4.3 The Falling-Rising Tone

The Falling-Rising nuclear tone is a bi-directional complex tone. The fall and the rise may be realized within one syllable. In this case the falling and the rising elements of the tone are united at their lowest points by a glide.

E.g.: Fine. __________

__________

When the nuclear syllable is not the last syllable of the intonation group, the Fall-Rise is split in form, the fall being carried by the nucleus and the rise – by the tail. Example:

Perfectly. I doubt it. Is he travelling?

________ __________ ________________

________ __________ ________________

The first element of the tone – the fall – is phonetically more prominent than the second one – the rise.

The Fall-Rise (FR) has an implicatory meaning. It gives the impression that the speaker intends the hearer to understand more than the words themselves convey. The implication expressed in an utterance may be that of emphasis, contrast, correction, hesitation, doubt, uncertainty, warning, apology, partial agreement, etc. In each case the exact implication stands out clearly from the context. For example:

1 A: They aren’t in the least alike. – B: They are. (contradiction)

2 A: Do you think she’ll manage to do it? – B: She may. (hesitation)

3 A: Let’s stay a little longer. – B: There’s little time. (warning)

4 A: His brother’s name is Jerry. – B: Geoff! (correction)

5 A: This is the best school in the city. – B: Yes. (partial agreement, hesitation)

6 A: Can all of you drive a truck? – B: ‵I ,can. (partial agreement)

7 A: Do you like mint candies? – B: I `love ,candies (likes and dislikes).

8 ‵Sorry I am ,late. (apology).

9 Fall-Rise is used when somebody makes a general statement which avoids answering a question. E.g. A: Have you had dinner? – B: I’ve ‘had something. A: Has he sent the letter? – B: He was going to. A: What’s the time? – B: It must be late.

10 The Fall-Rise is often called a referring tone. The speaker chooses a FR when he/she is referring to something already stated or implied in the conversation, to something which is part of the background knowledge or experience he/she shares with the addressee. Examples:

1 A: What shall we do after lunch? – B: ‘When we’ve ‘finished ,lunch | we’ll look at the ‵photos.

2 A: What shall we give Grace? – B: ‘As she ‘likes reading, | we shall ‘give her a ‵book.

3 A: Shall I order a steak for you, Dad? – B: I’m a vege tarian.

The Fall-Rise exists in two forms. The FR Unit is realized on one word, the FR Divided is realized on two different words which are both given nuclear prominence. Examples:

I ‘don’t know his name. (FR Unit) I ‵know his ,name. (FR Divided)

The difference between the forms lies in the number of ideas. The FR Divided makes two ideas prominent instead of one. Functionally both variants are similar, they impart implicatory meaning to the utterance.

Speech Exercises

Ex. 1 Read out the phrases reproducing the indicated variants of the Fall-Rise.

Mind. Look out. Right. Practically. It’s hot. It’s bitterly ˇcold. I think so. I don’t think so. Tuesday. He’s coming home soon. I’d rather not. They hope it will. Hardly. We may. She won’t like it. I can’t a fford it. It’s ‘quite a distance from here. They aren’t in the ‘least a like. He llo. Bye. Here’s the doctor, Harry . We `need some cream. As she likes ˇreading, we could give her a `book.

Ex. 2 Read out the mini-dialogues. Compare the speaker’s attitude and state which of the phrases sound a) implicatory; b) straightforward; c) interrogative.

1 A: Where’s your sister now? B: At the uni`versity.

A: Let’s meet again and talk it over. – At the uni΄versity?

A: She studies at the university. – b: At the ˇcollege.

2 A: He’s coming back on Thursday. – B: On ˇFriday.

A: He’s coming back next week. – B: On ΄Monday?

A: When is he going back? – B: On `Friday.

Ex. 3 Practise reading the Fall-Rise in the mini-dialogues. Guess what ideas are implied there.

1 A: He’s from Brazil. – B: Boˇ livia. 2 A: Was the grammar test difficult? – B: ˇRather. 3 A: Will the weather keep fine this week? – I ˇthink so. 4 A: Can you finish it tomorrow? – B: ˇHardly. 5 A: Don’t you think she’s lucky? – B: `I ,don’t. 6 A: It didn’t take you long. – B: It ˇ did. 7 A: I rang you twice last night. – B: You ˇdidn’t. 8 A: Nobody can speak Italian here. – B: `I ,can. 9 A; Are they Polish tourists? – B: Not neceˇssarily. 10 A: I always leave my umbrella behind, - B: You mustn’t ˇ lose it!

Ex. 4 Choose the appropriate reply for the given context:

1 Where’s the British Museum? (In London. In `London)

He lives in Manchester. (In `London. In London)

2 Which of the two shall I give you? (The `first one. The first one)

So you like the second one better. (The `first one. The first one)

3 How do you find the text? (It’s `easy. It’s easy)

I wonder how you are going to do it. (It’s `easy. It’s easy)

4 When is he leaving? (To`day. To day)

He is leaving tomorrow. (To`day. To day)

5 I think she’s quite plain. (She’s `pretty. She’s pretty)

What does Joe’s sister look like? (She’s `pretty. She’s pretty)