A study of discourse intonation in Margaret thatcher's speech : a phono-pragmatic analysis

Abstract EN

The function of intonation goes beyond the level of individual sentences into the broader domain of discourse, connecting the utterance of all speakers in a discussion.

“Discourse” can be defined as a continuous stretch of verbal expression in writing or speech.

In this study, David Brazil's discourse intonation model (1997) has been adopted to divulge the role of intonation in Margaret Thatcher's speech, “the Lady's not for turning.

” Similarly, more utterances of her speeches will be analyzed following the same procedure of Brazil.

The second speech is from her May 1965 speech, before coming to power, to the National Union of Townswomen's Guilds Conference.

In that oration.

Brazil's work has been the stimulus for an ever-growing body of research on the role of intonation in communication.

A qualitative methodology was used, and the results showed that dominance was higher than the non-dominance factor, which demonstrates that Margaret was in control of the discourse.

In particular, this study will benefit learners specialized in pragmatics and phonology because it clarifies the function of intonation in speech, carrying contrastive information.