INTONATIONAL TYPOLOGY OF THE COMMUNICATIVE TYPES OF UTTERANCES

While comparing peculiar features of intonation of the communicative types of utterances in English and Ukrainian, it is necessary to remark that there is no direct correlation of any definite intonation contour with certain communicative types of sentences. Thus, if we speak about the correlation of some intonation patterns with some definite communicative types of utterances, then a “pure” manifestation of the communicative aim without any influence of emotional and attitudinal connotations is meant. The latter changes the intonation in speech to a considerable extent. Taking into account the aforesaid, one can state the following prosody common features in Ukrainian and English speech (different communicative aims are regarded).

Concerning declarative sentences, it should be mentioned that there are no definite prosodic patterns correlated with the basic types of declarative sentences (a statement, a report, an explanation, a correction, a narration of a descriptive character) in the examined languages. In typologically common characteristics of the declarative sentences prosodic organization in English and Ukrainian speech, one can refer the use of a falling tone to convey meanings of finality and completeness, while the use of a rising nuclear tone conveys meanings of non-finality and hesitation. However, in cases where attitudinal and emotional connotations are superimposed, the melody configuration of the declarative utterances can change considerably irrespective of the narration type.

Depending on emotional and attitudinal colouring, each type of questions in English and Ukrainian (general, special, disjunctive, alternative, repeated questions) may be pronounced with a rising or falling terminal tone, being characterized by different types of the syntagmatic stress and rhythmic structure.

Nevertheless, when considering the most frequent cases of prosodic organization in interrogative utterances (not accompanied by any attitudinal and emotional connotations), the following typologically common features can be stated. General questions, repeated questions and echo questions are pronounced with a rising tone in both languages; the terminal part of the alternative questions and the special questions takes a falling tone.

In this chapter, imperatives are examined from the point of view of the language communicative function alone, abstracting from subjective attitudinal connotations which include a wide range of personal estimations. The most typical “central” components of either of the imperative semantic fields, without any attitudinal and emotional connotations, refer to the basic types of the imperative sentences (an order, a recommendation or a request). This explains why one can speak about the intonation patterns shaping the communicative purpose of the imperative only conventionally. The variability of imperative intonation, depending on different subjective attitudinal shades of meaning superimposed on this or that type of the imperative sentence, is analyzed in the chapter devoted to the problems of attitudes.

On the basis of such an approach, one could hardly create a certain generalized prosodic pattern, the one that can directly correlate with each of the above-mentioned communicative types of utterances. Only from a rather generalized point of view can a falling tone be regarded as a correlate of commands and recommendations, while a rising tone acts as a correlate of requests.

The peculiarities of each of the two languages are caused by some distinctions in prosodic organization of the communicative types of sentences in the Ukrainian and the English languages. Thus, a special question takes a falling nuclear tone in English, while in Ukrainian this type of a question is often pronounced with a rising nuclear tone.

A specific feature of the Ukrainian language involving intonation shaping of recommendations is a falling tone narrower interval in the nucleus; it starts lower and ends at a higher level than in the English language.

There is a significant difference in the melody of utterances sounding as an official request in English and Ukrainian: a rising tone is used in English and a falling tone in Ukrainian (see fig. 9.1).

Fig. 9.1. Melody distinctions of a request in Ukrainian and English.

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