THE VARIANT NATURE OF THE BRITISH WOMEN'S SPEECH BEHAVIOR

Abstract

The question of prosodic variation in women’s speech has been analysed in the present article. Women’s of different social position (age and profession) speech behavior is in the centre of the given investigation. Women’s speech, being the subject of the analysis, allowed to reveal their specific peculiarities and arrange their speech behavior. The aim of the investigation is to define prosodic markers of women`s speech behavior. The subject of investigation is variation of women`s speech prosodic models. The object is unprepared monological speech of TV announcers and university lecturers as representatives of the analysed professions. The following tasks have been set: to distinguish main trends in gender linguistics, with the aim of defining speech behavior; to conduct phonetic analysis; to reveal differentiating prosodic characteristics, identifying women's speech behavior. In accordance with the aim and tasks of investigation, perceptive auditory analysis was applied which allowed to identify and interpret the analysed phonetic data and method of intoning was used to describe speech intonation. The concluded investigation allowed to analysed contemporary British women`s speech behavior with the help of prosodic peculiarities of their speech. The auditory analyses allowed to come to the following conclusions: speech behavior of successful women-announcer is characterized by prevalence of Falling Scale and Falling terminal tone, which identify them as confidant, categorical in speech women, who can convince interlocutors, influence them, as the main aim of announcers speech is to reach the listener, to make information maximum available and understandable. Speech behavior of university lecturers is characterised by more variable character. Their speech is dominated by Rising, Wavy scales, which is explained by peculiarities of the profession: they masterfully use their voice tember, and high tonality of speech testify their skills to adopt speech behavior to communication conditions. Thus prosodic means, which form during the act of communication may characterise the speaker`s originality, different by age and profession.