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=?iso-8859-1?Q?Re:[phonlist]_Yes,_he's_swimming.?=
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=?iso-8859-1?Q?steven.schaefer@libertysurf.fr?=
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May 29, 2009 13:39 PDT
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Hello Tami,
The (low) fall on \SWIMming is not in the least surprising,
especially in this context. Mike knows that Christmas is
warm down under, so he simply confirms the fact, as anyone
else could do, knowing what he knows, so yes "Of course he
is" . It is misconceived to assume that there is a normal
tune - an idea I reject on the grounds that all prosody
depends on the context, what each knows of the suject and
how one regards the other speaker... If the fall seems
abrupt, perhaps it is (or is at least just matter-of-fact)
compared to the rise which would seem to invite an
interpretation based on the relationship between the two,
where Mike is adding something like "Why do you ask?" or
"What do you expect him to be doing?", a somewhat
condescending or paternalistic attitude to Shin's naive
question. Ditto for the other two examples, where you might
have an implied "What do you think?".
I would be interested to know what illustrations (of
gestures or facial expressions) accompany these exchanges,
if any. That often conveys some of this implied 'information'.
All the best,
Steven Schaefer
Université Paris 4 - Sorbonne
---------- Initial Header -----------
From : ?? <mn8-@fiberbit.net>
To : phone-@topica.com
Cc :
Date : Thu, 28 May 2009 17:09:53 +0900
Subject : [phonlist] Yes, he's swimming.
Dear all
I would appreciate comments from you.
In one of the English textbooks used in junior high schools
across the nation there is the following dialogue:
Mike: Look at this Christmas card!
Shin: What's Santa doing?
Is he swimming?
Mike: Yes, he's swimming.
Shin: In winter?
Mike: In Australia Christmas is in summer.
Shin: Oh!
I heard the falling nucleus on the repeated item 'swim on
the CD:
YES, he's \SWIMming.
It seems to me that if the answer uses the same words as
were in the question (not a short form) the speaker normally
says the answer with rising intonation with a high pitch on
'he', then a slight dip and a rise on 'swim', whereas on the
CD Mike replies with a fall on 'swim'. Should I interpret
it to mean "Of course he is"?
Here are a few more examples:
a. Is this a book? Yes, it's a book.
b. Are you going? Yes, I'm going.
Tami
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