Another example: Do it now .
If “do” is stressed, it means: Don’ just talk, you should do something. If “it” is stressed, it means: Don’t do anything else, you should do this thing now. If “now” is stressed, it means: No loitering/ till later time.
According to the formation of intonation, it can be further divided into falling tone, rising tone and falling – rising tone. Falling tone can be divided into low fall and high fall, and rising tone can be divided into low rise and high rise. Generally speaking, falling tone denotes definiteness, certainty and completeness. Rising tone denotes lack of definiteness, certainty, subordination and incompleteness; falling-rising tone denotes contrast, reservation, concession, tentativeness, hesitation, warning and contradiction.
b. Length can also influence rhythm: long vowels and diphthongs can slow down rhythm while short vowels can accelerate or quicken rhythm.
E.g. 1)The rain whipped the window. 2)…, he sees the cobra emerge and make for the bowl of milk. Screams ring out as he jumps to slam the veranda doors safely shut.
If “that” is stressed, it means: rather than this one here
If “new” is stressed, it means: He didn’t buy a second – hand car.
If “car” is stressed, it means: What John bought was a car, not a truck or a cart or a bicycle.
2) Good afternoon everyone. On our way down river to the Tower of London, there are quite a few places of interest that we pass as we go along. I will point out some of them to you. First of all now over on the right –hand side there’s the Royal Festival Hall, opened in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations. It’s one of the finest concert halls in Europe. Over here on the left the large white building with the clock is Shellmex House, owned by Shell and Britain Petroleum. The clock there is the second largest in the world. It’s three inches smaller than the Times Clock in Times Square in New York.
If “yesterday” is stressed, it means:
a.….., and see what a mess it is here today. b. …, but it doesn’t work properly today. c. …. , not the day before yesterday. d. …., but it seems to me that he had had it for a long time.
If “John” is stressed, it means: It was John (not anybody else ) who bought the new car yesterday.
If “ bought “ is stressed, it means: a. He had been wandering to buy that new car and he did buy it yesterday . b. You said that he wouldn’t buy that new car , but he bought it yesterday. c. He bought that new car yesterday; he didn’t steal it .
Chapter 2
I. Phonological stylistic functions/ style marker in phonology
1).Stress and intonation Words have weight, sound and appearance; it is only by considering these that you can write a sentence that is good to look at and good to listen to. ( W. Somerset Maugham ) “The sound must seem an echo to the sense.” (A. Pope)
3) The sea is rough.
4) The slow rolls of the surges on the sea.
5)The old man jumped back as if he had been stung and blood rushed into his wrinkled faced.
3. Pause a. Pause can be further divided into structural pause and emotive pause Pause can make a direct effect on the speed of delivery and style. In informal style, pause can add weight and thus the effect of rhythm can be achieved still further to achieve artistic effect. For example, in the sentence:
a. Stress: Word stress and sentence stress eg.: John bought that new car yesterday .
12 3 45 6
Question: What difference does it make if each of the words in the sentence is stressed?
2. Length a. Expressing a certain feeling. e.g.: Get out. / Do it now.
If read quickly and with a high pitch, the sentence means the speaker is angry. If read slowly and with a low pitch, the sentence means a kind of threat.
7).True ease in writing comes from art, not chance.
As those move easiest who have learn’d to dance,
‘ Tis not enough no harshness gives offense, The sound must seem an echo to the sense, Soft is the strain when zephyr gently blows, And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows; But when loud surges lash the sounding shore, The hoarse, rough verse shou’d like the torrent roar.
4. Intonation . Intonation is accounted as soul of a language .
There exist three elements in intonation, namely, pitch height, pitch movement and pitch range.
6) ….Now it was being burned to a crisp. The water holes were dried up and we saw dead cattle lying here and there on the treeless, rolling range. Some farmers were hauling water out to their thirsty stock daily; others were trying to drill deep wells.”