A Grammar of Spoken English Discourse - The Intonation of Increments

Key and Termination – Increments 181

Table 7.8 shows that increment medial high key/termination has the poten-
tial to generate independent key and termination values in slightly less than
half the cases (48.3 per cent). In the majority of the cases the high key/
termination realized the speaker’s request for active intervention and did
not implicate a contrast. For instance in (30):

(30) because you re UP against an ide\OLogy //

c N V A+ P d N

that is prePARED to USE ANy \MEANS

W+ V V' V' d N

// at ↑/ALL // inCLUding KILling ANy NUMber

CON V' V' d N

of WHOlly INnocent /↓PEOple // [T2-Dmc-37]

P a e N

The extensive subchain after the high key/termination does not contain
information contrary to the previously generated discourse expectations.
It simply elaborates on the intermediate state produced after Dmc’s pro-
duction of the convention at all. Her selection of high key/termination
signals to the hearer that she requires more than passive acknowledgement.
The local effect is to draw attention to the killing of any number of wholly
innocent people.
Example (31) illustrates a medial high key/termination with contrastive
implications.

(31) ↑LOOK in a small \WAY // we \↑LIVED through that // in

ex p d e n N VPHR N P

NORthern \IREland //over MAny MAny \↓DEcades // [T2-Mh-22]

N N P d+ d N #

The target state prior to (31) projects a state of convergence where the
hearer has been told of the pernicious effects of terror and of the spiral of

Table 7.8 The communicative value of increment medial high key/termination

Contrary to discourse

expectations

Particularizing Neither contrary

nor particularizing

Unclassifi able Total

Text 1 2 0 1 0 3
Text 2 4 9 14 0 27
Total 6 9 15 0 30