second is where the rise is delayed until the end of the post-nucleus such that the nucleus

itself stays fairly level.

Has 'Smith a⸍greed to a'pologize? Has 'Smith a'greed to a⸍pologize?

____________________________ _____________________________
• • ▬ • • •
• •
• • • • •▬ • • ▬
____________________________ or _____________________________

Falling-Rising/Fall-Rise tune: this combines the lower pitch tune of a falling tune with that of a

rising tune which is smoother and less-heightened.

I 'think we 'will ⸌⸍dance

 ________________________

• ▬ • • ⸜⸝
________________________

10.4 Functions of Intonation

Intonation has different functions which generally characterize intonation patterning of the

phonological system of English. These are described using the functions of pitch fluctuations in

English.

1. It helps to delimit the units of information within an utterance. This is a psychological

function. Intonation helps to organize speech into units that are easy to perceive,

memorize and perform. We can all repeat an arbitrary string of three, four or five

numbers, but not a string of ten-unless we spilt them into two units of five. This is why

we need tonality.

2. It serves to locate center of information within an information unit. Intonation

contributes to the shared knowledge and understanding between two interlocutors or

participants in a social intercourse. This function is achieved through two strategies:

focusing a speaker’s attention on a particular bit of information (in the sentence,

utterance, conversation or speech interaction) and the way speakers regulate their

conversation, e.g. through turn-taking.

3. It serves to structure the information content of a sentence in order to show which

information is given (that can be acquired from the context), which one is new and

therefore should not be taken for granted. We use it to bring some parts of the message

into focus, and leave other parts out of focus: to emphasize or highlight some parts and
 not others. We do this by tonicity and by replacement of other accents. Tonicity is

Intonation is used to point out contrast. This is one of the most important functions of

English intonation.

They are in the HOUSE.

4. It serves to determine the communication functions of different grammatical types of

sentences (it helps to determine which one is to be interpreted as a statement, command,

question, request and so on. For example, when a grammatical statement is converted to a

question. Compare the sentences below.

(a) The traffic is awful today.

(b) The traffic is awful today?

It is used to mark the beginning and end of grammatical units such as clause and sentence

(demarcative function). It distinguishes word classes, e.g. adjectives from nouns/ NPs as in the

example of:

ˈblack ˈboard versus ˈblackboard

It connects parts of sentences, e.g. the use of the rise in non-final utterances.

5. It is used to convey attitudinal meanings such as surprise, excitement, annoyance and so

on. It is used to express or arouse the speaker’s emotions, attitude or sentiment- to show

shock or surprise, pleasure or anger, interest or boredom, seriousness and sarcasm, and

many others. Intonation reflects the vitality of a speaker. It reveals the speaker-attitude

and/or character.
 6. It helps to characterize styles or varieties of speech such as church sermon and joke

telling. This function is indexical. Intonation may act as a marker of personal or social

identity; what makes people sound in particular ways - mothers like mothers, lovers like

lovers, lawyers like lawyers, clergymen like clergymen, newsreaders like newsreaders.

10.4.1 Communicative functions of the intonation tunes

Falling tune – this tune is used in a variety of ways:

a. For utterances that make statements or give answers to questions. These utterances are

characteristically declarative sentences structurally.

i. My 'name is ⸌Debra. (an answer to a question)

ii. 'English is an into'national ⸌language. (a statement)

iii. I 'don’t ⸌know. (an answer to a question)

iv. It’s a 'beautiful ⸌day. (a statement)

b. For utterances that give commands, instructions or offer an advice. They occur as imperative

sentences.

i. 'Put the 'files on the ⸌table.

ii. 'Be 'careful where you 'go at ⸌night.

iii. 'Stand at a⸌ttention.

iv. 'Take it up⸌stairs.

c. When you ask questions which are referred to as Wh-questions. These are interrogative

sentence types that start with Wh- words.

 i. Who is the class captain?

ii. Where are the other children?

iii. When will the examinations end?

iv. Why are you going now?

d. When you ask questions that have what is referred to as tags. (A tag question is made up of a

statement, followed by a question part that is like an attachment; if the statement is positive, the

tag is negative but if the statement is negative, the tag is positive). However, tag questions that

take the falling tune are those that are intended to seek confirmation that is unknown to the

speaker.

i. She has des'troyed their 'chances, ⸌hasn’t she?

ii. You 'won’t 'come to'morrow, ⸌will you?

iii. They have not arrived, have they?

iv. The girls are professionals, aren’t they?

e. Exclamative remarks or utterances are said with the falling tune.

i. This 'is ⸌beautiful!

ii. What a 'lovely ⸌dress!

Rising tune – This is used in functions explained in the following:

a. When polar questions are asked (a polar question is a question which requires a ‘yes’ or ‘no’

for an answer). Such questions are characteristically interrogative structurally or they are

declarative sentence type.

i. 'Have you 'left the ⸍house?

ii. 'Do you 'want to ⸍eat?

iii. 'Should we 'leave ⸍now?

iv. You 'want the 'money ⸍now?

b. When a polite request is being made whether it has an interrogative or imperative structure.

i. Pass the plates, please.

ii. Will you shut the door.

iii. Could I use your pen for a minute?

c. When you want a repetition of a piece of information already given. These are called ‘echo’

questions which are structured as Wh-questions.

i. What did you say your name was?

ii. What did you say?

iii. When should I go?

iv. Why did I come?

d. When you want to use a tag-question that is meant to seek information rather than a

confirmation of what has been said.

i. We can go now, can’t we?

ii. They were here yesterday morning, weren’t they?

iii. He hasn’t eaten, has he?

iv. She was killed, wasn’t she?

Falling-Rising tune – This is associated with different structural patterns and can occur in a

variety of functions.

a. When counting or making a list, each item in the list, when they occur in a sequence, is said

with a falling-rising tune until the last item which then carries a falling tune.

i. I 'want ⸌⸍yam, ⸌⸍potatoes, ⸌⸍chicken, ⸌⸍sausages and ⸌plantain.

ii. ⸌⸍One, ⸌⸍two, ⸌⸍three, ⸌⸍four, ⸌⸍five and ⸌six.

b. When you want to warn or threaten someone.

Mind the ⸌⸍glass

c. When you want to encourage, express wishes and hope as well as invite people.

I ⸌⸍wish you were here with me

d. When you want to indicate limited or partial agreement, hesitation, or respond with some

reservation.

Dan: I am told Yemi is now a musician.

John: ⸌⸍Yes (maybe)

e. When you want to indicate contrast or that the second part of a statement or piece of

information is less important than the first.

We may call her ⸌⸍if you wish.

Rising-falling tune: This is associated with different structural patterns and can occur in a

variety of functions.

a. When you want to indicate enthusiasm and mark encouragement.

What a ⸍⸌day!

b. When you want to show a feeling of strong approval or disapproval or even surprise.

Jane: Look at my new phone. Isn’t it nice?

Victor: ⸍⸌Yes

c. When you want to indicate emphasis or extra-insistence on facts.

Get there by ⸍⸌six.

d. When you want to indicate sarcasm and reproach.

He did too ⸍⸌badly.

Summary
In this study session, you have learnt that:

10.1 the rhythm of English speech is determined by stress as well as weakening and

reduction of vowel and consonants sounds,

10.2 two types of periodic events may happen during speech: the periodic repetition of

syllables and the periodic repetition of stressed syllables. The former occurs in syllable-

timed languages and the latter in stress-timed languages,

10.3 in English sentences, lexical words attract stress while grammatical or function

words do not carry stress,

10.4 there is a difference between syllable-timed languages and stress-timed languages,

10.5 there are some features of intonation in English and different intonation contours of

English,

10.6 the different intonation patterns are used for different sentences.