Discourse Intonation in L2. From theory and research to practice.

CHUN, Dorothy M.

ISBN 10: 9027216916 / ISBN 13: 9789027216915

Published by John Benjamins, 2000

About this Item

401 pages. In Stock.

Seller Inventory # __9027216916

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Discourse Intonation in L2. From theory and research to practice.
• Publisher: John Benjamins
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9027216916
• ISBN 13: 9789027216915
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Brand New

About this title

Synopsis

Intonation, rhythm, and general “melody” of language are among the first aspects of speech that infants attend to and produce themselves. Yet, these same features are among the last to be mastered by adult L2 learners. Why is this, and how can L2 learners be helped? This book first presents the latest linguistic theories of intonation, in particular, how intonation functions in discourse not only to signal sentence types and attitudinal meanings but also to provide turn-taking and other conversational cues. The second part of the book examines the research in applied linguistics on the acquisition of L2 phonology and intonation. The third section offers practical applications of how to incorporate the teaching of intonation into L2 instruction, with a focus on using new speech technologies. The accompanying CD-ROM makes a unique addition in allowing for simultaneous audio playback and visual display of the pitch contours of utterances contained in the book. Users can start or stop the playback at any point in the utterance and can observe first-hand how such visual and audio representations could be useful for L2 learners.

Synopsis

In accordance with major shifts in emphasis in both general and applied linguistics, this text about intonation has two main goals. Firstly to show the practical importance of intonation, particularly discourse intonation, which is acknowledged in theoretical linguistics as an indispensable component of language and communication and which thus ought to be taught to L2 learners. Secondly to integrate theory and practice in order to render intonation accessible to teachers and pedagogues, and to suggest a pedagogical approach to the teaching of discourse-based phonology and intonation in L2 instruction.