Look at these two questions. Which of
them seems more polite?
a.
'What does that mean,
being a football trainee?'
b.
'Could you tell us what
that means, being a football trainee?'
The second question seems more polite
because of the structure used: indirect question.
One of the many ways of signalling
politeness in British English is to use indirect rather
than direct questions: these have the effect of making
the sentence longer and less direct, both of which are
usually interpreted as a sign of politeness.
PITCH IN
BRITISH ENGLISH
Pitch is the property of sound
that changes with variation in the frequency of vibration,
that is, how the level of your speech is set.
Now, pay close attention to the following
basic points about the implication of pitch in British
English:
USE OF THIS VOICE:
IMPLIES THESE ATTITUDES:
middle
range
►
neutral / normal
low range
►
rude / bored
/ aggressive
high range
►
polite /
uncertain
Note that some nationalities will need to
pay more attention to this phonological feature than others,
especially if the normal range usually used in the mother
tongue is the low range.
AUDIO
EXAMPLES
And now let us check the following ten
examples. Just click on the speakers and listen carefully.
After listening to each audio file, repeat it aloud
trying to imitate the intonation:
1.
ACQUAINTANCE TO ACQUAINTANCE
What does that mean, being
a football trainee?
2.
REPORTER TO STRANGER TO APPEAR
POLITE
Could you tell us what
that means, being a football trainee?
3.
JOB APPLICANT TO INTERVIEWER
Could you tell me what the
salary is?
4.
FRIEND TO FRIEND
What's the salary?
5.
PARENT OR TEACHER TO CHILD
Shut the door.
6.
COLLEAGUE TO COLLEAGUE
Could you please shut the
door?
7.
CLASSMATE TO CLASSMATE
Can you repeat that?
8.
STUDENT TO TEACHER
Do you think you could
possibly repeat that, please?
9.
FRIEND TO FRIEND
Do you know where the
lifts are?
10.
STRANGER TO STRANGER
Do you know where the
lifts are?
FINAL ADVICE
For teaching purposes only, we think
these two basic rules simplify complex linguistic and social
behaviour:
RULE 1. When p2ople want to show
politeness in spoken British English they tend to use a
higher pitch and longer sentences. This is particularly
true when talking to strangers or superiors.
RULE 2. When speaking to people
they know well or strangers they want to seem friendly
towards, they tend to use shorter sentences and a lower
pitch.
In the exercise below you can practise
this grammar.
ACTIVITY 237:
Mr. Grammar mentions above some general rules about
asking politely in English. Summarize this general rule by choosing the
appropriate alternatives from the menus. Then check the answers.
When asking questions or making requests
politely (e.g. when speaking to
or
superiors), English speakers tend to use longer sentences (e.g.
indirect questions) and to
the
pitch of their voice.
When speaking to people they know well
or to strangers they want to seem
with, they don't use such
sentences and they don't raise their pitch so much.
Tanto las explicaciones de Mr.
Grammar como el curso del enlace que nos ofrece Mr. Help son
de suma utilidad !!! En la página siguiente retomarás la
práctica del ODD ONE OUT ...
