Direct address in english interview: variations of melodic patterns

The paper presents the results of analysis of direct address melodic patterns in radio and TV interviews in English. The address serves to establish, break, and hold the conversation, change the topic, draw attention, express communicative tonality in the English interviews under study. In speech practice the position of address is not strictly regulated, it may be in an absolute, initial, middle and final position in the expression. The position and function of direct address govern the choice of address melodic pattern. Direct address often accompanies other speech acts (greeting, thanking, introducing, farewell, and compliment). The phonetic study based on the material of English interviews allows to describe functional peculiarities of some melodic patterns of address. It is proved that an address at the beginning of the interview (when realized in preposition or postposition) performs a contact-setting function, has different patterns of pitch variation (Level, Low Fall, Mid Fall, Rise-Fall) or may complete the melodic pattern of the previous statement. In the body of the interview, the address may be in an utterance-initial or utterance-final position and serves to resume and hold the conversation, attract listener’s attention to the topic. In this part of the interview the address is realized with Low/Mid/High Fall, Fall-Rise, Low Rise, Rise-Fall tones. In the final part of the interview, the address is realized in preposition to other speech acts, serves to break the contact and has different melody patterns: Low/Mid Fall or Fall-Rise. The final address may not form a separate syntagma and have a separate melodic pattern.