PROSODIES
AND THEIR FUNCTIONS IN MARATHI
The PROSODIES in a language can and have to be specified
in phonological terms and not merely in phonetic terms we shall,
therefore. Begin by indicating
how the phonological form of prosodies is correctly rendered by the
speaker and recognized by the listener.
At the same time, the prosodies participate I conveying
certain notions. It so happens
that in Marathi lexically functioning prosodies are only marginalthere
is little word accent and no word tone.
But syntactically functioning prosodies play an important role
in Marathi. The notions that
these convey are connected on the one hand with the other with the
way the sentence fits into the communicative context offered by the
situation and the larger text., if any.
So the second step will be to indicate, in the light of this,
how the notional form is correctly formulated by the speaker and comprehended
by the listener.
The last step will naturally be that of collating the
phonological forms and the notional forms.
This collation constitutes the function of the sentence prosodiesit
will thus be the sign-relation between the sign-vehicle and the sign-message.
The present study will conclude with a brief glance
at some of the stylistic implications and the pedagogical implications.
Phonological Forms.
Phonetic resemblances and differences are reduced in
a language to phonological identities and distinctions, In order to
understand how this takes place, one has to have an idea of how phonetic
contiguities and distances are reduced in a language to phonological
cohesions and boundaries. In
other words, a phonological form in a language consists of phonological
segments and prosodies in cohesion within and across the boundaries
of phonological domains. Thus, in the Chinese language, the phonological
form ling2 meaning zero consists of the presyllabic segment
I, the syllabic segment I, and the postsyllabic segment ng together
with the prosody second tone (high rising pitch) within the phonological
domain of a syllable.
A phonological domain (such as a syllable
has a characteristic culminative feature (enabling one to say, for
example, how many syllables there are in a stretch of speech) and
a characteristic demarcative feature (enabling one to say where one
syllable ends and the next one begins). Marathi has the following
successively more inclusive phonological domainsthe segment, the
syllable, the prominence group, the accent group, the tone group,
and the breath group. A phonetic stretch between silences, that is, an utterance consists
of one or more breath groups: an utterance is not a phonological domain,
but just a phonetic fact. The
phonological segment is a combination of phonological features. Such that there are no permutative contrasts
with in this domain. The six
types of domain can be describe briefly, and ways of symbolizing them
in phonological writing, suggested.
(See table 1)
Phonological prosodies operate in association
with the various phonological domains. Some of the phonological prosodies of Marathi are context [predictable
and so without any distinctive value. (Hence, the corresponding symbols, which are marked with an asterisk
below, can be dispensed with in phonological writing) The phonological
prosodies of Marathi can be grouped into JUNCTURES, ACCENTS, ACCENT
MODIFIERS, TONES, and TONE MODIFIERS.
The junctures (with their symbols) are presented below-
SEGMENT juncture (null space)
SYLLABLE juncture (period*)
PHRASE-MEDIAL juncture (hyphen)
PHRASE-FINAL juncture (word space)
SENTENCE-MEDIAL juncture (single bar)
SENTENCE-FINAL juncture (double bar)
Table 1
Marathi Phonological Domains
|
The
Domain & its symbolization
|
Culminative Features
|
Demarcative Features
|
Remarks
|
|
Segment
(null space)
|
Peak of stricture or independent glide
|
Dependent glide or abrupt transition
|
No per-mutative
contrasts within
|
|
Syllable
(period)
|
Peak of sonority
or peak of intercostals pulse
|
Trough
of sonority or start or arrest of intercostals pulse
|
Phonetic syllable with extrashort vowels (smita , pahi
ǰe) do not count as phonological syllables
|
|
Prominence
group
(hyphen
& grave accent)
|
Peak of prominence-the syllabic longer than elsewhere
|
`trough of prominence & slowing down of final segments
|
Roughly corresponds to the grammatical word.
|
|
Accent
group
(word
space and acute accent)
|
One and only one phrase nucleus
|
Trough of loudness & slowing down of final syllables
|
Roughly corresponds to the grammatical phrase
|
|
Tone
group (single bar and a raised solid circle)
|
One and only one tone nucleus
|
Deeper trough of loudness & greater slowing down of final syllables
|
Roughly a longish phrase or a shortish sentence: final pause optional
|
|
Breath
group (double bar)
|
One and only one nuclear tone group
|
Even deeper trough of loudness & even greater slowing down of final
syllables & abdominal pulse limits
|
Roughly corresponds to the grammatical sentence & the speech act;
final pause optional
|
|
Example showing
domains and junctures:
|
Leaving out
the predictable elements:
|
|
-֤.ָ
. ף -.-. . - .. ָ
. .-. ߅
|
-֪٣֭
-֛--
ֵ
-ָ þã ߅
|
The
accents (with their symbols) are presented below
PHRASE-MAGINAL accent (grave accent*)
PHARASE-CNUCLEAR
accent (acute accent)
TONE
NUCLEUS (raised solid circle*)
Example
with accents added:
-֪٣֭
-֛-
-
ָ þã. ߅
Leaving
out the predictable elements:
-֪٣֭
֛--
--ָ
þã - ߅
The position of an accent within the prominence group
is predictable. As a rule, it accompanies the second-last syllable,
except that it accompanies: (a) the only syllable, (b) the last syllable
in a disyllable, if the second-last syllable ends in a short vowel
(֙, ֕, , , ֻ), (c) the third-last syllable in a polysyllable if the
second-last syllable ends I n a short vowel (ן,
֭֟, ִ, ֍-).
The phrase-marginal accent could be regarded simply
as a weakned phrase accent. Each
accent group has one and only one phrase-nuclear accent, the other
accets if any being predictably weakened.
The phrase-nuclear accent is open to accent- strengthening.
The accent modifiers (with their symbols) are presented
below-
TENSION FALL accent modifier (single underline for
the whole prominence group)
TENSION RISE accent modifier (double underline for
the whole prominence group)
Example used so far, which has no accent modifiers);
-֪֣ -֛--
-ҵ-ָ þã -߅
The tones
(with their symbols) are presented below in a tabular display. (See
Table2.) The symbol is placed at the end of the tone group.
There are no phrase-level tones.
Table2
Marathi Sentence Tones
|
|
GRADUAL
|
STEEP
|
EXTRA
STEEP
|
REVERSED
|
|
FALL
|
\
|
∥
|
\\\
|
⋀
|
|
RISE
|
/
|
∥
|
///
|
⋁
|
Note how the rise-fall is treated as
a kind of fall and the fallrise as a kind of rise.
Examples
with tones added:
-֪٣֭
-֛ - -
-
ָ þã -߅.
-֪֣
-- ֛0- -
-
-ָ þã -߅
The tone may remain unmodified, that is with intervals
between pitch-levels being what is the norm for the speaker concerned.
In contrast, the tone may be strengthened or weakened by adding tone
modifiers.
The tone modifiers (with their symbols) are presented below (the
symbols are placed at the beginning of the tone group)
Tone strengthening: pitch stretch
Tone weakening: pitch squeeze
Example with tone modifiers:
-֪֣ þã -
-֛- - - -ָ
The phonetic features described below
should partly help one to render and recognize the prosodies inventoried
so far
Segment juncture: dependent glide or abrupt transition between
the segment and the preceding/ following segment/ silence within or
across syllables.
Syllable juncture: trough of sonority or start or arrest of intercostals
pulse. (It position is predictable
according to certain rules-any deviant or reinforced syllable
boundary).
Phrase-medial juncture: a trough of
prominence and slowing down of preceding segments.
Phrase-final juncture: a trough of
loudness and slowing down of preceding syllables.
Sentence-medial juncture: a deeper
trough of loudness and greater slowing down of preceding syllables:
any accompanying pause being with breath held or egressing in the
course of an abdominal pulse.
Sentence-final juncture: even deeper
trough of loudness and even greater slowing down of preceding syllables;
any accompanying pause being with breath held or ingressing: may coincide
with the end of the abdominal pulse with breath ingressing.
Phrase-marginal accent: peak of prominence; the syllabic vowel, short
or long as the case may be, longer than elsewhere, the post-syllabic
longer than elsewhere.
Phrase-nuclear accent: peak of prominence, peak of loudness within
the accent group; the syllabic vowel and the postsyllabic even longer
then elsewhere; locus of pitch transitions characteristic of the tone.
Tone nucleus: The syllable bearing the last phrase-nuclear
accent to occur in a tone group is the locus of the nuclear pitch
transition of the tone. If
any other phrase-nuclear accent becomes the tone nucleus, then it
also becomes the last phrase-nuclear accent to occur in the tone group.
Example:
-֪٣֭ -֛ - -
- ָ þã -߅.
Tension fall accent modifier: The tension peaks at the opening of the accented
syllable (with slight prolongation of the pre-syllabic segments or
glottal catch) and falls through the rest of the prominence group:
the peak of loudness and the pitch range stretch covers the accented
syllable and any other syllables that may follow in the prominence
group.
Tension rise accent modifier: The tension rises from
the begriming of the prominence group to the close of the accented
syllable (with slight prolongation at the close of the syllabic. Or
of the post-syllabic segments or glottal catch): the peak of loudness
and the pitch range stretch covers the accented syllable and any other
syllables that may follow in the prominence group. The prolongation
at the close of the syllable may result either in a clip or a drawl.
Tones: The tone cadences cover the whole tone group
with pitch transitions at each phrase-nuclear accent. The cadences can be described phonetically in terms of four pitch
levels, namely, low (1), mid (2) high (3), extra-high (4) that are
relative to the pitch range available to the speaker concerned.
In the absence of any tone modifier, the pre-nuclear
portion of the cadence starts with a small pitch rise (12) (along
with a loudness gain) up to the first phrase-nuclear accent. The pitch
level of each pre-nuclear accent is slightly lower than the pitch
level of the preceding one if any within the tone group: The portion
in between two successive phrase nuclear accents has a slightly rising
pitch or even pitch ending in a down skip to the latter phrase-nuclear
accent. (This is the so-called stepping cadence.)
The portion of the cadence from the syllable bearing
the tone nucleus to the end of the tone group is distinctive of each
tone. The distinctive cadences for each of the Table3)
A tie line indicates a short stretch downskip or an upskip or an even-skip
as the case may be.
Table:3:
The Nuclear Cadences of Marathi Sentence Tones
|
|
GRADUALTEEP
|
EXRASTEEP
|
REVERASED
|
|
|
FALL
|
\
32 OR
21
|
\\311
|
\\\4332
|
^231or
|
|
|
|
|
|
132
|
|
RISE
|
\32
or
|
\\344
|
///234
|
V
324or
|
|
|
12
|
|
|
423
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The nuclear cadences of steep. Extra steep, and reversed
fall tones have a gradual loudness loss (the fade). As for the remaining five tones, the loudness
loss is even more gradual, indeed these tones a end in an abrupt cut-off
in glottal effort and loudness. Extra steep fall and rise tones have
an even greater slowing down of final syllables a and optionally a
loudness dip at the pitch
even skip. Extra-steep fall and reversed rise tones have
optionally a glottal trill (the creaky voice) when the voice has
low or near-low pitch.
Tone modifiers: These
affect the cadence of the whole tone group but are especially distinctive
in the pre-nuclear portion. Among other things, they affect the pitch
range: the intervals between the four pitch levels are stretched or
squeezed as the case may be.
Pitch stretch tone modifier: The whole
cadence has a pitch stretch. The pre-nuclear cadence starts with an
up-skip (13) up to the first phrase-nuclear accent. The portion in between two successive phrase-nuclear accents has
a sharply falling pitch ending in an up-skip to the latter phrase-nuclear
accent, which is at a slightly lower pitch level than the former (just
as in the unmodified stepping, cadence.) There is an overall tone
strengthening in this way.
Pitch Squeeze tone modifier: The whole cadence has a pitch a squeeze: hence
no up-skip or down-skip or even-skip is noticeable. The pitch range thus squeezed approximates
the closing pitch level of the tone preceding within the breath group
or the opening pitch level of the tone following within the breath
group. (It will be misleading to call this even pitch or level tone. As we shall see later, even a weakened tone before a sentence-medial
juncture has a pitch rise and one after a sentence-medial juncture
has a pitch rise or a pitch fall in concord with the preceding nuclear
tone group). Examples:
≍ָ-ָ / -֪٣֭ þã -߅.
-֪٣֭ þã -߅.
≍ -֛ - - - ָ
The prosodies
described so far taken together with the segments constitute the central
phonology of the language. Marathi also has a peripheral phonetic
resemblances and differences are not fully reduced to phonological
and identities and distinctions and phonetic contiguities and distances
are not fully reduced to phonological cohesions and boundaries. Peripheral of what are sometimes aptly called
speech gestures. Speech gestures is an area where notional resemblances
and differences are not fully reduced to notional identities and distinctions. The accent modifiers, the tone modifiers described
earlier under the nuclear phonology come rather near to being speech
gestures.
Peripheral phonology has its segments and segment sequences
often with phonetic features and arrangements that are found rarely
or not at all in nuclear phonology.
Examples:
[retroflex
click], [39] and other onomatopes
[s
pulmonic ingressive]. ֵ [aẹ pulmonic ingressive].
֍ [yaek?] and other near-in
voluntary cries (including sobs, wails, hiccups, and laughter)
[?ṃh]
or [? ə̃h].
[alveolar click] and other gestures to oneself
ׯ
[pş] [ʃ
t], ־
[lateral click with lips spread and rounded alternatively],
[ʃ k] and other gestures
to animals, children, and humans
,,... [a?a
i? ī] ..and other utterances that are ritual-chant-like
But or present concern is with peripheral trans-segment
feature (and such segments or segment sequences as are associated
with central and peripheral prosodies). The peripheral prosodies may
not always operate in association
with the domains of central phonology.
The PERIPHERAL trans-segmental features of Marathi
can be grouped into PROSODIES, PERIPHERAL VOICE ARTICULATIONS, PERIPHERAL
MODIFIERS, AND VOICE QUALITIES
The peripheral prosodies (with their symbols) are presented
below
TEMPO RAPID and SLOW (RA, SL)
REGISTER HIGH AND LOW (HI, LO)
VOLUME LOUD and SOFT (LD, SO)
PROSODIC TRANSITION ABRUPT and SMOOTH (AB, SM)
Very low register is often accompanied by glottal trill
(creaky voice). A reference has already been made to peripheral prosodies
accompanying tension rise accent modifier, namely
CLIP (short syllabic cut-off by a long post-syllabic
or glottal catch)
DRAWL (long syllabic trailing off into a short post-syllabic,
if any)
Examples:
RA ; ֻ-ֻ-־֍
RA /
LO ֗-֟-ֻ֯ LO ָ
/
LD
LD /
AB ֻ
֙
AB //
A reference has already been made to High and Low register
variants of sentence tones in Table 3.
The marginal articulations (with their symbols) are
presented below
ARTICULATORY
TRANSITION-AND-TARGETTING PRECISE and SLURRED (PR, SR)
NASALIZATION (NA)
YODIZATION
(tongue front raised towards the palate and lips spread, that is,
delabiopalatalization) (YE)
WAWIZATION
(tongue back raised towards the velum and lips rounded, that is, labiovelarization)
(WO)
Examples:
Pr pr - pr ֻ֍ pr ֻ- /
Wo NA ֵ-
NA NO wo և /
֬ ֻ
// SD SR - SD SR /
YE -
YE /
The marginal voice modifiers (with their symbols) are
presented below
ENLARGED PHARYNX VOICE (PV)
WHISPERIZATION (WH)
ASPIRATED VOICE (HV)
LAX LARYNX VOICE (LV)
TENSE LARYNX VOICE (TV)
Examples:
PV -֚ - PV //
WH -Ӵ֟-Ӑ֟
WH //
և
֟ \ FV ֻ
--֛- FV//
HV ֓ ֵ- HV //
LV SR ֻ ײֻ֍ ֜ ֜ - LV SR
TV ֬ - ֻ TV ///
The marginal voice qualities (with their symbols) are
presented below-
LIGHT VOICE QUALITY (acute and lightly damped, LQ)
MELLOW VOICE QUALITY (grave and lightly damped, MQ)
HEAVY VOICE QUALITY (grave and highly damped, HQ)
Here acute means energy concentration in higher overtones
and grave means energy concentration in lower overtones.
Example:
LQ ֲֺ ֍ LQ - LD PV HQ ֑
LD ֻ PV HQ///
Finally, the peripheral segments and segment sequences
that are closely associated with central and peripheral prosodies
can be grouped into PAUSES, CARRIES, and FILLERS.
A pause can be MEDIAL PAUSE (associated with the sentence-medial
juncture), FINAL PAUSE (associated with the sentence-final juncture),
and SILENCE PAUSE (a longer pause amounting to a silence on the part
of the speaker). The first
two (symbol SP) can vary in length.
A carrier is segmental material serving to carry a
central prosody or a peripheral trans-segmental feature. These are:
[h m̩] or [h ā] or [h ū]
[can carry a variety of fall and rise tones]
[m̩hm̩?] or [āhā?]
or [ūhū] (can carry the gradual fall tone)
[ā ?] or [ɔ̄?] or [hā?] or [hā e?] (can carry the gradual
fall tone)
[vyael ] or [yaey] (can be iterated and carry yodization)
[u] or [ɔ̄] or [m̩] (of variable length,
can carry Wawization
A filler is segmental material serving to supplement
the usual word material within the same tone group.
, [a]
[a]
[h
ā] or [ā] or [a]
, [m̩] or [ā ] or [a]
Examples:
HI
HI
LD
LD
և-
MQ
MQ
-
Lo Lo
ֻ֯-
-ָ--- /
Before concluding this account of phonological forms,
one may take notice of a couple of very short tunes, used in juvenile
chants and which may be transcribed by making use of a single bar
to indicate a musical beat, macron and brave to indicate mores, and
some notes from the middle and the lower octaves.
Examples:
̄˘ ̄˘ ̄˘ ̄˘
C C
־ (nursery
rhyme)
(childs tale
speech)
ֵ (nursery
tale speech)
?
(vowel jingle)
(syllabary
jingle)
־ ֟
̄˘ ̄˘
C C
(consonant jingle)
Notional Forms
Notional resemblances and differences are reduced in
a language to notional identities and distinctions. In order to understand how this takes place one has to have an idea
of how notional contiguities and distances are reduced in a language
to grammatical cohesions and boundaries.
The formulation and comprehension of notions that are associated
with sentence prosodies has a close relationship to the grammatical
domains of phrases and sentences together a with their structure. Marathi has the following successively more
inclusive grammatical domains: the formative, the word, the phrase,
and the sentence. (The so-called
dependent clause is simply a kind of phrase that has some of the
structure of a sentence. The so-called independent clause in coordination
with other independent clauses is simply a sentence within a sentence
sequence. The so-called independent clause in super
ordination to one or more dependent clauses is simply the residue
of a sentence when all the sentence-like phrase are removed and hence
amounts only to a fragment, not to a grammatical domain of any kind.)
Some of the grammatical categories that we may have
an occasion to make use of may need to distinguish between global
scope and corresponding respectively to a sentence structure and a
sentence element. Thus, a question may be global or focal in
scope. Globally
Did the man eat an apple?
Is it that the man ate an apple?
Who ate an apple?
What did the man eat?
Negative
polarity may be global or focal in scope. Globally
The
man didnt eat an apple.
Not
that the man ate an apple.
But
focally
Not
the man (nut his son) ate
an apple.
The
man ate not an apple (but a pear).
Likewise
with an exclamatory statement, relativization, and so on.
The
sentence has a communicative layout. The part that makes the communication
feasible is the TOPOS especially the anchoring portion of it, namely,
the TOPICAL FOCUS. and there is the part that makes the communication
worthwhile: this is the SCRIPTUMespecially the anchoring portion
of it, the SCRIPTUM FOCUS
Some times, typically so in an early or a very late
phase of communication, the to-pos may be wholly implicit if not tacit.
the explicit sentence is wholly the script-um.
Examples
(leaving in only junctures and accents):
΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄
ֻ ߅ ״֡ -
ׯֿ־
TOPOS
TOPICAL SCRIPTUM
FOCUS
΄
פ-߅
SCRIPTIVE
FOCUS
΄ ΄
΄
΄ ΄
-
״֡-օ ֻ
ׯֿ־
TOPOS
TOPICAL SRIPTUM
FOCUS
΄
΄ ΄ ΄
΄
״֡-օ ֻ
ׯֿ־
TOPOS
TOPICAL SRIPTUM
FOCUS
΄
פ-߅
SCRIPTIVE
FOCUS
The boundary between TOPOS and SRIPTUM can seen variously
as a boundary between pairs such as- subject/ predicate,
referential
anchor/characterization imparted, information address/information
input, shared information/new information, presupposed matter not
affected by global polarity/ matter affected by global polarity yielding
opposed entailments,
taken
to be available / offered as relevant. As such the boundary is open
to manipulation, and so is the overt order of the material on either
side of it.
What does the worthwhile ness of a communication consist
in? This depends on the kind
of communication it is; it may be a STATEMENT or a MAND. A statement offers to confront a state of affairs so that when the
scriptum is seen to match the topos the statement is deemed to have
made good its claim to truth and to have succeeded in effecting a
suasion. A mand offers to make a claim on a state of
affairs so that when the mand is deemed to be made good, that is fulfilled
and to have succeeded in effecting a compliance.
Grammatically, a sentence may be a
statement. Alternatively,
it may be a wish (chiefly calling for compliance). Marathi also has
two special kinds of mands: questions and calls.
Questions declare ignorance and wish for enlightenmenttypically
in the shape of a statement that will remove the ignorance.
Alternatively, questions demand that the addresses make a statement
that meets the prescription made.
Compliance to a call consists into the addresses making himself
available to the speaker.
A piece of communication may, however,
be neither a statement nor a mand but rather a rite such as a greeting.
A piece of communication, whatever
the kind has certain orientations inseparable from it:
(1)
Orientation to the context whether
the context is situational or textual the communication is CONCLUSIVE
if it effects a closure or seeks to, but INCONCLUSIVE if it effects an overture or seeks to
Examples:
΄ ΄
(1) -
- \ (I know
/believe that the claim is valid/ that the suasion will be effected).
΄ ΄
(2)
- - \ (I think /
feel so, I am persuaded but I have reservations/ I notice implications).
΄
΄ ΄
(3)
- - \ -
\ (Like 1)
΄ ΄
(4)
- - \ (Like 1)
΄ ΄ ΄
(5)
- ֙\
(Like 1)
΄ ΄
(6)
- - \ (Like 4)
΄ ΄
(7)
- - \ -
\ (Like 2)
΄ ΄ ΄
(8)
- \ (Like 2)
΄ ΄ ΄
(9)
- - ֙\
(Like 2)
΄
΄
(10)
- ָ֙-
\ (Like 8)
΄ ΄
(11)
։ ֛- \ (I know/ believe that the wish will be fulfilled.)
΄ ΄ ΄
(12)
։ ֛- \ (I think/feel that the wish will be fulfilled.)
΄ ΄
(13)
--ֻ-\ (the question as wish I think I know the answer, I
think
Im
going to get the answer; as demand : I think youre going to answer).
΄ ΄
(14)
--ֻ- \ (the question as wish : I dont think I know the answer,
I dont think Im going to
get the answer; as demand : I dont
know whether youre going to answer).
΄ ΄
΄
΄
(15)
- - -֍
\ (whether order, advice,
or request: I think that the demand will be met).
΄ ΄
΄
΄
(16)
- - -֍
\ (whether order, advice,
or request: I think that the demand will be met).
΄
΄
(17)
ִÍָ \ ִÍָ ( the greeting
routine is initiated and closed.)
΄
΄
(18)
ִֻֻ
\
ִֻֻ
\ (Like 17)
(2)
Orientation to the communicative act whether the act is a statement
or a mand-the communication may be INSISTENT, neutral, or RETICENT.
΄ ΄
(1)
- - \\\ (confident claim
or suasion)
΄
΄
(2)
- - \ (tentative claim or
casual suasion)
΄
΄
(3)
- - \\ (neither 1nor2)
΄ ΄
΄ ΄
(4)
-
-֍ (command, exhortation,
entreaty)
΄ ΄ ΄ ΄
(5)
-
-֍ ( instruction,
suggestion, casual request)
΄ ΄
΄ ΄
(6)
-
-֍ (Plain order, advice,
request being 4nor 5)
(3)
Orientation to the addresseeAGGRESSIVE
(warning, impatience, defiance, or the like), neutral, or CONCILIATORY
(reassurance, patience, submission or the like).
΄ ΄
΄
1.
- ֱ - (aggressive)
΄ ΄ ΄
2. ≍- - \\ (conciliatory)
(4)
Orientation to the speakerINVOLVEMENT
(commitment, excitement, or the like,) neutral, or DISENGAGEMENT (non
committal attitude boredom, or the like.)
΄ ΄
1.
- - (involvement)
΄ ΄
2.
- - (disengagement)
So far we have dealt with notions that operate globally.
There are other notions that operate at the local level with
the phrase or the word or, less commonly, the particle or the formative.
Considerations of the tempo of utterance and of the
distinction between figure and ground in the sentence gestalt govern
the distribution of attention. Specific sentence elements or phrase elements
may be subjected to FOREGROUNDING or to BACKGROUNDING.
Examples:
΄ ΄
1.
֬־ - \\
΄
2.
-- \\
΄ ΄ ΄
3.
֬־ ֻ \\
΄ ΄
4.
- ֻ \\
Here the foregrounding of ֬־ may be contrasted
with the back grounding of and the foregrounding of ֻ may be contrasted
with the back grounding of .
Which element receives topical focus or which element
receives scriptive focus depends on global considerations. But there
is room for local focus also and it either may be independent o9f
global focus (whether topical or scriptive) or may reinforce global
focus. The local focus may be EXCLUSIVE or neutral
or INTENSIVE.
Exclusive focus conveys exclusion of alternatives within
the scope of positive polarity and the possibility of alternatives
within the scope of negative polarity.
Examples:
΄ ΄ ΄
1.
- ֻ-
- \\
(of that particular kind)
΄ ΄
΄
2.
- ֻ- -
\
(of that kind, but not of
other kinds)
΄ ΄ ΄
3.
\ (not just
one, but many more)
΄ ΄
΄
4.
߅ (not that one, but
maybe others)
΄ ΄ ΄
5.
ߟ ם -ߟ ָ֓ \
Intensive focus conveys that the requirement is fulfilled
to excess if within the scope of positive polarity and that the requirement
ifs far from fulfilled if within the scope of negative polarity.
Examples:
΄ ΄ ΄
΄
1.
ֻ ֻ ֤
ꅅ (exactly of that
kind not roughly of that kind)
΄ ΄ ΄ ΄
2.
- - - (not even one, let alone two or more)
3.
ӟӟ ָָ
It will be noticed that we have consistently avoided
the rather vague term emphasis (and its opposite deemphasis) Perhaps
we could now bring together the very different kinds of emphasis and
deepmphasis for a tabulated review. (See Table 4.)
Table 4
Varieties of Emphasis and
Deemphasis
|
|
Emphasis
|
Deemphasis
|
|
Global
|
CONCLUSIVE
|
INCONCLUSIVE
|
|
Function
|
INSISTENT
AGGRESSIVE
INVOLVEMENT
|
RETICENT
CONCILIATORY
DISENGAGEMENT
|
|
Global
|
SCRIPTUM
|
TOPOS
|
|
Structure
|
SCRIPTIVE
FOCUS
TOPICAL
FOCUS
|
SCRIPTIVE
residue
TOPICAL
residue
|
|
Local
|
FOREGROUNDING
|
BACKGROUNDING
|
|
Focus
|
EXCLUSIVE
|
neutral
|
|
|
INTENSIVE
|
neutral
|
The Collation of
Phonological Form and Notional Form
We shall first take up the notional forms by turn and
indicate their vehicles as selected from the central phonology of
prosodies. (We may note in passing that in Marathi the prosodies operate
in association with grammatical restructuring, overt order, the use
of ֯֝ in place of
as the 1st person
pronoun in TOPICAL FOCUS, and sentential parties like , /, ֡, , ֝, , ָߍ, ָ,
ָ, ֻ֯ and like , ,)
The boundary between the TOPOS and the SRIPTUM is indicated
by the dividing of the sentence into two-tone groups separated by
a sentence-medial juncture. In
the absence of the boundary, the whole sentence is the script-um with
the to-pos remaining implicit or even wholly tacit.
The SCRIPTIVE FOCUS is marked by the
tone nucleus in the nuclear tone group.
It is associated with Reinforced Front or End Shift and with
global negation, global or focal question, and focal exclamation. (A reinforced shift is one in which the shifting sentence element
takes the verb along with it)
The topical focus is marked by the tone nucleus in
the marginal tone group.
A marginal tone group (INCONCLUSIVE if embedded and CONCLUSIVE if additive) or follow
the nuclear tone group (with echo tone, and, in case it is embedded
rather than additive, with pitch squeeze).
Examples:
΄ ΄
΄
΄
֭ ֻ-
\ - \\
΄ ΄
΄
΄
ֻ- \
-
\\
΄ ΄
΄
- \\ -־
\\
΄ ΄ ΄
- \\
≍ -־ \\
The two pairs of examples illustrate Front Shift and
End Shift respectively.
CONCLUSIVE and INCONCLUSIVE are conveyed by fall tones
and rise tones respectively. INCONCLUSIVE in a marginal tone group
with echo tone is conveyed by a pitch squeeze.
INSISTENT, neutral, and RETICENT are conveyed by reinforced,
steep, and gradual tones respectively. By reinforced tones are meant
extra-steep and reversed tones.
ACCRESSIVE, neutral,
and conciliatory are conveyed by pitch stretch, unmodified tone, and
pitch squeeze respectively.
(a)
respectively by Reversed, un-reinforced, and Extra-steep tones
if CONCLUSIVE is present;
(b)
respectively by Reversed, un-reinforced,
and Extra-steep tones if INCONCLUSIVE; is present
With a word, FOREGROUNDING is conveyed
by phrase-nuclear accent and BACKGROUNDING is conveyed by assigning
it only phrase-marginal accents.
Examples:
΄ ΄
--־ \\
There is a certain amount of flexibility
about the attachment of a backgrounded phrase
With a sentence BACKGROUNDING is conveyed
by assigning it a marginal tone group.
Some backgrounded words and formatives
may appear in special rapid tempo forms: ם (ni, an, n,) , , ָ (ta), (ma), -- (-l)
ֵ՟ (porint)
EXCLUSIVE,
neutral, and INTENSIVE are conveyed by tension fall, unmodified accent,
is associated with scriptive focus and inconclusive Intensive is associated
with conclusive and involvement.
Many words have special intensive forms.
Thus, has , .
Next we shall take up peripheral features,
namely, peripheral articulations, peripheral voice modifiers, peripheral
voice qualities, peripheral pauses, and peripheral carriers and fillers
by turn and indicate their expressive or functional value.
Rapid tempo
(about 200 words per minute) expresses informality hurry and functional
value. Slow tempo (about 100
words or less per minute) expresses deliberation, tenderness, hesitation,
and reticent anger and functions as a time gainer.
High register
expresses confidence, anger, excitement and functions as a loud-volume-reinforce.
Low register expresses patience, diffidence, fear, and functions
as a soft-volume-reinforce.
Loud volume
expresses confidence, anger, intimidation, aggression, and functions
as a promoter of the salience of the sign-vehicle against noise or
distance and also as an icon of large size. Soft volume expresses
ingratiation, tenderness and functions as a demotes of salience to
prevent broadcast.
Abrupt prosodic
transition (in pitch and loudness) functions as a reinforce of pitch
stretch and precise articulation.
Smooth prosodic transition) in pitch and loudness) expresses
reticent confidence in oneself, ingratiation.
Precise articulation (in transition and
targeting ) expresses insistent confidence in oneself, sense of the
importance of the message and functions as a salience-promoter against
channel noise. Slurred articulation ( in transition and targeting)
expresses lack of care for successful communication, indifference,
boredom, drunken state, old-age infirmity, and functions as a salience-demote
for an embarrassing message (a cover up).
Nasalization expresses plaintive-ness,
warning and functions as a reinforce of wawization.
Ionization
expresses impudence, exasperation, jeering, annoyance and is associated
with loss of dignity, partial or full tongue protrusion.
Wawizatio
expresses a regressive desire to be petted and coddled, plaintive-ness,
defensiveness against possible blame for ones error or misdeed.
Enlarged
pharynx voice (booming) expresses insistent earnestness and functions
as a voice-projector for broadcast and a reinforce for heavy voice
quality.
Whisperization expresses shared confidences
and functions as a demote of salience to prevent broadcast.
Falsetto voice functions as a mimicry of
female and juvenile voice quality.
Aspirated voice functions as a mimicry
of whisperization (as on the stage or in sharing confidences).
Lax larynx voice expresses or mimics a
drunken state.
Tense larynx voice expresses disapproval
and functions as a reinforce of precise articulation. Combined with low register (rasping voice) expresses tenderness,
reassurance.
Light voice quality expresses tenderness,
reassurance.
Sharp voice quality expresses insistent
claim on attention and functions a salience--promoter or a voice projector.
Mellow voice quality expresses reassurance.
Heavy voice quality functions as an icon
attention-getter for the portion of the message that follows.
Medial pause function as an attention-getter
for the portion of the message that follows.
Final pause expresses deliberation.
Silence pause expresses greater deliberation,
hesitation, diffidence, and functions as a device for gaining time.
The carriers , convey positive and negative polarity respectively.
The carrier convey inclusive questions. The carrier and are respectively associated with nasalization and yodization
(as marginal articulations).
The filler functions as a voiceprojector for a call. The
fillers expresses ingratiation. The fillers , express hesitation, deference ad function as filler of non-functional
silence and as a device for gaining time
Finally. One may note an extra-slow tempo
(about 50 words per minute) with syllable foregrounding for spelling
put and dictation, and also note
the expressive use of the glottal catch.
Examples:
΄ ΄
΄
\\ (for ֟. օ)
΄
? \ .
΄
և? \
Stylistic Implications
In the South
Asian linguistic area the Marathi prosodic system is intermediate
between the more crisp-sounding Indo-Aryan languages and the more
singsong Dravidian languages. There are probably prosodic zones cutting
across language families. More
careful comparative work is needed.
The voice of Marathi-speaking children and women is not as
sharp in quality or as high in normal pitch range as is the case in
some other parts of the world.
A person
may have more than one speech style, but more commonly he has only
one. A speech style is characterized by the following
among other things
(a)
the fixation of forms
such a the mid pitch level, the unmodified pitch range, normal tempo
(about 150 words per minute), normal
volume, and so on;
(b)
the predilection for
emphasis or reemphasis (see Table 4 earlier) as the case may be:
(c)
the distribution of set
features(typically. voice quality, prosodic transition, articulator
transition and targeting), controllable features, and mannerisms
(sporadic individual peculiarities and preferences being controllable
features behaving like set features.)
The distinction between set and controllable
feature is a fuzzy one in that people can and do mimic each other
(set ---> controllable) and people are conditioned by body states,
body properties, and nurture (controllable ---> set ; thus the set nasal twang of some people).
An example of a mannerism is for someone to use a filler like
all the time without any hesitation to show for it.
Both among speech sets and among speech
styles one comes across certain recurrent and even recognized syndromes. A case in point is the so-called ֍֍ style in Marathi: it consists in tense larynx voice (no rasp),
precise articulation, abrupt prosodic transition, stretched pitch range and loudness range, and so on; it is associated with middle-aged
upper-caste females confident of their own wisdom and the folly of
their peers (actually it may, of course, be found in a six-year-old
female); and it evokes responses ranging from submission through amusement
to irritated response in kind.
pedagogic
Implications
Evidently not every cog and wheel in the whole fascinating
machinery is crucial to such obvious requirements as intelligibility,
acceptability, specific expressivities (such as a certain projection
of personality), or specific functionality (such as the needs of a
public announcer or a social worker, a stage actor or a platform speaker).
Actually a fair number of native speakers of Marathi get by with hand-to-mouth
prosodic equipment (no speech style to peak of) just as others get
by with impoverished vocabulary or characterless hand writing.
A teaching
programme will do well to spend more time, effort, and ingenuity on
the essentials and leave other things for a later, more advanced phase
of not to exposure-learning (even a badly speaking teacher becomes
a model, so.), usable learning transfer from another language that
the learner controls better, and the learners native learning ability.
Thus, the peripheral phonology programme safely ignored in
the essential programme (they will learn to laugh, shout and so forth
in Marathi in any case though not always in the right place and moment);
and so can some portions of the central phonology and the corresponding
notional network. To be specific, the reinforced tones and pitch stretch
can wait but the accent modifiers, pitch squeeze, and the un-reinforced
rise/fall contrast cannot. Correspondingly involvement/ disengagement,
aggressive/ conciliatory can wait but exclusive/intensive, foregrounding/back-grounding,
conclusive/ inconclusive and, probably, insistent/ reticent cannot.
Secondly,
a teaching programme will do well to avoid the more common over-simplifying
shortcuts, such as a vague use of the term emphasis, the equating
of statements, demands, and focal questions with the conclusive fall
and that of global questions, calls, greetings, wishes with the inconclusive
rise and accepting poor and half-hearted phonetic approximations of
the phonological essentials. Equally
to be shunned is the opposite shortcut-to launch into abstract descriptions
of the notions rather than letting the learners internalize them through
a large number of judiciously chosen examples with just the minimum
of suggestive comment and glossing (such as and none other for
exclusive in positive polarity.)
Thirdly,
while some of the phonological and phonetic fundamentals are best
taught in conjunction with the vowels and consonants (such as running
through la/la/, la^, la or l aˇ lā, la-), the notional
essentials and the collations are perhaps best taught in close conjunction
with syntax and the use of the sentence particles (like )
Colophon
I must thank Dr. K. Nagamma Reddy (Osmania University) and
Mr. K. Vijay (Laboratory Technician, Central Institute of English
and Foreign Languages) for providing me with pitch, intensity, and
wave form mingograms (a double set on Visipitch and transipitch respectively)
of twenty selected Marathi utterances recorded by the author in January
1988. The interpretations are the authors alone.
Except for this and other brief laboratory explorations, the
study is based largely on the authors ear analysis of his own speech
and on his informal observation of Marathi speakers and listeners
within earshot spread over three decades.
And, of course.
I am greatly indebted to the many pioneers who have preceded me in
the veritable minefield of the phonetic and phonological analysis
of prosodies and of relevant notional analysis.
The present
study is no more than a second approximation (the first approximation
appeared as brief sections in the authors 1958 doctoral dissertationsome
of the hunches there have been developed and refined, while others
have been rejected and departed from). Apart from the evident possibility
of a better reanalysis, extensive systematic field and laboratory
testing of speakers and listeners is needed.
The was published
in Bulletin of the Deccan College Postgraduate& Reasearch Institute
51-52: 289-302, 1991-92 (published 1993)
