A Grammar of Spoken English Discourse - The Intonation of Increments

146 A Grammar of Spoken English Discourse

Dc in (11b) makes both the antepenultimate and the fi nal tone unit realize
increment closure. This contrasts with Rf who only makes her fi nal tone
unit realize an increment closure. The increment produced by Rf consists
of an accumulation of information formally realized by the progression
through 13 intermediate states within 8 tone units prior to achieving target
state. Dc ends both of her increments with unmarked falling tone: she has
projected a context where she has modifi ed her hearer’s cognitive environ-
ment by producing two acts of telling with the target state of the fi rst telling
functioning as the initial state of the second.
Rf has produced a single act of telling and her fi nal tone unit contains a
marked tone: the fall-rise. Selection of fall-rise tone like selection of rising
tone actively involves the hearer in the co-construction of the increment.
But unlike the rise, selection of the fall-rise does not defer to the hearer by
presenting the target state as inferable. Rather it presents the target state as
containing an implication which the hearer is able to infer. Projecting that
the hearer is able to infer extra meaning from the target state achieved
serves to foster a sense of social solidarity: only intimates can be expected to
be able to infer more than has been overtly stated.

(12a) and it will be a LONG /STRUGgle // im a/↓FRAID //

c N V V' d e N+ phr

INT1 INT2 INT3 INT4

but there is // NO al\TERnative but STAY the \COURSE

c N V d N c V' d N

INT5 INT6 INT6 INT7

with it // and we \/WILL // [T2-Sn-66]

P N+ c N V Ø #

INT8 INT9 INT10 TS

(12b) // but there is NO al\TERnative // but to STAY the

c N V d N c V' d N

INT1 INT2 INT3 INT3

\COURSE with it //

P N #

INT4 TS72

and we \↓WILL # [T2-Bs-72-73]

c N V Ø

INT1 INT2 TS73