Sentence stress. Types of sentence stress. Notation of stresses and tunes in the text

In a sentence or an intonation group some of the words are greater importance than the others. This largely depends on the situation or context. Words which provide most of the information are brought out in speech by means of sentence-stress. Thus sentence stress is a special prominence given to one or more words according to their relative importance in a sentence.

The main function of sentence-stress is to single out the communicativecentreof the sentence which introduces new information. The prominence is realized by variations of pitch, force, length and quality. The syllables of the words marked by sentence-stress are pronounced with possible changes in pitch, greater force, greater length of vowels and their full quality, that is the stressed words are pronounced more distinctly. The most prominent part of a sentence is the last stressed word which takes the nuclear tone.

The adjoining unstressed words are called proclitics when they precede the stressed words and enclitics when they follow the stressed words.

The distribution of stresses in a sentence depends on the mantic value of words and is closely connected with the lexical and grammatical structure of the sentence.

There are differentiate three types of sentence-stress:

1. normal (or syntactical) sentence-stress,

2. logical sentence-stress,

3. emphatic sentence-stress.

1. Normal stress affects content words which convey the necessary information to the listener, eg: We have plenty of time.

Normal sentence-stress is used to arrange words into sentences or intonation groups phonetically.

2. The position of the last sentence-stress determines the place of the nucleus of the communicative centre. By shifting the position of the last stress we can change the place of the nucleus of the communicative centre, eg: Nelly 'spoke to him yesterday.

Logically different messages are expressed in the given sentences. Each shifting of the stress modifies the meaning of the sentence.

3. Most human utterances express not only the speaker's thoughts, but also his feelings and attitudes to reality and to the contents of the sentence. Both normal and logical stresses can be unemphatic or emphatic. Emphatic stress increases the effort of expression. It may strengthen the stressed word making it still more prominent. Emphatic stress manifests itself mainly on the High Fall or the Rise-Fall of the nuclear syllable. Emphatic stress is a powerful expressive means. It is the highest degree of logical and emotional prominence of words in a phrase.

The usage of tunes in statements, different types of questions, commands, exclamations.

Ststements

1.Statements are most widely used with the Low (Medium) Fall preceded by the Falling Head or the High (Medium) Level Head. In all these cases they are final, complete and definite, eg: It's difficult. (No Head) I wanted to go there immediately. (F. H. + L. F.) It was not so easy. (H. L. H.)

2..If the statement is intended to be soothing or encouraging the last stressed syllable is pronounced either with the Low Rise or the Mid-Level nuclear tones usually preceded by the Falling or the High (Medium) Level Heads, eg It's all right.

3..If the statement is a grumble it is pronounced with Low Head + Low Fall, eg: I didn't expect to see you here.

4.If the statement is a correction of what someone else has said or a contradiction to something previously uttered or a warning it is used with the Fall-Rise usually preceded by the Failing Head of the High (Medium) Level Head.

Special questions

1.Special questions are most commonly used with the low falling tone on the last stressed syllable preceded by the Falling Head or the High (Medium) Level Head. In these cases they sound serious, searching and business-like, eg:

Why did you decide to do that? (F. H.) What's the matter? (H. L. H.)

2..If one wants to show much interest in the other person or in the subject and sound friendly and sympathetic he pronounc­es special questions with the low rising tone preceded by theFalling Head or the High (Medium) Level Head, eg: Where do you live now? (F. H.) What's your name? (H. L. H.)

3..For repeated or echoing special questions in unemphatic usage the low rising tone on the question word is also common.

General questions

1.General questions are most common with the low rising tone preceded by the Falling Head or the High (Medium) Level Head. With these patterns they sound genuinely interested, eg: Does he ever come to ,London? (F. H.) May I.try? (H. L. H.)

2.When general questions are said with the Low Fall preced­ed by the above-mentioned types of head they are put forward as a serious suggestion or a subject for urgent discussion, eg: Shall we postpone it? (H. L. H.) Haven't you noticed the mistake? (F. H.)

3.In short questions used as responses like 'Did you?', 'Has she?' the Low Fall is used.

Commands

1.Commands with the Low Fall (preceded or not preceded by the Falling Head or the High (Medium) Level Head) are very powerful, intense, serious and strong. The speaker appears to take it for granted that his words will be heeded, that he will be obeyed, eg: Try the other key. (H. L. H.) Come and have dinner with Tom. (F. H.)

2..Commands with the High Fall (associated with the same types of heads) seem to suggest a course of action rather than to give an order; the speaker does not seem to be worrying whether he will be obeyed or not, eg: Put some more milk in it. (H. L. H.)

3..Short commands pronounced with the Low Fall alone sound unemotional, calm, controlled, often cold, eg: Take it. Stop it.

Exclamations

1.Exclamations are very common with the High Fall (either with no head or with some commonly used heads), eg: Magnificent. (No Head) What an extraordinary piece of Muck. (H. L. H.)

2.For exclamations which refer to something not very excit­ing or unexpected the low falling tone is used (either with no head or with the heads of common usage), eg: That's nice.(M.L.H.) Wonderful. (No Head).

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