Informational

Informational style occurs in formal discourse, for instance it's used by radio and television announcers when reading
weather forecasts, news, etc., or in various official situations.
The speaker’s task is to communicate information without giving it any emotional or volitional evaluation that might
interfere with the listeners correct decoding the message. So in most of the cases the speakers sound dispassionate.
Informational style is characterized by the predominant use of intellectual intonation patterns. Most frequently (Low
Pre-Head) -FALLING HEAD - Low Fall (Low Rise) are used in this style. In certain cases the fall-rise occurs, with
the Fall indicating the main idea and the Rise marking some addition to the main idea. Speed of utterance is normal or
slow and rhythm is regular.
In informational style intonation never contrasts with the lexical and grammatical meanings conveyed by words and
constructions. Pauzation is semantically predictable, i.e. an intonation group here always consists of words joined
together by sense, intonation groups tend to be short.
Twenty or thirty years ago there was a strong tradition of stylishness in English speaking (radio, television, public
institutions) characterized by a very precise, clipped manner of pronunciation. Today, however, the situation has
radically changed. The formal style has disappeared from public life. Instead, most public figures adopt an informal
"chatty" style. This is especially true about the speakers of radio and television where formal English is rarely heard
nowadays.
Scientific
Sci. intonational style is frequently used, for example, by University lecturers, school teachers, or by scientists in
formal and informal discussions and while reading aloud sci. prose.
While lecturing on a scientific subject the lecturer's purpose is threefold:
a) to get the message of the lecture to the listeners;
b) to attract the listeners' attention and direct it to the message;
c) to establish contact with the listeners and maintain it throughout the lecture. To achieve this purpose, the lecturer
makes use of a specific set of intonational means. Although this style tends to be objective and precise, it is not
entirely unemotional and devoid of any individuality.
As far as the terminal tones are concerned, both simple and compound tunes can occur here. The High Fall and the
Fall-Rise are the most conspicuous tones. They are used as means of both logical emphasis and emphasis for contrast.
A succession of several high falling tones makes an utterance impressive enough, helping the lecturer to impress on
his listeners that he is dealing with something he knows quite well and it requires no argument or discussion.
The speed of utterance depends on the degree of importance attached to it. Less important parts of an utterance are
pronounced at greater speed than usual, more important parts have slower speed.
The lecturer uses diminished or increased loudness in contrast with normal loudness to help the listener to perceive a
word as being brought out.
Pauzation is not always semantically predictable. Hesitation phenomena occur quite often in this style denoting
forgetfulness, uncertainty (word searching), the lecturer uses repetitions of words, filled pauses (vocalic, consonantal,
mixed). Intentional use of these effects enables the lecturer to obtain a balance between formality and informality and
thus to establish a closer contact with his listeners (who feel being somehow involved in making up a lecture). A silent
pause at an unexpected point calls for the listeners' attention and brings out some words in the utterance.
In case of reading scientific prose aloud the most widely used head is STEPPING (with a succession of Falls within it
quite often). The low or the high falling tones are predominantly used in final intonation groups. Non-final intonation
groups may also be pronounced with compound tunes (the Fall-Rise or the Rise-Fall) but still the falling tone ranks
first.
The speed of utterance is either normal or accelerated, but never fast. The accelerated speed of utterance is explained
by the greater number of stressed syllables and greater length of words. Contrastive rhythmic patterns are used: slow
speed of an utterance entails more regular rhythm.
 Publicistic
Publicistic style is the type of public speaking dealing with political and social problems (Le. parliamentary debates,
speeches at rallies, congresses, meetings and election campaigns).
It is characterized by the predominance of volitional intonation patterns against the background of intellectual and
emotional ones. The general aim of this style is to exert influence on the listener, to convince him that the speaker's
interpretation is the only correct one and to cause him to accept the point of view expressed in his speech. This task is
accomplished not through logical argumentation but through persuasion and emotional appeal.
The intonation adequate for this type of speaking is characterized by the following regularities. In the pre-nuclear part
the Low Pre-Head may be combined with the Stepping or Falling Head. The nuclear tone of final intonation groups is
generally the LOW FALL; the High Fall is much less common.
Both simple and compound tunes are used for purposes of intraphrasal coordination (the Low Fall, the Low Else, the
Mid-Level and the Fall-Rise). The High-Fall and the High Rise are rarely used for this purpose.
The Low Rise and the Mid-Level are typical of more formal discourse, whereas the Fall-Rise is typical of less formal
and fluent discourse.
The speed of utterance is related to the degree of formality7: formal speech is usually slow; less formal situations are
characterized with the acceleration of speed.
Intonation groups tend to be short and as a result the pauses are numerous, varying from brief to very long.
Hesitation pauses are avoided. Sometimes the speaker is trying to gain maximum effect though rhetorical silence.
Utterances are often emphasized by means of increased sentence stress and the glottal stop.
Declamatory
The term declamatory style covers oral representation of written literary texts, namely;
a) reading aloud the author's representation (reproduction) of actual conversation (the speech of the characters);
b) reading aloud a piece of descriptive prose (the author's speech).
The intonation adequate for reading dialogical texts is remindful of actual conversation, but there is no one-for-one
correlation between them. It is not a pure and simple reproduction that might be heard in the natural speech
(spontaneous dialogues). Before being used in reading dialogic speech the intonation of actual conversation is
subjected to some kind of reshaping. As a result of this stylization of colloquial intonation only the most striking
elements that might be heard in actual conversation are made use of.
As far as the pre-nuclear pattern is concerned, any variety of descending, ascending and level heads are used.
In the terminal tone both simple and common tunes are widely used. The FALL-RISE has a greater frequency of
occurrence in reading dialogic texts than in actual conversation.
The pitch-level in most utterances is generally high and the range is wide unless the conversational situation and the
speaker's purpose necessitate the reverse.
The overall speed of utterance is normal or reduced as compared with natural speech, and as a result the rhythm is
more even and regular.
Hesitation pauses do not occur, unless they deliberately used for stylization purposes.
While reading aloud a descriptive text, representing the author’s speech (monologue), it should be borne in mind that
it is different in the matter of intonation from a dialogic speech of the characters in drama, novel or story.
In the pre-nuclear part the stepping head, the broken stepping head or a descending sequence of syllables interrupted
by several falls occur quite often.
The nuclear tone in final intonation groups is generally the Low Fall or, less frequently, the High Fall. This is due to
the fact that in descriptive prose the prevailing sentence type is declarative, necessitating the use of the falling tones.
The principal nuclear tones in non-final intonation groups are the Low Fall, the Fligh Fall, and the Fall-Rise.
The Low Rise, the Rise-Fall and the Mid-Level are rarely used as means of intraphrasal coordination when reading
descriptive prose. The Low Fall, especially the one which does not reach the lowest possible pitch-level, is preferable
there.
The speed of utterance is relatively slow and as a result there are no marked variations in rhythm.
Pauses may be different in length; long pauses are common.
Internal boundaries are related to semantic or syntactic categories.
Familiar
The usage of familiar (conversational) style is typical of the English everyday life. This style occurs within a family
group and in informal external relationships, namely: in the speech of intimate friends, well-acquainted people. In
such cases it is emotional reaction to the situation or verba] stimulus that matters. Thereby the attitude- and emotion-
signaling functions of information here come to the fore.
Let's discuss the dominant features of relatively informal conversation between educated people (spontaneous dialogic
texts).
Generally speaking this style allows the occurrence of all mtonation patterns existing in English. But the precise
nature of intonation patterns occurring in a definite dialogue depends on the relationship of the speakers to each other,
the chosen subject-matter, the fluency of the speaker, his emotional state, etc.
Relatively unexcited conversational situations are characterized by low pre-heads, falling or stepping heads and
simple low falling or low rising tones.
More excited situations are characterized with widened pitch patterns. There is a high proportion of intonation patterns
with the High Falling tone. The high Fall implies first of all the effect of personal participation or involvement in the
situation. Besides there is a high frequency of compound tunes: the Fall-Rise, the Rise-Fall; the Fall-Rise is a highly
implicatory tone, it doesn't sound categoric and expresses a wide range of attitudes; mild correction, warning, mild
contradiction, may sound pleading. The Rise-Fall implies that the speaker is favourably or unfavourably impressed.
There is also the occasional completely unexpected placement of nuclear tones (actually on any word of the
utterance).
There is a strong tendency to keep intonation groups short. Pauses are brief and there are cases when intonation groups
aren't separated by pauses.
This style of speech is also characterized by the absence of stable pattern of tempo and rhythm. Generally, the speed
of utterance is quite fast, but there is no conversational pressure for conversational speed to be regular. It depends on
the fluency of the speaker on his familiarity with the subject or topic being talked about. Entire range of hesitation
phenomena occur in this style: hesitation pauses, repetition of syllables and worlds, unfinished intonation groups,
fillers-in (well, and, you see...).