PDC Oral II

Meeting 7 - A Sketch of the Tone Unit

OBJECTIVES

● To discuss the basic components of the

intonation system in English
● To identify the tone unit as our unit of
analysis for descriptive purposes
● To understand the importance of the
meaning potential of the intonation system
 ● The element in which all the
TONE UNIT significant speaker-decisions
are made.

● A stretch of language where

the features of intonation are
realised.
A SKETCH OF THE TONE UNIT
INTONATION SYSTEM

● PROMINENCE

● TONE

● KEY AND TERMINATION

 A: Did you take your motorbike?
PROMINENCE
B: No. I hired a motorbike.

Feature of intonation that

determines the noticeability of a
word

A: Did you hire a car?

B: No. I hired a motorbike.

 Features of intonation: PROMINENCE
ONSET prominence, key

PROMINENT SYLLABLES
TONIC prominence, tone, termination

/ ˈaɪ wl̩ tiːtʃ ju ɪn ə ruːm /

ONSET TONIC
 A: What can we give Claire?

B: Well, as she likes reading,

TONE
we could give her a book.
A slight gliding movement that
(shared knowledge and new information)
begins in the tonic syllable and
ends at the end of the tone unit
A: But Tony, surely you realised,
everybody would be wearing suits,
a job like that, such a good salary,
with so much responsibility,
you ought to have known better
than to wear jeans.

(dominance)
Features of intonation: TONE

TONE PITCH MOVEMENT TONIC SYLLABLE

a voice quality produced by vibrations of the vocal folds; the degree of highness or lowness of a tone.

/ ˈaɪ wl̩ tiːtʃ ju ɪn ə ruːm /

ONSET TONIC
POSSIBLE PITCH MOVEMENTS IN ENGLISH

fall rise
fall-rise rise-fall level
listing: friends, family

shared knowledge: we’re gathered

to celebrate here today

new info: Ross and Emily

 ● Speakers may move directly up or down
from their middle pitch level for parts of
KEY AND what they say.

TERMINATION ● The choice associated with the onset

Choices associated with the syllable is called key, while the one
pitch level in the speaker’s associated with the tonic syllable is
discourse called termination.

C: It happened in London.
J: In London!
Features of intonation: KEY and TERMINATION

HIGH
KEY and TERMINATION PITCH LEVEL MID
LOW

ONSET SYLLABLE KEY

TONIC SYLLABLE TERMINATION
 Internal organisation of the Tone Unit

Distinguishing feature PROMINENCE more emphasis

/ ˈaɪ wl̩ tiːtʃ ju naʊ ɒn zuːm /

Meaningful decision SPEAKER intentions

/ ˈaɪ wl̩ tiːtʃ ju naʊ ɒn zuːm /

The number of prominent syllables can vary (speaker’s choice), usually one or two.
TONE UNIT - FEATURES

ONSET SYLLABLE TONIC SYLLABLE

EXTENDED Prominence Prominence

TONE UNIT --- Tone

Key Termination

--- TONIC SYLLABLE

MINIMAL TONE --- Prominence

UNIT --- Tone

--- Key and termination (same choice)

A SKETCH OF THE TONE UNIT
HOMEWORK:
Reading: Theory - Prominence (ch.2) - David Brazil

Dictations: Submit your practice of all the dictations.

 Bibliography
● Brazil, D. (2011), The Communicative Value of Intonation in English (ch.1).