ARAB OPEN UNIVERSITY – LEBANON
E300/E303 PROJECT TITLE
Functional Analysis of Intonation Patterns
in Martin Luther King’s speech “I have a dream”
RESEARCH SUBMITTED TO
DR HAYAT AL-KHATIB
ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE PROGRAMME COORDINATOR
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF
UNITED KINGDOM OPEN UNIVERSITY/ARAB OPEN UNIVERSITY
BACHELOR DEGREE
IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
Student’s name
Mohammad Shatila
2010
Acknowledgement
I would like to extend my thanks and gratitude to all my friends and colleagues who
supported me during my study.
I want to specially thank my family whom I hold dearly.
Many thanks go to my research forum colleagues whom I worked with; their views
on the topic provided me with key ideas and elements that were vital to my
framework.
Special thanks go to our professor whom without her constant support and
guidance none of this could happen. Her knowledge and expertise on the area are
comprehensive, her experience in the field is very wide, and this allowed me to
make use of her expertise in the best manner. The research group was able to
enjoy working on field research because of the support and built interest that was
passed to us by our tutor.
To AOU-Lebanon thank you for making our journey complete.
Abstract
This project is about studying intonation patterns in Marin Luther King speech “I have a Dream”.
I chose this speech because it is considered as one of the most important speeches ever written.
King delivered the speech on August 28, 1963, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to over
200,000 civil rights supporters. In it he called for racial equality and an end to discrimination. It
is widely hailed as a masterpiece of rhetoric, King’s style resembles that of a Baptist sermon. It
appeals to such iconic and widely respected sources as the Bible and invokes the United States
Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the United States
Constitution. Through the rhetorical device of allusion, King makes use of phrases and language
from important cultural texts. Anaphora, the repetition of a phrase at the beginning of sentences,
is a rhetorical tool employed throughout the speech.
‘I Have a Dream’ is described by linguistic scholars as a “fervent emotional sermon, forged out
of the language and spirit of democracy. King’s mastery of the spoken word, his magnetism, and
his sincerity raised familiar platitudes from cliché to commandment.”
Three factors added to the impact of the speech:
• The remarkable emotion of King’s delivery in terms of both voice and body
• The site at which it was delivered – on the steps of the memorial to the President who defeated
southern states over the issue of slavery
• The mood of the day, a sense of perpetuated slavery among black people and the gradual
realization of a sense of guilt among white people
Content page
Acknowledgment
Abstract
Content page
Introduction
Literature Review
Tonic rank and pauses
Stress
Tone
Falling and Rising tones
Pitch range (key)
High key & law key
Intonation in social interaction
i
ii
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Methodology and data gathering
data analysis
Findings and Conclusion
9
10
15
Ethical Issue
19
Evaluation
20
References
21
Introduction
Humans communicate through talking. It is the act of omitting vocal and verbal sounds or
utterances that carry with them a meaning. The significance of the meaning is related to the
strength or weakness of the tone in which it is being delivered. Stressing on the tone can express
the connotation values that are associated with feelings, attitudes, thoughts, believes and so on….
This stress on the tonic element (word) may vary according to the pitch in which it was
delivered. The pitch can be delivered through (rising, falling) tones, it can also be delivered with
the combinations of both to take the form of (rising-falling, or falling- rising) or even multiple
combinations (rising- falling- rising, or falling- rising- falling). It all depends on the way
language is uttered, and from what is known on spoken language is that it has no bounds and it
can be applied almost without any strict rules governing it. In short, we can say that intonation
include four major features: intonation units, stress, tones, and pitch range.
The utterance is the intonation unit. Every intonation unit has a type of tonic stress (the heaviest
stress is mostly found on the word that carries the intended meaning), Moreover, intonation units
have typically one of these tones; fall, low-rise, high-rise, and fall-rise. At last, all intonation
units have to be spoken in one of the three pitch levels (keys): high, mid, and low.
Literature Review
Tonic rank and pauses
Cruttenden (1986) argued that intonation has three important features: 1): division of a speech
into intonation units, 2) selection of a syllable (a word), which is assigned the “tonic” rank (pretonic, tonic, post tonic), and 3) selection of a tone for the intonation unit (risning, falling and so
on...). Brazil et al (1980) added another feature to the list, the pitch range, or key.
The intonation unit is a piece of utterance, and an utterance is always bounded by pauses.
Pausing in some sense is a way of delivering the information (Roach, 1983). Thus certain pauses
in a speech can have significant meaning variations in the conveyed message (Halliday, 1967;
Leech & Svartvik, 1975).
•
Those who sold quickly / made a profit (A profit is made by those who sold quickly.)
•
Those who sold / quickly made a profit (A profit was quickly made by those who sold.)
This gives us an idea on how pauses are used as mechanisms related to the intended meaning.
Stress: Stress applies on individual syllables, and involves, most commonly, loudness, length,
and higher pitch (Roach, 1983). Each of these features may contribute in differing degrees at
different times. Stress is an essential feature of word identity (Kenworthy, 1987). It is evident
that not all syllables of polysyllabic words receive the same level of stress. In a speech, usually
two levels of stress (primary and secondary) appear to be perceptible regardless of the number of
syllables stressed and unstressed (Ladefoged, 1973; Kenworthy, 1987).
This means that in a speech, there are several stressed syllables, the most stressed one will be
considered as the primary stress, while the rest are secondary, thus they are considered as
unstressed syllables even if they are stressed.
However, at the clausal level, words that carry the higher information in the utterance are given
higher stress than those carrying lower info and those that are predictable in the context.
It is important to mention that the meaning may vary depending on the stressed intonation units,
for example:
The WHITE house (the house of the president of USA)
The white HOUSE (a house painted white)
LIGHT bulb (Shines with electricity)
Light BULB (A bulb that is not heavy)
Fat BOY (is an overweight young male)
FAT boy (is the nickname of a boy)
She played the piano yesterday. (It was her who played the piano)
She played the piano yesterday. (She only played; she didn’t damage nor harm the piano)
She played the piano yesterday. (The musical instrument that she played was the piano)
She played the piano yesterday. (It occurred yesterday)
I'm not going (Not “ME”, but perhaps someone else “YOU”, “SHE” or “HE”)
I'm not going (I refuse to go)
I'm not going (I'm not going for ever, and that I’m coming back)
Tone: A tone as a unit of speech bounded by pauses, yet it has movements of music and rhythm
associated with the pitch of voice. It follows a certain pattern, a logical pattern instead of a
random one, thus it is meaningful in discourse (Roach, 1983).
Cruttenden (1986) states that: “This is an area where almost every analyst varies in his
judgments”. He recognizes seven tones (high-fall, low-fall, high-rise, low-rise, fall-rise, rise-fall,
and mid-level).
Crystal (1969) and Ladefoged (1982) identify four basic tones (fall, rise-fall, rise, and fall-rise)
while O’Connor and Arnold (1973) distinguish only two (rise and fall). Brazil et al. (1980) and
Roach (1983) endorse five tones (fall, rise, rise-fall, fall-rise, and level).
Distinction between Falling and rising tones:
You're going. (Is a statement with falling tone)
You're going? (Is a question with a rising tone)
Fall (A Falling Tone): A falling tone is like a statement, it signals a sense of finality, an end
that indicates to the receiver that this is all that he has to say, and offers a chance to the receiver
to comment (agree or disagree). This tone doesn’t require the receiver to respond, it is up to the
receiver to respond.
A Rising Tone: This tone is used in (Yes/No) questions where the speaker needs an answer,
and that the addressee knows the answer. Consider the following example:
Isn't he nice? (There is a possibility of three answers) Yes No I don't know.
A Rising Tone (high rising tone): If the tonic stress is uttered with extra pitch we may
think that the speaker is asking for a clarification, or indicating disbelief, amazement and
astonishment.
Ex: I am going to quit my job. (Falling tone, focusing on the job that he is quitting)
WHAT? (Rising high tone, for clarification and being surprised)
Fall Rise: Fall-rise signals dependency, continuity, and non finality (Cruttenden, 1986). It
generally occurs in a sentence with non final intonation units.
Ex: Private enterPRISE / is always efficient.
Fall
Rise
In the case of complex clauses; if we have a dependent clause followed by an independent (main)
clause. There are two intonation units, the first is non-final, and normally has a fall-rise while the
second, is final, and has falling tone. Therefore, the tone observed in non-final (fall-rise)
intonation units is dependent on the final (falling) tone. We may also view some irrelevant
stressed tones (Cruttenden1986).
Ex: When I passed my REAding test / I was VEry happy.
Fall
Rise (unnecessary stresses) Fall
When the order of complex clause is reversed, the same pattern (fall-rise and fall) may persist,
Ex: The moon revolves around the EARTH / as we ALL know.
Fall
Rise
Fall
Pitch and Pitch Range (Key): Pitch is one of the acoustic correlates of stress (Underhill
1994).The Pitch is dependent on the rate of vibration of vocal cords... (Cruttenden, 1986). When
the vocal cords are stretched, the pitch of voice increases. Pitch variations in speech are realized
by the alteration of the tension of vocal cords (Ladefoged, 1982). Syllable length tends to
contribute to the perception of the utterance final tonic stress more than pitch because of the
natural decline of speech force as it comes to conclusion, contrary to acoustic facts (Levis, 1999).
The term key can be described as an utterance pitch which is meaningful in an intonation unit.
For a key to be important, 1) it should be under speaker's control, 2) it should be perceptible to
ordinary speakers, and 3) it should represent a contrast (Roach, 1983). Usually, three keys are
identified: high, mid, and low (Coulthard, 1977; Brazil et al, 1980).
For each intonation unit, speaker must choose one of the three keys as required for the
conversation. In most of a speech, a speaker takes place at the mid key, employed in normal and
unemotional speech. In contrast, high keys are used for emotionally charged intonation units
while use of low key indicates an existence of similarity or connection. The relationship between
pitch and key is a comparative one in that syllabic pitch is always higher than the utterance pitch;
in some sense, syllabic pitch is one step ahead of the utterance pitch.
High Key is often used with:
Exclamation: Refers to actions described by intense verbs such as cry, scream, shout, wail,
shriek, roar, and yell…. Speakers do these to express strong feelings of excitement, fun, surprise,
anger, irritation, rage, fury, wrath…
(Oh God!), May relate to astonishment and high degrees of shock accompanied with puzzlement
and bafflement and perhaps fear.
Contrast: Another function of high pitch is to indicate contrasts. Brazil et al. (1980) notes the
following: “It is proposed as a general truth that the choice of high key presents the matter of the
tone unit as if in the context of an existentially-valid opposition”.
Echo/Repeat: The act of echoing/repeating is almost always done with high pitch. It may
involve a genuine attempt to recover unrecognized, unheard information, or to indicate disbelief,
disappointment and so on.
Low Key is often used with:
Co-reference, Appositives: Lower pitch is used to indicate co-referential, additional or
supplementary information (Pennington, 1996)
Non-defining Relative Clauses: The type of information uttered in low pitch may be nondefining relative clauses, parenthetical statements expressions of agreement or disagreement,
reduced clauses ….
Statements of Opinion: There are times when short statements of opinion, involving
clarification, certainty or uncertainty, are attached to propositional statements. Such statements
often start with (I think or I believe…).
Importance of intonation in social interaction
Reflects Attitude: Many linguists such as O'Connor and Arnold in “Intonation of Colloquial
English” or Cook in “Active Intonation” and “Using Intonation” provide exercises where speech
functions such as polite requests or questions dictate the intonation patterns which listeners
should expect or speakers should employ. They believe that intonation goes with attitude and list
500 different attitudes that relate to whether the speaker is angry or trying to be friendly, polite,
formal or cold ….
TURN TAKING: Giving the floor to another person or taking your turn in a conversation: rise
and fall are used as signals for when to speak and when not. Remain at a high pitch if you want
to continue talking. While a fall shows completion of meaning. (Brazil et al)
INFORMATION STRUCTURE: O'Connor and Halliday highlight the importance of picking
out the most important words in the sentence in order to point to the new/unknown or hidden
information in the sentence which has the most effective or intended meaning.
Methodology and data gathering
The data will be gathered by watching, transcribing and taking field notes for a video tape of
Martin Luther King delivering his famous speech “I Have a Dream”. The duration of the speech
is about 17 minutes and 30 seconds. Instants of pauses, gestures, facial expressions and hand
signals will be noted to state whether is trying to stimulate the crowds by his movements or are
they only influenced by his speech. But the focus of this research is to study intonational aspects
and utterances to be able to identify how the meaning is expressed, changed, and emphasized
through intonation. I will also study the influences of intonation on the public, and how power is
enforced through intonation. Repetition and rhetoric elements will also be discussed in relation to
the function and organization of the speech (how do they influence the audience).
I intend to divide the intonation units into three categories (pre-tonic elements, tonic syllables,
and the post tonic elements) based on Halliday functional grammar framework. They will also be
divided according to the tone whether rising or falling and so on, and according to the pitch
level. The stressed words will also be distinguished according to their type (nouns, verbs,
adjectives, articles ….). The words that are stressed will also be addressed according to the
meaning that they convey throughout the speech and according to the public reaction to it.
Quantitative counts regarding instants of repetition and other mechanisms will also be noted.
Data Analysis
King starts his speech in a calm manner with a medium and law pitch keys, the first stressed
words are the opening words (I am happy to join with you today), the “I” express his personal
attitude and views, “happy” express his feelings, and “join” relates to combination and unity with
the fellow demonstrators “you”.
In the 2nd paragraph, King touches on the great and deceased American leader Abraham Lincoln,
who was (great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves), meaning that Lincoln was the
only hope (hope) for these countless and numberless lives that can’t be counted (millions). These
Negro slaves that were (seared in the flames of withering injustice), expresses the cruelty and
brutality that they were treated in.
The 3rd paragraph begins with (But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free), “But” is a
high key pitch due to the contrasting meaning that it carries, the focus on the “years” means that
even after such long period the negro is “still not free”. He then continues his high key pitch by
repeating (One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of
segregation and the chains of discrimination) to relate the continuity of the previous acts of
discrimination till these days, as in both manacles and chains are instruments for slavery and
used to shackle slaves. He keeps on the high pitch key till the end of the paragraph by a series of
repetition (One hundred years later), and he focuses on the lonely and shameful condition that
the Negro lives in despite the riches of America (the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in
the midst of a vast ocean of prosperity …….. and finds himself an exile in his own land) as if he
is abandoned by the world and friendless. Contrast is clearly evident between “lonely island of
poverty” and “vast ocean of prosperity”.
The 4th paragraph is delivered in a fast manner with mostly low and medium pitch keys, in it
King focuses on the way that America treats its black citizens (America has defaulted on this
promissory note) (Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has…..), America is not
fulfilling its obligation to the black community. The stress on “sacred” gives a religious piety and
spiritual obligation that America must honor, yet she doesn’t. The paragraph ends by America
giving the Negro people (a bad check ……marked insufficent funds).
The 5th paragraph has a high pitch to it as it starts by contradicting the 4th in (But we refuse to
believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt), contradiction rises between (bank of justice and bad
checks) and the aspect of it (not being bankrupt and insufficent funds). This high key pitch is
continued with a repetition of (we refuse to believe). The contradiction and the high key are
further strengthened later on upon the ending statement of the 5th paragraph which completely
contrasts with the ending statement of the 4th.
He repeats the terms of (we’ve come to) and (cash a check) which were originally stated in the
4th paragraph to set a contrasting image that the check upon being cashed won’t be refused, but it
will (give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice). What is striking is
that in both paragraphs (4,5), the use of ‘we’ signifies solidarity and unity, and it seems that King
isn’t just speaking to his people nor just on their behalf. The impression that the whole crowd is
talking, is demanding, comes to life as if they are speaking with him.
In the 6th paragraph, King starts in a law and medium pitch keys. Our attention is directly
concentrated on the word hallowed in (We have also come to this hallowed spot) to signify the
sacredness of such place “The Memorial of Abraham Lincoln”. However what really strikes our
attention is the change in pitch, tone and attitude accompanied by a change in gesture and moves
as he nods upon saying (This is no time/ to engage in the luxury …), the first part of the sentence
is uttered with a high pitch key with a loud warning voice, and as he pauses he also nods his head
in a warning state that further strengthen the idea of not being comfortable and engage luxury.
He then strengthens his high pitch key into higher levels as he starts addressing the audience with
series of repetition of (Now is the time/) followed by direct pauses only to strengthen the
meaning and agitate and stimulate the crowds. What further reinforces this is the act of
combining the end of a previous sentence with the beginning of a new one beginning in (Now is
the time/) Take the following examples:
1- Now is the time/to make real the promises of democracy (the stress signals the
transforming of the previous promises into reality).
2- Now is the time/to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path
of racial justice. (“rise” refers to revolution, the contrast between dark and sunlit
strengthens the presence of high pitch key and also relates to the idea that the Negro
won’t be isolated and lonely anymore).
1- Now is the time/to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock
of brotherhood. (presence of high pitch key due to contrast between racial injustice and
brotherhood). “lift our nation” also contradicts with “quicksands” that suck down and it
highlights the act of saving the nation.
2- Now is the time/to make justice a reality for all of God’s children. (The word ‘children’ is
labeled as law pitch since it is a conclusion for all his previous statements, for in
Christianity all of God’s children must be equal, meaning that Negros are also God’s
children not just the whites).
In the 7th paragraph, King diverts his speech from addressing the public and demonstrators to
those who are threatened by this demonstration (those who hope/ that the Negro needed to blow
off steam …… will have a rude awakening….), (there will be neither rest nor tranquility in
America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights), these sentences along with other
following sentences are pitched with high key and level of intensity to signify the aspect of his
power and the power of the Negros to those opposing him. It could be understood as a
declaration of an uprising or a revolt (The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the
foundations of our nation).
Later in the 8th paragraph, he returns to addressing his people (I must say to my people), ‘I must’
relate to his personal obligation and duty as an intellectual and as a leader to his people. ‘my’ on
the other hand may have the meaning of possession on first glance as in he owns his people, but
what it means from the context and the way in which it was uttered is that he is part of the
people, it has a sentimental meaning of belonging, in the sense that he belongs with his people,
his fight is their fight and vice versa. In this paragraph he tries to calm the crowd that is now over
exited. He dissuades them from resorting to violence which he urged them to do in the previous
paragraph by (we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for
freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred), here the stress in on ‘must not’ and
‘not seek’. The word ‘drinking from the cup’ also carry Christian religious meanings which go
against bitterness and hatred. All the sentences in this paragraph carry the same goal that is to not
resort to violence (We must not allow our creative process to degenerate into physical
violence…….. meeting physical force with soul force). What is striking in this paragraph is that
the pitch that accompanied it wasn’t high but medium and mostly law. The use of such weak
pitches is to further help in calming and relaxing the tense and agitated crowd. This is mostly
evident in the video as the crowd also started to react in a religious manner and say religious
words such as “Amen” and a brief applause specially after mentioning the cup of bitterness and
hatred.
In the 9th paragraph, he tries to build relation between the Negros and the whites that is based on
trust and understanding, but most of all he is trying to build a relation based on common struggle
and common interests which is a peaceful future by (…. must not lead us to a distrust of all
white people, … many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today …..
realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny ….. their freedom is inextricably bound to
our freedom). This paragraph have a medium pitch key as if he was continuing what he was
doing in the previous paragraph.
In the later paragraph (10), King follows the same pattern which he did in the 6th paragraph,
series of repetition, pauses, and linking between the ending of a sentence and the beginning of
another.(We can never be satisfied/ …….. We can never be satisfied/………. We cannot be
satisfied/…….We can never be satisfied/…… We cannot be satisfied……) until he reaches the
final sentence in this paragraph (No/no we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until
justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream). In this paragraph and
especially in the last sentence, King has shown high levels of pitch keys linked with the poor
conditions of the Negros and inequality. The use of “we” shows unity and “our bodies, heavy
with the fatigue...) shows that they are all experiencing the same pain. The high pitch dominates
the entire paragraph until he reaches the end of the paragraph which he shifts to a law one
signaling the end of this particular statement. Contrasts are also evident in this paragraph (as long
as the negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one), even though the opposite
of a ghetto isn’t a ghetto yet the opposite of small is definitely large.
In the 11th paragraph, King returns on addressing his people, he informs them that he is aware of
their efforts and contributions, and how they suffered from corrupted authorities that abuse and
violate instead of protecting and shielding (I am not unmindful that some of you …… have come
fresh from narrow jail cells ….. left you battered…… by the winds of police brutality). He then
states that despite anything, they must not despair and have faith, for one day he is sure that (this
situation can and will be changed). King uses mostly high pitch key to seize the sympathy and
compassion of others especially by focusing and highlighting the police brutality and cruelty.
This cruelty that was introduced in the previous paragraph (10) in (We can never be satisfied as
long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality), is now highlighted
even more.
Now we finally arrive at the most famous part of the speech that is directly to the title of the
speech “I have a Dream”. (And so even though/ we face the difficulties/ of today and tomorrow,
I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream), the stress on ‘so’ and
‘though’ relates to the current situation, despite how hard it is and no matter what difficulties he
may face, yet he persist on having faith in his dream or vision of how America will someday be,
his dream or vision is also a part of what all Americans want America to be.
(I have a dream/ that one day/ this nation will rise up) a hint of revolution is clearly evident,
however, even though it may seem dangerous, yet it could also mean ascend or reach higher
goals and grounds, it may also relate to development on personal and individual level as citizens
“Negros and whites” truly unite. (and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these
truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal”). It is a direct quote from Thomas
Jefferson whom is the 3rd US President and author of the Declaration of Independence. This
implies that “equality” that Jefferson called for 150 years ago, is still not applicable today. Creed
has religious connotations and meanings.
(I have a dream/ that one day on the red hills of Georgia) “red hills” hints for blood, as Georgia
witnessed the bloodiest battles of the civil war. During the civil war Georgia was a major
representative of the south. (the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will
be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood ) “Table of brotherhood” is a homely
metaphor (both table and brother) and triggers feelings of comfort and offers reconciliation. It
gives the feeling that the hostility has ended between the Negros which were slaves and the
whites which were slave owners.
(I have a dream/ that one day/ even the state of Mississippi), “even” implies that Mississippi is
one of the worst examples of racism. Yet this, too, is included in the dream. “state” points at the
formal State organization, noting that racism is institutionalized there. (a desert state, sweltering
with the heat of/injustice and oppression), the southern state of Mississippi is hot. This natural
image is converted into oppressive environment. (will be transformed into an oasis of freedom
and justice), Release again. This desert state will be “transformed” into shelter, refuge, a peaceful
sanctuary and haven.
(I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation) suggesting the whole country
not just the south or the north. And the same image is kept as the dream reaches Alabama with
further repetition until the end of his dream at (and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all
flesh shall see it together), this truly has a religious aspect as the lord relates to Jesus, and that all
humans whether Negros or whites will see his glory together in unity.
Findings and Conclusion
In his speech, King skillfully combines vocal and body language to deliver us this rhetoric
masterpiece that is full of rhetoric, allusions, and religious references from the bible, to not just
describe the awful situations that the Negros suffered from, but to address our hearts. Upon
carefully studying the powerful language that is used within the text, one cannot act but to offer
compassion and sympathy to their cause. His use of high pitch keys to address injustice and
inequality stimulate the crowds by invoking their feelings of anger and frustration against
tyranny and urge them to revolt (Now is the time to rise up), (there will be neither rest nor
tranquility), (The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation).
While the later use of law and medium pitches ease up the anger to avoid clashes and riots by
drawing up on aspects of brotherhood and unity (our white brothers) (that their destiny is tied up
with our destiny ….. their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom).
Signs of humbleness and modesty are apparent on king while reciting his speech, often visible by
bowing his head in respect while mentioning the Lord, to signify his loyalty and depth of faith.
(with this faith/ we will be able …. to transform…, with this faith/ we will be able to work
together, to pray together ……). It seems that this faith is giving him hope for a better future.
It is also evident that the stressed units carry with them powerful meanings, words such as
(brotherhood, together, this nation …) give meaning of unity between the Negros and the whites
, (our nation , …) give meaning of belonging to the Negros whom are at first isolated on “ a
lonely island” and “exile in their own land”. Words such as (we, Negro ….) relate to solidarity
and unity of the blacks. Negatives are also stressed to give various meaning, for example
stressing on “must not” “not seek” in paragraph 8 tends to dissuade his people from resorting to
violence while in paragraph 10, the negatives are used (We can never be satisfied, We cannot be
satisfied, No/no we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until) to highlight the Negros
discontent, and their refusal to accept any midway solution or any alternatives to their rights.
The skilful use of repetition along with pauses, and the combination of sentences Such as evident
in paragraph (3,6,10,12…) serves contradicting purposes. In paragraph 3 he relates between the
past and the present in (one hundred years later) to signify the continuity of discrimination. In
paragraph 6, the use of “now is the time” accompanied by a strong high pitch, means now is the
time to strike, to act to revolt, it seems as if King is declaring revolution. Paragraph 10 shows the
Negros discontent to the matter as kings pitch is raised even higher than before. While part 12
(which is a combination of series of paragraph under the theme of “I have a dream”) highlights
the hope for a better future, a better nation which is a combination and unity of both northern and
southern states. In this part his pitch is even further raised. This act continuous until King reaches
the end. In a later part (let freedom ring) we also witness the same signs.
Such repetitions allow us to view and construct a table of quantitave data, the following is a
listing of all the repeated stressed words that were used in an anaphoric way:
•
“One hundred years later…” used 4 times
•
“Now is the time…” used 4 times
•
“We can never (cannot) be satisfied…” used 4 times
•
“Go back to…” used 6 times
•
“I Have a Dream…” used 8 times
•
“With this faith, …” 3 times
•
“Let freedom ring (from) …” used 10 times
Repetition of major stressed words and units are also viewed directly:
•
freedom (20 times) “relate to slavery as it still manifests, and also to a goal that he wants”
•
we (30 times), our (17 times), “ relate to unity of the black race”
•
nation (10 times), america (5 times), american (4 times) “ relate to place of belonging”
•
justice (8 times) and injustice (3 times)
•
dream (11 times) “relate to hope for a better future”
•
brotherhood (3 times), together (7 times) “relate to unity of black and white people”
•
Negro (12 times) black “men, boys, girls”, (4 times) Brothers (1) sisters (1) “ relates to
the unity of black people”
•
God’s children (3 times) “symbol of unity between black people and white people”
•
you (8 times) my people(1) my friends(1), “relates to the intimate relation between King
and the black audience”.
In an attempt to signal unity amongst the nation, King lists several states of the south to be
included in the dream of his (Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, and
Tennessee) along with several states of the north (New York, NewHampshire, California,
Pennsylvania, Colorado)
Mississippi is mentioned on four separate occasions, and Georgia on three occasions. This is not
accidental; it is done to evoke some of the strongest emotions and images for his audience.
Even though we only focused on the function of the stressed unit and the meaning it carries, yet
we were also able to comment on the authenticity of some theories that may be applied on vocal
communication. For example we previously noted that when King was near upon finishing his
statements his tone gradually fell, this strengthen the notion of falling tone occurring at the end
of a statement as evident in the end of most paragraphs, after finishing the statement it is up to
the crowd to respond. The cheering of the crowd and the applause signals their acceptance to the
statement.
The end of the 4th paragraph (insufficient funds), 5th paragraph (security of justice) are clear
example on authenticity of such theory and its application to vocal communication. In some
other paragraphs the crowd do not respond nor cheer like in paragraph (2,3), because the tone
that Kind uses is a one of rising tone that doesn’t reflect him ending his statement. This relates to
(Brazil et al) theory of turn taking.
The fall-rise tone is also evident through the following examples in which the first stressed item
is a fall while the second is a rise:
we must not/ (The focus is on not is because, he was dissuading his people from resulting to
violence as we have previously mentioned in paragraph 8).
with this faith/we will be able to (The faith gives them the power and ability to fight oppression).
This momentous decree came/ as a great beacon light (came is more stressed since it marks the
coming the great beacon light).
Aspects of rising then falling are also evident:
Now is the time/ (“Now” is more stressed than the “time”, because “time” alone isn’t precise nor
enough to declare revolution, it needs the proper atmosphere and proper moment, “Now” on the
other hand gives a meaning that the proper atmosphere and the proper moment are at hand and
everything is set and ready).
I am happy to join with you today (“I” is the word in which he began his speech with, so the
stress on “I” at first is to express at first his feelings to the crowd.
There are also instants of rising tone as evident below:
There are those who are asking ……. “When will you be satisfied?” (Falling tone)
(Rising tone)We can never be satisfied as long as……
(This is a question stated by those who are against civil rights movements which King
intentionally added in his speech only to answer it later with power).
We can also visualize the idea that intonation reflects the attitude and feelings of both king and
the crowd, when mentioning injustice and cruelty it is clear due to the high pitch and rising tones
that they (both king and crowd) are angry, while upon mentioning brotherhood the tone is
peaceful and the pitch is law, and upon mentioning the lord king shows great humble and respect
especially as evident in the last of the speech, (Free at last, free at lat. Thank God Almighty we
are free at last). This complies with the theory that was raised by O’Connor and Arnold and
Cook that attitude goes with intonation.
Through pointing out the hidden meaning behind the stressed elements, and as the analysis of the
data have shown, we can view that the theory of “INFORMATION STRUCTURE” which
O'Connor and Halliday highlighted is clearly correct. the importance of picking out the most
important words in the sentence in order to point to the new/unknown or hidden information in
the sentence which has the most effective or intended meaning.
As a conclusion we may say that a speech without intonational features is no more than a
machine output. Intonation is a linguistic device in vocal communication. It reveals many aspects
of the communication process taking into consideration all factors present in the discourse
context. Therefore, it is an essential part of speech. Tones are important discourse strategies to
communicate efficiently; basically, it is not what you say, it is how you say it.
Ethical Issue
Due to the absence of participants, and the fact that the data will be collected from observing the
video, the only ethical issue targeted would be to properly analyze the speech and the relation
between the participants and the way they respond to the speech in an authentic manner. I will
provide a copy of the video together with the analysis to verify adherence to genuine data in my
research.
Evaluation
We have successfully identified the elements that gives the speech its quality (it is the matter in
which you say what want, how you mange to express yourself and relate to the text physically
and emotionally), we were also able to identify the importance of the attitude and the mood in
giving meaning, and how stressed items carry the most critical meaning. We have identified the
role of the pitch, how we manage to stimulate and agitate the audience and how we calm them
down and ease their rage. We also managed to identify when to use high or law or medium pitch
keys, and how they are applied in a speech and for what purpose. We have also managed to view
the relation between falling and rising tones and how each of them carries different meanings
that could affect the meaning of the whole sentence. We have identified and also listed the most
stressed words according to the role they play in the sentence (their function) and we discussed
how they modify the meaning. We have also listed repeated stressed items which we
differentiated from the others as anaphoric and identified their role. We examined on how pauses
affect the meaning, and we also studied the body language of King, the reaction of the crowd to
him (their applause and religious chanting…). I believe that I have covered all that is required of
me in this project, and that this research will contribute to future works addressing similar topics.
References
Bolinger, D. 1968. Aspects of Language. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Brazil, D. & M. Coulthart, C. Johns 1980. Discourse Intonation and Language Teaching..
Harlow (Essex): Longman.
Brown, G. 1977. Listening to Spoken English. Harlow (Essex): Longman.
Coulthard, M. 1977. An introduction to Discourse Analysis. Harlow (Essex): Longman.
Cruttenden, A. 1986. lntonation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Crystal, D, 1969. Prosodic Systems and Intonation in English. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Dickerson, W. B. 1989. Stress in the Speech Stream: The Rhythm of Spoken English. Urbana:
University of Illinois Press.
Halliday, M. A. K. 1967. Intonation and Grammar in British English. The Hague: Mouton.
Kenworthy, J. 1987. Teaching English Pronunciation. London: Longman.
Ladefoged, P.1982 (1975). A Course in Phonetics. New York: Harcourt Jovanovich.
Levis, M. K 1999. Intonation in Theory and Practice, Revisited. TESOL Quarterly, 3: 37-63
O’Connor, J.D. & G. K Arnold. 1973. Intonation of Colloquial English. London: Longman.
Pennington, M. C. 1996. Phonology in English Language Teaching. London: Long man.
Roach, P. 1983. English Phonetics and Phonology: A Practical Coursebook. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Underhill, A. 1994. Sound Foundations: Living Phonology. Oxford: Heinemann. 1