on the emotional attitude of the speaker. Widen the range of your voice, say the stressed and unstressed syllables on a higher pitch level than you
would normally do it, make the stresses stronger, pronounce the nuclear tone with a wider range.
3. Listen to a fellow-student reading the sentences with the widened range of pitch. Follow his performance concentrating your attention on his
emotional attitude. Tell him what his errors are.
4. Read the conversational situations above with a fellow-student, observing the widening of the range and the proper emotional attitude.
5. One of the students will suggest a verbal context. Your reaction must be negative and rather violent: it can render such emotions as anger,
irritation, vexation, impatience, horror, etc. Imagine yourself in an appropriate situation and respond, widening the range of your voice. Continue
the exercise until every student has participated.
6. Listen carefully to the following conversational situations. Concentrate your attention on the sentences in which the narrowing of the pitch
range is heard. Why does the speaker narrow the range of his voice? Try to define attitudes and emotions associated with it.
G w e n d o l e n : Whenever people talk to me about the weather, I always feel quite certain that they mean something else. And
that makes me so nervous. (O.Wilde)
J a c k : Miss Fairfax, ever since I met you I have admired you more than any girl... I have ever met since ... I met you.
G w e n d o l e n : Yes, I am quite well aware of the fact. (O.Wilde)
J a c k : You don't know how happy you've made me.
G w e n d o l e n : My own Ernest. (O.Wilde)
L a d y B r a c k n e l l : I have always been of opinion that a man who desires to get married should know either everything or noth-
ing. Which do you know?
J a c k: I know nothing, Lady Bracknell.
L a d y B r a c k n e l l : I am pleased to hear it. (O.Wilde)
L a d y B r a c k n e l l : What number in Belgrave Square?
J a c k : 149.
L a d y B r a c k n e l l : The unfashionable side. (O.Wilde)
L a d y B r a c k n e l l : Are your parents living? J a c k: I have lost both my parents. (O.Wilde)
L a d y B r a c k n e l l : Where did that charitable gentleman who had a first-class ticket for this sea-side resort find you?
J a c k: In a hand-bag. (O.Wilde)
L a d y B r a c k n e l l : Good morning, Mr. Worthing.
J a c k : Good morning! (O.Wilde)
N o r a : I'm expecting Mother — she's coming over for the day.
H a r r y : Good heavens! I didn't know that. ("Meet the Parkers")
H a r r y : Well, I shouldn't have been rude to her if she had stopped chattering when I asked her.
N o r a : I wish you'd behave better in public places. ("Meet the Parkers")
7. Listen to the situations again and repeat the sentences pronounced with the narrowing of the pitch range in the intervals, trying to concentrate on the emotional attitude of the speaker. Narrow the range of your voice, say the stressed and unstressed syllables on a lower pitch level,
than you would normally do it, make the intervals between the stressed syllables smaller. Pronounce the nuclear tone with a narrower range.
8. Listen to a fellow-student reading the sentences with the narrowed range of pitch. Follow his performance concentrating your attention on
his emotional attitude. Tell him what his errors are.
9. Read the conversational situations above with a fellow-student, observing the narrowing of the pitch range and the proper emotional attitude.
10. One of the students will suggest a verbal context. Your reaction must be emotional but not violent. It may express such feelings as sadness,
regret, reproach, sympathy, etc. Imagine yourself in an appropriate situation and respond, narrowing the range of your voice and using the proper
intonation pattern. Continue the exercise until every student has participated.
11. This exercise is meant to develop your ability to render emotional attitudes in reading. Read the following fragments and conversational
situations using the proper intonation patterns. Widen or narrow the pitch range trying to express the attitudes suggested In brackets.
There was a pause. Her eyes, though questioning now, were persistently friendly. Brushing back untidy hair she answered: "Yes, I
know." Her failure to take his visit seriously was sending his temper up again.
"Don't you realize it's quite against the rules to have him here?" (indignation) At his tone her colour rose and she lost her air of
comradeship. (AJ.Cronin)
"Doesn't it occur to you that I'm the mistress of the class? You may be able to order people about in more exalted spheres. But here it's
my word that counts."
He glared at her with raging dignity. "You're breaking the law! You can't keep him here. If you do, I'll have to report you." (rage)
(AJ.Cronin)
When George was playing the banjo, Montmorency would sit and howl steadily, right through the performance.
"What's he want to howl like that for when I'm playing?" George would exclaim indignantly. (Jerome K.Jerome)
"I've learned to play the banjo at last."
"Congratulations, my dear George!" (joyful surprise) (Jerome K.Jerome)
"The boy is exhibiting a bad attack of measles." "Poor little chap!" (regretful sympathy) (AJ.Cronin)
"They've asked me to play the part of Desdemona." "Wonderful! A chance of a lifetime!" (joy)
"Get me hot water and cold water," he threw out to the nurse. "Quick! Quick!"
"But, Doctor," she faltered ... (fear)
"Quick!" he shouted. ( impatience, anger) (AJ.Cronin)
L a d y C h i l t e r n : How dare you class my husband with yourself? How dare you threaten him or me? (anger, indignation) Leave my
house! (scorn, hatred) You are unfit to enter it. ( aversion)
M r s . C h e v e l e y : Your house! A house bought with the price of dishonour. A house everything in which has been paid for by
fraud, (hatred) Ask him what the origin of his fortune is! Get him to tell you how he sold to a stockbroker a Cabinet secret. Learn from
him to what you owe your position. ( hatred, malicious
joy)
L a d y C h i l t e r n : It is not true! (resentment) Robert! It is not true! ( pleading)
M r s . C h e v e l e y : Look at him! (triumph) Can he deny it? Does he dare to? (malicious joy)
S i r R o b e r t : Go! Go at once! (indignation) You have done your worst now. (aversion, hopelessness) (O.Wilde)
S i r R o b e r t C h i 1 1 e r n : What this woman said is quite true. But, Gertrude, listen to me. You don't realize how I was
tempted. Let me tell you the whole thing, (pleading)
L a d y C h i l t e r n : Don't come near me. Don't touch me. (aversion, abhorrence) I feel as if you had soiled me forever. ( hopeless-
ness) (O.Wilde)
12. This exercise is meant to develop your ability to hear out the widening and narrowing of the pitch range in recorded reading and to
reproduce it in proper speech situations.
a) Listen to the dialogue "Waiting for the Bus" sentence by sentence. Write it down. Mark the stresses and tunes. Underline the sentences in
which the widening or the narrowing of the pitch range is heard. Concentrate your attention on the emotional attitude of the speaker in each of