Tone-Unit and Its Structure
Tone-Unit and Its Structure
Tone-Unit and Its Structure
\ those
'give me \those
Intonation units and emotion
Individual speakers alter the number of intonation units they use. Some of this
is based on individual patterns and habits, but speakers also alter intonation
units based on emotion. A faster speaker will generally use fewer intonation
units and may be seen as being more urgent, frantic, excited, and anxious. A
slower speaker may have more intonation units and may be perceived as being
more emphatic, determined, and insistent.
The following examples show that similar sentences can have a different number
of intonation units. The end of each intonation unit is marked with a hash ( / )
and the pitch words are bolded.
A minor intonation phrase boundary is transcribed with a single │; a major
intonation phrase boundary is transcribed with a ││. The major boundary
indicates the beginning of a new topic:
He washed │ and fed the dog ││ Then he turned to his own meal
Two sentences with identical grammatical
structure may be comprised of differing
numbers of intonation units when
spoken, based on the intent or emotional
state of the speaker.
Intonation units:
• begin with faster speech,
and end with slower speech
• include a single pitch word
• end with a pitch boundary
a) Coordinated structures are usually separated by intonation phrase
boundaries:
You could put it over there │or leave it where it is ││
b) Items in enumerations are often produced as separate intonation phrases.
However, also possible to produce such lists as a single intonation phrase:
I`ll buy tomatoes │lettuce │ a cucumber │ and some carrots ││
Her trousers are red blue green and yellow ││
c) 'Heavy' subjects that consist of noun phrases with many words are typica11y
produced as separate intonation phrases in English:
The inhabitants of our beautiful village │ do not care for this bypass ││
d) Tags in questions tend to be separated by intonation phrase boundaries:
We should do it now │ shouldn't we ││
You didn't see him │ did you ││
e) Non-defining relative clauses are often separated by intonation phrase boundaries.
Defining relative clauses, conversely, tend not to be separated by intonation phrase
boundaries in speech:
My neighbor │ an old woman of about 90 │ has given me this present ││
My partner │ who lives in Munich │ is 35 years old ││
My daughter who lives in Munich came to see me ││
f) Furthermore, clause-modifying adverbials in English are commonly separated by an
intonation phrase boundary. This applies to adverbials preceding the main clause as well
as to the post-modifying adverbial:
Unfortunately │ there wasn't enough time for us to see the museum ││
During the last year │ not a single bird has been sighted ││
The fight against global warming has begun │ apparently ││
g) Vocatives (an utterance element used to call someone or attract someone's attention) and
imprecations ( the calling on a higher power or an expletive), when in initial position, tend
to be
produced as separate intonation phrases:
Gillian and Tom │ we are leaving ││
For heaven's sake │leave him alone││
h) When a subject or an object of a clause is 'topicalised' in English, it is usually produced
as a separate intonation phrase, too. Topicalisation means that the element is in some way
emphasized, often by moving it to the beginning of the utterance:
Quite interesting │ the film │ wasn't it ││
Always looks pretty │ Jean does ││
i) Syntactic structures that topicalize sentence elements are cleft sentences and pseudo-
cleft sentences. These structures are also typically produced as separate intonation phrases
in speech:
It was Tom │ who was late again ││
What I have also wanted to know │ is what you did last Friday ││
Practice time! Mark where an intonation phrase
boundary is appropriate in the following utterances:
a. I'm not absolutely sure to be honest
b. She seemed to spend most of the day in bed with a
crime novel
c. He usually leaves at nine doesn't he
d. No that's not acceptable
e. I went to buy a jacket, a skirt and a pair of shoes
The Head