Phonology Two

The syllable in a word that is spoken with the most emphasis, making it louder and longer, often accompanied by a change in pitch.

The prominence given to certain syllables in a word, influencing how the word is pronounced and understood.

The emphasis given to certain words in a sentence, making some words stand out and others less prominent.

When stress falls on the first syllable of a word, making the beginning of the word sound stronger.

The stress in words with suffixes like '-ly', '-ing', '-ed', '-er', '-est' typically falls on the syllable before the suffix.

Words that can be used as either nouns or verbs often change their stress pattern depending on their role in the sentence.

When a word has four or more syllables, the stress typically falls on the fourth syllable from the end of the word.

The emphasis given to different parts of speech in a sentence, influencing meaning and understanding.

Suffixes like '-ity', '-logy', '-graphy', '-cracy', '-sophy' often place stress on the third syllable from the end. Examples: 'democracy', 'university', 'philosophy'.

Suffixes like '-ic', '-ation' often place stress on the second syllable from the end. Examples: 'automatic', 'administration'.

In words with four, five, or six syllables, stress tends to fall somewhere in the middle, not on the first or last syllable. Examples: 'conservative', 'originality', 'environmentally'.

When two words combine to make a compound word, stress usually falls on the first element. Examples: 'postman', 'newspaper', 'teapot', 'crossword'.

Adding the suffix '-able' generally doesn't change the stress pattern of the original word. Examples: 'commend' and 'commendable', 'comfort' and 'comfortable'.

Understanding the rules of word stress is crucial for accurate pronunciation and fluency. However, these rules are often complex and have many exceptions.

Just like learning sounds, mastering word stress involves stages of recognition and production. Learners need to be able to identify stress patterns before they can produce them correctly.

Word stress recognition exercises can be done in pairs, where learners identify whether two words or phrases have the same or different stress patterns. This helps them develop their listening skills and builds awareness of stress.

Word stress exercises for higher-level learners can focus on identifying the main stress within a word, and paying attention to the weak syllables with the schwa sound /ə/.

Word stress production exercises help learners practice producing words with the correct stress patterns. They can involve repeating words or phrases with the right stress, or creating sentences with specific stress patterns.

Sentence stress, also known as prominence, is the emphasis we put on certain words in a sentence. Some words are more likely to be stressed than others because they are content words rather than structural words.

Even among content words, some carry more prominence than others. This is because their meaning is more important in the context of the sentence or conversation.

Every sentence doesn't have just one correct stressed syllable. The stress can shift depending on the intended meaning and focus in the sentence.

Sentence stress is meaningful and can change the meaning of a sentence. For example, stressing 'London' in 'He's been working in London for five years' implies he's not working somewhere else.

In conversations, words that are new information are usually stressed, while words that are already known are less prominent. This helps distinguish new information from old information.

Even in informal conversations, sentence stress plays a role, even when sentences are grammatically incomplete. We still rely on stress and emphasis to convey meaning.

Words that carry the main meaning of a sentence and are usually stressed.

Words that hold the sentence together (like articles and prepositions) are usually not stressed.

Recognizing where stress falls in a sentence.

Producing sentence stress with the correct emphasis on content words.

Changing the stress pattern of a sentence can change its meaning.

The act of speaking with appropriate sentence stress to convey meaning.

Activities that help learners recognize and produce sentence stress.

The omission of a sound or syllable in pronunciation, often for ease or faster speech. For example, "gonna" for "going to" or "wanna" for "want to".

The difference in pronunciation between similar sounds, such as /p/ and /b/, or /t/ and /d/. It involves the release of air, making one sound 'voiced' and the other 'unvoiced'.

The study of how sounds are organized and used in language, including the production, perception, and arrangement of speech sounds.

The rhythm and stress patterns in spoken language, including the emphasis given to different syllables and words within sentences.

A sound that is produced with the vocal cords vibrating. This is in contrast to 'unvoiced' sounds where the vocal cords do not vibrate.

A speech rhythm where stressed syllables occur at regular intervals, like a beat in music.

A speech rhythm where each syllable takes roughly the same amount of time, like a metronome.

A unit of speech that is marked by a pause and contains a single stressed syllable or word, like a musical phrase.

The way sounds change when they are next to each other, like mixing colors. One sound influences the other.

When sounds at the end of one word blend smoothly into the sounds at the beginning of the next word, like a chain.

The phenomenon where an extra sound is inserted between two words to make the transition smoother, like adding a bridge between two islands.

The way that sounds in a word are often changed or shortened, like a bunch of grapes getting squeezed together.

The way that stressed syllables are made more prominent in a word, like turning up the volume on a speaker.

The tendency for languages to fluctuate between stress-timed and syllable-timed, like a pendulum swinging.

The way that spoken language is often more fluid and less formal than written language.

The ability of English words to stretch and shrink depending on their position in a sentence or phrase, like a rubber band.

The way that the pronunciation of a word can be affected by its context, like a chameleon changing color.',

The concept that spoken language follows the path of least resistance, like rolling a ball down a hill.

The squeezing together of syllables between stressed syllables, making each segment of speech take the same time.

A word with one syllable. Example, 'book', 'cat', 'run'.

The emphasis on certain syllables, making them louder, longer, or higher.

The unstressed vowel sound /ə/, often found in unstressed syllables. Example, the 'a' in 'about'.

The pronunciation of a word when spoken alone, usually with full emphasis.

The pronunciation of a word when spoken in a sentence, often with reduced sounds. Example, the 'for' in 'I'm looking for accommodation' becomes /fə/.

The systematic variation in pitch in spoken language, carrying meaning and emotions.

The process of recognizing and understanding the features of connected speech, like weak forms and contractions.

The ability to produce the features of connected speech, like using weak forms and contractions correctly.

Learning pronunciation involves recognizing features of connected speech (like weak forms) before producing them correctly.

A sound that is added to a word when it is spoken in connected speech. It doesn't exist in the written form of the word.

The linking of the final sound of a word with the initial sound of the next word, making the pronunciation smoother.

The boundary between two words in connected speech, even though they are linked, the boundary is clear and unambiguous.

The process of teaching the features of spoken language, including intonation, stress, and rhythm.

The challenge of teaching connected speech due to the need for speed and fluency, which learners may not yet possess.

The risk of learners over-emphasizing individual phoneme sounds if they focus too much on detail in connected speech.

The problem of teaching connected speech features which are characteristic of native speaker speech, which learners may not be able to produce naturally.

The contrasting of the pronunciation of words that have the same spelling but are said differently depending on the context.

The ability to distinguish between utterances that have the same phonemic transcription but differ in meaning based on context.

The process of reducing the number of sounds within a word or phrase, often through omission or simplification, during fast speech.

The smallest unit of sound that distinguishes one word from another.