tema 48,49,50,51
TRANSCRIPT
TEMA 48- EL SISTEMA FONOLÓGICO DE LA LENGUA INGLESA (1):
VARIEDADES. CORRESPONDENCIA ENTRE SONIDOS Y GRAFÍAS
TOPIC 48: THE ENGLISH PHONOLOGICAL SYSTEM, PART 1: VARIETIES,
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN SOUNDS AND SYMBOLS
Allophone and phoneme:
Phoneme can be defined as the smallest contrastive phonological unit which can produce a
difference of meaning. We can identify phonemes by finding words which differ by the
smallest element possible: f.i: kit, cat, cart, cot, caught, cut. /i, ae, a:, o, o:, Λ/ are examples of
phonemes in English because when susbstituted for each other they produce different words.
Allophone can be defined as the variants of each phoneme. For example, let us consider the
four lateral articulations symbolized [l⊓, l₀, l, ɫ]. None of these sounds can function
contrastively in English because they can never occur in the same phonetic environment. Every
time we articulate [l⊓] a dental sound must follow it (health), [l₀] occurs only if a fortis plosive
precedes it (class), we produce a clear [l] before vowel sounds (leaf) and a dark or velarized
variety [ɫ] before consonant sounds and pauses (milk, wheel). The four sounds share basic
phonetic characteristics and the English native speaker feels that they function as and the
same entity.
In more technical terms we may say that they constitute the same phonological unit in English.
They are just realizations or allophones of the same abstract sound unit called phoneme.
We have to remember that allophones are always represented by symbols enclosed in
square brackets [ ], while phonemes between slant lines / /.
Phonetics and Phonology:
Whereas phonetics deals with allophones, phonology deals with the phonemes of a
language.
It is essential to know which sounds produce differences in meaning between words
(phonological study) and to establish how the various phonemes are actually realized
(phonetic study).
- Phonetic level (allophones): [l, l₀, l, ɫ]
- Phonological level (phonemes): /l/
Allophones which can never occur in the place of another are said to be in
complementary distribution. They are mutually exclusive because whenever one occurs
no other can. F.i: the four lateral homophones are said to be in complementary
distribution since none of them can occur in place of another.
Not all allophones, though, are conditioned by the context. Sometimes their use depends
just on habit or preference, such is the case of the English fortis plosive before a pause.
In “all right” the final /t/ may be realized either with release (exploded) or without it
(unexploded) or accompanied by a glottal stop, among other possibilities. No matter
which oe is used, the meaning will not change, nor will it sound foreign. When the
allophones of a phoneme occur in the same environment without being in contrast they
are said to be in free variation.
Variations in place of articulation:
We have seen how sounds influence one another when put together in words and
sentences. A sound may influence one that follows as with aspiration, or one preceding
it, as with length.
Place of articulation may also be conditioned by the phonetic environment: the
diacritics [ ] and [+] are used in allophonic transcription to indicate fronter and
backer variants respectively.
We hall note the following cases:
1. The velars /k, g/ are articulated further front in the mouth when followed by
affront vowel or /j/ and further back when followed by a back vowel or /w/. keep
quiet [k+h i pk w₀a Ət]. /ŋ/ is affected by preceding vowels: sing-
song[siŋ+soŋ-]
2. The alveolars /t, d, n, l/ are articulated dentally when followed by /Θ, đ/ wealth
and in the pos-velar region when /r, tr, dr/ follow: interest [in t ⌟₀Əst].
3. The nasals /n, m/ are normally articulated labio-dentally when /f, v/ follow, the
resulting variant is assigned the symbol [ɱ]: in forests and valleys [iɱ`fo⌟
˛istsƏɱ`vaeliz₀].
The English consonants in detail:
We are going to list the 26 English consonant phonemes with their main allophones:
Plosives:
1. /p/ voiceless-fortis bilabial plosive
- [ph] aspirated: part, pure, apart
- [p] weakly aspirated or unaspirated: participate, sport
- [p ] with non-audible or delayed release: napkin, top people
- [p ]with nasal release: step-mother
2. /b/ voiced-lenis bilabial plosive
- [b] voiced: husband, probably
- [b₀] devoiced: bribe, obtain
- [b ]with non-audible or delayed release: rob Peter
- [b ]with nasal release: submit, abnormal
3. /t/ voiceless-fortis alveolar plosive
- [th] aspirated: talk, tube
- [t] weakly aspirated or unaspirated: tenacity, story
- [t ] with non-audible or delayed release: football, outdoor
- [t ]with nasal release: written, atmosphere
- [t ]with lateral release: gentle, outline
- [t⊓]dental: eight
- [t_]post- alveolar : try, night train
4. /d/ voiced-lenis alveolar plosive
- [d] voiced: ladder
- [d₀] devoiced: dead
- [d ] with non-audible or delayed release: bedtime
- [d ]with nasal release: garden, admire
- [d ]with lateral release: medal
- [d⊓]dental: hundredth
- [d_]post- alveolar : bad dream
5. /k/ voiceless-fortis velar plosive
- [kh] aspirated: card, quite
- [k] weakly aspirated or unaspirated: whisky, school
- [k ] with non-audible or delayed release: baked
- [k ]with nasal release: thickness
- [k_] pre-velar: key, queue
- [k+] post-velar: cool, question
6. /g/ voiced-lenis velar plosive
- [g] voiced: again
- [g°] devoiced: gag, egg-shell
- [g ] with non-audible or delayed release: egg-cup
- [g ]with nasal release: ignore
- [g_] pre-velar: geese
- [g+] post-velar: lagoon
Affricates:
1. /ʧ/ voiceless-fortis palato-alveolar affricate.
2. /ʤ/ voiced-lenis palato-alveolar affricate.
- [ʤ] voiced: larger, enjoy
- [d₀Ʒ],[ʤ°] devoiced: misjudge, vegetable
3. /tr/ voiceless-fortis post-alveolar affricate.
4. /dr/ voiced-lenis post-alveolar affricate. d ⌟₀, d ⌟,
- [d ⌟] voiced: hundred, fedral
- [d ⌟₀] devoiced: bus-driver
Fricatives:
1. /f/ voiceless-fortis labio-dental fricative.
2. /v/ voiced-lenis labio-dental fricative
- [v] voiced: living, seven
- [v₀] devoiced: front view
3. / Θ/ voiceless-fortis dental fricative
4. / đ/ voiced-lenis dental fricative
- [đ] voiced: rather
- [đ₀]devoiced: since then
5. /s/ voiceless-fortis alveolar fricative
6. /z/ voiced-lenis alveolar fricative
- [z] voiced: busy, puzzle
- [z₀]voiced: hosepipe, zone
7. / S/ voiceless-fortis palato-alveolar fricative
8. /Ʒ/ voiced-lenis palato-alveolar fricative
- [Ʒ] voiced: measure, vision
- [Ʒ°] voiced: genre
9. /h/ voiceless glottal fricative
- [h] voiceless: high, who
- [h] voiced: alcohol
Nasals:
1. /m/ voiced bilabial nasal
- [m] voiced: memory
- [m₀] slightly devoiced: smell
- [ɱ] labio-dental: comfort, some value
2. /n/ voiced alveolar nasal
- [n] voiced: noun, sudden
- [n₀] slightly devoiced: snow
- [n⊓] dental: synthesis
- [n ] post-alveolar: unreal
- [ɱ] labio-dental: rainfall, invite
3. /ŋ/ voiced velar nasal ŋ-
- [ŋ+] pre-velar: king
- [ŋ-] post-velar: wrong
Laterals:
1. /l/ voiced alveolar lateral
- [l] clear (before vowels and /j/: lovely, steelyard
- [ɫ] dark (before consonants, pauses and /w/: fulfil
- [l₀] devoiced: place
- [ɫ⊓] dental: wealth
- [ɫ ] post-alvelar: children
Approximant:
1. /r/ voiced post-alveolar approximant
- [⌟˛] approximant (mainly before and between vowels): road, very
- [⌟] voiced fricative (after /d/): drive
- [⌟₀] voiceless fricative (especially after fortis plosives): prize
- [r] alveolar tap (after /Θ/): three
Semi-vowels:
1. /j/ voiced palatal semi-vowel.
- [j] voiced: yes, beyond
- [j₀]devoiced: pure, tube
2. /w/ voiced velarized bilabial semi-vowel.
- [w] voiced: wild, await
- [w₀]devoiced: tweed, queen
Variations in vowels and diphthongs:
There are allophonic variations of quantity in vowels. Long vowels will be half long when
unaccented, f.i: seminar[`semina ], when accented and followed by fortis consonants f.i:
insert [`ins3 t]and when accented and followed by an unaccented syllable in the same word
f.i: harder[`ha dƏ].
FULLY LONG REDUCED
/i:/ [i:] tea [i ] seat
/a:/ [a:] star [a ] part
/o:/ [o:] door [o ] caught
/u:/ [u:] blue [u ] boot
/3:/ [3:] fur [3 ] first
/ei/ [e:i] pay [e i] activate
/Əu/ [Ə:u] low [Ə u] goat
/ai/ [Ə:u] eye [Ə u] advice
/au/ [a:u] vow [a u] outhouse
/oi/ [o:i] toy [o i] voice
/iƏ/ [i:Ə] clear [i Ə] fierce
/eƏ/ [e:Ə] rare [e Ə] scare
/uƏ/ [u:Ə] poor [u Ə] during
Features of connected speech:
1. Elision:
It is the omission of sounds, omitting either a vowel or a consonant
a) Word internal:
1) Elision of vowels mainly affects the weak, centralised ones /Ə, i,u/ when
they are precede and followed by consonants in unaccented syllables f.i:
/-tn/ certain, /-Sn/ caution, /-Ʒn/ vision, /-kl/ clasical, /-Sl/ commercial, /-
sl/ cancel, /-ml/ animal, /-tn/ barrel.
When any of the nasals precedes the sequences –dƏn, tƏn, schwa must
not be elided, with the exception of acquaintance.
2) Elision of /Ə/ allows the formation of affricates in /-tri/ /-dri/: secretary,
secondary.
3) Elision of consonants inside words mainly affects alveolars, especially
when preceded and followed by other consonants: handsome, postpone,
postcard, grandma, grandpa.
b) At word boundary:
1) The word final alveolars /t, d/ are generally elided when preceded and
followed by a consonant, especially when the following is a stop: send
two, first day, last talk.
2) /h/ is elided in unaccented, non-initial he, his, her(self), him(self), have,
has, had.
2. Assimilation
It is the process by which sounds are influenced by neighbouring sounds and come to
share some or all of their phonetic characteristics. Assimilation is the result of an
unconscious propensity towards ease of articulation and economy of effort.
a) Word internal: In the following examples, the non-assimilated variant
may be regarded as belonging to a more studied, conservative style of
speech.
/tS/ - /tj/ / ʤ/ -/dj/ /S/- /sj, si/
mature education glacial
accentuate individual appreciation
situation
b) At word boundary: The English consonant sounds most easily influenced
by adjacent sounds in connected speech are the alveolars /t, d, s, z, n/
1) /t, d, n/ may be assimilated to /p, b, m/ respectively under the
influence of the bilabials /p, b, m/: that plan /đaep`plaen/, on
purpose /om `p3pƏs/
2) /t, d/ may be assimilated to/tS,ʤ/ respectively when
immediately followed by /j/ : last year /lastSiƏ/, behind you
/bi`hainʤu/
3) /s, z/ may be assimilated to /S, Ʒ/ respectively when /S, j/
follow: her voice shook /h3`voiS`Suk/
4) /t, d, n/ may be assimilated to /k, g, ŋ/ respectively when in
contact with /k, g/ hot cakes /`hok`keiks/.
According to the direction of the change, assimilation can be regressive when the initial
sound of a word affects the final sound of the previous word: not possible /-pp-/ or
progressive when the initial sound of the second word is affected: bookish style /-SS-/.
Of the two, regressive assimilation is mucho more common in English than progressive.
3. Compression:
It occurs when a given articulation, either vowel or consonant is performed in a shorter
space of time:
a) Word internal: Pronunciations with /Ə/ rather than /Əu/ could be said to
represent a more casual style in words such as mobility, November,
romantic, automobile. The forms with either /u/ or /Ə/ instead of /uƏ/ in
the central syllables of actually, usually and valuable constitute the
normal citation form for many speakers.
b) At word boundary: in all cases the compressed forms denote a fast style,
f. i: the apple of my eye / ` đjaeplƏv ma(i)`ai/
TEMA 49- EL SISTEMA FONOLÓGICO DE LA LENGUA INGLESA (2): LAS
VOCALES. LOS DIPTONGOS. LAS SEMIVOCALES. CORRESPONDENCIA
ENTRE SONIDOS Y GRAFÍAS
TOPIC 49: THE ENGLISH PHONOLOGICAL SYSTEM, PART 2: VOWELS,
DIPHTHONGS, AND SEMIVOWELS. CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN SOUNDS
AND SYMBOLS
Vowels:
Vowel sounds are produced in most cases without any kind of contact between the
articulators. They can be made different from each other, mainly by raising a certain part of
the tongue to different levels, by modifying the shape of the lips and by raising and lowering
the velum. Variations of this kind produced by changing the shape of the mouth resonator are
referred to as differences in vowel quality.
The part of the tongue raised may be any point between the front and the back. We have the
raising of 3 basic parts of the tongue: front, centre and back. Vowel sounds are normally
voiced sounds, that is, they are produced with vibration of the vocal folds. They are usually
oral sounds, that is, when the vibrating column of air reaches the top of the pharynx it
generally escapes through the mouth only. Occasionally there are devoiced and nasalized
vowel sounds because this is not a common characteristic. The vowel sounds are generally
syllabic in English, that is, they function as the central elements of syllables either alone or
accompanied by consonant sounds.
Classification of Vowel sounds:
The labels corresponding to tongue positions may be placed on 2 axes:
1. A horizontal one indicating the part of the tongue which is raised
2. A vertical one indicating the height to which the tongue is raised
For a more complete classification a final articulatory feature may be added lip position:
rounded and unrounded. Front vowel sounds are unrounded, back ones are rounded.
The English inventory includes six short vowels (all pure), 13 relatively long (5 pure
vowels and 8 diphthongs and one borderline case /ae/, sometimes long).
QUALITY QUANTITY
Short Relatively long subject to reduction
Pure vowels i, e, o, u, Λ, Ə---ae---i:, a:, o:, u:, 3:
Diphthongs ei, ai, oi, au, Əu, iƏ, eƏ, uƏ
But there are many quantity variations, f.i: depending on the phonetic environment the
relatively long vowels have several degrees of length and the so-called short vowels can
become even longer than the former.
Although vowel quality oppositions play the most important role in distinguishing
meaning, allophonic variations of quantity may also contribute greatly to it.
Both open syllables and those closed by voiced lenis consonants, sometimes twice on
nearly three times as long. f.i. the pair beat/bit is distinguished by vowel quality, the pair
beat/bead mainly by vowel quantity and bit/bead by the vowel quality-quantity
complex.
a) The 13 relatively long vowels retain their full length when accented either is
open syllables see /si:/ or when followed by lenis consonants learned /l3:nd/. /ae/
is fully long before /b, d, g, ʤ, m, n/
b) These vowels will be half long when naccented: seminar / semina / or when
accented and followed by fortis consonants: insert /in s t/ or when accented
and followed by an naccented syllable in the same words harder / ha dƏ/
The English pure vowels in detail:
1. /i:/ front, between close and half-close. The most common realization is a
slight diphthong /ii/, especially in accented open syllables. It is subject to
antity variations /i:/ tea, /i / seat.
2. /i/ retracted, half-close, generally short. Slightly opener in final open
syllables /i˛/ very, but may be nearer to /i/ when another vowel follows: very
often
3. /e/ front, mid, usually short.
4. /ae/ front, between half-open and open. Usually short but long f.i: in man
5. /a:/ back, open, unrounded. Although relative long, it undergoes
variations of length lly long /a:/ star, red ced /a / in part
6. /o/ back, open, slightly rounded, normally short.
7. /o:/ back, mid, rounded. Usually long but subject to reduction. Fully long
/o:/ door, red ced /o / caught.
8. /u/ advanced, half-close. Slight lip-rounding, generally short.
9. /u:/ back, between close and half- close, lips rounded. Usually realized as
a slight diphthong /uu/ especially in accented open syllables. Generally long but
s b ect to length variations, f lly long / :/ bl e, red ced / / as in boot
10. /Λ/ central, between half-open and open. usually short.
11. /3:/ Mid, central, lips unrounded, generally long but subject to reduction,
f lly long / :/ f r, red ced / / as in first
12. /Ə/ Mid, central, lips unrounded. More open in final open syllables:
doctor
Diphthongs:
They can be classified articulatory and auditorily:
1. According to the distance the tongue travels, they can be articulatory labelled
wide when the glide is long and narrow when the glide is short.
2. Depending on the direction of the movement the tongue makes in producing
diphthongs, they can be articulatory classified into closing and centring. Closing
diphthongs involve a glide towards a closer tongue position, centring diphthongs
a glide towards a central tongue position.
3. According to the prominence of the elements, diphthongs can be auditorily
classified into falling when the first element is more prominent than the second
and rising when the second element is more prominent than the first.
The English diphthongs in detail:
1. /ei/ narrow, front-closing. Glide starting at /e/ moving into the direction of /i/, fully
long /e:i/ as in pay, reduced /e i/ as in paint
2. /Əu/ narrow, back-closing. Glide starting at /Ə/ moving into the direction of /u/, fully
long /Ə:u/ as in low, reduced /Ə u/ as in goat
3. /ai/ wide, front-closing. Glide starting from open retracted position moving in the
direction of /i/, fully long /a:i/ as in eye, reduced /a i/ as in advice
4. /au/ wide, back –closing. Glide starting approximately at /a/ moving in the direction of
/u/, the starting point may, however, be the same as for /ai/, fully long /a:u/ as in vow,
reduced /a u/ as in count
5. /oi/ wide, front-closing. Glide starting between half-open and open moving in the
direction of /i/, fully long /o:i/ as in toy, reduced /o i/ as in voice
6. /iƏ/ centring. Glide starting at /i/ moving to mid-central in non-final position and to
the more open variety of /Ə/ in final position, fully long /i:Ə/ as in clear, reduced
/i Ə/ as in fierce
7. /eƏ/ centring. Glide starting from half-open, moving to mid-central in non-final
position and to the more open variety of /Ə/ in final position: fair, fully long /e: Ə/ as
in rare, reduced /e Ə/ as in scarce
8. /uƏ/ centring. Glide starting at /u/ moving to mid-central in non-final position and to
the more open variety of /Ə/ in final position: tour, fully long /u: Ə/ as in poor,
reduced /u Ə/ as in during.
Triphthongs: (English diphthongs+ /Ə/)
A third vocalic element /Ə/ can be added to all diphthongs except the centring ones.
1. /eiƏ/ as in payer
2. /ƏuƏ/ as in lower
3. /aiƏ/ as in wire
4. /auƏ/ as in sour
5. /oiƏ/ as in employer
The sequence, however, is pronounced fully only occasionally as when using either a
slow, formal style of pronunciation or when the word is given special emphasis.
Speakers of general RP tend to weaken and/or omit the second /i/ or /u/ element in ordinary
conversational style. This vowel reduction, a form of compression known as “levelling” has give
rise to:
a) 2 new diphthongs, one coming from /ai/ + /Ə/ and another from /au/ + /Ə/, which are
considered as allophonic realizations f.i: /aƏ/
b) New sets of homophones. Pairs such as tyre and tower are often pronounced the
same.
Spellings:
1. /i:/
- Spellings I and iCe in words of Latin origin: casino, Argentina, ski,
police, expertise, magazine, unique
- Spellings ae and oe mainly in aesthetic, anaemia, Caesar, foetus,
phoenix.
- Spelling e in plurals of words endimg in –is and –ex: analyses, indices,
theses, bases
- Spelling ei only in cei: conceive, deceive, receive, ceiling. Exceptions:
caffeine, protein, seize, seizure and the names: Keith, Leigh, Neil, Sheila
- Exceptional spellings: people, quay, geyser, key, debris, précis.
2. /i/
- Spelling ie: hippie, mischief, movies, sieve
- Spelling a: character, orange, spinach
- Spellings ai, ei, ee in bargain, captain, fountain, mountain; forfeit,
sovereign, surfeit; coffee, committee, toffee, Yankee.
- Spelling aCe, especially –age: image, postage, village, furnace, preface,
surface, private, octave
- Accented e only in pretty, England, English. u only in busy, business,
lettuce, minute (n), missus, o only in women, iu only in circuit, conduit,
build, biscuit, ea only in Guinea, Chelsea
- The past suffix –ed is pronounced is pronounced /d/ after vowel and lenis
consonant sounds and /t/ after fortis consonant sounds, it is pronounced
/t/ after fortis consonant sounds, it is pronounced /id/ after /t, /d/.
- Adjectives ending in –ed are pronounced /id/: aged, beloved, blessed,
crooked, cursed, jagged, learned ragged, rugged, sacred, wicked,
wretched
- The ending –edly of adverbs is pronounced /idly/: assumedly,
supposedly. Exception: determinedly
3. /e/
- Spelling a in any, many, Thames, momentarily, necessarily.
- Spellings ei, ey only in heifer, leisure, Leicester, Reynolds
- Spelling eo only in leopard, jeopardize, Geoffrey, Leonard
- Exceptional spellings: bury, burial, said, says, friend, lieutenant, ate
4. /ae/
- Spelling i only in plaid, plait
- Spelling i in words of French origin: impasse, meringue
5. /a:/
- Spelling a in some 300 words generally before the nasals and /s/, the
most common of which are: a+ nasal: command, demand, can´ t, plant,
dance, glance, France, a + /s/: ask, task, past, glass, last, fast. Others:
after, draft, staff, half, bath, path, rather
- Spelling au: aunt, laugh, draught
- Spelling er only in clerk, sergeant, Derby; Berkeley
- Spelling ah only in ah, bah, aha, hurrah
- Spelling oi in French borrowings: repertoire, reservoir
- Exceptional spellings: heart, hearth, our, bazaar.
6. /o/
- Spelling au mainly in because, cauliflower, laurel, sausage
- Spelling en in French borrowings: encore, entrée, rendezvous
- Spelling oCe only in gone, shone, scone
- Spelling ou only in cough, trough, Gloucester
- Exceptional spellings: knowledge, bureaucracy
7. /o:/
- Spelling ao in broad, abroad.
- Spellings oor in door, floor.
- Spelling an in French borrowings: fiancé, restaurant, séance
- Exceptional spellings: drawer (thing), awe, Sean
8. /u/
- Spelling u in accented syllables in some 30 words, generally before /l/,
the most common of which are bull, bullet, bulletin, bully, full, fulfil,
pull. Others: bush, cushion, push, pussy, butcher, put, pudding, sugar.
- Spelling oo mainly in book, brook, cook, cookie, foot, good, hood, hook,
look, nook, rook, shook, soot, stood, took, wood, wool.
- Spelling ou mainly in could, should, would, courier, bouquet
- Spellings o only in bosom, woman, wolf, worsted, Worcester
9. /u:/
- Spelling o only in do, tomb, womb, who, whom.
- Spelling oCe only in lose, move, prove, whose
- Spelling oe in canoe, shoe
- Spelling eu in adieu, rheumatism, sleuth
- Exceptional spellings: manoeuvre, two.
10. /Λ/
- Spelling o in some 70 words, generally before the nasals and /v/, the
most common of which are: /Λ / + nasal: become, come, comfort, some,
London, honey, money, one, once, none, tongue, /Λ / + /v/: above, glove,
love, oven. Others: another, other, mother, doze, colour, worry
- Spelling ou mainly in double, trouble, flourish, cousin, touch, young,
enough, rough, Douglas
- Spelling oo only in blood, flood
- Exceptional spellings: does, twopence, twopenny
11. /3:/
- Spelling our only in bourbon, couteous, courtesy, journal, journey
- Spelling eu in French borrowings: connoisseur, raconteur, Peugeot,
milieu
- Exceptional spelling: colonel
12. /Ə/
- Schwa can be represented by all five letters (and y): canal, hundred,
possible, seldom, suspect, analysis; by vowel diagraphs: villain, surgeon,
vengeance, parliament, region, tortoise, camouflage; and by vowel
letters + r: particular, perfection, forbid, surprise
13. ei/
- Spellings é(e), ê in French borrowings: attaché, café, fête, née
- Spelling et in French borrowings: ballet, bouqet, chalet, gourmet
- Spelling ea only in break, great, orangeade, steak, Reagan, Yeats
- Exceptional spellings: gaol, gauge, dossier, Galeic, Israel.
14. /Əu/
- Spelling oe mainly in doe, foe, goes, toe, woe, Defoe, Joe, Poe
- Spellings au an eau in French borrowings: au pair, chauffeur, mauve,
beau, bureau, château, plateau
- Exceptional spellings: brooch, sew, Pharaoh
15. /ai/
- Spelling ei only in eider, either, height, kaleidoscope, seismic, sleight (of
hand), Eileen, Farenheit, Geiger
- Exceptional spelling: MacKay
16. /au/
- Spelling ough mainly in: bough, drought, plough
- Exceptional spelling: Macleod
17. /oi/
- Exceptional spellings: buoy, voyage
18. /iƏ/
- Exceptional spellings: souvenir, weir, weird
19. /eƏ/
- Exceptional spellings: major, prayer (thing).
20. /uƏ/
- Spelling our in French borrowings: bourgeois, courgette, gourd, gourmet
The reverse procedure, that is, the grouping of sounds according to a given spelling is
useful in the case of a few endings which have more than one pronunciation: in –ate, -
ful and –ment a different phonemic pattern identifies different grammatical functions
1. –ADE
- /-eid/ as in barricade, decade, lemonade
- /a:d/ mainly in charade, façade, promenade
- esplanade can be both
2. –AGE
- /-iʤ/ as in breakage, heritage, patronage
- /a:Ʒ/ as in camouflage, collage, sabotage
- garage can be both
3. –ATE
- /-eit/ mainly in verbs: appreciate, celebrate, concentrate
- /Ət/ in adjectives and nouns: accurate, certificate, delicate. A few
adjectives and nouns are pronounced /-eit/: cognate, debate, estate,
inmate, innate, rebate. Others fluctuate between both forms: advocate,
candidate, delegate, magistrate
- /-it/ in climate, private
4. –FUL
- /ful/ in nouns: handful, mouthful, packetful
- /fl/ in adjectives: dreadful, grateful, hopeful
5. –MENT
- /ment/ in verbs: complement, implement, experiment
- /mƏnt/ I nouns: argument, experiment, government. Exceptions: cement,
comment
6. The prefix RE- has 3 pronunciations
- /`ri/ in recount, recover, reform, remark all of them meaning again.
- /ri/ in recount (tell, recover (get back), reform (improve)
- /`re/ in represent (symbolize), recommend, recreation (amusemnet)
Semi-vowels:
It is a rapid vocalic glide onto a syllabic sound of greater steady duration. Despite the fact that
semi-vowels are in phonetic terms generally vocalic, they are treated within the consonant
class, mainly because their function is consonantal rather than vowel-like, that is, they have a
marginal rather than a central situation in the syllable.
Their consonantal function is emphasized by the fact that the articles have their
preconsonantal form when followed by /j/ and /w/, that is, the yard, a yacth, the west, a wasp
with /đƏ/ or /Ə/ rather than with /đi/ or / Ən/.
In addition the allophones of /j/ and /w/ when following a fortis consonant are voiceless and
fricative as in cue /kju:/ and quick /kwik/, that is, they fall within a phonetic definition of a
consonant.
/j/ unrounded palatal semi-vowel. Spelt y (yes), i (spaniel) also /ju:/ spelt u muse, ew new, eu,
feud, eau beauty, ui suit
- [j] voiced: yes, beyond
- [j₀]devoiced: pure, tube
/w/ labio-velar semi-vowel. Spelt w, wh or u after q, g: west, which, quick, language. Note one,
once, choir, suite with /w/
- [w] voiced: wild, await
- [w₀]devoiced: tweed, queen
TEMA 50- EL SISTEMA FONOLÓGICO DE LA LENGUA INGLESA (3): LAS
CONSONANTES. CORRESPONDENCIA ENTRE SONIDOS Y GRAFÍAS
TOPIC 50: THE ENGLISH PHONOLOGICAL SYSTEM, PART 3: CONSONANTS.
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN SOUNDS AND SYMBOLS
Consonants:
Consonant sounds are those in which the air-stream meets a stricture of complete oral
closure (plosives, affricates and nasals) or one of intermittent closure (rolls) or one of
partial oral closure (laterals) or a stricture of close approximation (fricatives).
Consonant sounds tend to be non-syllabic or marginal in the syllable.
There are a number of points to be answered:
1. Are the vocal folds in action or not?
2. How strong are the breath force and muscular effort involved in the articulation?
3. Is the velum up or down?
4. Where does the interference of the air-flow occur?
5. What kind of interference is it?
1. Vocal fold activity determines whether consonant sounds are voiced or
voiceless. Voiced consonant sounds are produced with the vocal folds in light
contact and voiceless ones with the vocal folds wide apart, so that only breath
goes through.
2. Consonant sounds produced with greater force are called fortis and those
produced with less force are called lenis. So both voiced and devoiced consonant
sounds are lenis and voiceless ones are fortis.
3. The position of the velum causes consonant sounds to be mainly oral (when it is
raised) or nasal (when it is lowered)
4. There is a classification according to the place of articulation:
a) Glottal: [ʔ]
b) Velar: [k, g, ŋ]
c) Palatal: [Л]
d) Palato-alveolar: [S, Ʒ, ʤ, tS]
e) Post-alveolar: [⌟, t ⌟₀, d ⌟, n ]
f) Alveolar: [t, d, n₀, n, r, s, z, l₀, l, ɫ]
g) Dental: [t⊓, d⊓, n⊓, ɫ⊓, đ, Θ]
h) Labio-dental: [ɱ, k, g,]
i) Bilabial: [p, b, m]
5. Another way of classifying consonant sounds is according to the manner of
articulation, that is, to the type of stricture made between each pair of
articulators.
a) Plosives: When an active articulator comes into form contact with a
passive one, forming a stricture of complete closure, the air-stream is
built up behind this closure. The articulators separate suddenly producing
an explosive sound called plosion. So there are 3 stages: closure, stop
and release
Closure Stop Release
b) Fricatives: When an active articulator comes into light contact with a
passive one, forming a stricture of close approximation, the air has to
force its way out, making a noise called friction
Approximation Friction
c) Affricates: These are formed by a succession of a plosive and a fricative.
The active articulator forms a stricture of complete closure with a passive
one, but instead of opening suddenly as for a plosive, they come apart
slowly into the fricative position
Closure Stop Friction
d) Taps: An active articulator taps once against a passive one.
e) Rolls: A roll is produced by the vibration of an active articulator against
a passive one. It is a rapid succession of taps
f) Laterals: The active articulator comes into firm contact with the passive
one and the air escapes down one or both sides of contact
space
g) Nasals: In a nasal sound the velum must be lowered and there must be a
stricture of complete closure somewhere in the mouth so that the air
escapes through the nose
The English consonants can be grouped according to the fortis/ lenis opposition:
(A) Fortis p t k tS tr f Θ s S
(B) Lenis b d d, ʤ dr v đ z Ʒ
(C) No
opposition
m n ŋ l r
The remaining phoneme /h/ constitutes a special case, since it does not participate in the
opposition, nor does it share the voicing feature of group (C).
Voicing:
1. Consonants in (B) and (C) are voiced between vowels or other consonants of the
same group.
2. Lenis consonants are devoiced after and before pauses and fortis consonants
3. [l, r, w, j] are devoiced when preceded by a fortis plosive in an accented
syllable.
Aspiration:
When The English fortis plosives /p, t, k/ precede vowel sounds in an accented syllable,
the voicing of the vowel does not begin together with the release stage of the plosive but
some time later. When the lips separate after the stop, the tongue is already in position
for the vowel, but only breath comes out before the vocal folds start vibrating. This
voiceless interval between the release of a plosive and the voicing of a following vowel
is called aspiration.
There are various degrees of aspiration:
1. /p, t, k/ are strongly aspirated in accented syllables: “Come at ten past eleven”
2. They are weakly aspirated in naccented syllables and in final position: “The
pper lip”
3. They are naspirated when /s/ precedes them: “The school staff”
When /p, t, k/ are followed by /l, r, w, j/ especially in accented syllables, the aspiration
of the former makes the latter devoiced. Whenever aspiration is manifested as devoicing
it will be shown as [₀]: “Please try to clean ickly”
Types of release:
English plosives are not always released in the same way. We have the following
alternatives
1. Oral release: When followed by vowels or semi-vowels either with or without
the aspiration period.
2. Non-audible release: Final plosives have a lack of audible release caused by a
weak opening of the stop or absence of release. In clusters formed by 2
consecutive plosives, or plosive and affricate, the first one normally has non-
audible release.
3. With glottal reinforcement: The fortis plosives and affricates can be reinforced
with a glottal stop. Glottalization of /p, t, k/ is made before pauses and
consonants, though not between vowels. With / tS, tr/ glottalization is also
possible between vowels. In all these cases a glottal closure and its
corresponding release is made either before or simultaneously with the oral
closure for the plosive or affricate.
4. Nasal release: When a plosive is followed by a nasal, the release stage is not
performed orally, but nasally. The air compressed behind the oral stop escapes
through the nose
5. Lateral release: When /t, d/ are followed by /l/, both plosives are normally
released laterally. Lateral release is marked [ ]
The English consonants in detail:
13. Plosives:
- [p] voiceless-fortis bilabial plosive
- [b] voiced-lenis bilabial plosive
- [t] voiceless-fortis alveolar plosive
- [d] voiced-lenis alveolar plosive
- [k] voiceless-fortis velar plosive
- [g] voiced-lenis velar plosive
14. Affricates:
- [ʧ] voiceless-fortis palato-alveolar affricate
- [ʤ] voiced-lenis palato-alveolar affricate
- [tr] voiceless-fortis post-alveolar affricate
- [dr] voiced-lenis post-alveolar affricate
15. Fricatives:
- [f] voiceless-fortis labio-dental fricative
- [v] voiced-lenis labio-dental fricative
- [Θ] voiceless-fortis dental fricative
- [đ] voiced-lenis dental fricative
- [s] voiceless-fortis alveolar fricative
- [z] voiced-lenis alveolar fricative
- [S] voiceless-fortis palato-alveolar fricative
- [Ʒ] voiced-lenis palato-alveolar fricative
- [h] voiceless glottal fricative
16. Nasals:
- [m] voiced bilabial nasal
- [n] voiced alveolar nasal
- [ŋ] voiced velar nasal
17. Laterals:
- [l] voiced alveolar lateral
18. Approximant:
- [r] voiced post-alveolar approximant
Spellings and pronunciation:
21. /t/
- Spelling th only in discotheque, thyme, Anthony, Esther, Thailand,
Thames, Theresa, Thomas, Thompson
22. / ʧ /
- Spelling c in cello, concerto
- Exceptional spellings. Czech, putsch
23. /dƷ /
- Spelling ch only in sandwich, spinach, Greenwich, Harwich, Norwich
24. /f/
- Spelling gh only in cough, draught, enough, laugh(ter), rough, tough,
trough
25. /v/
- Spelling ph only in nephew, Stephen
26. /s/
- Spelling se in some nouns and adjectives: abuse, close, diffuse, excuse,
house, use. When these words function as verbs all are pronounced with
/z/. Exceptions: fuse, surprise always with /z/; decrease, increase,
promise, release always with /s/
- In used to when it means accustomed; with /z/ when it means employed
- Spelling s: base, case, chase, cease, geese, dose, exclusive, expensive
- Spelling z only in eczema, quartz, ritzy, waltz, Switzerland
27. /z/
- Spelling ss only in dessert, dissolve, hussy, hussar, possess, scissors,
Missouri
- Spelling x mainly in Xerox, xylophone
- Spelling s: disease, erase, phase, pause, resemble, positive, result etc.
28. /S/
- Spellings -Csion and -tion: expulsion, tension, version, fiction, caution
- Spelling sch mainly in schedule, schmaltz, schwa
- Exceptional spelling: fuchsia
29. /Ʒ/
- Spellings -Vsion, -Vsure and –Vsual. Confusion, closure, casual.
- Spelling g in French loanwords: camouflage, collage, espionage, beige,
rouge etc.
The following letters stand for more than one pronunciation and consequently tend to
cause difficulty:
1. –ED: past tense and past participle suffix of regular verbs
- /d/ when the last sound of the infinitive form is a vowel or /b, g, dƷ, v, đ
z, Ʒ, m, n, ŋ, l/
- /t/ when the last sound is /p, k, ʧ, f, Θ, s, S/
- /id/ when the last sound is /t, d/
2. –(E)S: plural, genitive case, third person singular and reduced forms of is and
has
- /z/ when the last sound of the infinitive form is a vowel or /b, d, g, v, đ z,
m, n, ŋ, l/
- /s/ when the last sound is /p, t, k, f, Θ/
- /is/ when the last sound is /dƷ, Ʒ, ʧ s, z, S/
3. –X-
- /ks/ when x is followed by an unaccented vowel: exercise, exit
- /gz/ when x is followed by an accented vowel: exact, exam, example
- /kS/ in anxious, complexion, luxury, sexual
- /gƷ/ in luxuriant, luxuriate, luxurious
- /z/ mainly in Xerox, xylophone
4. –NG
- /ŋ/: in final position: king, wrong and in inflected forms: hanger, singer.
Also in hangar, gangway
- /ŋg/: in medial position: anger, finger, hunger and in the comparatives
and superlatives of long, strong, young
- /ndƷ/: change, danger, stranger
Silent letters:
There are a number of silent letters, i.e. those which do not represent any sound at all.
1. b in –mb and –bt: lamb, climb, bomb, comb, debt, doubt
2. c in corpuscle, muscle, Connecticut, indict, victual(s). Note ch in schism, yacht
3. g in –gm, -gn: diaphragm, reign, gnaw
4. h in heir, honest, hour, honour, in rh: rhetoric, rhythm also in annihilate,
vehicule, vehement; in proper names in –ham: Graham, Durham.
5. k in kn- knee. Note ck in blackguard
6. l in –lk and –lm: chalk, folk, talk, almond, calm also in half, calf, could, should,
would
7. n in –mn: autumn, column
8. p in coup: cupboard, raspberry, receipt. Note ps in corps
9. s in aisle, apropos, chassis, debris, island, isle, Louis, viscount
10. t in –stle, -sten: apostle, castle; chasten, fasten also in French loanwords: ballet,
cabaret; mortgage, often, postpone and th is asthma
11. w in wr- wh-: wrap, whole, in proper names in -wich and –which: Norwich,
Greenwich, Harwich; also in answer, sword.
TEMA 51- EL SISTEMA FONOLÓGICO DE LA LENGUA INGLESA (4):
VARIEDADES. ACENTO, RITMO Y ENTONACIÓN. FORMAS FUERTES Y
DÉBILES
TOPIC 51: THE ENGLISH PHONOLOGICAL SYSTEM, PART 4: VARIETIES,
STRESS, RHYTHM AND INTONATION. STRONG AND WEAK FORMS
Suprasegmental or prosodic features:
Suprasegmental or prosodic features are those superimposed on segments and include
accentuation, rhythm and intonation.
Prominence:
When we speak we give more emphasis to some parts of an utterance than to others. We can
make a syllable stand out with respect to its neighbouring syllables in a word, and some words
stand out with respect to the rest of the words in a longer utterance. Those elements that
produce prominence at syllable level are: pitch, quality, quantity and stress.
Accent:
When a syllable is a starter of pitch movement or has the natural potential to be one we say it
is accented. When any of the elements causing prominence are present, but the syllable is
incapable of acting as a pitch movement initiator, we say it is prominent.
To sum up, all accented syllables are prominent, but not all prominent syllables are
accented.
Types of accent:
When a word has 2 or more accents, pitch movement will start on the last one. We call this the
primary accent and mark it / ` / or ,
The previous accent or accents are less likely to initiate pitch movement. We call them
secondary accents and mark them / ‘ / or .
Syllables with inherent prominence and unaccented, non- prominent syllables will be marked
and ₀ and . respectively.
Accentuation in simple words:
By simple words we mean those made up of roots alone or with the addition of affixes
(suffixes and prefixes). It is difficult to establish rules for the accentuation of simple
words in English, so students should learn the accentual pattern of each new word.
Accentuation of compound words:
By compound we mean words made up of 2 or less frequently three roots and certain
collocations.
1. Single-accented compounds:
A. The largest group is formed by the combination of 2 nouns.
- The second noun indicates the performer of the action:
- ̀ baby-sitter
- The resulting compound may be a noun or an adjective:
- ̀ time-consuming
- The first noun delimits the meaning of the second by stating what
type of thing it is.
- ̀ school-bag
B. Formed by the combination of adjectives and nouns. Normally when a noun is
preceded by an adjective both are accented. However, when this combination
constitutes a specific, long-established compound, the first component tends
to carry the primary accent
- ̀ blackboard
cases where the adjective is an –ing form
- ̀ driving licence
C. Verbs and nouns sometimes combine
- ̀ pickpocket
D. Many two-word verbs give origin to nouns
- A `hold-up
2. Double-accented compounds:
A. Compounds made of nouns may be double-accented in the following cases:
- The first noun indicates the position of the second one
- ‘Country-`house
- The second noun is made of the first one:
- ‘plum `pudding
B. Formed by nouns and adjectives:
- Adjective + noun: ‘civil `war
- Noun + adjective: ‘world `wide
C. Participles make up some common compounds:
- ‘absent `minded
The distinctive function of accent:
We can distinguish between pairs of words of identical spelling and identical or similar
phonemic pattern.
In the case of simple words the tendency is for nouns and /or adjectives to be accented on the
first syllable and verbs on the last:
1. In most verbs the unaccented syllables contain a weak vowel, but this tendency is not
so strong in the case of nouns: / `aebstraekt/ adj. and noun and /Ə b`straekt/ verb.
Similarly: progress, contrast, protest, abject, permit, export, record
2. In a few cases it is only the accentual pattern which distinguishes between noun and
verb as in increase: noun / `inkris/ and verb / in`kris/. Similarly: import, transport,
insult, discount, digest, dictate
3. There are a few cases where accent does not function distinctively, f. i: verbs and
nouns/ adjectives have the same phonemic and accentual forms: ex`press, `process,
de`posit, `comment, ad`dress.
Accentuation in connected speech:
In connected speech we make some words stand out with respect to others, according to the
amount and type of information they carry.
In general content words are likely to be accented in an utterance: nouns, principal verbs,
adjectives and adverbs. Structural words tend to be unaccented: auxiliary verbs, personal,
reflexive and relative pronouns, prepositions, articles, possessive adjectives and conjunctions.
There is, however, a group of structural words which are frequently accented: demonstrative
and possessive pronouns, interrogative words and negative anomalous finites.
Gradation:
It is the process of phonemic changes which consists that the majority of unaccented syllables
contain either a vowel of a centralized quality /Ə, i, u, iƏ, uƏ/ or none at all.
Gradation is very evident in words which exist on their own (man, board) and at the same part
form part of compounds: cupboard /`kΛbƏd/, gentleman /`ʤentlmƏn/. Many English place
names provide further examples of this process: Scotland /`skotlƏnd/, Oxford /`oksfƏd/.
Weak-form words:
A group of about 50 structural words presenting a very high frequency of occurrence in
the English language are also subject to gradation. The group of structural words which
can undergo gradation present different phonemic patterns depending on accentuation or
prominence and in some cases position in the utterance.
These structural words which we call weak-form words are said to have one or more weak
forms, which will always be unaccented or non-prominent in an utterance and a strong form,
which will always be accented or prominent.
Since structural words are seldom accented or prominent or used in isolation, the weak forms
are the most frequent pronunciations of these words.
Weak-form words are characterized by obscuration towards a centralized vowel quality and/or
elision of a vowel or consonant.
The essential weak-forms:
1. The seven adjectival words:
Word Weak-
for
m
A /Ə/ Used before consonant sounds and semivowels
An /Ən/ Used before vowels
The /đƏ/ Used before consonant sounds and semivowels
Some /sm˛/ Used when it means “an indefinite quantity of”. The
strong form /sΛm/ is used when contrasted with the
other(s) and when used as a pronoun.
His /iz / Not used after a pause or as a pronoun
Her /3/ Not used after a pause
Saint / sn˛t/ Only used before names
2. The six pronouns:
Word Weak-
for
m
He /i/ Not used after a pause
Him /im/ Also in himself
Her /3/ Also in herself
Us 1./s/
2./Əs/
1. Used after let in suggestions, but not with the
meaning of allow. 2. Not used after let with the meaning
of suggestion.
Them /đm˛/ Also in themselves
There /đƏ/ Used anticipatorily before he verb to be, but never as an
adverb of place.
3. The five conjunctions:
Word Weak-
for
m
And 1./Ən/2./n˛/ 1. Generally used after vowels 2. Generally used after /t,
d/ and all fricatives
As /Əz/
But /bƏt/
Than /đƏn/
That /đƏt/ Also used as a relative pronoun, but never as a
demonstrative
4. The five prepositions:
Word Weak-
for
m
At /Ət/
For /fƏ/
From /frƏm/
Of /Əv/
To /tƏ/
When any of the 5 prepositions occur finally in a clause, they take the strong form:
- What are you looking at? /aet/
-
Before unaccented personal pronouns, they may also take the strong form
5. The fifteen anomalous finites:
Word Weak-
for
m
Am 1. /m/ 2./Əm/ 1.Only used after I 2. used before I
Is /z/ Used after vowels sounds and after voiced consonants
except the sibilants. Not used after a pause
Are /Ə/
Was /wƏz/
Were /wƏ/
Have 1./v/ 2. /Əv/ 3.
/hƏv/
1. Used after I, we, you, they and generally after vowels
sounds 2. Used elsewhere 3. Only used after a pause
Has 1./z/ 2. /Əz/ 3. 1. Used after vowels sounds and after voiced
/hƏz/ consonants except the sibilants. Not used after a pause
2. Only used after the sibilants 3. Only used after a
pause
had 1./d/ 2. /Əd/ 3.
/hƏd/
1. Used after I, he, she, we, you, they and generally after
vowels sounds 2. Used elsewhere 3. Only used after a
pause
Do /dƏ/ Used before consonant sounds
Does /dƏz/
Shall /Sl˛/
Will /l/ Not used after a pause. After /l/ it becomes /Əl/
Can /kƏn/
Must /mƏst/ Not usual before unstressed have
Would /d/ Used after I, he, she, we, you, they
When any of the 15 anomalous finites occur in final position, as in short answers, they
take the strong-form, whether accented or not. They also take the strong-form when
used as main verbs, as opposed to auxiliaries. The only exception is the verb to be.
General points to remember:
1. Weak forms consisting of a single consonant sound like those in which /h/ has been
dropped, are not to be used at the beginning of sentences or after pauses.
2. It is convenient to consider our as having only the pronunciation /a:/ (the compressed
form)
3. Some of the weak forms given may suffer further reduction as we move towards the
informal extreme of the scale of pronunciation styles: than /đn˛/, that /đt˛/, was
/wz˛/.
4. Some of them can also undergo assimilation: and /Əm, Əŋ/
Other weak forms:
Apart from the list of essential weak forms, there exist others which are optional and
others which are typical of the colloquial style of pronunciation.
The first group includes words such as could, should, would which can be pronounced with
either /Ə/ or /u/. Among the weak forms typical of informal speech are: I /Ə/, on /Ən/, till /tl˛/
Rhythm:
One of the basic principles governing English rhythm is the fact that the accented
syllables tend to be separated from each other by unaccented ones.
In actual speech the accented syllables are separated from each other by equal units of
time, that is, the rhythmic beats are isochronous. English rhythm shows a tendency
towards isochrony.
Each accented syllable constitutes the peak of prominence in a rhythmic group which
may or may not include other unaccented syllables. Sometimes unaccented syllables
could be equally attributed to the end of one group or the beginning of the next.
The foot is the unit of English rhythm, each foot always starting with an accented
syllable.
Stress-timed vs. syllable-timed rhythm:
English has a stress-timed rhythm because the accented syllables tend to occur at fairly
regular intervals. When 2 accented syllables are separated by unaccented syllables,
these tend to be compressed and quickened, so that the time between each beat will be
approximately the same as the time taken by 2 consecutive accented syllables.
Spanish can be said to have a syllable-timed rhythm because it is the syllables, either
accented or unaccented, which tend to occur at more or less regular intervals.
Intonation:
It is the rises and falls of the voice in speech.
The intonation system of English:
The English intonation system can be conveniently described in terms of 8 basic tones:
1. High level: syllable at a high, sustained pitch
2. Low level: syllable at a low, sustained pitch
3. Mid high: syllable begins at a mid pitch and rises to a high pitch.
4. High mid: syllable begins at a high pitch and falls to a mid pitch.
5. Low high: syllable begins at a low pitch and rises to a high pitch.
6. High low: syllable begins at a high pitch and falls to a low pitch.
7. Low mid: syllable begins at a low pitch and rises to a mid pitch.
8. Mid low: syllable begins at a mid pitch and falls to a low pitch.
Structure of the intonation unit:
1. Nucleus: It is the essential element of an intonation unit, which is the last accented
syllable acting as pitch movement initiator in the intonation unit and the tone on that
syllable is called nuclear tone
2. Tail: It often happens that the nucleus is followed by one or more unaccented syllables
forming the tail of the unit. There can be no accented syllables in the tail, but only
prominent ones.
3. Head: Apart from the accented syllable constituting the nucleus, there may be
(an)other accented words preceding it and forming the head of the intonation unit. A
head can be as short as one monosyllabic word.
4. Prehead: It consists of any unaccented and usually non-prominent syllables preceding
a head or nucleus. Preheads are normally said quickly on a low variety of mid pitch an
are left unmarked.
The meaning of an intonation unit depends on which words are made to stand out by means
of accent, because they carry most important information. Tonicity is the location of the
nuclear syllable.
Four syntactic classes for intonation:
1. Statements: Neutral conclusive statements take a falling tone:
- It´ s ‘starting to `rain.
Non-conclusive statements take some kind of rising tone:
- He ‘turned round suddenly and there she was
Enumerations take a rise on each element to indicate that the list is incomplete, and a fall
on the final element to indicate conclusiveness.
- I´ ve brought apples, peaches and ` oranges
A falling-rising nucleus indicates some kind of implication
Apologies take a divided falling-rising tone
- I´ m `terribly sorry
Awe and astonishment are expressed by means of rising-falling tone
- There were ^hundreds of them!
2. Questions:
a) Wh- questions: They normally take a falling intonation
- ´Where are my `gloves?
b) Yes/No questions: They are normally said on a rising tone
- Did you ‘ bring your camera?
c) Question tags: When expressing doubts they are said on a rising tone
- I `told you about it
- Did you?
When seeking confirmation of what has been said they take a falling intonation
- She is ‘ quite `pretty,` isn´ t she?
d) Alternative questions: They take rising intonation on the first element of
choice and a falling intonation on the second
- Shall we go out or stay at `home?
e) Echo questions: They are used to express incredulity or to ask for a
repetition you have misheard. They take a rising tone
- They´ve `won.
- ´Really?
This tone is used if the listener has not heard
- ´Pardon?
3. Commands: They take a verb in the imperative mood and take a falling intonation
- `Stop it!
Command may change from sharp orders to polite requests by the use of a fall plus
rise.
- `Pass me the ashtray, John.
A warning takes a falling-rising tone
- Be ` careful
4. Exclamations: They consist of a what or how phrase and take a falling intonation
- ‘ How lucky you happened to be `here!