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Université de Savoie UFR-LLSH
LCE1 UE 103
Lecture: Phonetics & Phonology
Alice Henderson
[email protected]
Office 812
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Contents 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 of the lecture
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Finish up & review last week’s material
Suprasegmental aspects
Pitch
Full & reduced syllables
Rhythm
Stress & Accent
Intonation: breath groups, basic tunes
Conclusion
Bibliography
Review
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Assimilation
Tom and Patricia
(n becomes m)
Elision
Time and again
(final /d/disappears)
Compression/
smoothing
Liaison/ linking
It took an hour.
This peak is higher than that one.
Chester and Liverpool
Time and again
Review
5
Assimilation
A sound changes because of another sound
Elision
A sound disappears
Compression/
smoothing
Usually refers to diphthongs which lose an
element
Liaison/
linking
Smooth glide or movement from one sound
to another (C+V, V+V, C+C)
Assimilation
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Two types:
–
–
Anticipatory assimilation = a sound changes to
become more like the next sound
Coalescent assimilation= two sounds join
together to become a third sound
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(coalesce= to become one)
/d/ or /t/ + /j/ become  jam or t child
/s/ or /z/ /j/ become  shoe or 
measure
Anticipatory assimilation of /n t d /
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/n/ becomes /m/ or
/d/ can become
–
–
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/t/ can become
–
–
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/b/ (before /b/ or /p/)
/g/ (before /g/ or /k/)
/p/ (before /b/ or /p/)
/k/ (before /g/ or /k/)
« then go then »
Coalescence
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/d/ or /t/ + /j/ become
jam or
Extremely common in ordinary speech
Where dja wanna go?
Whatcha wanna do?
Doncha wanna go ta town?
Couldntcha tell me right away?
Where dja wanna meet?
Wontcha tell me where?
Didja tell the others?
Whatcha like ta drink?
I’ letcha know.
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child
Coalescence
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/s/ and /z/ can also coalesce with /j/
/s/ + /j/ = shop, she, ship, dish
/z/ + /j/ = pleasure, television, camouflage
Elision of /t/ and /d/
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At the end of word
Between two other consonants
The morning was perfect.
It was a perfect morning.
It was a perfectly marvellous morning.
What does she want ?
She wants ten pounds of butter.
I just love baked potatoes.
He finds it really boring.
Elision of /t/ and /d/
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At the end of word
Between two other consonants
The morning was perfect.
It was a perfect morning.
It was a perfectly marvellous morning.
What does she want ?
She wants ten pounds of butter.
I just love baked potatoes.
He finds it really boring.
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Word stress review
a)
b)
c)
d)
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the place names are either monosyllables OR are
stressed on the first syllable (normal for 2-syllable
nouns)
the verbs are either monosyllables OR are stressed on
the second syllable (normal for many 2-syllable verbs)
all the 3-syllable nouns at the end of lines are stressed on
the 2nd syllable either because they derive from verbs
which are stressed on the 2nd syllable OR because they
are loan words ending in a vowel sound
the two loan words with 4 syllables have primary stress
on the 3rd syllable and secondary stress on the 1st
syllable
Stress in compounds
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If the compound is a noun, stress 1st part
– GREENhouse, BLACKbird
If the compound is an adjective, stress the 2nd part:
– Bad-TEMPERED, old-FASHIONED
If the compound is a verb, stress the 2nd part:
– underSTAND, overLOOK, drop OUT
** WHY?? He wanted to DROP out of SCHOOL.
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Two-word verbs
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Definition: a verb + preposition/ particle/ adverb, not a literal
translation of the two elements
Two simple cases
– Two words separated: stress both words
– Two words together: behave like one word, so lose one
stress, *rhythm plays a role
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Stress the second element at the end of a breath group
–
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IF a noun object follows, either element may be stressed,
depending on the overall rhythm of the sentence
–
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You’d better look out. His dog was run over.
I’ve put away my books already. - I’ve just put away my books.
Try ….
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Wake them up before it’s too late.
She tried them on at the store.
I won’t let her put you down like that!
I wouldn’t turn that job offer down.
If you talk back, you’ll be in trouble!
The plane’s about to take off!
She should stand up for herself more.
Turn off the lights before you leave.
I could really do with a bit of chocolate.
Try ….
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Wake them up before it’s too late.
She tried them on at the store.
I won’t let her put you down like that!
I wouldn’t turn that job offer down.
If you talk back // you’ll be in trouble!
The plane’s about to take off!
She should stand up // for herself more.
Turn off the lights before you leave.
I could really do with a bit of chocolate.
Four basic rules for learners
1) You have to stress the correct syllables and
the reduced syllables should never be
toooooo long. The schwa esp. is very short.
2) Link individual words to keep rhythm flowing.
3) Linking is easier if you elide, esp. /d/ and /t/
between consonants.
4) Use anticipatory & coalescent assimilationthey’re natural.
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Outline of the lecture
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Finish up & review last week’s material
Suprasegmental aspects
Pitch
Full & reduced syllables
Rhythm
Stress & Accent
Intonation: breath groups, basic tunes
Conclusion
Bibliography
Suprasegmental aspects
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Stress, rhythm and intonation
Refer to entire syllables or groups of
syllables and NOT to individual phonemes
Involve variations of loudness, of length, of
pitch
Also called prosodic aspects
Pitch
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Pitch
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A dimension of our perception of the vibration of
the vocal folds (cords)
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High, low, middle- a different range for each
speaker
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We automatically adapt to this range
Pitch
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Drawn as in music = a stave « une portée »
I can’t remember his telephone number.
_________________________________
• • • •• •
•
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••
••
Outline of the lecture
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Suprasegmental aspects
Pitch
Full & reduced syllables
Rhythm
Stress & Accent
Intonation: breath groups, basic tunes
Conclusion
Bibliography
Full & reduced syllables
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Unequal syllables
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Syllables in English are not equal
Not the same degree of « noticeability »,
prominence
Syllables
Full
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Reduced
Full v reduced
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Reduced syllable: contains one of these vowels
about, thank you, happy
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OR contains a syllabic consonant
–
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suddenly, middle
Full syllable: contains one or more of the other
vowels
Full syllables
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Like a pulsation
A louder element
A more prominent element
–
*almost always consists of a vowel but may
include consonants before & after
cat, water, tomorrow, anybody
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Outline of the lecture
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Suprasegmental aspects
Pitch
Full & reduced syllables
Rhythm
Stress & Accent
Intonation: breath groups, basic tunes
Conclusion
Bibliography
Rhythm
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Rhythm
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The beat of English is carried by more “noticeable”
syllables
–
–
–
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Longer
Louder
Higher pitch
Reduced syllables are inserted between these
Regular rhythm of a limerick:
There was a young man of Devizes
Whose ears were of different sizes
One was so small
It was no use at all
But the other won several prizes
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Regular rhythm of music
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Paul Simon songs:
The Obvious Child
–
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I Can’t Run
–
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Keeping the same beat but inserting more or
fewer syllables
Layering instruments, all the different « voices »
merge into one dominant rhythm
Less regular rhythm
I 'can’t remember his 'telephone number.
_________________________________
• • • •• •
•
••
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Replace les mots with
and imitate
the tune. What happens to
?
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Advice for learners
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Frequent problem: too many full syllables
Advice: emphasize
–
–
–
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syllables which carry tonic stress (word stress)
lexical words
« laisser faire » grammatical/function words
Try …
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Arrive Chicago Tuesday
Invite all friends
Forgotten post letter
Invite friends party
Hire car week August
Visit sister hospital London
A few possibilities:
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I’m arriving in Chicago on Tuesday.
I’m going to invite all of my friends.
I’ve forgotten to post your letter.
We could invite your friends to our party.
You should hire a car for a week in August.
You should visit your sister while she’s in
hospital in London.
What’s missing?
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Have ___ drink.
___ course
What ___ ___ for?
__ sorry
__ want __ know.
___ cold ___ night.
___ used ___ go ___bed ___ nine.
___ must __ back __ six __ ‘clock
Rhythm practice
Hit the main stressed syllables (shown in bold in the first
three verses).
2)
Watch out for the weak syllables in the names ; many of
them start with an reduced syllable containing schwa.
3)
Also watch out for the weak forms of short grammatical
words such as to, and, that, of.
4)
Make the links between words where necessary
5) Don’t be afraid to leave out (elide) the occasional sound.
For example, and often loses its final /d/ especially when
followed by a consonant.
1)
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A few words about … Clipping
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Clipping = shortening, chopping
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Two types:
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–
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Rhythmic clipping
Pre-fortis clipping
Rhythmic clipping
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Rhythmic clipping (shortening, borrowing)
When a full syllable is followed by one or
more reduced syllables, the full syllable is
shortened/ chopped
man / manage / management
rye /awry / arriving
go / going
got / forgotten
Pre-fortis clipping
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Compare the length of the vowel :
god / got
bag / back
kim/ kip
head / het
*Fortis sounds: p
t
k
f
s
*Lenis sounds: 




h
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Outline of the lecture
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Suprasegmental aspects
Pitch
Full & reduced syllables
Rhythm
Stress & Accent
Intonation: breath groups, basic tunes
Conclusion
Bibliography
Stress & Accent
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Stress? Accent?
Full syllable
Unstressed
syllable
Stressed
syllable
Unaccented
syllable
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Accented
syllable
Stressed
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Syllables which carry the rhythm, the beat
–
–
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Longer
Louder
More general term than accent
Accented
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A syllable that is more prominent because of
a change in pitch
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Syllables which indicate variations of pitch
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(prominence = the degree of noticeability)
Stress? Accent?
I 'can’t remember his 'telephone number.
_________________________________
• • • •• •
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••
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4 stresses
2 accented syllables = variations of tone
Regular rhythm in music: stress
•••••••••••• // ••••••••••••
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4 stresses per breath group
Regular rhythm in music: accent
•
•
•
••••••••••
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5 stresses
2 accents
•
//
••••••••••
What’s the difference?
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Stressed
Accented
The same phenomenon at two levels?
Two distinct phenomena?
Remember:
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An accented syllable = a stressed syllable
made prominent either by
–
–
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a higher pitch
a change in pitch (higher, lower)
Focus attention on important words
Outline of the lecture
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Suprasegmental aspects
Pitch
Full & reduced syllables
Rhythm
Stress & Accent
Intonation: breath groups, basic tunes
Conclusion
Bibliography
Intonation
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Groups
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Breath group, meaning group
Serve to divide speech stream into chunks
Each group has a melody or « tune »
Easy to hear the start & finish of a tune
Divide into intonation groups:
–
–
–
–
–
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Mary missed the bus.
Mary left early but missed the bus.
Unfortunately Mary missed the bus.
Although she left early Mary missed the bus.
Mary left early ran all the way but missed the bus.
–
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–
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–
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Mary missed the bus.
Mary left early // but missed the bus.
Unfortunately // Mary missed the bus.
Although she left early // Mary missed the bus.
Mary left early // ran all the way // but missed the
bus.
Basic tunes
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French: Rising tendency
English: falling tendency
–
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**Australian English: rising tendency
Guess the tunes:
–
–
–
–
–
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Mary missed the bus.
Mary left early // but missed the bus.
Unfortunately // Mary missed the bus.
Although she left early // Mary missed the bus.
Mary left early // ran all the way // but missed the
bus.
–
–
–
–
–
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Mary missed the bus.
Mary left early // but missed the bus.
Unfortunately // Mary missed the bus.
Although she left early // Mary missed the bus.
Mary left early // ran all the way // but missed
the bus.
More examples …
A: What did you get when you went shopping?
B: I got some shoes, a shirt and some new shorts.
A: What colour’s the shirt?
A: Blue, I think.
B: Blue?! That’s green!
A: You’re sure, aren’t you.
B: Yes, I certainly am.
A: Oh, I really must be colour-blind then.
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A: What did you get when you went shopping?
B: I got some shoes // a shirt // and some new
shorts.
A: What colour’s the shirt?
A: Blue, I think.
B: Blue // That’s green!
A: You’re sure, aren’t you.
B: Yes // I certainly am.
A: Oh // I really must be colour-blind then.
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Outline of the lecture



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Suprasegmental aspects
Pitch
Full & reduced syllables
Rhythm
Stress & Accent
Intonation: breath groups, basic tunes
Conclusion
Bibliography
Conclusion
What we do
Speech is divided into
chunks/blocks
Spoken English = full &
reduced syllables
Certain syllables are made
prominent by pitch
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Why we do it
To highlight units of
meaning
Maintain the rhythm of
English
Highlight the most
important information
Bibliography
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Cruttenden, A., Gimson’s Pronunciation of
English, 6th ed., Arnold, 2001
Vaughan-Rees, M., 1994, Rhymes & rhythm :
a poem-based course for English
pronunciation, Macmillan.
Wells, J.C. (2004) « Materials for Summer
Course in English Phonetics »