1、Chapter 3 Phonetic Devices and Prose Rhythm,The Sound must seem an echo to the sense. Alexander PopeSometimes when I am writing, the music of the words I am trying to shape takes me for beyond the words. - Stephan H. SpenderWords have weight, appearance; it is only by considering these that you can
2、write a sentence that is good to look at and good to listen to. - W. Somerset Maugham,3.1 IntroductionAll language have sound. Orators in ancient times knew how to use the sounds of their language for maximum rhetorical effect, and classical rhetoric had a number of sound devices based on the “echoi
3、ng” or the rhyming of sounds. Modern English has inherited some of these devices.All languages are spoken, and speech is primary. Speech has rhythm, and since prose is really speech in written form, it has rhythm too. This point is generally neglected by students of ELF, who generally are not taught
4、 much about the rhythm,of English, spoken or written. As a result many of them cannot even read fluently, with rhythm, much less write with rhythm.A knowledge of some English phonetic devices, and of English prose rhythm is therefore helpful not only to students of EFL as writers, but also as reader
5、s of English prose, for only when they can read fluently with proper rhythm prose whatever kind can they write fluently and effectively, with an intuitive sense of rhythm of the written word.,3.2 Phonetic DevicesGood English should have a pleasing sound. We read with our ears as well as our eyes.3.2
6、.1 General Remarks To what extent can a writer exploit the sounds of English for rhetorical effect? How far can he or she make “the sound echo the sound”. Before we discuss the devices themselves, we will first review some basic features of English sounds. English sounds are classified phonetically
7、into vowels and consonants, and the pronunciation of words is done by combinations of vowels and consonants.,The vowels ( monophthongs, diphthongs, triphthongs ) have certain qualities:1) They are voiced.2) They may be long or short: /i:/, /i/, /e/, /ei / 3) They may be spread or round: /e/, / /,/u:
8、 /,/au / 4) They may be closed or open: /i/, /:/ 5) They may be lax or tense: /i/, /u:/ 6) They (diphthongs, triphthongs ) glide: /ai /, /u /The consonants have a different set of features,caused by some form of obstruction or friction in the production of the sounds.1) They may be voiced or voicele
9、ss: /p/, /b/, /s/, /z/2) They may be nasal or non-nasal: /n/, / are nasals.3) Some are stopped sounds: all the plosives are.4) Some are fricatives: /f/, /v/, /s/, /z/ 5) Some are affricates (塞擦音): /tr /, / dr/, / /, /6) Some are liquids (流音) or glides (滑音) , because they are produced with little obs
10、truction of air. The liquids are /l/, /r/, and the glides are /j/, /w/.Apart from these phonetic qualities, the vowels and the consonants have also some sensory qualities, which,suggest certain impressions. These sensory qualities are not the product of any systematic or scientific study or theory;
11、rather, they are recognized as such through long association between the sounds of words and the meaning of words. As such they are subject to wide and varied individual interpretation.For example, the short, relax, spread vowel / i / is supposed to carry bright, light, fleet, happy impression, as i
12、n: (1) Spring, the sweet Spring, is the years pleasant king;Then blooms each thing, then maids dance in a ring,Cold doth not sting, the pretty birds do sing,Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu -we, to-witta -woo!(T. Nash: “Spring”)The rounded, long or short open or half-open,vowels are supposed to convey solemn, di
13、gnified impressions, as in: (2)The curfew (晚钟) tolls the knell of parting day傍晚,The lowering herd winds slowly oer the lea草地,The ploughman homeward plods his weary way,And leaves the world to darkness and me.晚钟殷殷响， 夕阳已西沉。 牛群呼叫归， 迂回走草径。 农人荷锄犁， 倦倦回家门。 唯我立旷野， 独自对黄昏。.,The boast of heraldry职位/权, the pomp
14、浮华of power,And all that beauty, all that wealth eer gaveAwaits alike th inevitable hour:.The paths of glory lead but to the grave.(T. Gray: “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”) (147)（十八世纪英国诗人葛雷：墓园挽歌）（诗中 parting day 和 weary way 均构成移就修辞格）Most people feel that the consonants /k/, /g/ and their clus
15、ters /kr/, /gr/, /gl/ are suggestive of unpleasantness or ugliness, as in kick, kill, clack, crack, glut, haggle, angry, etc. This feature of the /k/ sound is exploited by John Masefield in his poem ”Cargoes”:,(3) Dirty British coaster货船with a salt-caked smoke-stack烟囱,Butting冲撞through the Channel in
16、 the mad-March days,With a cargo of Tyne coal.Road-rail, pig-lead（铅锭）,Firewood, iron-ware and cheap tin trays. (147)But then, in another poem, Masefield did not use /k/ or /g/ with ugly images, but rather with sparkling silver and gold! (4) Copper charms小饰物and silver trinkets小饰品, from the chests (箱)
17、 of Spanish crews.Gold doubloons西班牙金币名and double moidores葡萄牙金币 louis dors and portagues.(“Spanish Waters”) (148),All this goes to show that, unlike phonetic qualities, sensory qualities of English sounds are neither fixed nor scientific. Their interpretation is subject to the intuitive and imaginati
18、ve faculties of individual poets and writer, and their rich knowledge of words and their meanings. Still, the sensory qualities of these sounds , however, indefinite or elusive they may be, have been exploited from times past, especially in poetry, and certain devices have been established. A number
19、 of devices have to do with the rhyming of sounds; one (onomatopoeia) has to do with the imitation of sounds. These will now be discussed.3.2.2 Alliteration (头韵)This device is extremely popular with both poets and writers. In this device the same consonant sound is repeated,at intervals in the initi
20、al position of words, as in “mad-March days” or “a cargo of Tyne coal”. We all know the familiar tongue-twisters like “Peter Piper picked a peck of picked pepper” and “She sells sea-shells on the seashore”, where alliteration is used to practice certain consonant sounds. As a rhetorical device, alli
21、teration has much more significant uses. In the following example, an examination of how it is used to achieve effect will illustrate this point. (1) The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew. The furrow followed free; We were the first that ever burst Into that silent sea. ( 149)(T.S. Coleridge: “T
22、he Rime of the Ancient Mariner”),(The repeated “f” and “b” sounds make the first two lines run quickly, giving the impression of a ship sailing at a fast speed, while the repetition of “s” in the last line coupled with the long vowels following emphasizes the vast silence of that becalmed sea.)The p
23、laying on similar initial sounds in words for descriptive effect is not the monopoly of poets, however. Prose writers , too, often use the device, as in the following well known examples:(2) “Father” is rather vulgar通俗, my dear. The word “Papa” besides, gives a pretty form to the lips. Papa, potatoe
24、s, poultry, prunes and prisms吞吞吐吐, are all very good words for the lips; especially prunes and prisms. (Dickens: Little Dorrit)Alliteration can also be used simply to impress something on ones mind through sheer repetition of initial sounds. For instance, we remember proverbs and,wise saying like “P
25、enny wise, pound foolish” and “Practice makes perfect” because they are short sounds easy to remember. In present-day journalistic writing and in advertisements, writers make use of this aspect of alliteration quite frequently. (Advertisement. P.151)C & C The Computer and Communication Company helps
26、 you get the most out of “digital”.For comfort, convenience, superb service and more flights to Japan YOU CAN DEPEND ON US. (Cathay Pacific)3.2.3 Assonance (类韵；母韵；元音韵；半谐音)Assonance is the “echoing” or “resemblance” of vowel sounds in the stressed syllables of a sequence of words, as in “a hot copper
27、 sky” or “children just let loose from the school”.,The function of alliteration: 1. humorous effect 2. the alliterated items are naturally fore-grounded and stressed 3. the alliterated items are often stressed and fore-grounded as being similar or forming a contrast 4. in passing, alliteration is n
28、ot common in literary text, but also common to appear in a titles of an critical,Poets of all ages have used this device effectively to covey various sensory impressions.(1) Thou still unravished (didt rape)bride of quietness,Thou foster child of silence and slow time标准时间.(Keats: “Ode on a Grecian U
29、rn骨灰盒; 喻坟墓)(p152)(The long /ai/ sound reinforces the idea of a long, peaceful and quiet existence.)(2) I shall never see her moreWhere the reeds and rushes灯芯草quiver,Shiver, quiver;Stand beside the sobbing river,Sobbing, throbbing, in the fallingTo the sandy lonesome shore.(Jean Ingelow: “The High Ti
30、de on the Coast of Linconshire”),(The short /i/ sound in river, quiver, shiver contrasts sharply with the rounded / sound in sobbing, throbbing. We can imagine how the reeds and rushes sway with sorrow beside the mourning sound of the rushing water.)In prose, especially, descriptive prose, assonance
31、 also serves to emphasize the quality of some person, scene or feeling. 3.2.4 Homeoteleuton (同韵脚/谐缀格) (p.154) This Greek word means “similarity in endings”, and in this device words, phases or clauses in close succession end with the same syllable (or syllables). (1) Instead of rivets, there came an
32、 invasion, an infliction, a visitation.(2) To Bertie, Jeeves is as incomprehensible as he is indispensable (essential).,3.2.5 OnomatopoeiaThis device makes use of imitation of sounds for effect. Many onomatopoeic words imitate natural sounds, such as the cries of animals or the noises that resemble
33、these associated with the object or action to be named, or that seem suggestive of its qualities. Here the sense is truly the echo of the sound. Examples are: the bow-wow or woof-woof of a dog, the meow-meow of a cat, the moo of a cow, the roar of a lion, the coo of a pigeon, the hiss of a serpent,
34、the hum of bees, and quack of a duck; the boom of a cannon, the crack of a pistol shot, the clang of the fire-bell, the clash of weapons, the bang of a door and the rumble of thunder. They show a close relation of sound to sense. It is a device much used in poetry and prose to add vividness or vital
35、ity to description or narration. (See the examples at p.155),Poets and great writers often use the sound of words to achieve very expressive effect as can be seen in the following poem:“The ice was here, the ice was there ,The ice was in all around:It cracked and growled, and roared and howled,Like
36、noise in a swound .” (Note: swound = swoon: a bewitched state; trance)The number of such words in any language is small, but their existence is important because they show a popular desire for a sound-symbol to have as close a relation to its meaning as possible. Such a desire is present in every li
37、nguistic community.,Consonance:和音 The repetition of consonants or of a consonant pattern, especially at the ends of words, as in blank and think or strong and string. It is the occurrence of the identical consonant sounds in stressed syllables. It is a kind of half rhyme.Consonance may be used to ac
38、hieve various effects, especially: 1) Musical, euphonious effect 2) Make the rhymed parts of the text better organized. Strong reasons make strong actions.( by Shakespeare) And I can listen to thee yet;Can le upon the plain And listen, till I do begetThat golden time again. ( by W. Wordsworth),2.2.6
39、 Combined Use of Phonetic DevicesWe have so far discussed the phonetic devices separately, for claritys sake. In actual practice these devices are often used in combination for various sensory effects. For instance, in the following lines:The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,The furrow followed
40、 free; .alliteration of the consonants /f/ and /b/ is used, with assonance in blew/flew and furrow/ followed.The passage below illustrate more fully what beautiful and vivid images combined phonetic devices can achieve:She looked like a filly俚 活泼的小姑娘 all over, and wonderfully beautiful, with her sup
41、ple stride(轻快脚步) and soft slope of shoulder, and glossy光泽 coat beaded with,water, and prominent eyes full of docile (温顺的) fire（The alliteration of the soft /s/ sound, and the assonance of the rounded /u/ sound in supple stride, soft slope of shoulder emphasize the suppleness and soft roundedness of
42、the fillys lines, while the high-pitched /ai/ glide in eyes, docile and fire hint at her inner spirit.)For more examples, please see p.157,RhymeRhyme refers to the identity or similarity in the sounds of word endings, employed usually at the ends of lines in order to please the ear and to assist in
43、the construction of a poem. Briefly, it is the repetition of sounds, usually at the ends of lines in verse. It is regarded as a verbal music made through identity of sound in the final syllables of words. Several varieties of rhyme exist: According to the position of the rhyming syllables, rhyme is
44、classified as end rhyme, internal rhyme, and head rhyme. According to the number of rhyming syllables, rhyme is divided into three types. (1) Monosyllabic rhyme: also called masculine rhyme, or single rhyme, refers to the rhyme in which the only one last syllable is rhymed .,(2) Disyllabic rhyme: al
45、so called feminine rhyme or double rhyme, refers to the rhyme in which the last two syllables are rhymed.And after April, when May follow,And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows!Lest you should think he never could recaptureThe first fine careless rapture! (3) Triple rhyme: the last three s
46、yllables are rhymed as in :tenderly/ slenderly 3)According to the principles of the rhyming of syllables, rhyme can be classified as full rhyme and half rhyme (1) Full rhyme: both vowels and consonants in the last syllable is rhymed.,(2) Half rhyme: also called pararhyme or near rhyme, referring to
47、the rhyming of either vowels or consonants, especially the rhyming of the consonants but not of vowels3.3 Prose Rhythm3.3.1 General RemarksAn aspect of English prose that is often overlooked or neglected by both teachers and students of EFl is rhythm. Students are told, and rightly, that good writin
48、g should be clear and coherent, concise and precise, well,organized and developed. Seldom are they told that good prose is also fluent and harmonious, and that all prose has rhythm. And yet students are often asked to read about passages from their textbooks. If they do well, they are complimented w
49、ith such remarks as “smooth and fluent”, “made no mistakes in pronunciation or intonation” or “expressive”. Rarely is rhythm mentioned. But whether they know it or not, the students are reading with an intuitive sense of rhythm picked up from listening to tapes of recorded passages or from listening to their teachers reading texts aloud in class. And even when these students read silently, they can hear this rhythm in their “minds ear”. The pity is that they were not taught systematically what prose rhythm is, and how,
