Stress, Rhythm, & Intonation in Spoken English

Stress, Rhythm, & Intonationin Spoken English Teaching English in English Incheon Education Training Institute Studies in American Language San Jose State University Spring 2010 Elizabeth Beacham

Review of Terminology • Stress • The linguistic means of making a syllable more “prominent”

Review of Terminology • Stress • The linguistic means of making a syllable more “prominent” • This is done by changing the • ________ • ________ • ________ of the vowel in the stressed syllable

Review of Terminology • Stress • The linguistic means of making a syllable more “prominent” • This is done by changing the • Pitch • Length • Volume of the vowel in the stressed syllable

Review of Terminology • Rhythm • *At the phrase or sentence level* • Patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables that create the “music” or “melody” of a language

Review of Terminology • Rhythm • *At the phrase or sentence level* • Patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables that create the “music” or “melody” of a language • The workers are going on strike tomorrow.

Review of Terminology • Rhythm • *At the phrase or sentence level* • Patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables that create the “music” or “melody” of a language • The WORkers are GOing on STRIKE toMORrow. ____ __ _

Review of Terminology • Rhythm • The WORkers are GOing on STRIKE toMORrow. ____ ___ ** When determining the rhythm of an English utterance, look first for the content words—they are usually the words that will contain the “beats” in the rhythm. **

Review of Terminology • Rhythm • In the utterance below: • How many syllables total? _____ • How many “beats”? ____ “She would’ve liked to have gone to the movie.” _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ • : • “ • “ • “

Review of Terminology • Rhythm • In the utterance below: • How many syllables total? Eleven • How many “beats”? Three “She would’ve liked to have gone to the movie.” _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ • Content words: • “Liked” (verb) / “Gone” (verb) / “Movie” (noun) • “She” = unstressedbecause it is a pronoun • “would’ve” = unstressedbecause it is a modal verb

Review of Terminology “She would’ve liked to have gone to the movie.” _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ /ʃiywʊdəvlayktuwhəvgɑntəðəmuwviy/

Review of Terminology • Intonation • *At the sentence level* • Patterns of pitch changes and variations within a phrase or utterance • Often conveys the speaker’s mood, intentions, attitude • The variations still follow rhythm patterns (stressed syllables are the ones that receive the pitch changes—overall pitch changes made in relation to the other pitches in the whole phrase or utterance) Are  you ready yet?  You can’t  be serious! 

Review of Terminology • Rhythm & Contrastive Stress Think about the context of the utterance—what words are probably the most “important” to the speaker? They will likely carry the “beats.” These may sometimes be function words: • A: “Are you going to the theatre?” • B: “No, I’m coming fromthe theatre.”

Contrastive Stress I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not sayyou stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat.

Contrastive Stress I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not sayyou stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. (She said you did.)

Contrastive Stress I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not sayyou stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. (She said you did.) (I completely, strongly deny it.)

Contrastive Stress I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not sayyou stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. (She said you did.) (I completely, strongly deny it.) (I impliedit.)

Contrastive Stress I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not sayyou stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. (She said you did.) (I completely, strongly deny it.) (I impliedit.) (I said she stole it.)

Contrastive Stress I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not sayyou stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. (She said you did.) (I completely, strongly deny it.) (I impliedit.) (I said she stole it.) (I said you borrowed it.)

Contrastive Stress I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not sayyou stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. (She said you did.) (I completely, strongly deny it.) (I impliedit.) (I said she stole it.) (I said you borrowed it.) (I said you stole her red hat.)

Contrastive Stress I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not sayyou stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. (She said you did.) (I completely, strongly deny it.) (I impliedit.) (I said she stole it.) (I said you borrowed it.) (I said you stole her red hat.) (I said you stole my blue one.)

Contrastive Stress I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not sayyou stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. I did not say you stole my red hat. (She said you did.) (I completely, strongly deny it.) (I impliedit.) (I said she stole it.) (I said you borrowed it.) (I said you stole her red hat.) (I said you stole my blue one.) (I said you stole my red bat.)

Stress, Rhythm, & Intonation in Spoken English