Jelena Tot

THE “LONG JUMP” DILLEMA

The “Long Jump” from the perspective of a non-native speaker; does prenuclear material matter and what about non-native listeners?

Introduction

The “Long Jump” is the intonation pattern involving a tune ‘composed of’ a rising head

and a high fall. It was first described and classified as a separate tone group by

O'Connor and Arnold in 1973, with a certain number of meanings ascribed to it

attitude-wise, such as protest, anger, indignance, command, hostility, rudeness,

impoliteness (Hlebec 2004: 88). On the other hand, the “High Drop” is the name given

by O'Connor & Arnold to the intonation pattern involving a high head followed by a

high fall. This intonation pattern is used rather frequently and there is also a wide range

of meanings ascribed to it: lively (O'Connor & Arnold 1973: 125), warm, brisk,

businesslike, involved, participating, considerate (O'Connor & Arnold 1973: 54).

Apart from the different meanings ascribed to these two intonation patterns –

and bearing in mind that the lists of meanings are not exhaustive – the substantial

difference between the two patterns is the pitch level/pitch movement of the head,

whereas the nuclear tone remains the same (identified as ‘high fall’).

An important notion was proposed by Professor David Deterding in his blog

and reported by Professor John Wells in his own blog1) that "while [the account of

different types of head] is almost certainly an accurate description of the intonation

patterns of native speakers of RP British English, there is no way that listeners will

misunderstand the message if a non-native speaker uses a rising head rather than a

high head". In his response, Professor John Wells concludes that he agrees with this

notion, stating further: “If I hadn’t included the possibility of rising heads in my

account, I would have been rightly criticized for lack of completeness. If I had followed

the O’Connor and Arnold (1973) model, and presented rising head plus high fall as one

of ten apparently equally important tunes — this is their number 6, the “Long Jump” —

I would have failed to make the point that the distinction between this pattern and high

head plus high fall (their number 2, the “High Drop”) is not actually terribly

important.”

On the other hand, the British Council staff member Marta J. Sabbadini points

out: “Awareness of intonation aids communication. ... Though it's unlikely our learners

will need native-speaker-level pronunciation, what they do need is greater awareness

of intonation to facilitate their speaking and listening. 2)

This awareness of intonation by non-native speakers and its importance is

examined in this paper. The impact of native speakers’ intonation on a non-native

speaker in the role of a listener and the listener's understanding of the intonation that

he/she hears is emphasised here, as well as the notion that it is equally important to be

aware of existence of different intonation patterns and their meanings if a hearer wants

to understand parts of communication properly (Al-Sibai 2004: 21-22).

To this end, the following quotation from The Australian article of 16.01.2014

shows us how important the role of films and TV series may be in shaping of the

melody of speech. This kind of talk - 'uptalk', 'upspeak’, ‘high rising terminal’ - was

described by Professor John Wells back in 2006 (Wells 2006: 37), who pointed out that

uptalk is not essential and that it may annoy older people.

“The popularity of Australian soaps and reality television shows is

blamed for an increasing adoption of the inflection at the end of a

sentence, a pattern of speech called the Australian Question

Intonation. The habit of raising tone at the end of a sentence makes it

sound as if a question is being asked.

More than 70 per cent of 700 British managers surveyed said the

inflection was "annoying" and 85 per cent said if non-Australians

spoke that way, it would harm their promotional chances because it

indicated insecurity.” 3)

In a similar way, non-native listeners are exposed to English intonation patterns

used by different actors in contemporary films and TV series produced in English-

speaking countries, to be aired, eventually, to a global audience, and this audience is

composed of both native and non-native speakers. This exposure is considered in this

paper by examining one specific intonation pattern - the Long Jump - which appears in

different contexts with different meanings.

The focus for non-native speakers is usually set on the possibility of their being

misunderstood by native speakers in case of using inappropriate intonation. However,

in this way we consider only one direction in communication process and slightly

neglect the other, equally important direction – listening and decoding. Non-native

speakers involved in the communication process are also listeners, who, in return, are

supposed to understand the message being conveyed in order to respond properly.

By means of more than two dozen examples of the Long Jump appearing in

English films and TV series and its interpretations, as well as on the Internet, classified

and interpreted under the headings Emphasising, Insisting, Repeated Long Jump in

question/answer and argument/counterargument situations, and Hidden comment -

disbelief and astonishment in exclamative questions and exclamations, this paper

strives to demonstrate that non-native speakers’ awareness of the existence of

prenuclear material is important for their appropriate understanding of what is being

communicated and that, owing to the difference that different prenuclear material

makes to the meaning of an utterance, descriptions of the prenuclear material in the

books are of great importance for learners of English at least at the University level.

The role of the Long Jump in storytelling for children is highlighted, as well as some

situations that would call for use of the Long Jump in response to a question asked with

this particular intonation pattern.

Listening and understanding - awareness of an intonation pattern

1. Emphasising

The role of the Long Jump in emphasising in order to amuse children and catch their

attention is quite distinct. In return, children obviously readily accept this pattern at a

very early age:

- (The mother: "Well, what about this song? One, two..."))

- Baby Owen: “...↗shut the \door!”

-“Five, six... three, six... ↗pick up \sticks!”

It is obvious that baby Owen, an American native, mastered this vivid intonation

pattern even with more certainty than the actual words from the song. This is how

impressive and mind-penetrating the Long Jump is. In another video clip we can hear

his grandpa telling him another story, spontaniously, occasionally using the Long

Jump), along with some other prosodic resources, to make the contents of his story

sound interesting.

The Long Jump is also used in storytelling for children on a professional level. BBC

TV channel Cbeebies used the Long Jump even in a podcast for one of the navigation

buttons on their Internet Site:)

- ↗Make and \colour

Along with the other tunes, a proficient use of the Long Jump is evident in the podcast

for the story Ugly Duckling: )

- ↗Ugly \Duckling

- Oh, per↗haps I'm \not.

- „Can't you see?“ ↗Just for \ducks!

- Two frogs hopping round show how to ↗leap and \bound.

- Two cats playing ball show how to ↗climb a \wall.

Teachers of English as a foreign language resort to the Long Jump even at much higher

levels, i.e. when speaking to much older population – EFLs, also trying to be expressive

and to make the topic sound interesting. We can find an abundance of the Long Jump

usage examples in free audio episodes available at the site www.culips.com, a Canadian

based website ‘with playful podcasts to help you learn English’ - Culips podcasts, such

as:

- (Now today, the idea for this episode came from) ↗one of our \listeners.

- (His first suggestion was to make the episode about) ↗learning \languages. )

Finally, there are some other examples of use of the Long Jump in contemporary films

and TV series for the purpose of emphasising, whether just for emphasised cordiality,

hospitability or joviality, as an emphasised finish of the long statement with many

preceding intonation phrases ending with fall-rises, or for reassurance, always denoting

a higher degree of involvement in a conversation:

i) Agatha Christie: Poirot, The Third Girl, 2008:

- “One girl takes a lease on the flat, | her friend joins her, | in the second-best bedroom,

| paying less rent, | then they have to find somebody | for the ↗room that's \left.”

Comment: Sounds like an emphasised finish of the long statement ('et voilà!'), with

many preceding intonation phrases ending with fall-rises.

- Look, | I think I can help you. | There are places where you | ↗can get \help | for these

morbid thoughts.’

Comment: Sounds reassuring.

- ‘Hello, Andrew. Come through | ↗ (?)to the \drawing room.’

Comment: Sounds like emphasised cordiality and hospitality.

ii) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 2001:

- (Bless my soul)… it’s ↗Harry \Potter!

Comment: Expressing excitement and joy.

- \/I know you | ¯you’re ↗Nearly ↗Headless \Nick!

Comment: Complex low rising head. Emphatic exclamation.

- ↗Mister \Potter.

Comment: Emphasising Harry Pooter's name, spoken at a slow tempo, derisive.

iii) Midsomer Murders, Days of Misrule, 2008:

- I heard | ↗a lot a\bout you, | chief inspector.

Comment: Being polite, emphasising.

- (...I’ve extracted the promise from colonel Parkes to bring the recruits) | ↗to the \

concert.

Comment: Entertaining the audience, jovial, emphasising.

- Well, ↗shall we go \through?

Comment: Polite request, cordial, hospitable.

- (What are you two doing? We’ve been trying to match all these with the prints) we

↗found at the \scene, sir.

Comment: Answer, pointing to the obvious, slightly surprised by the question.

2. Insisting

Insisting on getting an answer is another interesting use of the High Jump in

conversation. Two representative examples of such use are given below:

i) Midsomer Murders, Death in a Chocolate Box, 2007:

(Is it possible to have a word with Jack?Ah... Jack’s been barred by Laughing Bob.)

- And after so many years, isn’t it time he told me ↗what’s been the \problem!?

Comment: WH-phrase; insisting on a long-awaited answer and showing perplexedness.

ii) The Invasion, 2007 

- Hold on. 'Why did you take down my /plates?(Low Bounce)

Why did you ↗take down my \plates?(Long Jump)

Comment: Protesting, insisting to get an answer.

The above example (ii) is a very interesting example of intonation variation,

rather hard to find and record: the same sentence spoken by the same person (actress

Nicole Kidman) twice in a row, using different intonation patterns to express slightly

different successive attitudes - first the Low Bounce (high head + low rise), thus ending

the WH question with a rising tone which is not the default tone for WH questions

(Wells: 42), but with a rise which is not just encouriging (Wells: 43) in this particular

situation, but demanding an answer and coloured with a note of protest, and then,

immediately after a short pause, the Long Jump, used to express impatience after an

expected answer wasn’t offered, astonishment, and even stronger insisting on getting an

answer.

3. Repeated Long Jump in question/answer and argument/counterargument

situations

The Long Jump doesn't seem to be a 'catchy’ tune only for children. Very often a

question or an argument pronounced with the Long Jump will be followed by an

answer or a counterargument spoken also with the Long Jump).

i) Agatha Christie: Poirot, The Third Girl, 2008:

Pair 1 - argument/counterargument:

- Please, please, please! | Just one ice cream! | Mummy won't mind.

↗It's my \birthday.

Comment: Pleading and offering an argument while trying to get what one wants.

- She wants us to return promptly | to be ↗ready for the \party.

Comment: Immediate response to the above pleading, using the same tune for the

counterargument.

Pair 2 - question/answer:

2) - But why did you suggest ↗that she \visit me?

- She seemed to think ↗there'd been a \murder.

Comment: Question, showing surprise, and immediate response with the same (final)

intonation.

4. Hidden comment - disbelief and astonishment in exclamative questions and exclamations

The Long Jump used in certain exclamations and exclamative questions seems to hide

an additional, unspoken comment conveying an additional meaning, often related to a

speaker’s disbelief.

i) Agatha Christie: Poirot, The Third Girl, 2008:\Killed herself? ↗Her old \nanny?!

Comment: Exclamative question (identified by context and intonation even without a

yes-no rise). Default intonation of a Y/N question isn't used. Showing disbelief and

astonishment. The hidden comment might be interpreted as: "I can't believe it!" or

"That's impossible!”

ii) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 2001:

- ↗Can you \hear me?!

Comment: Exclamative question. Showing astonishment and asking a question at the

same time. Default intonation of a Y/N question isn't used, wherefore the Long Jump

makes a difference in meaning. The hidden comment might be interpreted as: "I can't

believe it!" or "That's impossible!”

iii) Midsomer Murders, Days of Misrule, 2008:

- (What does your family think of you living in the servants’ quarters) of your ↗own \

home?!

Comment: Exclamative question. The insistent fall is used in this question (Wells 2006:

46). Wondering and objecting. The hidden comment might be interpreted as: "Why are

you accepting it?”

iv) Narnia - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe

- "I'm not a dwarf! ↗I'm a \girl!"

Comment: Exclamation. Protesting, surprised, pointing to what one thinks is obvoius.

The hidden comment might be interpreted as: "Can’t you see?", "Are you blind?" or

"How can you not know something like that?"

Conclusion

Would this finer nuances elude us if we were not aware of the existence of the long jump?

There is a huge selection of British and American TV series that can be watched

in Serbia today on a daily or weekly basis, to name but a few: Midsomer Murders,

Agatha Christie: Poirot, Doc Martin, The Worst Week of My Life, Death in Paradise,

Mad Dogs, Hustle, Misfits, Utopia, This Is England, Torchwood, Ripper Street, The

Vampire Diaries, The Bridge, Friends, Once Upon a Time, Grey's Anatomy, How I Met

Your Mother, The Office, Game of Thrones, etc. The same applies to films and it would

be quite difficult to name them all here. As Serbia is not an English-speaking country,

the majority of EFLs will either use proposed audio/visual materials to listen to English

pronunciation and practice their English pronunciation skills, or watch TV series, films

and audiovisual content on the Internet, or both. Even if not using TV series, films and

audiovisual content on the Internet for practicing their English pronunciation skills,

they are still exposed to their audio content – as the voice-over translation technique

(luckily for EFLs) is not used in Serbia.

In addition, it is not unreasonable to ask ourselves if we can expect non-native

speakers to tell the difference between ‘standard’ and ‘finer’ distinctions of the

intonation tunes of native speakers3). If they are taught to use any one of the intonation

patterns - and patterns involve prenuclear material - and not just the different nuclear

tones essential for learning English, especially at lower levels, and if they are to learn

how to use intonation mainly by listening and imitating, can we expect non-native

speakers to disregard what they hear and observe?

Finally, to corroborate the impression that the Long Jump is neither so rare, nor

so difficult a tune, one beautiful example of English-speaking American natives – the

baby boy Owen pronouncing the parts of the children song “One, two, three, four...”

with the Long Jump, and his grandpa telling him a story and also occasionally using the

Long Jump - is presented here under the heading Emphasising.