Phonetics Part 1 PDF
Document Details
Uploaded by StimulatingSiren
Kyiv National Economic University
Tags
Summary
This document introduces phonetic transcription and describes the organs of speech. It presents different types of phonetic transcription, including international phonetic, phonemic and allophonic transcriptions.
Full Transcript
MAIN COURSE Phonetics is a branch of linguistics which deals with the investigation of the sound means of the language from the point of view of their articulation, acoustic qualities and semantics. The phoneme is the smallest linguistic unit which is capable of differentiating the meaning...
MAIN COURSE Phonetics is a branch of linguistics which deals with the investigation of the sound means of the language from the point of view of their articulation, acoustic qualities and semantics. The phoneme is the smallest linguistic unit which is capable of differentiating the meaning and the grammar forms of words. Phonemes are elements of the language. The number of them is quite definite for every separate language. In British English there are 44 phonemes, 20 vowel phonemes and 24 consonant ones. In speech they manifest themselves in the form of phonemic variants or allophones. The allophone is a material representation of the phoneme in speech. They appear in connected speech as a result of assimilation or reduction, or due to individual speech habits. The number of allophones in a language is unlimited. Phonetic Transcription and its Types Phonetic transcription is a sort of phonetic alphabet, a system of symbols in which every phoneme is supposed to have its own symbol. It helps in learning a foreign language. It is possible to speak about three types of phonetic transcription and tonetic transcription.. 1. The International phonetic transcription. It was introduced by the International Phonetic Association in 1887. But the science of phonetics has been considerably developed since then. And drawbacks of that system are quite evident; it suggests the same symbols for different phonemes: [i: - i], [: - ], [u: - u], [: - ], which gives the wrong impression that those phonemes differ only in duration (length). 2. The phonemic transcription (broad). In phonemic transcription every phoneme is given an individual symbol, the number of which is 44 (according to the number of phonemes in British English). It introduces four more symbols: // for [i], // for [u], // for [], /:/ for [:]. Words and sentences transcribed with the help of this phonetic script are placed between the slanting brackets, e.g. /p:t/. This type of transcription is used in studying English as a speciality. 3. The allophonic transcription (narrow). In this type of transcription every allophone has either a special symbol or a diacritical mark. The brackets are also different: pit pt where shows aspiration. It is used in doing research work in the field of phonetics. The elements of the allophonic transcription are used in the phonemic transcription, such as a diacritical mark of half-long vowels /, /. 4. Tonetic transcription. In this type of transcription every stroke combines stress, tone, pitch. 1 Scales (pre-nuclear tones) Terminal (nuclear tones) Pitches Stepping Sliding Scandent Low Fall m Fall-Rise m High m m m High Fall m Rise-Fall m Mid m m m Low Rise m Rise-Fall- m Rise Low m m m High Rise m /m/ - partial stress (post nuclear only) /· m/ - weak (reduced) stress (mid and high only) The Organs of Speech In learning a foreign language as a speciality it is necessary to know in detail the structure and function of the speech apparatus. The organs of speech are as follows: I. The nasal cavity. II. The mouth cavity. III. The pharyngeal cavity, (the pharynx) IV. The tongue: 1. the blade of the tongue with the tip. 2. the front of the tongue. 3. the back of the tongue 4. the root of the tongue. V. The roof of the mouth: 1. the alveoli ( the teeth ridge). 2. the hard palate. 3. the soft palate (the velum). 4. the uvula. VI. The teeth. 1. the upper teeth. 2. the lower teeth. VII. The lips. 1. the upper lip. 2. the lower lip. VIII. The larynx. IX. The vocal cords. X. The glottis. XI. The windpipe. XII. The lower jaw. The movable speech organs are called active, they are as follows: the tongue, the soft palate with the uvula, the upper and lower lips, the vocal cords and the lower jaw. 2 The passive organs of speech are: the teeth, the alveoli, the hard palate, the larynx, the pharynx, the nasal cavity. Articulation Basis of English The summary of all main principles of articulation in a certain language is called the Articulation Basis. The main points of difference between the articulation basis of English and Ukrainian are as follows: 1. The tongue in English is tenser and bulkier and has a retracted position for the most of the phonemes. 2. The lips are also tenser and less movable than in Ukrainian. They are mostly spread (with the lower teeth revealed) or neutral (flat articulation). 3. Forelingual English consonants (they are 12) have an apical articulation: they are articulated with the tongue-tip against the alveoli, as /t, d, s, z,,, t, d, n, l/, or against the teeth /, /. The corresponding Ukrainian ones are articulated with the blade of the tongue (the tip is lowered) against the teeth (dorsal articulation), except for /ш, ж/ 4. All English consonants are hard, except for /, / and have no palatalized oppositions while the Ukrainian ones have, e.g.: тин – тінь, пил – сіль. Palatalisation in English is a phonetic mistake. 5. The English word-final voiced consonants must not be devocalized, which is a norm for the Ukrainian language, yet they are weak, e.g.: bag, sad. The English word-final voiceless consonants are strong, e.g.: night, weak, tape. 6. The English plosive voiceless /p, t, k/ are pronounced with aspiration which is foreign to Ukrainian, e.g.: Kate, take, paper. 7. The English sonorants /m, n, l/ are tenser and longer than the corresponding Ukrainian ones and they are syllabic when post-tonic and preceded by a consonant: /s:tn, stebl/. The English Vowel System The vowel is a speech sound in the production of which the air stream coming out of the lungs meets no obstruction on its way. The English vowel system consists of 20 vowel phonemes which can be classified according to the following principles: I. According to the stability of articulation we distinguish 12 monophthongs (2 diphthongoids among them /, /) and 8 diphthongs. II. According to the position of the bulk of the tongue we distinguish: 1. Front vowels a) the fully front /, , / b) the front retracted // 3 2. Central/Mixed vowels /, , / 3. Back vowels a) the back advanced /, / b) the fully back /,,/ III. According to the tongue-height we distinguish 1. High a) narrow /, / b) broad /,/ 2. Mid a) narrow /e, / b) broad /,/ 3. Low a) narrow // b) broad /, , / IV. According to the duration we distinguish long and short vowel phonemes. V. According to the degree of muscular tension we classify them into tense (all long vowels) and lax (all short vowels). VI. According to the lip position they are distinguished as labialized (rounded) and non-labialized (unrounded). The Chart of English Vowel Phonemes According to the position of the Front Back bulk of the Central tongue Fully- Front- (mixed) Back - Fully- According front retracted advanced back to the height of the tongue narrow i u High broad narrow e Mid broad narrow Low broad æ Note: // - marks the nucleus of a diphthong. 4 English Monophthongs The monophthong is a vowel in the production of which the organs of speech do not change their position throughout the whole duration of the vowel. Here belong: /i:/, /:/, /:/, /u:/, /:/,//, //, //, //, //, /e/, //. I All English front vowels have the following features in common: The bulk of the tongue is pushed forward. Its front is raised in the direction of the hard palate. The tongue-tip is placed at the lower teeth. The lips are spread. II All the back vowels are characterized by the following common features: The bulk of the tongue is pushed backward. Its back is raised in the direction of the soft palate to different heights (high, mid, low). The tongue-tip is drawn from the teeth. The lips are rounded, except for /:/. III The central (mixed) vowels have the following features in common: The front and the blade of the tongue are equally raised. They are neither pushed forward nor retracted, occupying intermediate position. The tongue-tip is at the lower teeth. The lips are spread for /:/, or neutral for // and //. English Diphthongs The diphthong is a monophonemic combination of two vowel elements with gliding articulation. The first stressed element is called the nucleus, the second one is called the glide. There are 8 diphthongs in English. I. According to the type of the nucleus they fall into three groups: 1. Front diphthongs /, e, e, a, a/ 2. Central diphthongs // 3. Back diphthongs /, / II. According to the type of the glide they are grouped into: // gliding diphthongs /a, e, / // gliding diphthongs /a, / // gliding diphthongs /, e, /. Note: The sequences /a/ and /a/ are biphonemic combinations of a diphthong and the neutral vowel //. The glide in them is very indistinct, e.g. hour /a/, fire /fa/. 5 1 Listen to the recording and say after the speaker each vowel sound and examples. Word Stress Word stress (word accent) is a greater degree of prominence given to one or two syllables in a word. Stressed and unstressed syllables differ in quantity (length) and in quality. Stressed syllables are longer and carry vowels of full formation (they are not reduced). Unstressed syllables are shorter, carry vowels that are reduced. Word stress should be considered from the point of view of 1) its place in a word and 2) its degree. There are two degrees of word stress in English: 6 - primary or strong (marked above the syllable) and - secondary or weak (marked under the syllable) The place of word stress depends on the quantity of syllables in a word. 1. Most two-syllable nouns and adjectives (90%) have stress on the first syllable. e.g. butter,pretty 2. Most two-syllable verbs have stress on the last syllable. e.g. produce, conduct 3. Words with inseparable prefixes such as re-, pre-, de-, be-, a-, etc. have stress on the syllable after the prefix. e.g. begin, prepare, assistasnt 4. Words with separable prefixes such as un-, in-, im-, ir, dis-, mis-, sub-, over, inter-, anti-, non-, co-, il- have a primary stress on the stem and often a secondary stress on the prefix. e.g. unknown, disbelief, antisocial 5. Words ending in -ic and -sion, -tion have stress on penultimate syllable (second from the end). e.g. static, realistic, solution, selection 6. Words ending in -cy, -ty, -phy,-gy,-al, have stress on anti-penultimate syllable (third from the end) e.g. democracy, critical. 7. Words with the suffixes -ee, -eer, -ese, and –ette, usually have a primary stress on the suffix itself. e.g. volunteer, Cantonese, but omelette, etiquette 8. Most two-syllable numerals have stress on the first syllable. e.g. thirty, twenty, second Compound numerals have a primary stress on the second part and a secondary stress on the first part. e.g. thirteen, twenty-first 9. Compound nouns usually have stress on the first component; the second one is unstressed but is not reduced. e.g. woodwork, waistcoat But if the first part of the compound is adjectival, the primary stress goes on the second element, with a secondary stress on the first one. e.g. personal computer, early closing but blackbird 10. Compound adjectives usually have a primary stress on the second component and a secondary stress on the first component. e.g. bad-tempered, old-fashioned But if the first element of the compound adjective is a noun, the primary stress goes on it. e.g. hair-raising, fee-paying, childlike 11. Compound verbs usually have stress on the first component. e.g. browbeat, waterproof, housesit 7 12. Composite (phrasal) verbs consisting of a verb followed by a postposition or a preposition-like adverb which changes the primary meaning of the verb have primary stress on the second word and secondary stress on the first one (the verb). Sometimes in conversation one of the stresses can be omitted. e.g. pay in (pay in), stand up (stand up); She took her shoes off. Three-word phrasal verbs also have two stresses with secondary stress on the first word (the verb) and primary stress on the second word. e.g. look up to, put up with Nouns, formed from such verbs, take primary stress on the first part. e.g. a pay in, a stand up 13. Polysyllabic words usually have two stresses: a primary stress on the third or second syllabograph from the end and a secondary on the second pretonic syllable. Such words often contain a prefix which usually takes a secondary stress. e.g. university, conversation, international 14. Words often have a different stress pattern when they have a different grammatical function. Therefore the stress pattern is a grammatical signal for a listener. e.g. to export – export, to present – present, to record – record But to comment – comment, to deposit – deposit 15. Two-, three- and four-letter abbreviations said as individual letters often have a primary stress on the last letter and a secondary on the first. e.g. VIP, MBE, MP 2 Transcribe the following adjectives, lay the stress and divide them into groups according to the number of syllables, and the stress pattern and practise saying them. Curious, dangerous, delicious, disastrous, famous, generous, hilarious, jealous, poisonous, precious, ridiculous. 3 Look at the list of subjects and divide them into groups according to the number of syllables, and the stress pattern and practise saying them. Chemistry, music, sociology, philosophy, economics, statistics, engineering, psychology, algebra, biology, computing, archeology, geology, physics, politics, science, mathematics, geography, geometry, literature, history. 8 4 Transcribe the following verbs, lay the stress. Practise reading the verbs. Give the rule to explain the stress pattern. agree explore descend command retire consider behold declare presume announce apply promote regret annoy reside withdraw resign examine inform forget avoid remember defeat approve develop beware prevent prescribe preside befriend extend protect supply consume insert provide abound consist awake continue contain expand 5 Transcribe the following words, lay the stress. Practise reading the words. Give the rule to explain the stress pattern. attendance appealing behind decision beneath aloof behaviour belongings belief aloud prestige before remarkable appearance asleep behalf reserved exact beloved development precise along beside about 6 Transcribe the following words, lay the stress. Practise reading them. Give the rule to explain the stress pattern. fashion promotion instruction fraction deduction inflation solution conclusion protection passion explosion detention emotion production completion adoption confusion inspection addition consumption profession devotion persuasion affection 7 Transcribe the following words, lay the stress. Practise reading them. Give the rule to explain the stress pattern. activity ancestry sincerity surgical industrial policy authority diversity timidity political traditional proficiency antipathy vivacity humility electrical financial legacy biography stupidity anxiety historical potential transparency 8 Use the separable prefixes dis-, il-, in-, ir-, im- and un- to make the opposites of the following words. Transcribe them, lay the stress. Practise reading the words. Give the rule to explain the stress pattern. honest rational legal moral responsible modest reliable prudent satisfied correct acceptable patient polite mature logical reasonable possible decisive 9 Read the pairs of words and analyze the stress pattern. Part A Iceland Icelandic irony ironical grammar grammatical athlete athletic theatre theatrical politics political drama dramatic practice practical industry industrial 9 Part B energy energetic microscope microscopic alphabet alphabetical apology apologetic enthusiasm enthusiastic philosophy philosophical aroma aromatic atmosphere atmospheric technology technological diplomat diplomatic analysis analytical geography geographical science scientific theory theoretical residence residential 10 Transcribe the following polysyllabic words, lay the stress. Practise reading the words. Give the rule to explain the stress pattern. occupation contribution communication possibility patriotic secretarial composition modification congratulation anniversary economic sympathetic graduation consideration specialization capability analytical optimistic articulation qualification pronunciation curiosity metabolic sentimental 11 Do these compound nouns have primary stress on their first or their second part? Think about whether they are noun+noun compounds or adjective+noun compounds. Mark the stress. Then listen, check your answers and say the compounds aloud. e.g. safety valve (noun+noun) guilty party (adjective+noun) chemical formula artificial intelligence mobile phone magnetic field bank account coffee shop flight attendant tea strainer American football best man sofa bed space station 12 Mark the stress on the compound nouns. Listen and practise saying them with the correct stress. Give the rule to explain the stress pattern. headphones dishwasher CD player computer game washing machine video recorder coffee maker digital television fan heater electric razor central heating 13 Make five compounds from these parts. Mark the stress on them and use them to complete the dialogue. Then listen, check and practise saying with the recording. first part: ear wine hand birthday boy second part: friend bar present bag rings A: Oh no, I can’t find my __________! B: Have you looked in your _______? A: Of course! B: Maybe you left them in that ________ last night? A: Oh no, maybe I did! B: Are they important? A: Yes – they were a _________ from my __________! 10 14 Read the poem. Find the compounds and mark the stress on them. Then listen, check your answers and practise reading with the recording. Checklist Have I… …set the alarm clock? …and put it on the bedside table? …put my plane ticket in my trouser pocket? …packed my toothbrush? …put my suitcase by the bedroom door? …switched the CD player off? …phoned the taxi driver to say ‘Be there at six’? Have I… Have I… …Where’s my checklist? 15 Mark the stress on the compound adjectives. Listen and practise saying them, paying attention to the stress. Give the rule to explain the stress pattern. long-suffering well-dressed self-confident kind-hearted self-pitying self-conscious narrow-minded broad-shouldered right-handed badly-behaved 16 Do these compound adjectives have primary stress on their first part or their second part? Mark the stress. Then listen, check your answers and say the compounds aloud. Which of the adjectives is an exception to the rules? e.g. sky-high colour-coded homesick mind-blowing gift-wrapped fireproof far-fetched armour-plated well-meaning self-financing spine-chilling cinemagoing empty-handed machine-readable 17 Mark the stress on the following words. Listen, check your answers and practise saying the words. absentee refugee engineer mountaineer Japanese Nepalese cigarette diskette 18 Lay the stress and divide the following words into groups according to the number of syllables, and the stress pattern. Listen, check your answers and practise saying the words. Auctioneer, Chinese, cohabitee, detainee, divorcee, evacuee, examinee, interviewee, journalese, launderette, Taiwanese, trainee. 11 19 Listen to the following sentences. How does the stress change in the words in bold? a. There’s the hotel! Let’s check in. b. Check-in is open from 3pm-9pm. 20 Mark the stress on the words below. Listen and practice saying the phrasal verbs and the corresponding compound nouns with the correct stress. drive through – drive-through make over – makeover work out – workout write off – write-off turn over – turnover build up – build-up call back – callback sit in – sit-in hand out – handout feed back – feedback 21 Mark the stress on the words in bold. Listen and practice saying the phrasal verbs and compound nouns with the correct stress. a. Oh no! I’ve dropped my handbag. Can you pick it up. b. The journalists suspect that there has been a police cover-up. c. After a quick stopover in Paris we were soon off on our journey d. Put the fire on. I need to warm up. e. This is a very difficult exercise. Can you tell me how to work it out? f. I went to the doctor for a checkup. g. Look out! That car almost hit you! h. Please pay at checkout number 6, please. 22 Part A Give the noun equivalents of the following composite verbs. Mark the stress on the composite verbs and nouns. 1. to get together 5. to take off 2. to look out 6. to sell out 3. to break down 7. to round up 4. to get away Part B Complete the pairs of sentences with a verb or noun form of the composite verbs in Part A. Put the verbs into correct form. Then listen and practise saying the sentences with the correct stress. a. They’ve had another ______ next door. Did they _______ through the back window? b. ________ for pickpockets in the city centre, won’t you? Keep a ______ for a parking space? c. The concert was a complete ______, there wasn’t a single ticket left. I wanted to buy a camera like yours, but unfortunately they’ve ________. d. We must ______ and go out for a drink – I haven’t seen you for ages. At Christmas time, we always have a big family _______. e. As everyone knows, _____ and landing are the most dangerous parts of a flight. I must admit I always feel a bit nervous when we’re _______ and landing. 12 f. He normally _______ his lectures by asking if we’ve got any questions. At four-thirty there will be a brief ______ of the news. g. It’s believed that the robbery _______ with several million dollars. They had planned both the robbery and their ______ afterwards extremely carefully. 23 Think whether each part in bold type includes a phrasal verb with a prominent (stressed) particle or a prepositional verb with the particle, which is not stressed. Then listen to the sentences and practise saying them. e.g. The birds came quite close, but when I sneezed I frightened them away. 2 1. She said she would be early, but I wouldn’t bank on it. ______ 2. He gave us a lot of information that I couldn’t take in. ____ 3. I couldn’t do question six, so I left it out.____ 4. Dan said he’d phone today, but I haven’t heard from him._____ 5. If you are passing, why don’t you stop by? ______ 6. You look well. Living by the sea must agree with you._____ 7. There isn’t anyone but you that I can confide in._______ 8. Having my own boat is something I’ve always dreamed about.______ 24 Listen and underline the prominent syllable(s) in each part in bold. Sometimes the particle is non-prominent when separated by a noun (the main stress goes on the noun). e.g. I’m busy now. Can you call me back? 1. Have you handed your homework in yet? 2. The fire is on. Don’t forget to turn it off before you go out. 3. At the stream I rolled my trousers up and paddled across. 4. We don’t have much money, but I’m sure we’ll get by. 5. My father and I didn’t really get along. 6. My handwriting is terrible, as my teachers are always pointing out. 7. The painting suddenly fell off the wall. 8. If any letters come for me, can you send them on? 25 Mark the stress in the following abbreviations. Then listen to the abbreviations and practise saying them. the EU the UK the BBC DNA the YMCA 13 26 Mark the stress in the following abbreviations. Then listen to the abbreviations and practise saying them. COE OHP AGM UFO CV CND DVD NHS RSI WHO ETA DIY AOB ATM TLC EU CD GMT PC RP VAT RSVP IT HGV 27 Transcribe the following words, lay stresses and divide them into groups according to the stress pattern. Give the rule to explain each pattern. Electricity, sideboard, close-knit, strategic, time-consuming, antioxidant, interruption, produce (V/N), kidnap, strongly-built, impetuosity, record (V/N), lampshade, disrupt, thin-lipped, seventeen, insult (V/N), bare-headed, overlook, bargain (V/N), enemy, interlink, refund (V/N), kick-start, reduction, look down, deposit (V/N), donation, torment(V/N), remarry, restless, mispronounce, well-bred, go out, clarification, flyaway, lifespan, outlive, outlook, knock-kneed, outspoken, irritable, devotion, overweight, ninety-five, convict (V/N), counterpart, assign, split up, divorce, discount(V/N), fantastic, imposing, distinguish, occasional, allergic, poverty-stricken. 28 Transcribe the following words, lay stresses and divide them into groups according to the stress pattern. Give the rule to explain each pattern. Generosity, anticipation, delicate, antiseptic, sideburn, rainfall, look up, pessimistic, underline, double-chinned, imagination, window-shop, elastic, sixteen, fair-haired, terrific, drift apart, heart-shaped, stepmother, distribution, export (V/N), cooperation, computerization, skinny, reaction, discount (V/N), commission, rip-off, purchase (V/N), overdraft, compassion, slim-hipped, characteristic, broad-shouldered, excise (V/N), respectful, well-red, responsibility, conduct (V/N), romantic, solidarity, half- brother, knick-knacks, disobedient, stir-fry, light-fingered, disappointment, reluctant, breadbin, blackmail, uncertain, respect(V/N), delusion, sensitivity, tradition, suggestion, impolite, homesick, regard (V/N), infatuation, interval, materialistic, narrow-minded, suspect (V/N), appreciation, housewarming, undress, babysit, baguette, care-free. Phrase Stress and Compound Stress 1. Phrases. When an adjective modifies a following noun, they make a phrase. Typically, they have late stress, i.e. the second word has more stress than the first. polished wood interesting book difficult course running water hard work new assistant trying day smoked mackerel spicy food 2. Compounds. Two elements combined to make an inseparable unit with a new meaning form a compound. Compounds typically have early stress, i.e. the first element is more stressed than the second. 14 record book homework library book corn flour correspondence course safety pin firewood shop assistant corner shop scarecrow house-hunting hairbrush Note that compounds are often written as two words. Some can optionally be hyphenated: knick-knack, dressing-gown, knife-edge, sitting-room. 3. Primary stress and secondary stress mark syllables which can take a sentence stress. Syllables with tertiary stress cannot take a sentence stress. interesting book e.g. interesting book interesting book record book e.g. record book record book new assistant e.g. new assistant new assistant shop assistant e.g. shop assistant shop assistant 4. But all of these patterns can be overridden to show contrastive focus. fresh bread, not stale running water, not stagnant not a library book, a library ticket not a shopping basket, a shopping trolley 5. Sometimes the same sequence of words can make a phrase or a compound. Here the late or early stress distinguishes them. a dark room a darkroom a white house the White House a toy factory a toy factory a black bird a blackbird a blue stocking a blue stocking 6. Some compounds have late stress (late-stressed compounds) as if they were phrases. There are useful categories: a) the first element is the material or ingredient out of which a thing is made: cherry pie pork chop rice pudding except for cake, juice, bread and water these have normal early stress: carrot cake orange juice mineral water gingerbread b) the first element is a proper name (the so-called place name compound): Camden Town Rodeo Drive Euston Road the Hilton Hotel Oxford Circus Sunset Boulevard 15 except for street: these have normal early stress: Oxford Street Euston Stree Forty Second Street c) the first element names a place or time: kitchen window city centre town hall Christmas pudding Easter bunny summer holidays d) the first element is an adjective: lost property central heating global warming passive smoking 7. New compounds may at first be spoken with late stress and in time switch to early stress. Some compounds have late stress in British English but early stress in American. ice cream Star Trek but ice cream Star Trek 8. Stress shift. Some words seem to change their stress pattern in connected speech. Prominence can move to the secondary stressed syllable in a word like ‘controversial’ when it is followed by a word with another prominent syllable, particularly when the first syllable of the following word is prominent: e.g. She gave a controversial answer. It’s called stress shift. Some other words also change their stress pattern in conversation. Late-stress patterns switch to early-stress ones in constructions where they are followed by a stronger-stressed item. When compounds are used predicatively (as a predicate) they have a late-stress pattern, but if they are used attributively (as an attribute in a sentence or a phrase) they have an early-stress pattern. narrow-waisted – a narrow-waisted girl four teen - fourteen men Heath row - Heathrow airport second person - second person plural town hall - atown hall clock Oxford Circus - Oxford Circus tube Listen and practice saying the sentences, paying attention to the stress shift. She is Japanese. But: She is a Japanese journalist. He is a refugee. But: We saw photos of refugee children. Note: Abbreviations undergo stress shift, too. Listen and practice saying the sentences, paying attention to the underlined syllables. He works for the BBC. But: He works for the BBC radio. She’s from the UK. But: She’s a UK citizen. 29 A. How are name compounds stressed? Listen to the following names of English places, which one is stressed differently? Abbey Road, Berkeley Square, Downing Street 16 B. Names of places are pronounced with main stress on the last word. Listen to the following names practise reading them stressing the last word. 1. Notting Hill, Trafalgar Square, Church Road, Leather Lane. 2. Sloan Square, Shaftesbury Avenue, Brick Lane, Caledonian Road, Covent Garden. C. The only exception to this rule is places that contain the word street. In streets, the first word is stressed. Listen to the following names practise reading them stressing the first word Harley Street, Regent Street, Oxford Street, Bond Street, Liverpool Street. 30 Listen to the following names, practise reading them. Choose the name with a different stress pattern in each line. 1. Oxford Circus, Carnaby Street, Gray’s Road, Chancery Lane 2. Wadour Street, Leicester Square, York Avenue, Berlin Way 3. Pall Mall, Shaftesbury Avenue, Victoria Embankment, Fleet Street 4. Grosvenor Square, Harley Street, Savile Row, Park Lane. 5. Sloane Square, Portobello Road, Regent Street, Parliament Square. 31 The primary stress on compound numerals varies according to the context. Mark primary stress on the words in bold. Practice reading the sentences. Mind the stress shift. Listen and check your answers. e.g. Eighteen million UK viewers saw the series. How many countries bought the series? Eighteen. a. I paid thirteen dollars for it. b. Emma’s seventeen. c. My jeans cost nineteen pounds. d. Eighteen of my friends have a video camera. e. She lives in Lindenstrasse, at number fifteen. f. Twenty take away four is sixteen. 32 Focus on the words in bold. Underline the syllable you think is likely to have prominence. Which words have stress shift (that is, prominence on the prefix), and which do not? Then listen, check your answers and practice reading the sentences. e.g. He was sacked for unacceptable conduct.(has stress shift) 1. She was wearing impractical shoes. 2. The government has promised to review hospital funding. 3. He tends to use rather impolite language. 4. There were too many misplaced passes in the football match. 5. The police have prosecuted a number of dishonest landlords. 6. The cream is very good for dehydrated skin. 7. He undressed quickly. 17 33 Read the profile of Sara Fox. Focus on the compound adjectives in bold. Underline the syllable you think will have main stress. Remember some have stress shift. Then listen, check your answers and practice reading the text. High-flying surgeon introduces ground-breaking changes…. Sarah Fox is ease-going and is rarely bad-tempered. She is very public-spirited and does a lot of time- consuming work for charity. She’s quite good-looking. She has close-cropped hair and wears glasses because she’s short-sighted. She’s a high-flying surgeon, world-famous in her field, and is extremely hard- working. She’s recently introduced some ground- breaking changes into her hospital. She’s always well- dressed at work. At home, though, she prefers to wear loose-fitting shirts, often in eye-catching colours. Surprisingly, she’s a rather introverted person, and sometimes gets a bit tongue-tied in public. And she’s rather camera-shy, too. Because of a long-term problem with her health, her diet has to be fat-free. At the moment she’s taking a well-earned holiday in Majorca. 34 Decide whether the given words are compounds or phrases, transcribe them and lay stresses. A shop assistant, a civil reception, old people’s home, sparkling water, spring holidays, a honeymoon, a single-breasted jacket, parents’ consent, a nightdress, a wedding ring, an apple pie, thirty-five dollars, apple juice, a close relationship, a passing fancy, a bookshelf, a maiden name, garden furniture, a stag party, a love match, a registry office, a best man, a bachelor girl, heartstrings, unrequited love, a double-barreled family name, a fitted carpet, a dressing table, a kitchen table, kitchenware, a weak-willed youngster, a marriage certificate, a thin-skinned girl, an inferiority complex, a broad-minded woman, a heart attack, a well-appointed mansion, a semi-detached house, a multi-storey car park, a residential building, washing-up liquid, an old-age pensioner, one-parent family. 35 Decide whether the given words are compounds or phrases, transcribe them and lay stresses. A headscarf, an armhole, well-dressed, inset pocket, brand-new, to unbutton, a pantsuit, avant-garde, stiletto heels, unfashionable, a denim suit, a tailcoat, a wide- brimmed hat, vari-coloured, knee-high boots, flip-flops, a side cap, a silk lining, ultra-modern, a felt hat, a front zipper, suede shoes, a vogue magazine, a polo-neck sweater, a standing order, a bank loan, a current account, hire purchase, a money- grubber, a counterfoil, affluent society, an overdrawn account, travelling expenses, bank charges, social security, child benefit, investment portfolio, exchange rate, cheap-rate, building society, credit card, one-man band, personal finance, income tax. 18 Intonation Intonation is a complex unity of a number of the following components: 1. Speech melody is fluctuations (falls and rises) in the pitch of voice. a) Pitch – the degree of highness or lowness of a musical tone or speaking voice. Pitch can be of 3 levels: high, mid, and low. b) Pitch range is the interval between two pitch levels. It can be normal, wide, and narrow. The pitch component of intonation can be represented graphically on the staves (two horizontal parallel lines indicating the approximate upper and lower limits of the pitch range of the voice in speech). Pitch Levels and Range High Mid Normal Pitch Range Low 2. Sentence stress (utterance stress) is a greater degree of prominence given to one or more words in a sentence. Words which bear the major part of information are generally stressed and are called content (or notional) words. The normally accented words are: nouns, pronouns (demonstrative – this; indefinite – someone; interrogative – who; emphatic – what (a); absolute – yours), notional verbs (composite verbs including possessive pronouns), adjectives, numerals, adverbs, interjections. The other words in a sentence are mostly form (structural or function) words which link the content words and help us in this way to form an utterance. The unstressed elements as a rule are: pronouns (personal – she, we; possessive – your, his, her; reflexive – myself; relative which, that+clause), auxiliary verbs, modal verbs in affirmative sentences, prepositions, conjunctions, articles, particles. As form words are normally unstressed in a sentence their weak (reduced) forms are usually used in speech. Sentence stress is determined by three factors: a) by the relative semantic importance of words in a sentence (which results in logical stress); e.g. I haven’t seenNelly for years. b) by the rhythmical structure of the sentence; e.g. He has gone on adate. c) by the style of speech; e.g. Thank you verymuch. (slow colloquial) Thank you verymuch. (rapid colloquial) 3. Tempo is the rate at which utterances and their smaller units are pronounced. It can be fast, normal, slow, accelerated, and decelerated. 19 4. Rhythm is repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables in the utterance. It can be simple, compound, and mixed. 5. Pausation is a break in phonation. Sentences are usually separated from each other by pauses. They can be short, long, extra-long, logical, emphatic, of hesitation (silent or filled – with er…, m-m-m…). If necessary, the sentence is subdivided into shorter word-groups according to sense; these are called sense-groups or syntagms. 6. Voice timbre /'tæmbə/ is 1) individual voice colouring (pleasant, unpleasant), which depends on the physiological factors. It gives information about people’s drawbacks in speech, if female, male, old or young is speaking; expresses physical state or mood; 2) emotional voice colouring: one can sound instructive, businesslike, friendly, hostile, etc. 7. Loudness is the amplitude of vibration of the vocal cords. It can be high, increased, moderate, decreased, low, and soft. Functions of intonation are the following: 1. sentence forming – it organizes words into utterances; 2. sentence delimiting – it delimits one utterance from another by means of pauses; 3. sentence distinguishing – it defines the communicative type of the sentence; 4. attitudinal – it expresses the speaker’s attitude towards what he says. Sentence Stress In the English sentence the following parts of speech are stressed: 1. The Noun e.g. The mansion is made of brick. 2. The Adjective e.g. His sister-in-law is middle-aged. 3. The Numeral e.g. My father-in-law is approaching seventy. 4. The Adverb e.g. The reproductions are expensively framed. 5. The Notional Verb e.g. He wants to make a highly qualified interpreter. 6. Question words: what, where, when, why e.g. What types of families do you know? When are they going to get married? Why do you look miserable? 7. Demonstrative Pronouns: this, that, these, those at the beginning of the sentence e.g. This is my sibling and that is my second cousin. These books are on the book shelf and those ones are in the bookcase. 20 The unstressed parts of speech are: 1. Auxiliary Verbs e.g. What does he do for a living? 2. Modal Verbs e.g. He must be a confirmed bachelor. 3. The verb to be e.g. It is a sumptuous house. 4. Prepositions e.g. The upholstered suite is against the right-hand wall. 5. Particles e.g. We are going to buy a luxurious crystal chandelier. 6. Conjunctions e.g. His son is a toddler, but his daughter is an adolescent. 7. Articles e.g. I have a detached house. The house is in immaculate condition. 8. Personal and possessive pronouns e.g. She is a housewife, and he is a breadwinner. Her son is coming up to school age. The auxiliary, modal verbs and the verb to be can also be stressed in the following cases: 1. At the beginning of a general or alternative question in careful colloquial style, while in rapid colloquial style they are unstressed and reduced, e.g. Is it a sumptuous house? Do you like it? 2. In short answers to a general question, e.g. Is it imposing? – Yes, it is. Do you like it? – Yes, I do. 3. In contracted negative forms, e.g. It isn’t on the table. I don’t like it. I can’t tell you about it. In full negative forms only the negative particle is stressed, e.g. It is not on the table. I do not like it. He must not do it. 4. At the end of the sentence or syntagm after unstressed words, e.g. I don’t know where he is. But in the same position after a stressed word it loses its accent, e.g. I don’t know where Nick is. I don’t think Kelly can. 5. The auxiliary verb to do in emphatic sentences, e.g. He does dote on her. 6. Auxiliaries can also be stressed for emphasis or contrast, e.g. I’m not English, but I am British! 21
