Ka:rmik Phonology 6INTONATION IN ENGLISH AND TELUGU PROVERBS:

EVIDENCE FOR KARMIK LINGUISTIC THEORYChilukuri Bhuvaneswar, CIEFL, Hyderabad

ABSTRACTIntonation of proverbs is a virgin area and so far no attempt has been made to study the

intonation of Telugu proverbs in particular and probably English also. In this paper, an

attempt has been made to initiate research in this direction and provide a theoretical

framework for the analysis of intonation in English and Telugu proverbs.

It has been found out that intonation in proverbs varies in two distinct patterns. In the

unmarked pattern, the intonation pattern of the proverbs in its citation form is usually

carried into the contextual pronunciation since proverbs are formed context sensitively in

their canonical form. However, when the individual is in a mood other than that of the

mood in which the proverbs is formed, the intonation pattern varies. That means, there is

a dispositional superimposition of the pattern of intonation on to the structure of the

proverb. To put it differently, as the mood of the speaker is, so will be the pattern of

intonation: in the unmarked choice, the speaker instantiates that choice since he is in that

unmarked mood and in the marked choice, the speaker instantiates that marked choice

because he is in that marked mood. Therefore, intonation constructs the dispositional

reality of the speaker and provides evidence for Karmik Linguistic Theory.

The formal, functional, and cognitive linguistic analyses are inadequate to account for

and motivate the choice of a particular intonation pattern in a given context according to

the non-linear dynamics of disposition. According to language as a product of human

beings the same context may evoke different emotional reactions and so different

intonation patters. As a result, what we need is an integrated theory that unifies form,

function, cognition, and disposition into a single framework and comprehensively

accounts for the intonation of proverbs in conversation. Karmik Linguistic Theory offers

such a possibility and hence intonation can be seen as evidence for Karmik Linguistic

Theory from this theoretical perspective also.

I. INTRODUCTION

Intonation of proverbs is a virgin area and so far no attempt has been made to study the

intonation of Telugu proverbs in particular and English and many other Indian languages

in general.

A study of intonation offers us valuable information about how disposition plays a crucial

role in deciding what intonation pattern would be used in a context of its occurrence.

One of the reasons is that intonation is used to convey the mood of the speaker. On the

other hand, the mood of the speaker also anushangikally (inheriting the nature of the

cause into the effect) affects the intonation of the utterance. In other words, intonation

not only conveys the mood but is also a product of svabhavam (disposition).

In this paper, an attempt will be made to show with a few examples how the mood of the

speaker (and not the form of the utterance) is responsible for the choice of the intonation

pattern and further how an intonation pattern might have been formed from the

svabhavam of the speakers in the formative stages of the concerned language.

II. LITERATURE REVIEW

O’ Connor and Arnold (1985) provided an excellent and a comprehensive introduction to

the study of intonation of colloquial English. In it, there is an extensive treatment of the

anatomy of English intonation that consists of seven basic tunes and ten tone groups. In

addition, a detailed examination of how different moods are expressed by different tone

groups is also made in this important work on English intonation. However, proverbs are

not treated in this book.

In Telugu, Lisker (1963) is the only extensive work available on Telugu intonation even

though it is not mood-oriented in its treatment. A formal analysis of the Telugu

intonation patterns is offered in the section on intonation (ibid. XX – XXVI) which is

divided into five groups. Furthermore, many examples of spoken Telugu are offered in

30 lessons. However, proverbs are not treated in this book.

Sastry, Murthy, (1975) is another work on conversational Telugu dealing with

conversation in Telugu. Prabhakar Babu (1978) deals with Telugu intonation and divides

it into four types: Falling, Rising, Rise-Fall and Fall-Rise. Venkateswarlu (1982) is

another major work on Telugu grammar in which intonation is discussed in some length.

However, in all these works intonation in proverbs is not taken up for discussion.

In the next section, the analysis of O’Connor and Arnold (1985) and Lisker (1963) will

be taken as the basis for a study of intonation in Telugu and English proverbs.

III INTONATION IN ENGLISH AND TELUGU PROVERBS:

A FORMAL LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS

Any discussion of intonation involves three layers:

1. A formal Linguistic Analysis of Intonational Structure.

2. A dispositional Linguistic Analysis of Attitude in Intonation.

3. The Relationship between Structure-Attitude – Word-Group.

In the analysis of intonational structure, we will know how intonation is patterned in a

language. For example, in English, we can identity ten tone groups giving us: 1. The

Low Drop; 2. The High Drop; 3. The Take-off; 4. The Low Bounce; 5. The Switch

Back; 6. The Long Jump; 7. The High Bounce; 8. The Jack Knife; 9. The High Dive

and 10. The Terrace described in O’Connor and Arnold (1985).

In a similar way, in the case of Telugu, we can identify 5 tone groups giving us:

1. The Period Pattern;

2. The Mid-Level or Slightly Rising Pitch Pattern;

3. The Steeply Rising Pitch Pattern;

4. The Falling or Abruptly Terminated Pitch Pattern; and

5. The Comma Pattern as described by Lisker (1963: XX: XXVI)

In the analysis of attitude, we will know how each intonation pattern a language has in its

system will embody an attitude and convey the same in a context of its usage. For

example, the Low Drop Intonation Pattern with no head conveys different shades of

attitude. In statements, it conveys a detached, cool, dispassionate, reserved, dull,

possibly grim or surly attitude; in wh – question (who, what, why, where etc.), it conveys

a detached or flat or unsympathetic, or an even hostile attitude; in yes – no question (in

tags used as independent comments), it conveys an uninterested, or hostile attitude; in

commands, it conveys an unemotional or clam or controlled or cold attitude; and in

interjections a calm, unsurprised, reserved, and self-possessed attitude. Again, the same

low drop Intonation Pattern with a high head carries a different set of attitudes. For

example, in statements, it conveys a categoric, or weighty, or judicial, or considered

attitude; in wh – questions, a searching, or serious or intense or urgent attitude; in yes –

no questions, a serious; or urgent attitude; in commands, very serious or very strong

attitude; and in interjections a very strong attitude (See O’cornor and Arnold (1985:

106)). Let us now see how intonation–attitude pattern is related to the grammatical

structure of the utterance with next section.

a) INTONATION – ATTITUDE – WORD GROUP RELATION

Since a particular intonation pattern conveys a particular attitude in a context of its usage,

there should be a similar correspondence between the intonation – attitude pattern with

that of the syntactic or semantic (grammatical) structure of the sentence. But it is not so

in English. For example, the same syntactic unit can be said in any of the 10 tone groups

conveying different attitudes. There is a serious implication in this pattern of organization

of English intonation – it is an implication which points out to the supremacy of attitude

(disposition). It is ultimately “The speaker’s attitude, at the moment of speaking, to the

situation in which he is placed” [with apology to O’Connor and Arnold (1985: 4) for

borrowing it out of context] that determines the intonation pattern. For example, in our

ordinary language, when we use a falling tone in saying Thank you, “we express genuine

gratitude, but if it rises we sound rather casual” (ibid. 4-5). This supremacy of “attitude”

over “grammar” leads to another inference that “grammar” is probably used as a tool for

expressing our attitudes and feelings, (and our character also in an indexical fashion) in

addition to expressing the knowledge (meaning) of action. Extending the same line of

argument, we can show that even the actions we express through language through

grammar are also impelled by our disposition and it has been shown to be so in the case

of WTC Explosion in Bhuvaneswar (1988a). Therefore, there is already concrete

evidence in the manner in which attitude is conveyed – by a relationship of (intonation –

attitude) with the grammatical structure of the utterance – for a dispositional linguistic

view of intonation and so language. Therefore, a formal linguistic interpretation of

language without incorporating the component of disposition is incomplete.

In the case of proverbs and proverbial conversation, the same thing also applies. For

example, in the following real life conversation, a proverb is used in a Low Drop

Intonation Pattern:

A: It is good that we have come this way.

B: Every cloud has a silver living.

A: Oh, you used a proverb.

B: Because of you.

[A and B were going together in an auto rickshaw to see the Golconda Fort. A is an

Indian and B is a Britisher who speaks RP. The auto rickshaw driver missed the way for

the Golconda Fort and took another way which passes along the famous Kutub Shahi

tombs. B is a tourist and he did not visit the Kutub Shahi tombs and therefore A was

prompted to say that sentence even though he was a bit apologetic. B immediately used

the proverb in the High Head + Low Fall (+ Tail) as follows to express a categoric (or

judicial or considered) attitude:

‘Every’ cloud has a silver lining.

Had the speaker felt otherwise, he might have used another intonation pattern to express

another attitude. For example, The High Drop Intonation Pattern to convey a sense of

lightness, or airiness; or The Take-off Intonation Pattern to express resentfulness or

deprecation for not taking him properly and wasting his money (for the transport).

Similarly, the word groups can be one, two, or even three depending on the speaker’s

attitude, tempo, and emphasis:

Every cloud has a silver lining ||;

Every cloud/has a silver lining ||;

Every cloud has a silver lining ||.

Incidentally, this conversation offers another piece of concrete evidence in black and

white to show how the structure of conversation is also impacted by disposition. B does

not have the habit of using proverbs and he used this proverb because he is aware of A’s

interest in proverbs and he wanted to help him and please him by using a proverb.

In Telugu also, a similar process is observed. People use proverbs in conversation

according to their attitude, at the moment of speaking, to the situation in which he is

placed. The following example from real illustrates the same point of view in Telugu

also.

A: ra:aa pu:rimeppudu?

Sra:vana Pu:rnima when

‘When is Sravana Purnima?’

B: ippue: pra:rambamajindi.

just now started

‘Just now started’

a:kilda:i a:ra:si enta du:ramanna:a

threshold having crossed Va:rana:si how distant one said that

‘(I understand), that having crossed the threshold, one said, how far is Varanasi?’

[Sravana Purnima is a festival day in the Hindu tradition, on which people change their

jgo:pa vi:tm (sacred thread worn around the left shoulder and the right side of the

belly by slipping it through the hands. Varanasi is Banaras, a holy city in India which is

far from Andhra Pradesh, more than 1500 kilometers. The proverb means that: “You

have just started the work and you are asking when it will be over”.

In the olden days, people used to go on a pilgrimage to Banaras. It used to be a very long

and tedious journey. So, when someone, who has just started the journey, asked this

question, he was ridiculed. Such instances were observed and that social praxis

eventually became encapsulated into a proverb.]

The Sravana month started only three or four days ago when A asked this question. B

could have co-operated and given the date of the festival since she has an idea about it.

But she is in a mood to censure such a question and so she retorted by saying this proverb

in a mixed pattern of comma pattern + Falling or Abruptly Terminated Pitch as follows:

[:kilda:i] [va:rana:] [sen(t) du:ram] [nn:a]

[/va:kil/dai va:rana: sen(tha) du:ra vnn:tta]

va:kil da:I :r:se entdu:rnn:, is pronounced with a different intonation

pattern in its citations form. I pronounce it as follows:

v:kili da:i :r:si entu:rm nn:a

In a similar way, Every cloud has a silver lining can be pronounced with a High Drop

Intonation Pattern in its citation, form as follows:

|Every |cloud has a |silver o lining

(Low pre – Head+) High Head + High Full(+Tail)

The stress on lining is optional. Sometimes, the High Full can be placed on lining instead

of silver and silver can be given a stress.

So far we have seen how disposition plays a crucial role in the choice of an intonation

pattern. But that is not enough to say that disposition is the cause of intonation. We must

also be in a position to motivate the structuration of an intonation system in a language

and its systematic contextualization or embodiment with a corresponding attitude or

emotion.

As far as structuration of an intonation system is concerned, we can apply the principles

of creativity, dispositionality, and productive principality to derive the intonation system

and further confirm it by the principles of individual collective standardization, socio–

cultural standardization and valorization.

Let us briefly discuss how disposition is reflected in these two processes also.

b) STRUCTURATION OF INTONATION

According to O’Connor and Arnold (1985: 8-9), the English language tunes can be

divided into seven types: Low Fall; High Fall; Rise-Fall; Low Rise; High Rise; Fall-Rise;

Mid-Level. If we carefully observe these seven tunes, we see that they are actually only

three with modifications. If we draw a horizontal line and consider it as the mid – level,

then the pitch above the line becomes high and the one below as follows:

______________________________ High – level

______________________________ Mid – Level

______________________________ Low – level

All the tunes fall in between high and low levels.

In our discussion of phonotactic changes in Bhuvaneswar (1988a) and phonological

figures of speech in Bhuvaneswar (1988b), we have considered all expansion as due to

rajasik disposition and contraction as due to tamasik disposition and the equilibrium

level as due to sattvik disposition. Applying the same criteria, we get the Mid–Level Tune

as due to sattvik disposition; all tunes accompanied by a rising voice as due to rajasik

disposition; and all other tunes accompanied by a falling voice as due to tamasik

disposition. Furthermore, a Rise – Fall will be a rajasik – tamasik tune and a Fall – Rise

will be a tamasik – rajasik tune. Surprisingly English intonation fits in very neatly into

the dispositional spectrum (or framework). Further more simple tunes can be considered

sattvik and compound ones rajasik and they can be further divided according to the

dominant dispositional quality.

Applying this framework, the ten tone groups can be divided as follows;

a) Sattvik Tone Groups: The Terrace

It consists of a (Low Pre-head +) (High Head+) Mid-Level

b) Rajasik Tone Groups:

1. The Take-off (Low Pre-head+) (Low head+) Low Rise

2. The Low-Bounce (Low Pre-head+) High Head + Low RiseOr

High Pre-head + Low Rise

3. The High-Bounce (Low Pre-head+) (High Head+) High Rise

4. The High Dive (Low Pre-Head+) (High Head+) High Fall+ (Low

Accents)+ Low Rise

c) Tamasik Tone Group:

1. The Low Drop (Low Pre- head+) (High Head+) Low fall

2. The High Drop (Low Pre-head+) (High Head +) High Fall

3. The Long Jump (Low Pre- head+) Rising Head + High Fall

d) Rajasik – Tamasik Tone Group:

1. The Jackknife (Low Pre-head+) (High Head+) Rise-Fall

e) Tamasik – Rajasik Tone Group:

1. The Switch back (Low Pre-head+) (Falling Head +) Fall-Rise

We can also extend the delicacy by considering + High as rajasik and + Low as tamasik.

Then The High Drop and The Long Jump tone groups will be tamasik – rajasik; and the

Take – Off and The Low Bounce tone groups will be rajasik – tamasik.

This is how we can account for the formation of English tone groups as they are formed

according to the principles of creativity, dispositionality and productive principality.

Let us now see how these tone groups embody the attitudes that the speakers express.

c) CONTENTUALIZATION OF INTONATION

O’Connor and Arnold (1985) have made a detailed survey of various attitudes reflected

in the intonation system of English. Taking all the ten tone groups into consideration; we

can make a general review of the attitudes embodied in them and see how svabhavam is

embodied in the tone groups.

While considering each tone group, O’Connor and Arnold (ibid), have taken the four

major types of sentences which are statements, questions commands and interjections

into the framework and illustrated how each tone group conveys an attitude in each type

of a sentence. A summery of the attitudes and emotions conveyed by each tone group

leads to interesting observations about the tone groups embodied the attitudes.

Let us discuss the analysis of O’Connor and Arnold in the following paragraphs.

1. ATTITUDES CONVEYED IN THE LOW DROP TONE GROUP

In a low Drop pattern without a head, various shades of detachment & lack of

involvement are expressed. O’Connor and Arnold (1985) have identified 17 types of

attitudes which can be grouped into five categories as follows:

Group 1: detached, dispassionate, uninterested, unemotional, unsurprised (5)

Group 2: unsympathetic (1)

Group 3: calm, cool, cold, controlled, reserved (5)

Group 4: flat, dull (2)

Group 5: grim, surly, even hostile, self- possessed (4)

All these types of attitudes more or less correspond with the dispositional factor of tamas.

As we have already noted tamas is contraction and all of them can be neatly fitted into

this aspect of disposition.

With a High Head, the low drop acquires more intensity and both approval and

disapproval and enthusiasm and impatience as shown in the following attitudes:

Group 1: Categoric, considered, judicial, searching

2: Weighty, intense, serious

3: urgent

4: very serious, very strong

5: ponderous

We have considered +High as rajasik and therefore these attitudes appear to be tamasik –

rajasik. However, urgency and pondering are more of rajasik nature than tamasik nature.

Therefore, in these two cases there is a slight variation. Probably, the urgency meant here

is not related to speed but to hastiness or quickly doing things without proper

consideration. In a similar way also about pondering with a tendency towards dullness.

For example, in “Now, where did Io put my pipe?” there is urgency but caused because of

lack of alertness. So also in the case of “Good morning” where good is accented, there is

a ponderous altitude which is not active. So these attitudes can be grouped into tamasik –

rajasik disposition.

In a similar way, interjections with a head can be tamasik – rajasik since the power of

interjection is at its highest. On the other hand, interjections without head express

genuine, though unexcited gratitude and can be tamasik – sattvik.

The evaluation made above is only a first approximation and a detailed classification can

be made considering all the tone groups together and arriving at generalizations.

The interesting thing about such an analysis is that we can motivate the choices

qualitatively, if not quantitatively as discussed in Bhuvaneswar (1988a) – owing to the

non-linear dynamics of human behaviour.

It is not surprising to see a systematic correspondence between the tamasik quality of the

tone group and the attitude. It need not be so systematic as obtained in the case of the

Low Drop. Such variations when they come about are not a problem to Karmik

Linguistic Theory because language is a product of human beings and human beings

according to their own dispositional quality perform action. As the workman, so is the

work! A muddled man can only produce muddled actions as long as he is in that muddled

state!

A similar type of classification can be extended to all other tone groups and a list of

emotions/attitudes that are conveyed by English intonation patterns can be worked out.

In the case of Telugu intonation patterns, no such detailed studies of the correspondence

between intonation and attitude and intonation–syntactic structure–attitude are available

so far, to my knowledge. Unless such detailed studies are available, it is premature to

make generalizations.

A few examples for unmarked intonation patterns in English and Telugu are given below.

For a detailed mapping of intonation patterns on to British English proverbs, the

guidelines given by O’Connors and Arnold in their book Intonation of Colloquial English

(P.107 – 274) can be followed. In Bhuvaneswar (1998 c, d, e, f, g, h, i) the syntax of

English and Telugu proverbs has been extensively studied. Representative samples

which are formed in British and American English can be taken from them for mapping

intonation-attitude patterns on to them. Such an analysis is beyond the scope of the

present work in view of the constraints of space and time.

a) TEN EXAMPLES FOR INTONATION IN ENGLISH PROVERBS

1. The Low Drop

a. What the |heart thinks, the| tongue \ speaks.

2. The High Drop

a. |Honesty is the \ best opolicy.

3. The Take-Off

a. A horse, a wife, and a \sword | may be |shrewd, but not \lent.

4. The Low Bounce

a. Where |one |door /shuts, || another /opens.

5. The Switchback.\/Do or \die.\All are \/good \girls but where do the \/bad \wives come from?

6. The Long Jump

Rome was not obuilt in a \day.

7. The High Bounce

Is a |woman ever /satisfied? \No, if she /were, she wouldn’t be a \woman.

8. The Jack knife

Why /\buy the 0cow when you get omilk ofree?

9. The High Dive

A \stitch in time saves /nine.

10. The Terrace>Love is blind.

b) SIX EXAMPLES FOR INTONATION IN TELUGU PROVERBS

1. Period Pattern ( . ) / Wave Pattern

This is a wave like pattern rising from the middle level and falling gradually after

reaching the normal height. Lisker (1963: XXI) calls it Period Pattern which he

indicates by a full stop. I call it ‘Wave Pattern’ so that it serves as a good mnemonic and

it is represented by a wave in the following figure.

High Level Boundary

Low Level Boundary

In this pattern, the ending will be a little lower than the beginning of the pitch level.

2. Falling or Abruptly Terminated Pitch or Wall Sliding Pattern

In this pattern, the pitch starts from the high level and falls to the lowest level like a boy

sliding down the wall. I call it the Wall sliding Pattern for easy understanding. It is

represented by a straight line in the following figure:

Both the Wave Pattern and Wall sliding pattern are represented in the following proverbs:

naite: da:rilo: gai moladu.

walking path in grass grows not

‘In a walking path, grass will not grow’.

a.

naite:da:rilo: gi moladu

b. nakkekka na:galo:kekka? Fox where Nagalokam where

‘Where (is) Fox? Where is Nagalokam (the land of the celestial Nagas ) ?

nakkekka na:glo:kam () ekka

c. ki:lerigi v:ta pea:li. Knowing mark put should

‘one should mark knowing the position’

ki:lerigi :ta pea:li

3. Mid-Level or Slightly Rising Pitch (Plateau Pattern)

In this intonation pattern, the pitch starts from below or at the middle level and gradually

rises as in plateau.

a. igne:ui mi:da bkt:?

Vighneswaradu on devotion?

unra:u mi:dd bkt:?

Undra:llu on devotion?

‘(Is it) devotion on (Lord) Vighneswara? (or) (is it) devotion on undra:llu (rice

cakes prepared for offering to the Lord)?’

vigne:ruI mi:da bt: unra:llmi:dabkt:

4. STEEPLY-RISING PITCH (CLIMBING PATTERN)

In this pattern, the pitch rises steeply as an aeroplane climbing (taking off) into the sky.

It starts at the mid-level or slightly below that and reaches the high level.

a. ka:se: teuke: debbalu.

Fruiting tree to blows

‘To a fruiting tree, blows’

Ka:se: teuke: dbbalu

b. hnumntuni mundu kuppigantula:?Hanuman before hopping?‘Before Hanuman, is it hopping?’

hnumntunimundu kuppigantula:?

5. COMMA PATTERN ( , )

In this pattern, a non-final pause, which will be marked by comma, is typically preceded

by a rise in voice pitch in varying degrees. The rise may be slight and accompanied by

prolongation of the syllable just before the pause; the rise may be sharp with no

observable pause following it; the rise may be sharp and followed by a fall in pitch and a

relatively long pause.

a. ndite: duttu le:kpote: ka:u

reaching hair if not legs.

‘If reachable, hair; if not, legs’

In this proverb, the steep fall is gradual because of the long vowel |:| in |ka:u| and the

long vowels |e:, o:, e:| in [le:kpo:te]

There is one more pattern I have noticed in proverbs. It is a level pattern in which there

is no rise or fall. I call it the plain pattern for mnemonicity. The pitch is slightly above

the mid level and is maintained till the end without any variation.

6. THE PLAIN PATTERN

a. ra:dul sommu ra:a pa:lu

king’s property stones spent on

‘King’s property (is) wasted on stones’.

ra:dula sommu ra:a pa:lu

IV. CONCLUSION

(1) In Bhuvaneswar(1988a), it has been shown that phonemes have been fashioned out

of svabhavam and have been further dispositional functionally used as building blocks to

create words and sentences.

(2) In Bhuvaneswar (1988b), it has been shown that figures of speech have been

fashioned out of svabhavam and have been further dispositional functionally used

ornaments to beautify utterances.

(3) In Bhuvaneswar (1988c), that is in this article, it has been shown that intonation has

been fashioned out of svabhavam and has been further dispositional functionally used as

colouring to the building blocks of phonemes as word group to embody attitude in them.

If these word groups as lexis and syntax and semantics are also fashioned out of

svabhavam and dispositional functionally embody svabhavam in their respective

domains, then we can say that the formal structuration of language is used as a resource

for the construction of dispositional reality. [Indeed, in Bhuvaneswar (1998d), it is shown

that lexis is fashioned out in a similar way as phonemes are fashioned from the principles

of creativity, dispositionality, productive principality, individual–collective

standardization, socio-cultural standardization, valorization, transmission, and retention.

So also in Bhuvaneswar (1999e), it is shown that syntax also is fashioned out and

dispositional functionally used to embody meaning as knowledge of action. Finally, the

same process is observed in Bhuvaneswar (1988f, g, h, i), in semantics also]. This

function of attitude-intonation complex is a cyclic process that continually makes

intonation couplings with attitude as disposition at the place, time, and context of

performing action via lingual action to construct the dispositional reality for the

experience (bhogam) of karma phalam. This can be captured in the following lingual

(feedback) loop.

Intonation Speech (lingual action)

Attitude Experience

Disposition

Fig. 1: Attitude – Intonation Loop (AT-IN LOOP)

This will form a loop within other loops of disposition in the construction of dispositional

reality. Language operates, as has already been mentioned in Bhuvaneswar(1988a), as a

system of networks within networks which are inter-connected, interdependent, and inter-

related in the construction of karmic reality. For example, we know that action is

constructed in a loop of process – pattern – structure, similarly, we know that action itself

forms a node in the construction of experience of action as in the loop of disposition –

desire – function – action – experience; again; we know that a figure of speech/intonation

form two separate loops as disposition – aesthetic appeal – figure of speech – speech –

experience; and disposition – attitude – intonation – speech experience. All these loops

are inter-connected – inter-dependent – inter-related in the construction of action. They

can be captured in the following loops.

Pattern

Process Structure

Disposition Action

Experience

Fig. 2 a. Process - Pattern - Structure Loop (PPS LOOP)

Intonation

Figure of Speech

b. Figure of Speech – Intonation Loops (FS-IN LOOP)

c. Phoneme – Word – Sentence loops (PWS LOOP)

AT-IN PPS

★

PWS FS-IN

d. Inter-connected loop of phonology.

In order to understand that language is used as a resource for the construction of

dispositional reality, we must understand all the inter-connected loops of action which

feedback one another in their individual function to realize the holistic function of

constructing dispositional reality. If we miss one loop, we miss the link and get into the

trap of atomicity. The secret of life lies in the whole, not in the parts!!!

Once we know how all the nodes function in an inter-connected way, the picture becomes

clear. The formation of phonemes, phonotactic changes, phonetic realization, figures of

speech, and intonation clearly indicate that phonology is one inter-connected loop in the

construction of dispositional reality which is itself a node in the ultimate construction of

karmic reality for the jivas.

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Phonemic Systems, Phonotactics, and Phonetic Realization: Evidence for Karmik

Linguistic Theory”. A Part of PhD Thesis. CIEFL: Hyderabad

Bhuvaneswar, Chilukuri [1988 b]. “The Phonology of English and Telugu Proverbs 2

Phonological Figures of Speech: Evidence for Karmik Linguistic Theory”. A Part of Ph

D Thesis. CIEFL: Hyderabad

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