Phonology PDF

listen Phonology  Semi Vowel system – fry - universe  Stress ◇ In English, we do not say each syllable with the same force or strength. In one word, we stress ONE syllable. We say one syllable very loudly (big, strong, important) and all the...

listen Phonology  Semi Vowel system – fry - universe  Stress ◇ In English, we do not say each syllable with the same force or strength. In one word, we stress ONE syllable. We say one syllable very loudly (big, strong, important) and all the other syllables very quietly. ◇ Let's take 3 words:photograph,photographer and photographic. Do they sound the same when spoken? No. Because we (stress) ONE syllable in each word. And it is not always the same syllable.  share 3 syllables, stress on #1 PHO-TO-GRAPH Listen 4 syllables, stress on #2 PHO-TO-GRAPH-ER 4 syllables, stress on #3 PHO-TO-GRAPH-IC  01 The syllables that are not stressed are weak or small or quiet. Fluent speakers of English listen for the STRESSED syllables, not the weak syllables. If you use word stress in your speech, you will instantly and automatically improve your pronunciation and your comprehension.  What set us apart? Mercury Neptune Mars It’s the closest The farthest Despite being planet to the Sun planet from the red, Mars is a and also the Sun and the cold place, not smallest one in fourth-largest in hot. It’s full of our Solar System our Solar System iron oxide dust  Definition A syllable is an unbroken vowel sound within a word. Notice that we say a vowel sound, not just a vowel by itself. A vowel sound contains whichever consonants (and other vowels) are attached to a vowel to make a certain, distinct sound. For example, the word blanket has two syllables: blan + ket. The syllables are formed around the sound from the a and around the sound from the e. How do you count syllables? There are different ways to figure out how many syllables a word has. Some of these techniques will come naturally to you, and others may not be as comfortable. Try out a few and see which you like best.  Our evolution high Chin method Listen method Clap method Written method artist Guiding principles Chin method Listen method Your chin is an excellent Once you begin to syllable counter. Place recognize what a syllable your hand underneath your chin and say a word out is, you won’t need to loud. Each time your chin break into applause to pushes down into your read a paragraph hand, you count one anymore. syllable. Written method Clap method For the clap method, say If you’re more of a word out loud and clap a visual learner, every time you hear a the written method vowel sound. might be for you. musician Written method First, count all of the vowels in the word. Then: Subtract 1 for every pair of vowels that makes a sound together (for example: oo, ie, ou, au). Subtract 1 for every silent vowel (like an ‘e’ at the end of a word) Example: The word universe First, count the vowels: u, i, e, and e. There are 4. The e at the end is silent, so subtract one. Now there are 3. There are no vowel pairs, so we’re done! The word universe has 3 syllables. All of these rules have exceptions, but they are a good way to get started until counting syllables comes naturally to you.  Make Sure tempo Advice about extra-long words If you encounter a long or complicated word on the page, one way you can learn its pronunciation is by reading it in reverse. This might sound more confusing at first, but if you can count syllables, then you can use this trick. For example, let’s break down the word monosyllabic. Now try practicing the pronunciation backward, adding one syllable at a time: bic la-bic syl-la-bic mon-o-syl-la-bic It takes a bit longer to learn words this way, so this is a practical method only for particularly long or complicated words. Another trick is to learn common prefixes and suffixes. These will almost always stand out as separate syllables.  Word Stress Rules Word There are two very simple rules about word stress: One word has only one stress. (One word cannot have two stresses. If you hear two stresses, you hear two words. Two stresses cannot be one word. It is true that there can be a "secondary" stress in some words. But a secondary stress is much smaller than the main [primary] stress, and is only used in long words.) We can only stress vowels, not consonants.  melody Rule 1 A. Stress on first syllable rule examples Most 2-syllable nouns PRESent EXport CHIna TAble Most 2-syllable adjectives PRESent SLENder CLEVer HAPpy  melody Rule 2 B. Stress on last syllable rule examples Most 2-syllable verbs preSENT exPORT deCIDE beGIN  harmony Note ◇ There are many two-syllable words in English whose meaning and class change with a change in stress. The word present, for example is a two- syllable word. If we stress the first syllable, it is a noun (gift) or an adjective (opposite of absent). But if we stress the second syllable, it becomes a verb (to offer). More examples: the words export, import, contract and ob ject can all be nouns or verbs depending on whether the stress is on the first or second syllable.  melody Rule 3 C. Stress on penultimate syllable (penultimate = second from end) rule examples Words ending in -ic GRAPHic geoGRAPHic geoLOGic Words ending in -sion and -tion teleVIsion reveLAtion  melody Rule 4 D. Stress on ante-penultimate syllable (ante-penultimate = third from end) rule Examples Words ending in -cy, -ty, - deMOcracy dependaBIlity phy and -gy phoTOgraphy geology Words ending in -al CRItical geological  melody Rule 5 E. Compound words (words with two parts) Rule examples For compound nouns, the stress is BLACKbird on the first part GREENhouse For compound adjectives, the stress bad-TEMpered is on the second part old-FASHioned For compound verbs, the stress is underSTAND on the second part overFLOW