The stress in compound and polysyllabic words

INTONATION OF DIRECT ADDRESS

Initial direct address

Direct address is placed at the beginning of an utterance when the speaker wants to call his listener’s attention to the subject-matter or to the fact that the remark concerns the listener personally. It usually forms a separate intonation group which may be pronounced with any of the nuclear tones. The choice of the tone does not depend on the communicative type of the utterance but is determined by the speaker’s attitude to the situation. The Falling tone on a Direct address shows the speaker’s serious attitude to what he is going to say:

e.g. ‘John, | I 'want you to 'tell me e'xactly what ‘happened.

‘Peter, | 'are you 'ready with your re‚port?

This pattern is commonly used in addressing an audience at the beginning of a formal speech:

e.g. 'Ladies and ‘Gentlemen, | we must dis'cuss an im'portant ‘problem today.

The Falling-Rising tone is normally used on an initial Direct Address in informal conversation to convey a warm and friendly attitude:

ˇKitty, | 'why aren’t you ‘eating anything?

ˇPeter, | 'will you 'help me with my ‚iron?

This tone may sometimes suggest a warning or a wish to single out the person named from a number of others:

ˇMary, | 'come and 'help me with the ‘supper. 'Let ˙Mike 'do his 'work a‘lone.

Direct Address at the beginning of an informal speech can also be pronounced with a Low Rising tone:

My ‚friends, | I am ‘happy to meet you here to‚night.