A new intonation theory to account for pan‐English and idiom‐particular patterns¹

Parts of this paper were read at the Annual Meeting of the Linguistic Society of America on Dec. 29, 1969, San Francisco. The substance of the system represents a return to my original ideas which I had abandoned when submitting my abstract because I could not work them out. After I received from Dwight Bolinger a copy of his (MS) Toronto paper, I saw my way clear to work out a theory of intonation in the terms originally envisioned. Most of my system is based on Bolinger's ideas. My own contributions consist mainly in the distinction between range and tonal slopes and in the distinction between the function of precadence and cadence patterns. Some aspects of these ideas emerged from helpful correspondence with Bolinger, as well as the emphasis on generating tunes from attitudinal, rather than emotional, features in the underlying representations. Without Bolinger's help, I would have fallen into gross naïvetés. The select data of his writings have proved of far greater value than hours of listening on my own part would have been. At most, my role has consisted in adding certain aspects of structural or theoretical framework to tie together ideas worked out by Bolinger and in some cases inherent, at least implicitly, in his own writings. Bolinger should not be supposed to agree with the present theory in any particular aspect, despite my present attempt to give him all due credit for some of the fundamental principles of the present system. I should add that most of the examples included here were originally Bolinger's.

In this paper I avoid the terms dialect, idiolect, and style generally in favor of the more neutral idiom. The other terms grow daily more vacuous as one scrutinizes them ever more closely. I also avoid the term stress in favor of accent. Stress, rarely used, will indicate emphasis, in accord with its everyday use. The following abbreviations are employed: BRP, British Received Pronunciation; AE, American English; SS, Southern States English (exclusive of Tidewater idioms); NS, Northern States English (or common American, excluding eastern New England and New York City idioms); HE, Hawaiian English; IrE, Irish English; WE, Welsh English; InE, Indic English.

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Notes

Parts of this paper were read at the Annual Meeting of the Linguistic Society of America on Dec. 29, 1969, San Francisco. The substance of the system represents a return to my original ideas which I had abandoned when submitting my abstract because I could not work them out. After I received from Dwight Bolinger a copy of his (MS) Toronto paper, I saw my way clear to work out a theory of intonation in the terms originally envisioned. Most of my system is based on Bolinger's ideas. My own contributions consist mainly in the distinction between range and tonal slopes and in the distinction between the function of precadence and cadence patterns. Some aspects of these ideas emerged from helpful correspondence with Bolinger, as well as the emphasis on generating tunes from attitudinal, rather than emotional, features in the underlying representations. Without Bolinger's help, I would have fallen into gross naïvetés. The select data of his writings have proved of far greater value than hours of listening on my own part would have been. At most, my role has consisted in adding certain aspects of structural or theoretical framework to tie together ideas worked out by Bolinger and in some cases inherent, at least implicitly, in his own writings. Bolinger should not be supposed to agree with the present theory in any particular aspect, despite my present attempt to give him all due credit for some of the fundamental principles of the present system. I should add that most of the examples included here were originally Bolinger's.

In this paper I avoid the terms dialect, idiolect, and style generally in favor of the more neutral idiom. The other terms grow daily more vacuous as one scrutinizes them ever more closely. I also avoid the term stress in favor of accent. Stress, rarely used, will indicate emphasis, in accord with its everyday use. The following abbreviations are employed: BRP, British Received Pronunciation; AE, American English; SS, Southern States English (exclusive of Tidewater idioms); NS, Northern States English (or common American, excluding eastern New England and New York City idioms); HE, Hawaiian English; IrE, Irish English; WE, Welsh English; InE, Indic English.