Vocatives
Vocatives - calling the name of the person or persons you are talking to - stand outside the grammatical structure of a sentence. Are they accented or not? This depends partly on where they stand. A vocative at the beginning of an utterance is accented, and normally has its own IP, thus becoming nuclear:
⤵Humphrey! | ▸Love to ⤵see you again.
Lu⤵⤴cille, | ▸are you going to be a⤴vailable?
We also accent a vocative when we want to indicate who we are talking to, perhaps when there are other people within earshot:
Lu⤵⤴cille, | ▸are you going to be a⤴vailable?
▸Hi, ⤵Peter!
⤵Morning, | Mrs ⤴Robinson!
But usually it is already clear who we are talking to. Perhaps we are looking at them, holding eye contact with them. Perhaps there is no one else present. Then a final vocative is usually not accented but attached to the preceding IP as (part of) the tail:
⤵Morning, | Mrs ⤴Robinson!
▸Are you going to be a⤴vailable, Lucille?
⤵Hi, Peter!
⤵Morning, Mrs Robinson.
⤵Yes, dear. | I'll do it ▸right a⤵way, dear.
▸Here's my ⤵essay, Dr Smith.
Even if a final vocative appears to include new information directed towards the known addressee, it remains unaccented. (Or it may be uttered as a separate IP in low key; see
⤵Hi, Peter!
⤵Morning, Mrs Robinson.
⤵Yes, dear. | I'll do it ▸right a⤵way, dear.
▸Here's my ⤵essay, Dr Smith.
5.16
)
I 'love you, my little dimpled one.
You've 'missed it, you fool.
'Stop, you blithering idiot!
You've 'missed it, you fool.
'Stop, you blithering idiot!