Transcript Université de Savoie UFR-LLSH LCE1 UE 103 Lecture: Phonetics

Université de Savoie UFR-LLSH
LCE1 UE 103
Lecture: Phonetics & Phonology
Alice Henderson
[email protected]
Office 812
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Content of the 5 lectures
1) Introduction, Phonemes
2) Sounds in context, connected speech
3) Stress, accent & rhythm
4) Intonation
5) Conclusion
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Outline, Lecture 4
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Go over homework from Previous Lecture
Why rhythm, stress, intonation?
Stress, accent, pitch, tune
Sentence emphasis & focus
Chunking & pausing
Intonation: Definition & basic tunes
Functions
Conclusion
Bibliography
Homework from Previous Lecture
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Coalescence
Short review of basic word stress rules
Stress in two-word verbs
Coalescence
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A form of assimilation, Involves a fusion of forms
HW: /s/+ / j/becomes //,
/z/+ / j/ becomes
//
Of course you can W
 Let’s discuss your problems sW
 Don’t miss your lessons W
 Well, use your head. jW
 Well, practice your W
 Please yourself. W
 Just express yourself. s
 Revise your grammar.W
 You’re sure to pass your exams.W
 You’ll amaze your friends.WW
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Word Stress Rules
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2-syllable words
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3+-syllable words: 3 major categories
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Nouns & adjectives: usually on 1st syll.
Verbs: often on 2nd syllable
Stress on ending: -ee, -eer, -ese, -ette, -esque, ique
Stress 1 syll. before ending: -ic, -ion, -ity, …
Stress 2 sylls. before ending: -ate, -ize, -ary
Stress in Compounds
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Stress in compound nouns
Stress in 2-word verbs
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Separated: stress both
Together: one stress is lost
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Stress the adverb/preposition when it is at the end of a
tone unit
When a noun object follows, EITHER the verb or the
adverb/preposition can be stressed, according to the
rhythm
Two-word verbs
Separated: stress both
You’re winding me up
She shut the computer down
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Two-word verbs
Together: one stress is lost
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Stress the adverb/preposition when it is at the end of a tone unit
–
If you hope to break through
– The plane’s about to take off!
– come out
(« Hide & Seek » song)
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When a noun object follows, EITHER the verb or the
adverb/preposition can be stressed, according to the rhythm
She’s taken up stamp collecting
– We’ve run out of bread
– Turn up the heat
* I’ve just put away my books // I’ve put away my books
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Outline, Lecture 4
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Go over homework from Pevious Lecture
Why rhythm, stress, intonation?
Stress, accent, pitch, tune
Sentence emphasis & focus
Chunking & pausing
Intonation: Definition & basic tunes
Functions
Conclusion
Bibliography
Why?
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Fun?
Teachable?
Useful?
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For interacting with native speakers
For interacting with non-native speakers
How phenomena are related
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Stressed syllables are key to the rhythm of
English
Stressed syllables are often where intonation
starts to change (e.g. up or down)
Intonation signals different types of meaning on
different levels (grammatical, attitudinal, etc.)
Therefore, stress is KEY
What language acquisition
research shows
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Each lexical item we know « exists » as an
« entry » in our mental lexicon
Each entry has encoded information about the
lexical item, including the stress pattern
When listening, a person must be able to
retrieve that entry to understand the message
Therefore, if they do not have the correct entry
(incl. word stress) retrieval will be affected …
Implications?
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deviation from normal English stress patterns
can cause difficulty in the correct parsing of a
message (Setter, 9)
« word stress patterns are an integral part of
the phonological representations of words in
the mental lexicon » (Cutler, 1984, in Setter, 9)
This influences communication …
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Between native speakers
Between non-native speakers
Between NS and NNS
Examples (Bansal, 1966)
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‘Atmosphere / must fear
‘Yesterday / or study
‘Character / di’rector
‘Written / re’tain
Pre’fer / ‘fearful
Co’rrect / ‘carried
Importance of prosody
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Prosody = how pitch, loudness, length produce
accent, rhythm and intonation (Gimson, 6)
« prosody is the most critical feature in English
pronunciation » (Anderson-Hsieh et al. 1994) (in
Setter, 9)
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evidence that prosodic features are key to
intelligibility of a NNS pronunciation (Magen,
1998) (in Setter, 9)
Implications?
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Given the nature of English
Given the nature of language acquisition
Given the nature of sound perception
Teachers and learners of English should focus
on the importance of stress in order to avoid
misunderstandings
Example of rhymes
« provide a convenient framework for the
perception and the production of a number of
characteristic features of English pronunciation
which are often found to be problematic for
learners: stress/unstress (and therefore the
basis for intonation), vowel length, vowel
reduction, elision, compression, pause
(between adjacent stresses) ». (Marks,
1999,198)
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Full circle …
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stress/unstress (and therefore the basis for intonation)
vowel length= distinction between live/leave, blue/book
vowel reduction= to schwa in unstressed syllables
elision= losing /t/ and /d/
compression= hour/ « ah »
pause (between adjacent stresses)= the factor of
rhythm
Outline, Lecture 4
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Go over homework from Previous Lecture
Why rhythm, stress, intonation?
Stress, accent, pitch, tune
Sentence emphasis & focus
Chunking & pausing
Intonation: Definition & basic tunes
Functions
Conclusion
Bibliography
Stress & Pitch
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Stress in English: a syllable is
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Longer
Louder
On a higher pitch
Stress & Accent
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Stress is not the same as accent
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Accent marks the beginning of a change in
tune
Regular rhythm in music: stress
•••••••••••• // ••••••••••••
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4 stresses per breath group
Regular rhythm in music: accent
•
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••••••••••
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5 stresses
2 accents
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//
••••••••••
Accent, Tune & Pitch
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A change in tune involves a change in pitch
Outline, Lecture 4
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Go over homework from Previous Lecture
Why rhythm, stress, intonation?
Stress, accent, pitch, tune
Sentence emphasis & focus
Chunking & pausing
Intonation: Definition & basic tunes
Functions
Conclusion
Bibliography
Sentence emphasis …
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Stress content words: nouns, main verbs,
negative auxiliaries, adverbs, adjectives
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Use weak forms for structure words: pronouns,
prepositions, articles, ‘to be’ verbs,
conjunctions, auxiliary verbs
Tune & sentence emphasis
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Tune change starts on one of the last content
words …. usually.
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Speakers can choose which information to
highlight by choosing where to start changing
the tune
Focus on last content word
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What’s the matter?
Where are you going?
Put some milk in it.
Could we go home?
How have you been?
Let’s have a look at it.
Broad focus
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I’ve lost my keys.
My train leaves on Monday the fourth.
She’s lost her bag.
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red= stress, green= accent
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Narrow focus
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End: We’re not ready!
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Middle: What’s happened in here?!
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Beginning: Here they are!
Try it …
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A: Are you from France?
B: No, I’m from Sweden.
A: How long have you been here?
B: I’ve been here for a month.
A: What are you studying?
B: Physics.
A: Do you find physics difficult?
B: Yes, a little.
Try it …
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A: Are you from France?
B: No, I’m from Sweden.
A: How long have you been here?
B: I’ve been here for a month.
A: What are you studying?
B: Physics.
A: Do you find physics difficult?
B: Yes, a little.
Now try this one ….
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A: Do you think the food here is expensive?
B: Not really.
A: Well, I think it’s expensive.
B: That’s because you eat in restaurants.
A: Where do you eat?
B: I cook at home.
A: I didn’t know you could cook?!
B: Well, I can’t, so I just eat bread and cheese.
A: That’s so unhealthy!
B: No it isn’t. And I like bread and cheese.
Answers:
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A: Do you think the food here is expensive?
B: Not really.
A: Well, I think it’s expensive.
B: That’s because you // eat in restaurants.
A: Where do you eat?
B: I cook at home.
A: I didn’t know // that you could cook?!
B: Well, I can’t, so I just eat bread and cheese.
A: That’s so unhealthy!
B: Maybe, // but I like bread and cheese.
The Nucleus
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Syllable where the tune begins to change (rise,
fall)
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Look at the « green » words (accent)
Exercises from the Web
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Web Tutorials at University College of London
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Focus
Outline, Lecture 4
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Go over homework from Previous Lecture
Why rhythm, stress, intonation?
Stress, accent, pitch, tune
Sentence emphasis & focus
Chunking & pausing
Intonation: Definition & basic tunes
Functions
Conclusion
Bibliography
Chunking & Pausing
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The power of silence ….
Signals « chunks » of meaning
Chunks = thought groups, meaning units
Chunks= words which go together to express
one idea or thought
Pause + falling tune = end of a thought group
in English
Where do we pause?
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Before conjunctions & prepositions
Before relative clauses
Between grammatical units (subject, predicate)
At punctuation
UCL Web tutorials: Chunking
Try this …Insert the pauses
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A: Who’s coming to the party tonight?
B: Tom.
A: Just Tom?
B: No, Tom and Matt.
A: No one else?
B: Well, Sue’s coming, too.
A: Alone?
B: No, with Anne.
A: So, that’s Tom and Matt and Sue and Anne. Is that it?
B: Oh, and Stella. On her own.
A: So, that’s Tom and Matt and Sue and Anne and Stella.
Answers:
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A: Who’s coming to the party tonight?
B: Tom.
A: Just Tom?
B: No, // Tom and Matt.
A: No one else?
B: Well, // Sue’s coming, too.
A: Alone?
B: No,// with Anne.
A: So, // that’s Tom and Matt // and Sue and Anne. // Is that it?
B: Oh, // and Stella. // On her own.
A: So, // that’s Tom and Matt // and Sue and Anne // and Stella.
Try this one …
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1a)The man and the woman dressed in black
came out of the cinema.
1b) The man, and the woman dressed in black,
came out of the cinema.
2a) Alfred said, « The boss is stupid. »
2b) « Alfred, » said the boss, « is stupid . »
3a) If you finish, quickly leave the room.
3b) If you finish quickly, leave the room.
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1a)The man and the woman dressed in black //
came out of the cinema.
1b) The man,// and the woman dressed in
black, // came out of the cinema.
2a) Alfred said, // « The boss is stupid. »
2b) « Alfred, » // said the boss, // « is stupid . »
3a) If you finish, // quickly leave the room.
3b) If you finish quickly,// leave the room.
Outline, Lecture 4
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Go over homework from Previous Lecture
Why rhythm, stress, intonation?
Stress, accent, pitch, tune
Sentence emphasis & focus
Chunking & pausing
Intonation: Definition & basic tunes
Functions
Conclusion
Bibliography
What is it? Why do we use it?
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Rise & fall in pitch
To express a range of meanings, emotions or
situations
To add more meaning despite English’s fixed
word order
Punctuation  pauses & pitch change
Expressing emotional range and
contextual « importance »
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French and other Romance languages: stress
the end of a sentence, and then use word
order to indicate an important change.
Other languages, such as Chinese
(Cantonese), have a pitch change that
indicates different vocabulary words,
and then superimpose further pitch change to
change meaning or emotion.
Basic Tunes
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French: predominantly  (rising)
English: predominantly  (falling)
Out of curiosity: Finnish?
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English also uses:
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Fall-rise & rise-fall
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Tunes on a single syllable
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Yes, No
Speaker’s choice: vary pitch or not
How many different ways can you say them?
How many different meanings can you
communciate?
Basic tunes
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 (rising): Message is
« Open »
– Incomplete
– Uncertain
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 (falling): Message is
Closed
– Final
– Certain
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Tunes in questions
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Getting information 
Where do you live?
 Where are you from?
What do you do for a living?
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Checking information
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 « closed » messages, where you’re almost certain
about the information
 « open » messages, where you’re not very sure
 asking for repetition
Tunes in questions:  « checking »
closed messages
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You’re not from around here, are you?
Presumably you know Jill then?
Is that the station over there?
You don’t play tennis, do you?
Tunes in questions:  « checking » open
messages
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You like chocolate, don’t you?
That’s her new boyfriend, isn’t it?
You’ve been to London before, right?
You’ve skied before, haven’t you?
Tunes in questions:  asking for
repetition
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A: How many people did you invite?
B: Fifty.
A: Fifty?
B: Yes, fifty.
Try these …
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This train is for Leeds, York, Darlington and
Durham.
Can you give me a lift? // Possibly. Where to?
No! Certainly not! Go away!
Did you know he’d been convicted of drunken
driving? // No!
If I give him money he goes and spends it.
He’s completely irresponsible.
Answers:
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This train is for  Leeds,  York,  Darlington
and  Durham.
Can you give me a  lift? //  Possibly. Where
 to?
 No! Certainly  not! Go  away!
Did you know he’d been convicted of drunken
 driving? //  No!
If I give him  money he goes and  spends it.
He’s completely  irresponsible.
Outline, Lecture 4
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Go over homework from Previous Lecture
Why rhythm, stress, intonation?
Stress, accent, pitch, tune
Sentence emphasis & focus
Chunking & pausing
Intonation: Definition & basic tunes
Functions
Conclusion
Bibliography
Functions of intonation
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Focussing function: to draw attention to
important information, a deliberate choice by
the speaker
Grammatical function: to distinguish
grammatical categories of words and/or status
of all or part of an utterance
Attitudinal function: a powerful tool for
communicating our emotions
Focussing Function
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« accentual function »
Meet
S
me
at
home
S
at
five
S
A
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Contrastive Stress
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I must find SOME
I must FIND some
I MUST find some
I must find some
Contrastive Stress
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SOME= important to find at least a bit
FIND= verb is important
MUST= absolute necessity of finding
I= me and nobody else
Grammatical Function
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But often the grammar determines the placement of the
nucleus
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Word classes
Nouns & noun phrases (compounds)
Syntactic distinctions
Probably the least important function
Other clues help the listener to decode meaning
*Remember: English is extremely redundant
Grammatical Function
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Word classes: Noun / Verb
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IMport / imPORT
DIScount / disCOUNT
TAKE off / take OFF
DROP out / drop OUT
Grammatical Function
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Nouns & noun phrases (compounds)
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GREENhouse / green HOUSE
TALLboy/ tall BOY
BLACKbird / black BIRD
BIGhead / big HEAD
Grammatical Function
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Defining & non-defining relative clauses
Adverbials
Vocatives & apositives
Attitudinal Function
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Neutral vs offensive/nasty/grumpy
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Positive vs negative
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This is my book / no it’s not, it’s mine
Surprise
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Shall we have dinner together then? Yes, fine
Oh what a lovely gift
Polite vs impolite
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Would you like some help? No, thank you
How many times do I have to tell you
I hear they’ve had triplets
Implication (extra meaning to words)
–
What do you think of her partner? / Great
Conclusion
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Stress, accent, pitch, tune
Sentence emphasis, focus
Chunking & pausing: where, why
Basic tunes of English & their functions
Bibliography
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Cruttenden, (ed.), (2001), Gimson’s Pronunciation of English, 6th edition,
Arnold, London.
Marks, J., (1999), « Is stress-timing real? », ELT Journal, 53, 3, pp 19199.
Roach, (1991), English Phonetics & Phonology, Cambridge University
Press.
Rogerson & Gilbert, (1990), Speaking Clearly, Cambridge University
Press.
Setter, J. and J. Jenkins, (2005), « State of the art review article:
Pronunciation », Language Teaching Journal, N° 38, pp1-17.
« Summer Course in English Phonetics », University College London,
Summer 2004.
Wells, J.C., (2004), « Where does the nucles go? », UCL.