44 Advances in spoken discourse analysis
When the polarity is positive, however, there is only one choice, (18a). In
(18b) the co-selection of mid key agreeing intonation with ‘no’ creates a
contextually nonsensical response:
18 // well you’ll be HOME // before SEVen //
(a) // YES // (I agree I will/with your assessment)
*(b) // NO // (I agree I won’t)
The examples of high key contrastivity have so far implied that the contrast
is a binary one between polar opposites, but this is not necessarily so. In
example (19), ‘wife’ could in some contexts be heard as in contrast with the
only other possibility, ‘daughter’, and therefore as a flattering introduction
(i.e. doesn’t she look young?),
19 // MEET elIZabeth // johns WIFE //
but given the right context, ‘wife’ could be heard as contrasting with a
whole series of other relations one might, in the context, have assumed
Elizabeth to be: John’s secretary, sister, sister-in-law, friend, mistress...
Thus high key marks for the listener that an item is to be heard as contrastive
but leaves him to fill out the existential paradigm.
The choice of low key marks an item as equative, as contextually synonymous;
thus when the option is co-selected with ‘yes’ or with a repetition, the
utterance does little more than acknowledge receipt of the information, as
in (20) and (21).
20 D: Whereabouts in your chest?
P: On the heart side.
D: // YES //
21 A: What’s the time?
B: Ten o’clock.
A. // Ten o’CLOCK //
If a speaker reformulates in low key, he is indicating that he does not feel
he is adding any new information, but is simply verbalizing an agreement
that the two versions are situationally equivalent in meaning.
22 A: What’s the time?
B: Ten o’clock.
A: // BEDtime //
23 // HE’S DEAD // and BURied //
By contrast the choice of mid key marks the matter of the tone unit as
additionally informing, and thus (24) is slightly odd.
24 // HE’S DEAD // and BURied //