Language Log

III. INFLECTIONS

Inflections are slides of the voice upward or downward. Of these, there are two: the rising inflection and falling inflection.

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Both inflections are exhibited in the following question:

Did you walkˊ or rideˋ?   

In the following examples, the first member has the rising the second member the falling inflection.

EXAMPLES.*

Is he sickˊ or is he wellˋ?
Did you say valorˊ, or valueˋ?
Did you say statuteˊ, or statueˋ?
Did he act properlyˊ, or improperlyˋ?

[* These questions and similar ones, with their answers, should be repeatedly pronounced with their proper inflections, until the distinction between the risinng and falling inflections is well understood and easily made by the learner. He will be assisted in this by emphasizing strongly the word which receives the inflection; thus, Did you RIDEˊ or did you WALKˋ?]

In the following examples, the inflections are used in a contrary order, the first member terminating with the falling and the second with the rising inflection.

EXAMPLES.

He is wellˋ, not sickˊ.
I said valueˋ, not valorˊ.
I said statueˋ, not statueˊ.
He acted properlyˋ, not improperlyˊ.

FALLING INFLECTIONS

RULE VI. -- The falling inflection is generally proper whenever the sense is complete.

EXAMPLES.

Truth is more wonderful than fictionˋ.
Men generally die as they liveˋ.
By industry we obtain wealthˋ.

REMARK.--Parts of a sentence often make complete sense in themselves, and in this case, unless qualified or restrained by the succeeding clause, or unless the contrary is indicated by some other principle, the falling inflection takes place according to the rule.

EXAMPLES.

Truth is wonderfulˋ, even more so than fictionˋ.
Men generally die as they liveˋ, and by their actions we must judge of their characterˋ.

Exception.--When a sentence concludes with a negative clause, or with a contrast or comparison (called also antithesis), the first member of the which requires the falling intonation, it must close with the rising inflection. (See Rule XI, and §2, Note.)

EXAMPLES.

No one desires to be thought a foolˊ.
I come buryˋ Caesar, not to praiseˊ him.
He lives in Englandˋ, not in Franceˊ.

REMARK.-- In bearing testimony to the general character of a man we say,

He is too honorableˋ to be guilty of a vileˋ act.

But if he is accused of some act of baseness, a contrast is at once instituted between his character and the specified act, and we change the inflections, and say,

He is too honorableˋ to be guilty of suchˊ an act.

A man may say, in general terms,

I am too busyˊ for projectsˋ.

But if he is urged to embark in some particular enterprise, he will change the inflection, and say,

I am too busyˋ for projectsˊ.

In such cases, as the falling inflection is required in the former part by the principle of contrast and emphasis (as will hereafter be more fully explained), the sentence necessarily closes wtih the rising inflection.

Sometimes, also, emphasis alone seems to require the rising inflection on the concluding word. See exception to Rule VII.

STRONG EMPHASIS

RULE VII.--Language which demands strong emphasis generally requires the falling inflection.

EXAMPLES.

§1. Command or urgent entreaty; as,

Begoneˋ,
Runˋ to your houses, fallˋ upon your knees,
Prayˋ to the Gods to intermit the plagues.

O, saveˋ me, Hubertˋ, saveˋ me! My eyes are out
Even with the fierce looks of these bloody men.

§2. Exclamation, especially when indicating strong emotion; as,

O, ye Godsˋ! ye Godsˋ! must I endure all this?

Harkˋ! Harkˋ! the horrid sound
Hath raised up his head.

For interrogatory exclamation, see Rule X, Remark.

SERIES OF WORDS OR MEMBERS.

§3. A series of words or members, whether in the beginning or middle of a sentence, if it does not conclude the sentence is called a commencing series, and usually requires the rising inflection when not emphatic.

EXAMPLES OF COMMENCING SERIES

Wineˊ, beautyˊ, musicˊ, pompˊ, are poor expedients to heave off the load of an hour from the heir of eternityˋ.

I conjure you by that which you profess,
(Howe'er you came to know it,) answer me;
Though you untie the winds and let them fight
Against the churchesˊ; though the yeasty waves
Confound and swallow navigationˊ up;
Though bladed corn be lodged, and trees blown downˊ;
Though palaces and pyramids do slope
Their heads to their foundationsˊ; though the treasures
Of nature's germens tumble altogetherˊ,
Even till destruction sickenˊ; answer me
To what I askˋ you.

§4. A series of words of members which concludes a sentence is called a concluding series, and each member usually has the falling inflection.

EXAMPLE OF CONCLUDING SERIES

They, through faith, subdued kingdomsˋ, wrought righteousnessˋ, obtained promisesˋ, stopped the mouths of lionsˋ, quenched the violence of fireˋ, escaped the edge of the swordˋ, out of weakness were made strongˋ, waxed valiant in fightˋ, turned to flight the armies of the aliensˋ.

REMARK.--When the emphasis on these words or members is not marked, they take the rising inflection, according to Rule IX.

EXAMPLES.

They are the offspring of restlessnessˊ, vanityˊ, and idlenessˋ.
Loveˊ, hopeˊ, and joyˊ took possession of his breast.

§5. When words, which naturally take the rising inflection, become emphatic by repetition or any other cause, they often take the falling inflection.

Exception to the Rule.--While the tendency of emphasis is decidedly to the use of the falling inflection, sometimes a word to which the falling inflection naturally belongs, changes this, when it is emphatic, for the rising inflection.

EXAMPLES.

Three thousand ducatsˋ: 't is a good round sumˊ.
It is useless to point out the beauties of nature to one who is blindˊ.

Here sum and blind, according to Rule VI, would take the falling inflection, but as they are emphatic, and the object of emphasis is to draw attention to the word emphasized, this is here accomplished in part by giving an unusual inflection. Some speakers would give these words the circumflex, but it would be the rising circumflex, so that the sound would still terminate with the rising inflection.

RULE VIII.--Questions which can not be answered by yes or no, together with their answers, generally require the falling inflection.

EXAMPLES.

REMARK.--If these questions are repeated, the inflection is changed according to the principle stated under the Exception to Rule VII.

Where did you say he had goneˊ?
What has he doneˊ?
Who did thisˊ?
When did he goˊ?