41. The definition of a syntagm and its general characteristics.

However, the term “syntagm” is preferable, for it is connected with L. V. Shcherba’s syntagm theory that has exercised a great influence on several branches of linguistics, and has many followers among Russian linguists. According to this theory the syntagm is understood as the syntactic and semantic relations of words which are expressed phonetically. So a syntagm can be defined as the shortest possible unit of speech from the point of view of meaning, grammatical structure and intonation. Consequently, there are three main criteria to be used in dividing sentences into syntagms: semantic, grammatical and phonetic.

The syntagm is an indispensable feature of intonation. Syntagms are distinguished in connected speech by definite intonation patterns; no syntagms exist without certain intonation patterns, at the same time, no intonation patterns are possible without syntagms. Syntagms play a very important role in a language; they are responsible for the syntactic structure of the sentences we utter, as well as for the information they carry.

Each syntagm is characterized by a certain intonation structure, consisting of one or more syllables, each of them having a certain pitch and bearing a larger or smaller degree of prominence. Abstracted characteristics of intonation structures may be called intonation patterns which form the prosodic system of English. Intonation patterns consist of the following elements: the pre-head, the head (body or scale), the nucleus and the tail.

Syntagms are not fixed and unchangeable phenomena; they are formed in the process of speaking, and depend upon many conditions, such as: the meaning of what is being spoken, the construction of sentences, the length of the phrase and the degree of semantic importance or emphasis given to various parts of it, the speed of speaking, as well as the syntactical structure of each particular language as a whole.

A syntagm does not represent one particular syntactic category. It may consist of a number of words or of one word only, even of an interjection. It may correspond to a sentence consisting of a number of words, to a clause, principal or subordinate. A syntagm may contain two clauses. This is usually the case with object clauses. The subject group and the predicate group usually form separate syntagms, especially in slow tempo, and when extended. A syntagm may coincide with one member of a sentence. Homogeneous members also require separate syntagms. A syntagm cannot be composed of more than one complete sentence.

42. The definition of a syntagm. The head, pre-head, tail as elements of a syntagm.

The syntagm can be defined as the shortest possible unit of speech from the point of view of meaning, grammatical structure and intonation. Consequently, there are three main criteria to be used in dividing sentences into syntagms: semantic, grammatical and phonetic.

The syntagm is an indispensable feature of intonation. Syntagms are distinguished in connected speech by definite intonation patterns; no syntagms exist without certain intonation patterns, at the same time, no intonation patterns are possible without syntagms. Syntagms play a very important role in a language; they are responsible for the syntactic structure of the sentences we utter, as well as for the information they carry.

Each syntagm is characterized by a certain intonation structure, consisting of one or more syllables, each of them having a certain pitch and bearing a larger or smaller degree of prominence. Abstracted characteristics of intonation structures may be called intonation patterns which form the prosodic system of English. Intonation patterns consist of the following elements: the pre-head, the head (body or scale), the nucleus and the tail.

The head (body, or scale) is the part of the intonation pattern including all the stressed and unstressed syllables up to the last stressed one. R. Kingdon differentiates between “the head” (the first stressed syllable in a syntagm) and “the body” (stressed syllables of a syntagm without the first and the last). According to the general pitch direction the head may be: descending, ascending and level. According to the direction of pitch movement within and between syllables, descending and ascending scales can be: stepping, falling (rising), sliding and scandent. The head beginning on a high pitch and then gradually descending in “steps”, each consisting of one stressed syllable and all unstressed syllables following it and pronounced on the same level, is called Descending Stepping Head. The pitch movement is realized through pitching each stressed syllable a little lower than the preceding one. The descending stepping head is the commonest type used in English. It usually conveys the impression of the balanced, active mood of the speaker. The head in which all stressed and unstressed syllables gradually descend is called falling. The Descending Sliding Head is formed by a series of “jumps” which may consist of only stressed or stressed and unstressed syllables. Each stressed syllable in this head is pronounced a little higher than the end of the preceding “jump” and each unstressed syllable is pitched a little lower than the preceding one. The use of the sliding head gives some additional prominence to all the stressed words in the utterance. It usually reflects an excited state of mind of the speaker and sometimes a very emotional attitude to the situation. The Descending Scandent Head is formed by a descending succession of syllables pronounced with pitch rises in stressed syllables (if they are not followed by unstressed ones) or on a level pitch while each unstressed syllable is pitched a little higher than the preceding one. It is used for emphasis expressing liveliness and sometimes impatience. The Ascending Stepping, Sliding and Scandent Heads are very much like the Descending Head of the same types, only the general pitch direction is different: the ascending head starts on the lowest pitch and gradually rises. The ascending head is usually used to show surprise, protest, hurt feelings, etc. If the pitch rises on all stressed and unstressed syllables the head is called rising.

The pre-head forms the initial part of the intonation pattern consisting of unstressed syllables preceding the first stressed one. According to the changes in the voice pitch the pre-head may be: low, rising and high. A low pre-head consists of unstressed syllables pronounced at a low pitch. If unstressed syllables gradually ascend to the pitch of the first stressed syllable they form a rising pre-head. A high pre-head consists of unstressed syllables pronounced on a high level. The low pre-head is used so frequently that it may be considered common in unemphatic speech. Its main function is to mark the comparative unimportance of initial unstressed syllables. The high pre-head is very emotional, it is characteristic of emphatic speech and gives a bright, lively, encouraging character to the utterance.

The tail forms the final part of the intonation pattern. It includes all unstressed and half-stressed syllables following the nucleus. There are three types of the tail – level, rising (ascending) and falling (descending). The occurrence of this or that type of tail is determined by the kind of the nuclear tone used. The descending tail occurs when the fall of the nuclear tone does not reach the lowest level. The level tail occurs when the preceding fall is complete, or when the nuclear tone is even but on a mid level. The level tail is pronounced on a very low pitch. The ascending tail is observed after the even low-pitched nuclear tone or after a rising nuclear tone. In fact it is the tail which produces the rising effect. Each type of tail is a kind of the continuation of a particular nuclear tone, and the two together constitute a so called terminal tone.