2.7. Auditory Test

• Delimit the message. Mark the pauses.

• Identify the highlighted syllables (tonic – pre-tonic)

• Single out the rhythm units schematically

• Focus on the tone sequences of the combined tunes (coordinative (C), subordinative (S))

• Single out expressive contours (compound tunes - EC). Use the set of symbols.

E.g. The danger | of too uncritical an assumption of these | and similar notions of style | is that they ac'cept as 'axiomatic the 'possibility of dis'tinguishing between a thought in some 'prelinguistic form | and the same thought as it issues in words ||

EC EC

□  □ | □  □  □ □ □ □  □ □  | □  □ □ □ □ □  | □ □ □ □ ' □ ' □  □

EC EC EC

□ ' □ □ □ □ □ □ ' □ □ □  □  □ □ ' □  □  | □ □   □ □ □ □ □  || [S]

Analyse these combined tunes:

1. Madam Speaker, noone who knows my right honourable friend will have been remotely surprised at the quality of his excellent speech this afternoon.

2. My right honourable friend is rightly contemptuous of that because his politics have been constructed on rational argument and I believe the country and the House will be poorer when he leaves it.

3. And I believe all of us in this House who wish this country well should join him in those sentiments.

4. We also look forward to our state visits to Poland and the Czeck Republic in March and to Thailand in October next year.

5. A bill will be introduced to bring up to date the legislation governing the reserve forces.

6. The United Kingdom nuclear deterrent will be maintained.

7. My Government will also continue to work to preserve and modernize the conventional forces in Europe treaty.

8. During their presidency in the European Union next year they will work to enhance that organization’s effectiveness.

9. Preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction remains a priority.

10. They will persue negotiations on a verifiable comprehensive test ban treaty and a convention to ban the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons and other explosive purposes.

11. The fight against terrorism, organized crime and drug misuse and trafficking in the United Kingdom and elsewhere will remain a priority.

12. They will promote flexible labour markets and reduce social costs as the best means to improve the competiteveness of the European Economy and create a climate for job creation.

Score level criteria

Excellent: relevant to assigned model.

Good: relevant number of intonation groups but lack of accuracy in the distribution of

kinetic tones.

Fair: limited knowledge, inadequate delimitation at times, rhythm units distortion

Poor: not enough to evaluate

Score Mark

12-11 – 5

10-8 – 4

7-5 – 3

4-… - 2

2.8. Reading Technique

• Try and read the text under the title “The Common Market Negotiations”

  • Delimit the message into intonation groups, utterances, phonopassages. Use the set of symbols to mark the pauses observing the specifics of timing.

  • Try and focus on the timing process of “Notions of style” and “the Common Market Negotiations”. Account for the differences.

  • Consider the pitch patterns of the combined tunes.

  • Focus on the expressive contours (compound tunes), their tonal specification.

  • Practise over the compound tunes of the message in isolation.

  • Try and read out loud the chains of intonation groups observing their coordinative or subordinative relations.

  • Be careful to properly punctuate thought; keep to the length and function of pauses.

  • Get ready to present the text reading out loud to the best advantage. Follow the instructions.