LINGUIST List 7.113

Thu Jan 25 1996

Disc: Re: 7.88, Emphasis

Editor for this issue: T. Daniel Seely <dseelyemunix.emich.edu>

Directory

1. Deborah Milam Berkley, Re: 7.88, Qs: Tsimshian, Emphasis, Myths, Zager

Message 1: Re: 7.88, Qs: Tsimshian, Emphasis, Myths, Zager

David Lidsky asked about emphasis on auxiliaries in public
announcements in British English. I don't know about British English,
but a similar change seems to be occurring in the U.S.A., and not just
in the future tense. Auxiliary emphasis that I have noticed in the
last 3-4 years occurs in public announcements, and also in
(semi-)prepared speeches, such as used by people on, for example, free
telephone lines where people can call for answers about prescription
drugs, etc. An example I encountered recently:

Question: "How should this solution be applied?"

Answer: "Since this drug IS absorbed through all parts of the the scalp,
we DO advise that you...."

Deborah Milam Berkley
Northwestern University
U.S.A.