Critical Discourse Analysis

ORAL EXPRESSION IV
Contents

The Presence of the Tenor Dimension in Spoken Interactions

Introduction..................................................................................................2

Discourse Intonation vs Tenor Dimension...................................................4

Conclusion...................................................................................................7

Appendixes..................................................................................................9

Bibliography...............................................................................................2

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The Presence of the Tenor Dimension in Spoken Interactions

Introduction

In his work “On Language and Linguistics”, Michael Halliday states that
language is a “semiotic system; not in the sense of a system of signs but a
systemic resource for meaning – what I have often called a meaning
potential.” (Halliday, 2003) Thus, language is a social resource people use to
express meaning in context. According to the Hallidayan theory of Systemic
Functional Linguistics, language is a semantic system made up of three
components: the ideational, the interpersonal and the textual metafunctions.
The interest here is focused on register that involves the interpersonal
metafunction. Register or context of situation as it is formally termed, "is the set
of meanings, the configuration of semantic patterns that are typically drawn
upon under the specific conditions, along with the words and structures that are
used in the realization of these meanings" (Halliday, 1978). Therefore, register
has a central place in the sense that it relates variations of language use to
variations of social context. It is also important to state that it is concerned with
the variables of field, tenor, and mode, which are depicted as “essentially
orthogonal variables”. (Lukin et all, 2011) In like manner, Mathiessen in his
overview of Halliday’s theory explains:
According to Halliday, each of the three metafunctions tends to serve to project one of
the three different aspects of context; he sets out the following correspondences as a
working hypothesis:
Field ideational
Tenor interpersonal
Mode textual
That is to say, the field tends to determine ideational meaning, the tenor impersonal
ones, and the mode textual ones. For instance, the significant social action is reflected
in the ideational resources of transitivity, whereas the tenor of the relations between
speaker and listener is reflected in selections of mood and modality. (Mathiessen 1989)

3
Analysing these three variables, it is possible to consider field as a “mode of
knowing the world” (Poynton, 1990). Therefore, field refers to the subject matter
or content being discussed. Mode refers to the channel by means of which the
communication is produced. Finally, tenor is defined as the relationship
between the participants in a conversation exchange. In Philip Graber’s words
tenor is ”negotiations of social relationships among participants in social action
(who are taking part in the exchange) and the interacting roles of those involved
in the exchange of which the text is part.” (Graber, 2001) According to the
theory of Systemic Functional Linguistics, tenor can be analysed in terms of
three dimensions called power, distance and affect. Martin defines power, or
status as ‘the degree to which the participants in an exchange are equal or
unequal in relation to one another.” He adds that “contact between the
participants is also measured on a cline between the extremes of frequent and
occasional contact” and that “affect can be measured on two independent
clines: high to low and positive to negative.” (Martin, 1992) Thus, as Suzanne
Eggins explains, “an informal situation would typically involve interactants who
are of equal power, who see each other frequently and who are affectively
involved (e.g. close friends). A formal situation would be one where the power
between interactants is not equal, the contact is infrequent and the affective
involvement (affect) low (e.g. a first-year university student meeting the Vice
Chancellor)”. (Eggins, 2004)

Discourse Intonation vs Tenor dimension

In this section the purpose is to analyse the meaning of intonation according to

David Brazil’s theory in relation to the presence of power, contact and affect in
two different extracts of films, Chocolat and Charly and the Chocolate Factory,
in which Johnny Depp stars as well as an interview with David Letterman in
which he takes part.

In David Brazil’s work Discourse Intonation and Language Teaching, he

explains that “Discourse Intonation is an approach to the teaching and analysis
4
of everyday speech. […] The significance of intonation is related to the function
of the utterance as an existentially appropriate contribution to an interactive
discourse.” (Brazil et all 1980: 46). Thus Discourse Intonation considers
intonation as discoursal – not grammatical, not attitudinal – in function. In The
Communicative Value of Intonation in English, Brazil states “By making a choice
in any of the intonation systems […] a speaker makes some kind of assumption
about what he/she takes, for present purposes, to be the state of understanding
between him/her and a hearer.” (Brazil 1985: 132) Speakers thus make
intonation choices according to their perception of the understandings they
share with their hearers: these understandings relate to their shared
experiences, and to the purposes of their talk in a particular context. In Brazil’s
view, Discourse Intonation is concerned with the speakers’ moment-by-moment
context-referenced choices. He explains that fall and rise-fall tones are
proclaiming tones which add the increment of meaning 'I am telling you this' to
the tone-units in which they occur. The rise and fall-rise tones are referring
tones which add the increment of meaning 'I assume that this is part of our
shared experience'.

The following chart represents the total number of tones used in the extracts of
the films and the interview which are the purpose of analysis here:

Proclaiming tones Referring tones

Fall Rise-fall Rise Fall-rise
High 86 2 20 6
Low 15 1 15 -

In Brazil’s work Pronunciation for Advanced Learners of English, he states that

the high fall tone refers to very expressive and emphatic utterances. It may be
used for extra emphasis in informal situations to express lively interest and
friendliness, for example, in greetings and exclamations. The high fall tone also
expresses completion, finality, and confidence. This is the reason why it is very
common in everyday speech and this fact is represented in the chart above as it

5
is the most frequent tone. Another proclaiming tone is the rise-fall tone that is
used when a person is impressed or surprised. (Brazil 1994) The chart shows
that this tone is not very frequent. However, there is another tone that is used
quite frequently like the rising tone.
“Rising intonation can express various emotions, such as surprise, doubt, hesitation,
interest, request and suggestion, politeness, readiness to continue the conversation,
lack of confidence, and even insecurity. For example, it makes a command more polite,
more like a request. In addition, high rise is a variation of standard rising intonation, and
it is used to express strong surprise or disbelief. Fall-rise is often used instead of
standard rising intonation in unfinished parts of sentences, for example, in introductory
phrases or subordinate clauses at the beginning of the sentence. Fall-rise signals non-
finality and continuation of the utterance and emphasizes the word on which it is used. It
also expresses uncertainty and doubt.” (Brazil 1994)

For example, in the film Chocolat, Roux (Johnny Depp) says //aɪd laɪk tʊ
əpɒləʤaɪz / fər ɔːl əv əs/ sɪnsɪəlɪ//. In this utterance he uses falling tones to
express friendliness and politeness as he was flirting with Vianne. In Halliday’s
view the power between these two interactants is characterized by an unequal
relation. Since Roux is trying to seduce Vianne, he treats her with much respect
while he places himself in a lower position. The contact between them is
occasional because it is their first meeting, and the affective involvement is high
and positive as he obviously likes her.

As the conversation goes on, there is a change of tones and consequently a

change in the intention and interest. Roux’s utterance is: //wel/ bɪkəz wɪ rɪvə
ræts ə ðə dregz əv səsa:ətɪ/ wɪð hɒrɪbl dɪziːzɪz əŋ krɪmɪnəl ɪmpʌlsɪz// He
continues being polite but he uses the rising tones to express irony on certain
words like diseases and impulses. At the same time, the rising tone at the end
means that he wants to go on with the conversation. In this example, the
contact and the affective involvement remains the same as the previous
utterance. However, the relation of power changes, this time the degree of
exchange is equal since Roux’s irony makes Vianne laugh and this gives a
feeling of familiarity between them.

In the film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp) says
6
//aɪ ɪnvaɪtɪd faɪv ʧɪldrən tə ðə fæktərɪ ən ðə wʌn huː wəz ðə liːst rɒtn wəd bɪ ðə
wɪnə(r)// using rising tones to create suspense in his announcement and a
falling tone to express the idea of finality and completeness in his utterance.
From the point of view of tenor, Willy stands in a higher position and establishes
a hierarchic power and an unequal relation as regards Charlie and his family.
As they don’t know each other, the contact is infrequent and the affective
involvement is low. In the next utterance //əʊ aɪ siː/ðæts wɪəd / ðəz ʌðə kændɪ
tuː bɪsaɪdz ʧɒklɪt// Willy uses a fall-rise tone to emphasize the word chocolate
that is an object of significant value in the whole conversation. The relation of
power, contact and affect remains the same as the previous utterance because
there is no change in these dimensions.

In the interview with David Letterman, Johnny Depp is talking about his birthday
and he says “They told me I’m fifty” and then utters //jeə / wɪəd// using a low
rise-fall tone to be humorous with his interviewer. The same happens when he
is talking about becoming old and wearing the pants very high up and he
exclaims //ən ɪts əʊkeɪ// He wants to shock the audience that bursts out
laughing. As regards the tenor dimension, the relationship of affective
involvement between the interactants is high and the contact is quite frequent.
Although they are not friends, they are close acquaintances because Johnny
has gone to the show many times before. In like manner, the power is equal,
Johnny and David are at the same position as the conversation resembles more
a familiar chat than a formal interview.

Conclusion

Summing up, both tenor dimension and intonation discourse can be combined
to provide a deep and complete analysis when interpreting the meaning of
conversation exchanges. On the one hand, Brazil’s theory explains the nature
of speech in action that characterizes English native speakers. Nevertheless,
his view might be incomplete in the sense that his analysis is like a
7
mathematical or logical analysis in which each tone has a specific meaning
without considering that at the moment of a speech interaction the speakers can
be influenced by many factors that may make them change the traditional
meaning of intonation to express other meanings. On the other hand, the tenor
dimension analysis complements the casual significance that discourse
intonation lacks. Contact, affective involvement and distance in combination
have an essential role in speech interactions, and they cannot be analysed from
fixed meanings. On the contrary, their meanings depend on the intention each
speaker wants to express at the moment of speaking.

8
Appendixes

Chocolat

Vianne: Hello. How are you?

Anouska: Anybody got a sweet tooth? I bet he’s the captain.

Vianne: Anouk, don’t do that. Anouk, don’t do that, please.

Roux: How do you do?

//haʊ djʊ duː//

Vianne: Sorry.

Roux: I’d like to apologise. For all of us. Sincerely.

//aɪd laɪk tʊ əpɒləʤaɪz / fər ɔːl əv əs/ sɪnsɪəlɪ//

Vianne: What for?

Roux: For whatever it is you’re here to accuse us of.

//fə wɒrevər ɪt ɪʒɔː hɪə tʊ əkjuːz əs ɒv//

Vianne: Oh. And why would I do that?

Roux: Well, because we river rats are the dregs of society. With horrible

diseases and criminal impulses.

//wel/ bɪkəz wɪ rɪvə ræts ə ðə dregz əv səsa:ətɪ/ wɪð hɒrɪbl dɪziːzɪz

əŋ krɪmɪnəl ɪmpʌlsɪz//

Vianne: Sounds terrifying. Is it true?

9
Roux: It’s what you townspeople always seem to think, isn’t it?

//ɪts wɒʧuː taʊnzpiːpl ɔːweɪz siːm tə θɪŋk/ ɪznt ɪt//

Vianne: Oh. This is not my town. Sorry.

Roux: Well then, what do you want? Are you here to save us? Are you

the Catholic Aid Society? French Family League? Communist

Workers? Which idea are you selling?

//wel ðen/ wɒt djʊ wɒnt/ ɑː jʊ hɪə tə seɪv ʌs/ ɑː jʊ ðə kæθlɪk eɪd

səsa:ətɪ/ frenʧ ʃæmlɪ liːg/ kɒmjʊnɪst wɜːkəz/ wɪʧ aɪdɪər ə jʊ selɪŋ//

Anouska: Chocolate.

Roux: I’m sorry, chocolate?

//aɪm sɒrɪ/ ʧɒklət//

Anouska: What’s a river rat? Is it like a pirate?

Roux: Yeah, you could say that, yeah. You could. Have a look at my

treasure chest.

//jeə/ jʊ kʊd seɪ ðæt/ jeə/ jʊ kʊd /hæv ə lʊk ət maɪ treʒə ʧest//

Vianne: Let me guess, they’re for sale.

Roux: As a matter of fact, they are. For a mere thirty francs a piece.

You laugh? I can get fifty for them in Paris.

//əs ə mætr əf fækt/ ðeɪ ɑː/ fər ə mɪə θɜːtɪ fræŋks ə piːs/ jʊ lɑːf/ aɪ

kəŋ get fɪftɪ ðəm ɪm pærɪs//

10
Vianne: Then go to Paris. We’ll take two, please.

Roux: You’ll take two?

//juːl teɪk tuː//

Vianne: Yes, please, absolutely.

Roux: Okay.

//əʊkeɪ//

Vianne: I don’t know if I have the right change. Just a minute.

Anouska: They’re beautiful.

Roux: Ireland’s finest.

//a:ələndz faɪnəst//

Vianne: Thanks.

Roux: Thank you. Listen… I should probably warn you. You make

friends with us, you’ll make enemies of others.

//θæŋk jʊ/ lɪsn aɪ ʃʊd prɒbəblɪ wɔːn jʊ/ jʊ meɪk frendz wɪð ʌs/ juːl

meɪk enəmɪz əv ʌðəz//

Vianne: That a promise?

Roux: It’s a guarantee.

//ɪts ə gærəntiː//

11
Johnny Depp in Charlie and the chocolate factory

Charlie This is Willy Wonka. He gave us a ride home.

Mrs Bucket I see that.

Willy Wonka You must be the boy’s. . .

//jʊ mʌs bɪ ðə bɔɪz//

Mr Bucket Parents?

Willy Wonka Yeah. That.

//jeə ðæt//
Grandpa Joe He says Charlie’s won something.

Willy Wonka Not just some something. The most ‘something’ something of
any something that’s ever been. I’m gonna give this little boy my
entire factory.

//nɒt ʤʌst sʌm sʌmθɪŋ/ðə məʊs sʌmθɪŋ sʌmθɪŋ əv enɪ sʌmθɪŋ

ðæts evə biːn/ aɪm gɒnə gɪv ðɪs lɪtl bɔɪ maɪ enta:ə(r) fæktərɪ//

Grandpa Joe You must be joking.

Willy Wonka No, really. It’s true. Because, you see, a few months ago, I was
having my semi-annual haircut. . . and I had the strangest
revelation. In that one silver hair, I saw reflected my life’s work,
my factory, my beloved Oompa-Loompas. Who would watch
over them after I was gone? I realised in that moment, ‘I must
find a Heir’. And I did, Charlie. You.

12
 //nəʊ / rɪəlɪ/ ɪts truː/ bɪkəz/ jʊ siː/ ə fjuː mʌnθs əgoʊ/ aɪ wəz
hævɪŋ maɪ semɪ ænjʊəl heəkʌt ən aɪ hæd ðə streɪnʤəst
revleɪʃn/ ɪn ðæt wʌn sɪlvə heə/ aɪ sɔː rɪflektɪd maɪ laɪfs wɜːk/
maɪ fæktərɪ/ maɪ bɪlʌvɪd uːmpə luːmpəz/huː wəd wɒʧ ðəm ɑːftər
aɪ wəz gɒn/ aɪ rɪəlaɪzd ɪn ðæt məʊmənt/ aɪ mʌst faɪnd ə heə(r)
ən aɪ dɪd/ ʧɑːlɪ/ juː//

Charlie That’s why you sent out the golden tickets.

Willy Wonka Ah-ha.

//ɑːhɑː//

Mrs Bucket What are Oompa-Loompas?

Willy Wonka I invited five children to the factory and the one who was the
least rotten would be the winner.

//aɪ ɪnvaɪtɪd faɪv ʧɪldrən tə ðə fæktərɪ ən ðə wʌn huː wəz ðə liːst

rɒtn wəd bɪ ðə wɪnə(r)//

Grandpa Joe That’s you, Charlie.

Willy Wonka So what do you say? Are you ready to leave all this behind and

come live with me at the factory?

//wɒt də jʊ seɪ/ ɑː jʊ redɪ tə liːv ɔːl ðɪs bəhaɪnd əŋ kʌm lɪv wɪð
mɪ ət ðə fæktərɪ//

Charlie Sure. Of course. I mean, it’s all right if my family come too?

13
Willy Wonka Oh, my dear boy, of course they can’t. You can’t run a
chocolate factory with a family hanging over you like an old,
dead goose. No offence.

//əʊ maɪ dɪə bɔɪ əf kɔːs ðeɪ kɑːnt/ jʊ kɑːnt rʌn ə ʧɒklɪt fæktərɪ
wɪð ə fæmlɪ hæŋɪŋ əʊvə jʊ laɪk ən əʊld ded guːs/ nəʊ əfens//

Grandpa George None taken, jerk.

Willy Wonka A chocolatier has to run free and solo. He has to follow his
dreams. Gosh darn the consequences. Look at me. I had no
family, and I’m a giant success.

//ə ʧɒklətɪə həz tə rʌn friː ən səʊləʊ/ hɪ həz tə fɒləʊ hɪz driːmz/
gɒʃ dɑːn ðə kɒnsɪkwensɪz/ lʊk ət miː/aɪ hæd nəʊ fæmlɪ ənd aɪm
ə ʤaɪənt səkses//

Charlie So if I go with you to the factory, I won’t ever see my family

again?

Willy Wonka Yeah. Consider that a bonus.

//jeə / kənsɪdə ðæt ə bəʊnəs//

Charlie Then I’m not going. I wouldn’t give up my family for anything.
Not for all the chocolate in the world.

Willy Wonka Oh, I see. That’s weird. There’s other candy too besides
chocolate.

//əʊ aɪ siː/ðæts wɪəd / ðəz ʌðə kændɪ tuː bɪsaɪdz ʧɒklɪt//

Charlie I’m sorry, Mr Wonka. I’m staying here.

14
Willy Wonka Wow. Well, that’s just. . . unexpected. . . and weird. But I
suppose, in that case, I’ll just. . . Goodbye, then. Sure you won’t
change your mind?

//waʊ / wel / ðæts ʤʌst ʌnekspektɪd ən wɪəd / bʌt aɪ səpəʊz /

ɪn ðæt keɪs / aɪl ʤʌst / gʊdbaɪ ðen / ʃʊə jʊ wəʊnt ʧeɪnʤ jɔː
maɪnd//

Charlie I’m sure.

Willy Wonka Okay. Bye.

//əʊkeɪ / baɪ//

15
David Letterman interviews Johnny Depp in his TV show

Letterman Johnny Depp! Here we go!

Well, all we really want to talk about is Tonto but…

Johnny Depp Ha! Ha! OK.

//hɑː hɑː / əʊkeɪ//

Letterman First of all, have you had your birthday or you’re ready to

have your birthday? How old are you?

Johnny Depp I had my birthday.

//aɪ hæd maɪ bɜːθdeɪ//

Letterman And you are…

Johnny Depp They told me I’m fifty.

//ðeɪ təʊld mɪ aɪm fɪftɪ//

Letterman Fifty years old!

Johnny Depp Yeah…weird.

//jeə / wɪəd//

Letterman Well, you look great. You look youthful…

Johnny Depp Thanks.

//θæŋks//

Letterman And more importantly you look cool.

Johnny Depp Thank you very much.

//θæŋk jʊ verɪ mʌʧ//

Letterman And being fifty is supposed to be a landmark but, I have

gone through that myself, it doesn’t really mean anything.

16
 Does it mean anything to you?

Johnny Depp Absolutely nothing, no. No, it’s just another decade gone by.

The only… maybe… the thing that one can look forward to

when you reach fifty is a future that’s slightly more

irresponsible.

//æbsəluːtlɪ nʌθɪŋ /nəʊ/ nəʊ/ ɪts ʤʌst ənʌðə(r) dekeɪd gɒn

baɪ/ ðɪ əʊnɪ meɪbɪ ðə θɪŋ ðæt wʌŋ kæn lʊk fɔːwəd tʊ wen jʊ

riːʧ fɪftɪ ɪz ə fjuːʧə ðæts slaɪtlɪ mɔːr ɪrɪspɒnsɪbl//

Letterman More irresponsible?

Johnny Depp Yeah, more irresponsible.

//jeə / mɔːr ɪrɪspɒnsɪbl//

Letterman You think that people will allow you that because you’re

older?

Johnny Depp Well, yeah. They… they… they accommodate duly at times,

you know? No one says I… I one day I’ll be able to wear my

pants up to here.

//wel / jeə/ /ðeɪ /ðeɪ / ðeɪ əkɒmədeɪt djuːlɪ ət taɪmz/ jə nəʊ /

nəʊ wʌn sez aɪ/ aɪ wʌn deɪ aɪl bɪ eɪbl tə weə(r) maɪ pænts ʌp

tə hɪə//

Letterman Well. Ha! Ha!

Johnny Depp And it’s OK!

//ən ɪts əʊkeɪ//

Letterman One day? What about today?

Johnny Depp I could start now. Excuse me, miss.

17
 //aɪ kʊd stɑːt naʊ/ ɪkskjuːz mɪ/ mɪs//

Letterman Other cultures revere old age, how much are you sure that

applies to the U.S.A.?

Johnny Depp wiizzizz Have you been in Miami recently?

//wiːziːz / həv jʊ bɪn ɪm maɪæmɪ riːsntlɪ//

Letterman Yeah. Everybody of my age knows the song “Oh, mom, what

women have an old dad? What are we going to a dead end?”

And nobody wants that project, it’s turn of sad, isn’t it?

Johnny Depp Keep them drunk, I would say.

//kiːp ðəm drʌŋk / aɪ wəd seɪ//

Letterman Keep all folks drunk.

Johnny Depp Keep them ‘loaded’.

//kiːp ðəm ləʊdɪd//

Letterman Now, you are talking about being more irresponsible as you

grow older. Was there a time in your life… in your life when

you were just crazily irresponsible?

Johnny Depp Yeah. When I was… when I was younger, because I’m

incredibly irresponsible now.

//jeə / wen aɪ wəz / wen aɪ wəz jʌŋgə(r)/ bɪkɒz aɪm ɪŋkredɪblɪ

ɪrɪspɒnsɪbl naʊ//

Letterman But, when you say irresponsible, police involved?

Johnny Depp At times, yeah. I did a few policemen here and there. I was

given a tour of ‘custody suites’ and sucks.

//ət taɪmz / jeə / aɪ dɪd ə fjuː pəliːsmən hɪər ən ðeə/ aɪ wəz

18
 gɪvn ə tʊər əv kʌstədɪ swiːts ən sʌks//

Letterman Custody suites? You know, it’s none of my business, but

would you mind if I ask what infraction was? The violation?

Johnny Depp One was I…I made a gaggle of paparazzi walk backward

down a London street with a plank of wood in my hand.

//wʌn wəz aɪ / aɪ meɪd ə gægl əv /pɑːpərɑːtsɪ wɔːk bækwəd

daʊn ə lʌndən striːt wɪð ə plæŋk əv wʊd ɪm maɪ hænd//

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