Prosodic Features of

Speech(suprasegmental phonology)

Prosodic Features of Speech

Pause

Stress Volume

Pitch

Tempo

PauseA temporary stop

Why Pause?•Give the listener time to understand your words.•Emphasize one main word in a group of words.

•Excuse me.  /  Where is the bathroom?”• “Now that I see it,  /  I think I prefer it in red.”•“She hasn’t told me,  /  but I think / she’ll get married soon.”

7 Categories of Content wordsContent words are those words that carry the meaning of a sentence. These include:•nouns•main verbs•adjectives•adverbs•negatives (“not”)•wh-words (“what”)• interjections (“wow!”)

Where is my dog?

Pitch•The degree of highness or lowness of a tone.

Say Hi

 StressTo pronounce (a syllable or word) in a louder or more forceful way than other syllables or words

Noun and Adjective

Verb and Preposition

stress is on the first syllable

stress is on the second syllable

SAMples aMONG

INsult inSULT

Remember:Only vowels are

stressed, not consonants.

Volume•used to show emotions such as fear or anger

TempoThe rate or speed of motion or activity; pace.

Being a good speaker and a good listener can help in ______________________ because _______________.