Suprasegmentals: Part 2

Transcription

1 Suprasegmentals: Part 2 Marla Yoshida University of California Irvine Extension International Programs Teaching English as a Foreign Language Certificate Program Second Edition 1

2 Review Segmental features of pronunciation: The individual sounds (phonemes) of a language vowels and consonants. Suprasegmental features of pronunciation: Aspects of pronunciation that affect more than just one sound segment, such as stress, rhythm, and intonation the musical aspects of pronunciation. 2

3 Suprasegmental Features of English Part 2 Thought groups / Intonation units Sentence Stress / Prominence Intonation These topics are in Suprasegmentals Part 1: Word stress Rhythm Adjustments in connected speech 3

4 Thought Groups A group of spoken words that form a grammatical and semantic unit is called a thought group. It is often a sentence, a clause, or a phrase a chunk of language that feels like a logical unit. Because each thought group has its own intonation contour, a thought group can also be called an intonation unit. 4

5 Thought Groups When we speak, we often break up long sentences into smaller thought groups, with a short pause between them. This makes it easier for listeners to follow what we re saying. Whenever I do my homework / I get sleepy. / I really should go to bed earlier, / I suppose. / I ll try to get more sleep tonight. / We usually don t pause within a thought group. 5

6 Thought Groups If a speaker doesn t pause much, listeners will have a hard time understanding what he or she is saying. On the other hand, if the speaker pauses too often, the sentences can seem choppy and hard to understand. 6

7 Thought Groups Still, there s not just one way to divide thought groups. A faster speaker may pause less often, and a slower one, more often. Sometimes the speaker slows down, but doesn t stop. Listen to different ways to read this passage: / Once upon a time, there was a beautiful / / / / / // / // princess who lived in a big castle with her father, the king, and her mother, the queen. Even though she had everything she asked for, she was not very happy. 7

8 Thought Groups Here s another way to read the same passage: Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess who lived in a big castle with her / / father, the king, and her mother, the queen. Even though she had everything she asked for, she was not very happy. // / // / 8

9 Sentence Stress/Prominence Every thought group has one syllable that receives more stress than the others. This is called sentence stress or prominence. Prominence can be given to an important word or one that the speaker wants to highlight. I saw an ELephant in the parking lot! 9

10 Sentence Stress/Prominence Prominence is usually given to new rather than old information. new information I just read a really good book. What kind of book? A phonology book. new information old information 10

11 Sentence Stress/Prominence Words that are in contrast to each other can be stressed. This is called contrastive stress. I said I wanted COFfee, not TEA! ToDAY I ll study, but tomorrow I ll go to the beach. 11

12 Sentence Stress/Prominence If the speaker doesn t want to emphasize anything in particular, the sentence stress is usually on the last content word* in the sentence. This is the unmarked, or normal pattern. What are you planning to DO? I think I ll do my HOMEwork now. See you LATer! * Content words are nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs--the ones that carry information and real meaning. 12

13 Intonation Intonation is the pitch* pattern of a sentence the melody of your voice as you speak. Every language has intonation. But each language has its own characteristic patterns for different kinds of sentences. We often don t notice the intonation of our own language because we re so used to it, but it s there. * Pitch is the relative highness or lowness of the voice. This is a high pitch: and this is a low pitch: Z. The sequence of high and low pitches makes up a pitch pattern. Z 13

14 Intonation English has more ups and downs in its intonation than some other languages. The range between the high notes and the low notes is relatively wide. This sometimes makes it difficult for students to get used to using natural-sounding patterns. 14

15 Intonation Intonation and stress work together. The intonation of a sentence has a bump up on the prominent syllable. prominent syllable intonation contour I want a cup of COFfee. 15

16 Intonation Intonation in English can depend on many things: the grammatical form of the sentence assumptions about what the listener knows or does not know the speaker s emotions and intentions the speaker s age, occupation, and personality the situation: serious or silly, formal or informal, at work or at home and many, many more factors that often seem random and unpredictable. 16

17 Intonation We can t describe or analyze all of these factors, and we certainly don t want to confuse our students with too much detail. The best plan is to teach students some basic patterns that will work reliably. As time goes on, they can be exposed to more and more patterns through movies, TV, conversations, etc. 17

18 Intonation In the next slides, we ll see lines that represent intonation contours. The second edition of Teaching Pronunciation uses rounded drawings of intonation patterns. The first edition used more angular drawings. Both styles represent the same idea. I m including the older patterns here along with the newer ones because you might see either style in textbooks. It s helpful to look at both. 18

19 Intonation Now let s look at some of the basic intonation patterns of English, classified by sentence type. We ll see two separate drawings for each pattern--the new notation and the older notation from Teaching Pronunciation. 19

20 Intonation: Basic Patterns Statements use rising-falling intonation. The pitch goes up on the last prominent syllable, and then down at the end. I enjoy doing my homework. Homework is fun. 2nd ed. 20

21 Intonation: Basic Patterns Statements use rising-falling intonation. The pitch goes up on the last prominent syllable, and then down at the end. I enjoy doing my homework. Homework is fun. 1st ed. 21

22 Intonation: Basic Patterns Commands and requests also often use risingfalling intonation (although this also depends on the feeling of the command or request.) Please write your name on your paper. Come here. 2nd ed. 22

23 Intonation: Basic Patterns Commands and requests also often use risingfalling intonation (although this also depends on the feeling of the command or request.) Please write your name on your paper. Come here. 1st ed. 23

24 Intonation: Basic Patterns Yes/no questions use rising intonation. The pitch goes up at the end of the question. Do you like doing homework? Does everyone understand? 2nd ed. 24

25 Intonation: Basic Patterns Yes/no questions use rising intonation. The pitch goes up at the end of the question. Do you like doing homework? Does everyone understand? 1st ed. 25

26 Intonation: Basic Patterns WH- questions, which begin with question words like when, where, or who, usually use rising-falling intonation. When did you do your homework? What time is it? 2nd ed. 26

27 Intonation: Basic Patterns WH- questions, which begin with question words like when, where, or who, usually use rising-falling intonation. When did you do your homework? What time is it? 1st ed. 27

28 Intonation: Basic Patterns Or questions have rising intonation on the first part and rising-falling intonation at the end. Would you like coffee or tea? But if the choices are seen as one unit, the intonation can go up at the end. Would you like coffee or tea? (That is, would you like a something to drink?) 2nd ed. 28

29 Intonation: Basic Patterns Or questions have rising intonation on the first part and rising-falling intonation at the end. Would you like coffee or tea? But if the choices are seen as one unit, the intonation can go up at the end. Would you like coffee or tea? (That is, would you like something to drink?) 1st ed. 29

30 Intonation: Basic Patterns Lists have the same intonation pattern as or questions: up on the first parts, down at the end. I like coffee, tea, and milk. Let s sit down, talk and relax. 2nd ed. 30

31 Intonation: Basic Patterns Lists have the same intonation pattern as or questions: up on the first parts, down at the end. I like coffee, tea, and milk. Let s sit down, talk and relax. 1st ed. 31

32 Intonation: Basic Patterns Tag questions can have either rising or falling intonation with different meanings. Rising: I really don t know the answer. This is the way to the library, isn t it? Falling: I really know the answer; I m just making conversation. It s a nice day, isn t it? 2nd ed. 32

33 Intonation: Basic Patterns Tag questions can have either rising or falling intonation with different meanings. Rising: I really don t know the answer. This is the way to the library, isn t it? Falling: I really know the answer; I m just making conversation. It s a nice day, isn t it? 1st ed. 33

34 Intonation: Basic Patterns Repetition questions: If you don t hear something the first time and want someone to repeat it, you can ask for a repetition using rising intonation: Where did you go? ordinary question I went to mumble mumble. What? Where did you go? repetition question 2nd ed. 34

35 Intonation: Basic Patterns Repetition questions: If you don t hear something the first time and want someone to repeat it, you can ask for a repetition using rising intonation: Where did you go? ordinary question I went to mumble mumble. What? Where did you go? repetition question 1st ed. 35

36 Intonation: Basic Patterns Rising intonation can sound surprised. It can also turn a statement into a question. I saw an elephant at Star bucks! An elephant? Surprised questions You saw an elephant? 2nd ed. 36

37 Intonation: Basic Patterns Rising intonation can sound surprised. It can also turn a statement into a question. I saw an elephant at Star bucks! An elephant? Surprised questions You saw an elephant? 1st ed. 37

38 Intonation: Basic Patterns Incomplete sentences: If we don t complete a sentence, or if we pause at the end of a clause, the intonation stops at a mid level. I d like to take a vacation, but... When I get rich, I ll take a vacation. 2nd ed. 38

39 Intonation: Basic Patterns Incomplete sentences: If we don t complete a sentence, or if we pause at the end of a clause, the intonation stops at a mid level. I d like to take a vacation, but... When I get rich, I ll take a vacation. 1st ed. 39

40 Rhythm and Intonation People often wonder: What s the difference between rhythm and intonation? Rhythm is just the beat the timing of the syllables. Intonation is the melody the changes in pitch. Together they make the music of language. 40

41 Summary of Part 2 Suprasegmental features are the aspects of pronunciation that affect more than just one sound segment. They include: Thought groups / Intonation units Sentence Stress / Prominence Intonation 41