- KtoNaNovenkogo
- FAQ
- Are you here
October 31, 2019
- Intonation is...
- Examples
- Types of intonation
- What are some suggestions for intonation?
- Instead of a conclusion
Hello, dear readers of the KtoNaNovenkogo.ru blog. Today we will talk about what INTONATION is.
We are sure that most of our readers understand what we are actually talking about.
Nevertheless, there are a lot of nuances, which we will talk about in this article.
Intonation is...
It is interesting that until the middle of the last century there was no single definition of the term INTONATION. And each of the famous dictionaries gave its own version .
- So, Dahl in his Explanatory Dictionary spoke about strong vocal stress.
- And in Ozhegov’s “Dictionary of the Russian Language”, several characteristics were discussed at once - the accuracy of the sound of the voice, the manner of pronunciation and vocal techniques to highlight the attitude to a particular event.
- And finally, in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary the concept of intonation was reduced to a poetic form when the voice rises at the beginning of a line and falls at the end.
But today linguists seem to have agreed among themselves and come to a common definition .
Intonation is a change in the melody, rhythm and volume of our speech, which helps us most clearly express our attitude to a specific issue or focus the interlocutor’s attention on certain details.
The term INTONATION itself has Latin roots. And literally “intonō” can be translated as “ to pronounce loudly .” One small but very important detail follows from this.
Intonation is a concept that is applicable only to colloquial speech and is not used to literary and other texts.
What kind of cross-cutting verbal actions can there be?
- influence the imagination of listeners (F. Tyutchev “I love thunderstorms...” - I want to paint a picture of a May thunderstorm not terrible, but joyful);
- influence feelings (I want to express a sense of admiration for Ostap’s courage during the execution);
- influence the consciousness of the listeners (I want them to understand the main idea of the text or fragment (I want to show that Gerasim from “Mumu” returns home not as a serf, an obedient slave in everything, but as a free man; it is not for nothing that Turgenev compares his gait to a lion).
For the implementation of purposeful verbal action, vivid visions and associations are crucial.
Seeing a living image or picture behind the author’s words is not easy for a student; teaching this is the teacher’s task. (Imagine a prisoner in a dungeon; clouds “like a chain of pearls” rushing across the sky; thunder, “as if frolicking and playing, rumbles in the blue sky,” etc.).
- After expressive reading, the teacher can give the students a task: answer in writing the question “What kind of autumn does A.S. like?” Pushkin? (As a rule, everyone writes about the beauty of early autumn).
- Before re-reading, ask the question: “What pictures of autumn do you imagine, see with your inner vision?” These visual images will be more concrete the more vividly the reader draws them in his imagination.
- After the second reading of the poem, students once again turn to the question asked and edit what they have written.
Examples
Well, for example, take the famous poem by Agnia Barto:
Our Tanya is crying loudly, She dropped a ball into the river.
In the written version, it is read in one breath and without intonation stress. In practice, this is simply a statement of the fact that “a certain girl Tanya is crying loudly because she dropped the ball.”
But it’s a completely different matter when we start telling this poem to our children. An expression and intonation will appear. Most often, the voice will rise with the words “crying” and “dropped”:
Our Tanya CRYING loudly DROPPED a ball into the river.
Or you can change the stressed word, for example, in the second line and you’ll get a different meaning:
Dropped a ball into the RIVER (where?) or Dropped a BALL into the river (what?)
And this is what we do every day when communicating with family, friends or work colleagues. With the help of intonation we give our words a certain emphasis. And accordingly, we help others understand us better.
Exercises:
1. Intonation of the end of the sentence (.) – voice down; intonation of an interrogative sentence (?) – voice up; intonation of an exclamatory sentence (!) – voice up. 2. Homogeneous members of the sentence: logical stress falls on each member of the sentence, after each member of the sentence there is a pause. (The naughty Monkey, / Donkey, / Goat / and the club-footed Bear / started to play a quartet.) 3. Intonation of emphasis - / pause, voice up, pause /. (The sea, / lazily sighing near the shore, / fell asleep and motionless in the distance.) Used for isolation. 4. Intonation of opposition . The first part of the sentence is a voice up, a long pause, towards the end of the second part the voice goes down. (The rank followed him - he suddenly left the service.) The contrast between the two parts is achieved by logical emphasis on antonyms. (If you like to ride, you also like to carry a sled.) 5. Introductory words and sentences - accelerated reading of the entire sentence. 6. Appeal: 1) at the beginning of the sentence: logical stress and pause (My friends, / our union is wonderful!); 2) in the middle of the sentence - logical stress, pause after address (Don’t make noise, rye, / with a ripe ear.); 3) at the end of the sentence - a pause before the address, logical stress (What do you want, / older?). 7. Intonation of explanation is used where there is a “colon” sign: in a complex non-union sentence, towards the end of the first sentence the voice decreases, there is a long pause.
Intonation can be graphically represented using punctuation diagrams. For example, intonation pattern when addressing; ABOUT, /….
Before learning punctuation marks in sentences, students must be taught correct intonation.
Our speech is always divided by stops (pauses) into groups of words connected by thought - these are speech links, and the pauses between them are logical pauses.
Speech units usually define punctuation marks, but not always.
- Logical pauses separate the subject group from the predicate. (A sour and very healthy cranberry / grows in swamps.)
- Logical pause - before connecting conjunctions and, or, yes (and) - even if there is no comma. (Sour/and very healthy cranberry.)
- After the period there is always a long pause.
- Logical pauses - with reverse word order, inversion. (Pleasant to me / is your farewell beauty. //)
An incorrectly made logical pause distorts the meaning of what is read and destroys the aesthetic impression. (Children of primary school can read this: “... She came, / crumbled, in clumps /, hung on the branches of oak trees.”) A logical pause brings order to the reader’s speech, teaches him to control himself and, slowly, move from one speech unit to to another.
Types of intonation
All intonations are divided into three large categories:
- Narrative;
- Exclamation;
- Interrogative.
Narrative intonation
This intonation is used when you simply need to convey some information to your interlocutor. As a rule, several words that the speaker wants to emphasize are stressed.
The weather was GOOD in the morning, and we decided to go to the park. Mom cooked us a CHOCK for dinner. The refrigerator is EMPTY, so we need to go to the store.
Narrative speech is also characterized by a decrease in intonation at the end of each sentence. Thus, a person unconsciously separates one sentence from another.
Question intonation
Interrogative intonation accompanies any question that is addressed to the interlocutor. And she definitely makes it clear that the person wants an answer.
Why didn't you do your homework?
In this case, the question word is “why.” This is where the vocal stress comes in. But intonation can highlight absolutely any word in an interrogative sentence. And this will change the question itself.
Are you GOING to go to the sea next summer? Are you going to go to the sea next summer? Are you going to go to the sea NEXT summer? (or this) Are you going to go to the sea next SUMMER? (either autumn or spring) Are you going to GO to the sea next summer? (or fly) Are you going to go TO THE SEA next summer? (or to the mountains, or to Europe)
You see, there is one sentence, but intonationally you can turn it into six different questions. And each one has its own answer, different from the others.
Exclamatory intonation
Exclamatory intonation is a way to express your emotions, both positive and negative. As a rule, we are talking about increasing the strength of the voice. Loud speech always attracts attention.
How BEAUTIFUL it is tonight! I am so TIRED of this job. I give you the LAST chance!
As you can see, very often exclamatory sentences end with an exclamation mark.
Varieties
The manner is characteristic of oral speech. The types of intonation are varied: more than 16 types. Intonation is used in everyday speech and for conducting formal conversations. It is divided into types according to the purpose for which it is used.
The manner can be narrative, interrogative or exclamatory. Each form plays its own function: several types of intonation are used for informative speech.
Narrative
An expressive tone with an emphasis on the last syllable is used in a narrative style. Syllables do not need excessive changes in the pitch of sounds. The tonality is calm and uniform. There is a peak and a decrease (low peak) in a narrative style. High and low tones smoothly transition into each other. If the style requires combining individual parts of the text, then one part of the phrase is pronounced in a high tone, and the rest in a low tone.
For the literary style, a sharp change in tone is used (at the end there is an emphasis, symbolizing the end of the speech). Narrative intonation is used for enumeration: when it is necessary to combine several parts and decorate them with one tone. This style does not require additional amplifiers.
Interrogative
Intonation for a question is used in 2 cases: if you just need to ask and when you need to highlight a certain part of a phrase (show doubts or clarify information). The sentence is pronounced in an expressive form with a sharp change in tone.
For this design, its individual parts are used. For her, the manner shifts to the end of the phrase (a statement in the form of a question at the end of a narrative phrase). For cumbersome speech structures, accents are used, which can be in the middle of a phrase or at its end. The emphasis shifts to one word, and the tone of it increases.
exclamation point
Exclamatory types of intonation are a cross between a narrative style and a direct question. Exclamatory intonation is higher in tone (than declarative) and lower in tone than a question. Involves the type of persuasive manner of speech that demonstrates a request or command.
This melody of speech has a logical connection between the parts of the structure. It determines the meaning of the entire structure: it is not worth overloading the exclamatory phrase with additional amplifiers.
Unfinished designs
There are unfinished phrases that can emotionally convey mixed information. There are types of unfinished constructions that vary in different speech styles:
- opposition;
- warning;
- enumeration;
- separation.
For complex constructions, contrasts are used: punctuation marks or dashes (in written style) are used to highlight them. A warning is used to divide the structure into 2 parts. It ends with a pause, which enhances the manner. The part of the construction that has been divided is pronounced with a rising tone.
Homogeneous members are read in the same manner - through monotony they stand out from the rest of the structure. The isolation is separated by pauses (one is longer, the other is shorter).
Musical
For melodic parts, the organization of different word combinations (by intonation) with a sequential location in the structure is used. The overall rhythm and duration of the music adds up to the composition. This type of intonation differs from speech in its informative message: it does not serve to determine direct emotions. The phrase has smooth or sharp changes: pauses in this style are rarely used.
The result of lowering the pitch during pronunciation is a difference in volume to enhance the overall effect. The overall background depends on the accuracy of reproduction in such intonation. You cannot change the style of composition. As the volume of intonation increases and decreases, its emphasis changes.
What are some suggestions for intonation?
Based on intonation, sentences are divided into:
- Exclamation marks - filled with emotions, they express the feelings of those who write or speak. And most often this is associated with admiration, although not necessarily.
Look how bright the stars are in the sky. Mom, the soup is very tasty.
- Non-exclamation is a simple statement of fact. It is pronounced calmly, without much emotion.
Night fell and the stars began to shine outside the window. Mom prepared a very tasty soup.
If you remember what kinds of sentences there are according to the purpose of statements, then adding them with intonation options we get the following picture:
Important properties
The linguistic terms of intonation are associated with the demonstration of emotions through the creation of certain structures. The melody conveys joy, hatred, sympathy. This style does not have an exact meaning, but there are basic motives. Rhythmic-melodic intonation can convey a person’s character, his behavior, and motives. Melody is a means of expressing a sensual tone that is difficult to describe in words.
Correct accents
The most important part of manner is emphasis. It can show the semantic message of a statement. The accent serves to highlight individual words and their correct interpretation. The correct accent is logical and syntagmatic.
Tactic emphasis distinguishes individual parts of the structure from the speech stream. Meaningful groups increase overall meaning. Logical accents reinforce only important words, for the sake of which the entire speech is structured. In the intonation type of phrase, additional pauses are used after the accent.
Other intonation means
If we consider this issue in more detail, then there are not only three types of intonation sentences. Its additional means provide an unlimited picture of emotional and intonational expression.
A person's voice has different qualities. It can be loud and quiet, hoarse and ringing, creaking, tense and fluid. All these qualities make speech more melodic and expressive. But they are poorly conveyed in writing by individual characters.
The intonation pattern also depends on the speed of speech. The melody of fast speech indicates the excited state of the person speaking. A slow pace is typical in situations of uncertainty or solemnity.
Well, perhaps the most intonations are pauses. They are phrasal and bar. They serve to express emotions and divide the speech flow into completed blocks. According to their modality, pauses can be completed or incomplete. The former are used at the absolute end of a sentence. In its middle there is space for incomplete pauses, which form the end of the measure, but not the entire phrase.
The meaning of the sentence depends on the correct use of the pause. Everyone knows the example: “Execution cannot be pardoned.” The location of the pause determines whether a person will survive or not.
