The meaning of tones and scales.

The falling tone is most common in statements, special questions, commands and exclamations. The rising tone is common in non-final parts of statements, in general questions, requests and warnings.

Tones:

1)Level tones(unchanging pitch)

2)Moving tones(changing pitch)

2 main forms of pitch change:fall,rise.

→Simple tones: falling, rising, level; Complex tones: fall-rise, rise-fall, rise-fall-rise.

Acc to their range and the end point tones can be:

Complete(categoric)

Incomplete(not final,non categoric in character)

We should look at the end point:the degree of completeness, the beginning of the tone.

LF- the voice strarts at a medium pitch level or a little below it and falls to a low pitch level.It is categoric in character, final.Used in statements.suggests no contradictions(cool ,phlegmatic attitude). High-Wide fall- indicates loveliness, politeand friendly interest involvement and mild surprise.High-narrow fall- the voice strats high and stops at a medium pitch or a little above it.less categoric.

LR-the voice starts low and rises to a medium pitch or a little below. Expresses non-finality, it is non categoric and implicatory in character. The Rise both in E. and Russian variants is rather steep and is followed by a fall which is very slight in the nuclear variant. Used in general, alternative , tag-questions; in requests to reassure aperson to whom the question is addressed.+ in high emotional requests when the speaker is pleading, in greetings if we want to sound warm , pleasant. High-narrow(in all sorts of echoes and in questions calling for a repetition+ to keep the conversation go)/high wide(expresses surprise or a shocked reaction).

RF-the voice first rises from a fairly low to high pitch level and then falls to a vary low pitch level.Final and categoric. Expresses attitudes both pleasant and unpleasant, ranging from irony to sarcasm.

FR –the voice first fallsfrom a high or medium pitch level to the low pitch level and then slowly rises to a little below mid pitch level.Contrastive , implicatory tone. Expresses politeness, apology, concern and uncertainty.

RFR- the voice starts from a fairly low pitch ,reaches a high level and then falls to a law pitch and then rises a little below the medium pitch.suggests optimism and enthusiasm.

Level tones:high, mid, low.They are non –final nad non-categoric in character,may express hesitation and uncertainty.used often in reciting poems.

Scales: acc to their general pitch direction- descending,ascending,level. Acc to the direction of pitch movement within and b/ syllables the descending and ascending may be: stepping, sliding,scandent. Acc to the pitch level of the whole scale- low,mid,high.

(e.g. Peter comes home at six o’clock)

DStepS:a series of stressed and unstressed syllables in which pitch descends in ‘steps’.the foll.stressed is lower than preceeding, the unstressed is on the same level as stressed.

DSliding scale: descend. Stressed syl-s are pronounced with downward slides. Each slide begins a little higher than the end of the preceding syl-l . It gives additional prominence to all the stressed words in the utterance.

DScandent Scale: -//- with pitch rises within stressed syl-s while each of the unstressed ones is pitched a little higher than the preceding one. Used for emphasis expressing, liveliness and sometimes impatience.

Asc.Step.Scale: ascend. Series of syl-s, each stressed is pitched a little higher than the preceding one.the unstressed ones between rise gradually.Used to show surprise, interest ,protest.

A.Sliding scale: -//-pronounced with slide

A.Scandent Scale: -//-with each stressed syl-l pronounced with a rise.

The last 2 types are more emphatic than A.Step.scale.

A level scale: stressed and unstressed syl-s are on the same pitch level.The head is the highest pitch point.High level S.- highly emotional speech;mid level-less emotional; low level-to express a perfunctory note in the utterance+ to show indifference ,hostility,unpleasant emotions.

 

 

National differences in facial expression, gestures and space (proxemics) between the Russians, the English and Americans. Correlation between non-verbal behavior and intonation.

The non-verbal means:

In oral communication non-verbal means are very important.

When we communicate we choose appropriate language means to convey the message but at the same time our verbal message is accompanied by a non-verbal display. It’s believed that 25% of communication is conveyed by non-verbal means.

- facial expressions

- gestures

- postures

Our faces can demonstrate a wide range of expressions, especially when our speech is emotionally colored:

the widening of the eyes. | interest and

the parting of the lips | excitement

Gestures involve the movements of the eyes, foot, arms, head.

By postures we mean special SOMETHING of the body.

These signals are called kinesic means. There is a special discipline – kinesics, which studies body language.

Func­tions of non-verbal communication:

• To provide information, either consciously or unconsciously

• To regulate the flow of conversation

• To express emotion

• To qualify, complement, contradict, or expand verbal messages

• To control or influence others

• To facilitate specific tasks, such as teaching a person to swing a golf club.

 

Some researchers put the level of nonverbal communication as high as 80 percent of all communication. More reasonably it could be at around 50-65 percent.

 

There are several types of Non-verbal communication: Kinesics, Proxemics, Chronemics, Oculesics, Haptics.

Kinesics - movement of the body (head, arms, legs, etc.). For example, the gesture of slitting one's throat in America means “I've had enough” or “I'm in trouble” in Swaziland means “I love you”.

Proxemics - the use of interpersonal space. For example Greeks and South Americans find it comfortable to stand, sit or talk to people at a distance which seems to North Americans and some Europeans intolerably close.

The closeness of Greeks and South Americans is unusual to Europeans and North Americans and it causes them to have the feelings of hostility, discomfort and intimidation.

However if Americans back away to their distance of comfort they'll be perceived as cold, unfriendly and distrustful.

The ways of non-verbal communication differ from culture to culture. We should be aware of those differences in order not to be misunderstood and to properly understand other people.

Behavior and gestures are interpreted differently:

Gestures can be law and high is style, socially restricted and borrowed from other cultures.

- Russian gestures- in front of the body, upright (в вертикальной плоскости) |

- English gestures- parallel the body __ Russians use wider gestures then Englishmen.

- Showing the thumb held upwards in certain parts of the world means "everything's ok", while it is understood in some Islamic countries (as well as Sardinia and Greece) as a rude sexual sign. Additionally, the thumb is held up to signify "one" in France and certain other European countries, where the index finger is used to signify "one" in other cultures.

- "Everything ok" is shown in western European countries, especially between pilots and divers, with the sign of the thumb and forefinger forming an "O". This sign, especially when fingers are curled, means in Japan "now we may talk about money", in southern France the contrary ("nothing, without any value"), in Eastern Europe and Russia it is an indecent sexual sign.

- In the Americas as well as in Arabic countries the pauses between words are usually not too long, while in Japan pauses can give a contradictory sense to the spoken words. Enduring silence is perceived as comfortable in Japan, while in India, Europe and North America it may cause insecurity and embarrassment. Scandinavians, by Western standards, are more tolerant of silent breaks during conversations

- Laughing is connoted in most countries with happiness – in Japan it is often a sign of confusion, insecurity and embarrassment

- In Africa, avoiding eye contact or looking at the ground when talking to one's parents, an elder, or someone of higher social status is a sign of respect. In contrast, these same actions are signals of deception or shame (on the part of the doer) in North America and most of Europe.

 

System of different spaces (by Edmond Hall):

Intimate space (for embracing, touching or whispering)- Close phase - 15 cm; Far phase - 15 - 45 cm

Formal space- 1.5 m

Social space (for interactions among acquaintances) – 3.5

Public distance (used for public speaking) -Close phase - 3.6 - 7.5 m Far phase - 7.5 m or more

 

Different cultures are used to maintaining a different amount of personal space when conversing, and it is even noticeable that Northern Europeans leave each other more space than Southern Europeans. In this example a Northern European who understood the difference would not feel threatened by someone who got closer than usual, interpreting it correctly as normal to the person doing it rather than a deliberate act of aggression.

Correlation between non-verbal behaviour and intonation:

More commonly kinesic means intensify information conveyed by intonation.

A smile generally intensify positive feelings.

In public speaking it’s very important.

1) it’s recommended to control your body language and to use it appropriately.

2) there are certain gestures that are typical of certain cultures:

 

 

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