Unit 4. Informational (Formal) Style

     Informational (formal) style is characterized by predominant use of intellectual intonation patterns. It occurs in formal discourse where the task set by the sender of the message is to communicate information without giving it any emotional or volitional evaluation. This intonational style is used, for instance, by radio or television announcers when reading weather forecasts, news, or in various official situations. It is considered to be stylistically neutral.

     When using informational the speaker is primarily concerned that each sentence type, is given an unambiguous intonational identity. The sender of the message consciously avoids giving any secondary values to utterances. So, in most cases the speaker sounds dispassionate.

    The characteristic feature of informational style is the use of (Low-Pre-head +) Falling Head + Low Fall (Low Rise) (+ Tail), normal or slow speed of utterance and regular rhythm. Less frequently the Stepping Head (characterized by an even, unchanged pitch level over each of the stress-groups) may be used instead of the Falling Head. In certain cases, the Fall-Rise occurs, with the falling part of the tune indicating the main idea and the rising part making some addition to the main idea.

     In informational style intonation never contrasts with lexical and grammatical meanings conveyed by words and constructions. Internal boundaries placement is semantically predictable, that is, an intonation group here always consists of words joined together by sense. Besides, it is important to note that intonation groups tend to be short, duration of pauses varies from medium to long. Short pauses are rather rare.

 

Unit 5. Scientific style

In scientific (academic) style intellectual and volitional intonation patterns are concurrently employed. The speaker’s purpose here is not only to prove a hypothesis, to create new concepts, to disclose relations between different phenomena, but also to direct the listener’s attention to the message carried in the semantic component.

Although this style tends to be objective and precise, it is not entirely unemotional and devoid of any individuality. Scientific style is frequently used, for example, by university lectures, schoolteachers, or by scientists in formal or informal discussions.

Attention is focused here on a lecture on a scientific subject and reading aloud a piece of scientific prose, that is to say, the type of speech that occurs in the written variety of language, in one-sided form of communication (monologue), in prepared, public, formal discourse. The lecturer’s purpose is threefold:

(a) he must get the ‘message’ of the lecture across to his audience;

(b) he must attract the attention of the audience and direct it to the ‘message’;

(c) he must establish contact with his audience and maintain it throughout the lecture.

Internal boundaries placement is not always semantically predictable. Some pauses, made by the speaker, may be explicable in terms of hesitation phenomena denoting forgetfulness. The most widely used hesitation phenomena here are repetitions of words and filled pauses, which may be vocalic [ə(з:)], consonantal [m] and mixed [əm(з:m)].

The speed of utterance of reading scientific prose fluctuates from normal to accelerated, but it is never too fast. This can be explained by the greater length of words and the greater number of stressed syllables within an intonation group. Variations in speed also depend on the communicative centre. Since a communicative centre is brought out by slowing down the speed of utterance and less important words in the intonation group are pronounced at greater speed, the general speed of utterance is perceived as accelerated.

 

 

Unit 6. Declamatory style

In declamatory style the emotional role of intonation increases, thereby intonation patterns used for intellectual, volitional and emotional purposes have an equal share.

This style comprises two varieties of oral representation of written literary texts, namely: reading aloud a piece of descriptive prose (the author’s speech) and the author’s reproduction of actual conversation (the speech of characters).

Declamatory style is generally acquired by special training and it is used in stage speech, classroom recitation, verse speaking or in reading aloud fiction.

In the pre-nuclear part the Low Pre-Head may be combined with the Stepping Head, the broken Stepping Head, or a descending sequence of syllables interrupted by several falls.

The nuclear tone in final intonation groups is generally the Low Fall.

When reading aloud a dialogic the intonation representing speech of the characters is always stylized. It should be noted that the Low or High Pre-Head may be combined with any variety of descending, ascending or level heads. In the terminal tone both simple and compound tunes are widely used.

The overall speed of utterance in reading is normal or reduced as compared with natural speech, and as a result the rhythm is more even and regular.

Pauses are either connecting or disjunctive, thereby internal boundaries placement is always semantically or syntactically predictable. Hesitation pauses do not occur, unless they are deliberately used for stylization purposes.