Unit 60. 'Politicians are the Same All Over ...'

Level Tone in Quoting and Building Suspense

Unit 60; Part A

Quotation
When we include a quotation of someone else's words in what we say,we ofen choose to use level tones and then a falling tone for the finalspeech unit in the quotation. This shows that we are simply reportingthe words as they were spoken, and not giving a paraphrase of what wassaid:
              At this point it is worth remembering the words of Nikita Khrushchev:
              '// poliTICians →// are the SAME →// ALL Over ↓//. They PROMise →//
               // to BUILD a BRIDGE →// where there is NO RIVer ↓//.'

Unit 60; Part B

Preparing for quotation
Level tone is also commonly used on a reporting verb (e.g. say, claim, argue)which comes before a quotation. Typically, there is also a step up to arelatively high pitch on this verb, a pause, and then the first word ofthe quotation is also said relatively high. This marks clearly thatwhat comes next is a quotation rather than a paraphrase:
               A headline in today's paper ⇑ SAYS → ... : '⇑ TEAcher thrown out of classroom by students '.
               Just before the war began, a goverment minister ⇑ CLAIMED →... : '⇑ ONly by
               attacking now can we defend our country'.
               A leading group of economists have ⇑ ARGUED → ... : '⇑ EURopean development aid
               should double in the next fve years'.

Unit 60; Part C

Building suspense
We can also use a step-up, level tone and a pause in order to buildanticipation or suspense, so that listeners focus particular attentionon what comes next (see also Unit 55C). Notice that what comes afer the pause may start high, mid or low:
                And the term we use for this phenomenon ⇑ IS → ... entropy. ('entropy' is high)
                  Much to our surprise, our research⇑ SHOWED → ... a sharp fall in average sea temperatures. ('sharp' is mid)
                  If the radio signals are not from the ⇑ EARTH → ... where do they come from? ('where' is low)
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Exercises

1 Choose quotations from the box to complete the reports.

Choose quotations from the box to complete the reports of whatpeople said. (You may need to make minor changes at the beginning ofthe quotations.)

It's a worrying and potentially damaging development.
Painting is just another way of keeping a diary
~~They're the best rock band of the twentieth century~~
It's the most signifcant electronic consumer device ever invented.
I'm an environmental status assessment consultant.

Example: They were introduced as:     'The best rock band of the twentieth century'
1   She said that she was employed as:
      '______________________________________'
2   The managing director described the rise in oil prices as:
      '______________________________________'
3    Apparently it was Picasso who said:
      '______________________________________'
4    The book describes the mobile phone as:
      '______________________________________'

Now read the sentences aloud. Quote the people's words using leveltones and a final falling tone. Then listen and compare what you saidwith the recording.

2 Listen to these extracts from a news broadcast.

Listen to these extracts from a news broadcast. In which do youthink the highlighted part is a quotation, and in which do you think itis a paraphrase of what the original speaker said? Underline'Quotation' or 'Paraphrase'.

Example: The Foreign Office has been accused of breaking its promises on support for refugees by a senior United Nations official. Quotation / Paraphrase
1   After a fifth shooting in the city in a week, the people of Dublin have been urged to remain alert but stay calm. Quotation / Paraphrase
2   In a speech yesterday, Professor Ken Sun of the Climate Research Institute claimed that there is now no doubt that global warming is producing climate change. Quotation / Paraphrase
3   Hurricane Katrina has been described as the worst natural disaster to hit the United States in living memory by a US government spokesperson. Quotation / Paraphrase
4   The Prime Minister has said that universities must train more scientists in order to meet the country's needs over the next few decades. Quotation / Paraphrase

Unit 59 Unit 60