2. Academic style.

The intonational style is often described as both intellectual and volitional. The speaker’s aim here is to attract the listener’s attention, to establish close contacts with the audience and to direct the public attention to the massage carried in the contents of the text.

. It is frequently met in academic and educational lectures, scientific discussions, at the onferences, seminars and in classes. This style tends to be concerned and emotional.

The most pure manifestation of the academic style is realized in a lecture though a “lecture” is a very broad label which covers a variety of types. Lectures may sometimes sound as oratorical performances designed to entertain rather than inform. The “ideal model” of the scientific style talk would be an academic informational lecture which possesses the following properties:

1.A scientific text read aloud in public in front of the audience conveys both intellectual and volitional information, so the attitudinal and emphatic function of intonation are of primary importance here.

2. A lecturer always sounds self-assured, authoritative, instructive and edifying, because any scientific style talk should be well prepared and is often even rehearsed by a lecturer.

3. A scientific style presenter sounds much louder than any informational text reader as any public oration is produced face to face with a fairly-sized audience. Instances of diminished loudness are observed in bringing out phrases expressing forgetfulness, uncertainty, word-searching.

4. The prosodic features of the academic style reading are rather varied. This variety is created by:

a) the alternation of pauses, types of heads, pitch levels, terminal tones;

b) the use of variations and contrast of the tempo to help the

listener to differentiate between the more and less important parts of the text. The speaker usually slows down when he introduces rules, terms, scientific laws.

5. The rhythmical organization of a scientific text is properly balanced by the alternation of all prosodic features, which gives the acoustic impression of “rhythmically”.

6. High falling and falling-rising terminal tones are widely used as a means of both logical and contrastive emphasis.

3. Publicistic style.

This intonation style is often called oratorical.

The aim of the speaker here is to extend persuasive and emotional influence on the listeners.

It is especially noticeable in public political speeches, but also can be met in judicial speeches, sermons, congresses, press-conferences, meetings.

Two important things should be remembered concerning oratorical style:

1. It requires special skills; a speaker must be specially taught to deliver a speech to the audience.

2. Speeches (orations, public addresses) are never spontaneous, almost always written, but sometimes are not read to produce the effect of spontaneity (quasi-spontaneous).

PHONETIC PECULIARITIES OF PUBLICISTIC STYLE.

I. Style-making prosodic features:

1. Loudness is enormously increased, ranging from forte to fortissimo,

but sometimes decreased loudness occurs to bring out words and phrases of paramount importance and to produce certain psychological effect.

2. Ranges and levels are greatly varied, predominantly wide ranges are used; a very high level of the start of the initial sense-group is observed here.

3. Rate is moderately slow, but some unimportant parts of the speech are pronounced.

4. Pauses play a very important role in exerting influence upon the auditory. It should be mentioned that:

a) definitely long pauses are used before the passages;

b) there are many breath-taking pauses in public speeches;

c) interpausal segments are rather short, thus phrases may be overloaded by pauses;

d) frequent stop of phonation before the emphatic semantic centre is observed in public speeches;

e) the use of so-called “rhetorical silence” is aimed to influence the public.

5. Rhythm is properly organized.

6. Timber is dignified, self-assured, concerned and personally involved.

II. The accentuation of semantic centers:

1. Terminal tones are mostly emphatic, especially on emotional semantic centers; in non-final intonation groups the falling-rising tones are used.

2. Scales are usually descending, generally falling ones. The Broken Heads often occur due to wide use of the Accidental Rise. The speakers often use the so-called “rhetorical trick” – High Level Heads are alternated with Low Level Heads.