7. // --> ONE country two SYStems //: The discourse intonation patterns of word associations
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Winnie Cheng
Abstract
This study examines the relationship between the phraseological characteristics of language and the communicative role of discourse intonation (Brazil 1997). The findings are based on one of the four sub-corpora of the one-million-word Hong Kong Corpus of Spoken English (HKCSE), which has been prosodically transcribed. A number of studies have looked at word associations, but this is the first corpus-based study of speakers’ discourse intonation choices for these patterns. The intonational features, viz. tone unit boundaries and prominences, of the ten most frequent 3- and 4-lexically-rich word associations and the ten most frequent grammatically-rich word associations in the sub-corpus of public discourse, which forms 25% of the HKCSE, were examined to determine the extent to which this patterning also reveals patterns of discourse intonation. The findings suggest that discourse intonation patterns do exist in terms of tone unit boundaries and the distribution of prominence. However, while discourse intonation patterns are discernible, speakers may, and indeed do, deviate from them in order to alter their discourse-specific communicative role.
Abstract
This study examines the relationship between the phraseological characteristics of language and the communicative role of discourse intonation (Brazil 1997). The findings are based on one of the four sub-corpora of the one-million-word Hong Kong Corpus of Spoken English (HKCSE), which has been prosodically transcribed. A number of studies have looked at word associations, but this is the first corpus-based study of speakers’ discourse intonation choices for these patterns. The intonational features, viz. tone unit boundaries and prominences, of the ten most frequent 3- and 4-lexically-rich word associations and the ten most frequent grammatically-rich word associations in the sub-corpus of public discourse, which forms 25% of the HKCSE, were examined to determine the extent to which this patterning also reveals patterns of discourse intonation. The findings suggest that discourse intonation patterns do exist in terms of tone unit boundaries and the distribution of prominence. However, while discourse intonation patterns are discernible, speakers may, and indeed do, deviate from them in order to alter their discourse-specific communicative role.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- 1. The challenges of different settings: An overview 1
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Section I. Exploring discourse in academic settings
- 2. '…post-colonialism, multi-culturalism, structuralism, feminism, post-modernism and so on and so forth' : A comparative analysis of vague category markers in academic discourse 9
- 3. Emphatics in academic discourse: Integrating corpus and discourse tools in the study of cross-disciplinary variation 31
- 4. Interaction, identity and culture in academic writing: The case of German, British and American academics in the humanities 57
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Section II. Exploring discourse in workplace settings
- 5 . 'Got a date or something?': A corpus analysis of the role of humour and laughter in the workplace meetings of English language teachers 95
- 6. Determining discourse-based moves in professional reports 117
- 7. // --> ONE country two SYStems //: The discourse intonation patterns of word associations 135
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Section III. Exploring discourse in news and entertainment
- 8. Who's speaking?: Evidentiality in US newspapers during the 2004 presidential campaign 157
- 9. Television dialogue and natural conversation: Linguistic similarities and functional differences 189
- 10. A corpus approach to discursive construction of hip-hop identity 211
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Section IV. Exploring discourse through specific linguistic features
- 11. The use of the it-cleft construction in 19th-century English 243
- 12. Place and time adverbials in native and non-native English student writing 267
- Author index 289
- Corpus and tools index 291
- Subject index 293
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- 1. The challenges of different settings: An overview 1
-
Section I. Exploring discourse in academic settings
- 2. '…post-colonialism, multi-culturalism, structuralism, feminism, post-modernism and so on and so forth' : A comparative analysis of vague category markers in academic discourse 9
- 3. Emphatics in academic discourse: Integrating corpus and discourse tools in the study of cross-disciplinary variation 31
- 4. Interaction, identity and culture in academic writing: The case of German, British and American academics in the humanities 57
-
Section II. Exploring discourse in workplace settings
- 5 . 'Got a date or something?': A corpus analysis of the role of humour and laughter in the workplace meetings of English language teachers 95
- 6. Determining discourse-based moves in professional reports 117
- 7. // --> ONE country two SYStems //: The discourse intonation patterns of word associations 135
-
Section III. Exploring discourse in news and entertainment
- 8. Who's speaking?: Evidentiality in US newspapers during the 2004 presidential campaign 157
- 9. Television dialogue and natural conversation: Linguistic similarities and functional differences 189
- 10. A corpus approach to discursive construction of hip-hop identity 211
-
Section IV. Exploring discourse through specific linguistic features
- 11. The use of the it-cleft construction in 19th-century English 243
- 12. Place and time adverbials in native and non-native English student writing 267
- Author index 289
- Corpus and tools index 291
- Subject index 293
