Wells, J. C.

(2006) English Intonation - An Introduction, Cambridge: CUP

Chapter 3: Tonicity: where does the nucleus go?

Basic principles:

a) Within each IP, we select one word as particularly important for the meaning.
This is where we place the nucleus, the syllable that bears the nuclear tone.

Do all the practice activities on pages 94 and 95.

b) The nucleus is usually located on or near the last word of the IP provided that
the last word in an IP is important for the meaning. This is called the end-focus
principle (the most informative part of the message comes at the end, so we are likely
to find the nucleus towards the end).

Do all the practice activities on pages 96 and 97.

c) The nucleus is typically placed on content words (nouns, adjectives, verbs and
adverbs) rather than on function words (pronouns, prepositions, articles, auxiliary
verbs and modal verbs). Hence the nucleus is typically placed on the last content
word in the IP. This is called the LLI rule (last lexical item). And this is neutral or
unmarked tonicity.

Do all the practice exercises on pages 99 and 100.

Exceptions to the LLI rule: (Ortiz Lira)

1. Event sentences:

These are sentences describing an event, where the verb is intransitive. The verb
denotes appearance or disappearance (particularly with human subjects) or
misfortune (very often with non human subjects). The nucleus tends to be located
on the subject provided it is lexically filled.

The water’s running. (VS. It’s running)

The baby’s crying. (VS. He’s crying)

Where’s the nucleus?

The kettle’s boiling.

There’s a bus coming.

My head aches.

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The car broke down.

An accident happened.

The children will walk in.

In the following cases, the nucleus will be placed on a NOUN. We put the
nucleus on a NOUN where possible, in preference to other word classes.

2. Nouns + Infinitives

I’ve got some letters to write /books to read.

I don’t know which bus to take. (Spanish: No se qué colectivo tomar)

Put the plates to warm. (Pon los platos a calentar. / Pon a calentar los platos)

I have instructions to leave. VS. I’ve got instructions to leave.

She gave him directions to follow. VS. She gave him directions to follow.

BUT of the NOUN and the VERB have similar semantic weight,

He has some things to do. / He has some things to do.

He has a life to live. He has a life to live.

3. Wh question ending with a verb:

The nuclear accent goes on the noun representing the object of the verb rather than
on the verb.

How’s the homework going? (¿Cómo van las tareas?)

Where does most of the fruit go?

Where’s the nucleus?

Whose umbrella have I taken?

What brand do you buy? (¿Qué marca compras?)

How much sugar do you add?

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Whose advice would you follow?

If the verb has further complementation, the nuclear accent will NOT go on the
object.

Whose advice did you find most useful?

Which programme do you use to make drawings with?

4. Final relative clauses:

In English relative clauses, the nuclear accent normally goes on the noun.

Where’s that book you borrowed?

What about that story you were telling me?

Where’s the nucleus?

I’m putting away some of the junk that’s been lying around since Christmas.

That is the doctor I was telling you about.

I gave John the books he wanted. (Le di a Juan los libros que quería.)

5. Nouns + adjectives /participles

Don’t let the dog loose.

He let the door open. (Dejó la puerta abierta.)

Where’s the nucleus?

He had one of his ribs broken.

Keep your eyes shut. (Mantén los ojos cerrados.)

How often do you have your house painted?

6. Transitive phrasal verb + object + verbal particle

Bring the dog in. / Bring in the dog.

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Keep your head down. / Keep down your head.

Don’t forget to put the clock back. Don’t forget to put back the clock.

Are you going to bring the packages in? Are you going to bring in the packages?

7. Indirect questions:

The nuclear accent goes on the object provided it is a full NP object and not a
pronominal one (something); the verbs are left unaccented.

I wonder how many album’s Sinatra’s recorded.

You can’t imagine how much effort Mark put into it.

I forgot what brand Jack recommended.

I don’t know how long the video lasts.

8. Subject + Passive verb

These examples can be taken as answers to the question “What happened?”

The governor’s been kidnapped.

Classes have been cancelled.

The missing link has been found.

9. Objects of general reference (wide denotation):

Colourless nouns practically equivalent to pronouns.

Jack always displeases people.

I must explain matters.

You should believe in someone.

Let’s go round to my place. / vs Let’s go round to my office.

She heard something. / vs She heard some footsteps. (Escuché algo / pasos)

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10. Final vocatives:

Your taxi’s waiting love.

Good morning doctor.

11. Final reporting clauses:

I don’t want to go out he said.

12. Final adverbials:

Adverbials of time and place: Although adverbs in general are usually accented,
adverbs and adverbial phrases of time and place are often NOT accented when at the
end of an IP. They usually form part of the tail.

I had an unexpected letter yesterday.

She’s coming to dinner tomorrow.

The trade balance was in the red last month.

Does Mr. Brown live here?

He’s got a tattoo on his arm.

There’s a fly in my soup!

This does not apply in sentences where the sense of the verb would be incomplete
without the final adverbial. Such adverbials are typically in focus and bear the
nucleus.

Put it on the table.

Write the details in the book.

Sign at the bottom.

Alternatively, in statements, final adverbs and adverbials of time and place may bear
the nucleus in a separate IP, typically making with the preceding IP a fall+ rise
pattern.

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I had an unexpected letter yesterday.

13. Adverbials of courtesy, degree and proper functioning.

“Please” and “thank” (courtesy subjuncts) you are non-nuclear at the end of the
utterance.

Degree subjuncts fall into two groups: downtoners, which reject nuclear accent
and intensifiers, which are usually accented.

Your rucksack weighs a tone, practically.

I’m just going out for a bit.

I was beginning to think I did not belong in there, sort of.

She lost her head completely.

I love you very much.

I don’t love you very much.

I’m sure she won’t mind in the slightest.

It isn’t that bad.

Adverbs of proper functioning tend to reject nucler accent.

Do you think it will work OK?

I can’t hear properly.

Sentence adverbials:

Sentence adverbials, which modify the whole utterance, normally occur as

He promised to be good naturally.

He promised to be good naturally.

NOTICE:

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John speaks English, naturally. / John speaks English naturally. (disjunct)

John speaks English naturally. (manner adjunct)

Similar cases:

He went home, happily. (disjunct/sentence adverbial)

He went home happily. (manner adjunct)

Alice tried to interfere, between you and me.

Alice tried to interfere between you and me.

Similar cases:

Prices have gone up unfortunately.

It’s a question of equality basically.

Reinforcing adverbials tend to resist being appended to the main intonation group
and take a falling intonation.

I couldn’t be lieve it honestly.

There were millions of cars on the road literally.

I’m not taking any of his bullying definitely.

She’s an excellent actress and good looking also.

Fossilized expressions with fixed tonicity:

Choose five of the following idiomatic expressions and create a

To get one’s fingers burnt

To keep one’s fingers crossed

To have a screw loose

To make one’s mouth water

Onions make my eyes water.

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To pull the wool over somebody’s eyes

To keep one’s head above water

To get on like a house on fire

To allow the dust to settle .

To see which way the wind’s blowing

To look like something the cat brought in

To make one’s hair stand on end

He’ll have his work cut out.

At the best of time

Till the cows come home

To my way of thinking

As far as I’m concerned

On second thoughts

In one way

In other words

In my opinion

What’s that supposed to mean??

You can say that again.

There’s a good girl! There’s a clever dog!

What of it?

To be at it

To throw a spanner in the works

d) Single-stressed compounds: Do the exercises on pages 102 and 103.

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The old and the new.

Information status.

The general rule is that we accent new information but not old information. If the last
lexical item contains new information, that lexical item is accented and thus bears the
nucleus. However, if the last lexical item contains old information, then it is not
accented. The nucleus goes earlier, namely on the last item that contains new
information. (LNLI)

Oral practice: 3.6.1/2/3

Synonyms:

We can repeat old information using verbatim repetition, synonyms or hypernyms

Oral practice: 3.7.1/2/3/4/5

Prospective and implied givenness:

It is not only repeated words that tend to be deaccented but also words that are about
to be repeated.

A red triangle / and a blue triangle (planned speech)

The word triangle is deaccented because 1) it’s going to be repeated and 2) it is

Or:

A red triangle / and a blue triangle (unplanned speech; the speaker has not decided
he is going to repeat the word triangle yet)

The speaker has the option of deaccenting items that are NOT repeated and so
objectively represent new material. This can be a way of forcing on the hearer the view
that this material is given (part of the knowledge shared by hearer and listener).

I’d like to speak to the manager.

She’s much too busy.

She’s much too busy. Intensifiers are usually given nuclear accenting.

Oral practice: 3.8.1/2/3/4/5

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Focus:

Broad and narrow focus:

Focus: the concentration of attention on a particular part of the message. If we bring

The part of the IP that is placed in focus is called the focus domain. The nucleus marks
the end of the domain.

To give a stretch of utterance broad focus, we use neutral tonicity. The nucleus goes on
the last lexical item (lli rule)

Broad and narrow focus /New and old information /Prospective givenness:

Analyze the dialogues following the example below:

[…] Focus domain

[When’s the first day in summer?] BF

[Sometime in June, I think.] BF “I think” is a minus focus expression (not

[When] in June? NF “In June” verbatim repetition

[It may be the twenty first.] BF

A: I’m looking for a new watch.

B: What kind of watch?

A: We have analog

digital

and a combination

B: I prefer analog please

A: I’m really depressed.

B: Why are you depressed?

A: Things just aren’t working out.

B: What things?

A: Oh, everything.

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A: Who took the desks?

B: Whose desks?

A: Yours and mine.

A: Someone gave me these pictures.

B: Who gave them to you?

A: I can’t tell you.

A: I can’t help you. That drug is proscribed.

B: Did you say prescribed or proscribed?

A: Proscribed. It’s illegal to dispense it.

Contrastive focus : The nuclear accent draws attention to a contrast the speaker is
making. Any following material within the same IP is unaccented and forms part of
the tail. Any word can be accented for contrast, including function words (contrast
overrides all the other rules).

Do E3.10.1/2/3/4

Do E3 .11 to3.28 on your own

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