The paper is concerned with the analysis of short linguistic units on the basis of David Brazil’s theory of discourse intonation. The first part of the paper gives a general outline of Brazil’s theory and his systematic approach to intonation analysis. The second part focusses on the analysis of suprasegmental phonetical structures of an actual text example.
The paper is not aimed at presenting a new linguistic approach nor at critically analysing an existing theory but rather at using and exemplifying this theory.
What is exemplified is David Brazil’s theory of discourse intonation as presented in his book Pronunciation for Advanced Learners of English.
Brazil’s Discourse Intonation
Intonation constitutes an essential element of language in oral communication and is thus subject of linguistic research. While the assumption that intonation carries meaning goes widely unchallenged, linguists still argue as to the exact function of intonation.
David Brazil, along with other linguists, propagated the idea of intonation as being discoursal in function. He thus distances himself from those who conceive intonation as having a grammatical, accentual or attitudinal function.
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Brazil's Discourse Intonation – Outline
2.1 The tone unit
2.2 The tone
2.3 Key and termination
3. Intonational analysis
3.1 Demonstration of Brazil's Discourse Intonation – Procedure
3.2 Demonstration of Brazil's discourse intonation using the example of a short extract of The Lord Of The Rings
4. Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
The primary objective of this work is to provide a practical application of David Brazil's theory of discourse intonation. It aims to analyze short linguistic units within a dialogue, specifically examining how intonation systems—such as tone units, tones, and pitch levels—function to convey meaning and manage communicative exchanges in spoken discourse.
- Theoretical overview of David Brazil's discourse intonation model
- Detailed examination of the tone unit structure and its components
- Analysis of intonational systems including tone, key, and termination
- Application of the theory to a specific text excerpt from J.R.R. Tolkien
- Practical transcription and interpretation of intonational patterns in dialogue
Excerpt from the Book
2.2 Illustration of Brazil's discourse intonation using the example of a short extract of “The Lord Of The Rings”
The dialogue that we are going to try to analyse in terms of intonation begins with speaker A saying:
1. The secret won’t keep for long, of course; but at present, I think, it’s only known to us.
What the speaker is saying here, is that a certain piece of information is known only to a limited number of people but that it might be revealed to more people in the near future. Thus, secret has to be made prominent because it occupies a selective slot. The speaker emphasises the fact that the respective information is still secret. A possible existential paradigm would be something like:
In negative expressions, the negative auxiliary or the adverb expressing negation is almost always stressed. Thus, won’t has to be made prominent.
It is clear that the secret will not be revealed while A and B are still talking, otherwise the speaker would probably have avoided the term secret in favour of the term information or the like. Yet, the question of how long the respective information will remain hidden from the public remains uncertain. However, speaker A wants to emphasise the fact that the secret surely will not keep for long. Therefore, the word long has to made prominent as well. Alternatively, speaker A could have said something like:
Another selective slot is occupied by the word present. Here, the speaker wants to contrast the actual present situation, namely that the information is secret, with a possible future situation, namely that the secret could be revealed. Instead of at present, speaker A could have said in the future or in the past etc.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter provides an overview of the paper's focus on David Brazil's discourse intonation theory and outlines the structure of the subsequent analysis.
2. Brazil's Discourse Intonation – Outline: This section details the theoretical framework, defining essential concepts like tone units, tones, key, and termination as described by David Brazil.
3. Intonational analysis: This chapter applies the previously defined theory to a specific literary dialogue, illustrating the practical transcription and interpretation of pitch sequences.
4. Conclusion: The concluding chapter summarizes findings from the analysis, noting the prevalence of falling tones in the chosen text and the lack of dominant speaker patterns.
Keywords
Discourse Intonation, David Brazil, Tone Unit, Tonic Syllable, Pitch Sequence, Prominence, Key, Termination, Proclaiming Tone, Referring Tone, Linguistics, Phonology, Oral Communication, Intonational Meaning, Existential Paradigm.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this research?
The work focuses on applying David Brazil's linguistic theory of discourse intonation to analyze how short linguistic units function in spoken communication.
What are the central thematic areas?
The core themes include the mechanics of tone units, the role of tonic syllables, the classification of tones, and the function of pitch level within discourse.
What is the primary objective of the study?
The main goal is to demonstrate how Brazil's theory can be used to transcribe and analyze the intonational meaning behind a specific dialogue excerpt.
Which scientific method is utilized?
The paper utilizes an analytical-descriptive method, breaking down sentence-by-sentence dialogue to identify selective slots and assign intonational markers.
What topics are covered in the main body?
The main body covers the theoretical foundations of Brazil’s model followed by a practical demonstration using an extract from The Lord Of The Rings.
Which keywords best characterize the work?
Key terms include Discourse Intonation, Tone Unit, Prominence, Proclaiming/Referring Tones, and Pitch Sequences.
How does the author define the function of a 'tone unit'?
A tone unit is defined as a basic building block of spoken English, representing a separate parcel of information chosen by the speaker to manage the turn-taking process.
What specific role does the 'tonic syllable' play?
The tonic syllable is the core of the tone unit where the main pitch movement begins, thus carrying the primary intonational meaning of that unit.
Why are falling tones more prevalent in the analyzed excerpt than other types?
The analysis suggests that because the dialogue is highly emotional rather than rational, speakers focus on conveying new, non-shared information, which correlates with the use of proclaiming falling tones.
How is the concept of 'key' used in this analysis?
Key refers to the pitch level of the onset syllable, which indicates whether the speaker expects the information to meet the listener's expectations or to be contrary to them.
- Quote paper
- Lucius Burgess (Author), 2009, A demonstration of David Brazil’s theory of Discourse Intonation, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/205037
