Supras Segment Al

Disciplina

Fonologia Suprassegmental da Língua Inglesa

Coordenador da Disciplina

Profª. Silvia Regina Chaves Barreira

4º Edição

Copyright © 2010. Todos os direitos reservados desta edição ao Instituto UFC Virtual. Nenhuma parte deste material poderá ser reproduzida, transmitida e gravada por qualquer meio eletrônico, por fotocópia e outros, sem a prévia autorização, por escrito, dos autores.

Créditos desta disciplina

Coordenação

Coordenador UAB Prof. Mauro Pequeno

Coordenador Adjunto UAB Prof. Henrique Pequeno

Coordenador do Curso Profª. Sâmia Alves Carvalho

Coordenador de Tutoria Prof. João Tobias Lima Sales

Coordenador da Disciplina Profª. Silvia Regina Chaves Barreira

Conteúdo

Autor da Disciplina Profª. Silvia Regina Chaves Barreira

Colaborador Prof. Jáder Martins Rodrigues Júnior

Setor Tecnologias Digitais - STD

Coordenador do Setor Prof. Henrique Sergio Lima Pequeno

Centro de Produção I - (Material Didático)

Gerente: Nídia Maria Barone

Subgerente: Paulo André Lima / José André Loureiro

Transição Didática Dayse Martins Pereira Elen Cristina S. Bezerra Elicélia Lima Gomes Enoe Cristina Fátima Silva e Souza José Adriano de Oliveira Karla Colares

Kamille de Oliveira

Formatação Cícero Giovany Camilo Cavalcante Damis Iuri Garcia Elilia Rocha Emerson Mendes Oliveira Francisco Ribeiro Givanildo Pereira Sued de Deus Stephan Capistrano Programação Andrei Bosco Damis Iuri Garcia Publicação João Ciro Saraiva

Design, Impressão e 3D Andrei Bosco André Lima Vieira Eduardo Ferreira Fred Lima Gleilson dos Santos Iranilson Pereira Luiz Fernando Soares Marllon Lima Onofre Paiva

Gerentes

Audiovisual: Andréa Pinheiro

Desenvolvimento: Wellington Wagner Sarmento

Suporte: Paulo de Tarso Cavalcante

Sumário Class 01: Word Stress ............................................................................................................................... 01 Topic 01: Stress ...................................................................................................................................... 01 Topic 02: Stress Patterns ........................................................................................................................ 06 Topic 03: Stress in Words with Suffixes ................................................................................................ 12 Task: Listening Comprehension and Oral Production.......................................................................... 17 Class 02: Sentence Stress .......................................................................................................................... 19 Topic 01: The Rhythm of English .......................................................................................................... 19 Topic 02: Content and Function Words ................................................................................................. 24 Topic 03: Reduced Forms…………………………………………….. ……………………………...30 Task: Listening Comprehension and Oral Production...........................................................................34 Class 03: Connected Speech (Part 1) ....................................................................................................... 36 Topic 01: Linking ................................................................................................................................... 36 Topic 02: Elision .................................................................................................................................... 41 Topic 03: Epenthesis .............................................................................................................................. 45 Task: Listening Comprehension and Oral Production...........................................................................50 Class 04: Connected Speech (Part 2) ....................................................................................................... 52 Topic 01: Progressive Assimilation ....................................................................................................... 52 Topic 02: Regressive Assimilation ........................................................................................................ 59 Topic 03: Coalescent Assimilation ........................................................................................................ 62 Task: Listening Comprehension and Oral Production...........................................................................65 Class 05: Intonation .................................................................................................................................. 67 Topic 01: Focus ...................................................................................................................................... 67 Topic 02: Rising-Falling Intonation ....................................................................................................... 72 Topic 03: Rising Intonation .................................................................................................................... 80 Topic 04: Nonfinal Intonation ............................................................................................................... 86 Topic 05: More Functions of Intonation ................................................................................................ 95 Task: Listening Comprehension and Oral Production...........................................................................106

TOPIC 01: STRESS

VERSÃO TEXTUAL

As you must have already realized, English pronunciation may be

considered a bit hard at times, which makes it essential for learners to

work on this aspect of the language since the very beginning of the

learning process. However, in order to communicate effectively in

English, it is not enough to know how to produce the sounds of the

language correctly. You also need to know how to place stress in words

and in sentences appropriately.

In Portuguese, we sometimes use stress marks ( -- the acute accent ( ´ ),

the circumflex accent ( ^ )) to call attention to a syllable. For example, in the

word “lâmpada”, which syllable is stressed?

CLICK HERE TO CHECK YOUR ANSWER.

In English, however, there are no stress marks, but that does not mean

there are no stressed syllables. For example, the word important has three

syllables, but they are not pronounced the same way. The second syllable is

more prominent than the other two: imPORTant! Although there is no

stress mark in the word, there is a stressed syllable: PORT.

WORD STRESS

FONOLOGIA SUPRASSEGMENTAL DA LÍNGUA INGLESA

CLASS 01: WORD STRESS

1

When a word has more than one syllable, one of the syllables is normally

more prominent than the others. This syllable is said to be stressed. Stressed

syllables are often longer and louder than unstressed ones. In our lessons we

will represent stressed syllables with capital letters.

As you could hear, the first syllable in the words above is longer and

louder than the second, that is to say, the first syllable is stressed. When you

speak English, it is imperative that you stress words correctly. Otherwise,

there may be some kind of miscommunication.

In our next topic we will take a look at some of the stress patterns in

English which can be helpful for the prediction of the placement of stress.

STOP TO READ

When you do not know which syllable should receive the stress in a

given word, look up the phonetic transcription of the word in your

dictionary. In dictionaries the stress is normally marked with this symbol

(') being placed just before the stressed syllable of the word. Look at and

listen to the examples below:

2

Long words often have two stressed syllables. The strongest syllable in

the word receives primary stress and the second strongest syllable receives

secondary stress. Primary stress is marked with the symbol ('), whereas

secondary stress is marked with the symbol (,). Look at and listen to the

following examples:

PRACTICE 1

Listen carefully to the pronunciation of the following words and

identify the stressed syllable.

PRACTICE 2

Listen to the pronunciation of the words below. Then, write the words

in the correct column according to their stressed syllable.

3

WORDS STRESSED ON THE FIRST

SYLLABLE

WORDS STRESSED ON THE

SECOND SYLLABLE

CLICK HERE TO CHECK YOUR ANSWERS.

PRACTICE 3

Now click on the link below and practice identifying the stress in

English words.

http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/word-stress-quiz.htm

[2]

FURTHER READING

Click on the links below to read more about WORD STRESS in

English.

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/word-stress [3]

http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/word-stress.htm [4]

VOCABULARY SEARCH

If you have any questions about the vocabulary present in this topic,

just click on one of the links below.

http://michaelis.uol.com.br/moderno/ingles/index.php [5]

4

http://www.merriam-webster.com/ [6]

http://www.oup.com/elt/catalogue/teachersites/oald7/lookup?

cc=global [7]

http://www.wordwebonline.com/ [8]

FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer

2. http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/word-stress-quiz.htm

3. http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/word-stress

4. http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/word-stress.htm

5. http://michaelis.uol.com.br/moderno/ingles/index.php

6. http://www.merriam-webster.com/

7. http://www.oup.com/elt/catalogue/teachersites/oald7/lookup?

cc=global

8. http://www.wordwebonline.com/

Responsável: Profª. Silvia Regina Chaves Barreira

Universidade Federal do Ceará - Instituto UFC Virtual

5

TOPIC 02: STRESS PATTERNS

There are no fast and infallible rules for stressing words in English.

Therefore, stress patterns must often be learned with each word. However,

TWO-SYLLABLE WORDS

The words below illustrate the stress pattern followed by most two-

syllable nouns and verbs in English. Listen to how they are pronounced and

identify the stressed syllable in each one of them.



6

Which syllable tends to be stressed in two-syllable nouns in

English?

Which syllable tends to be stressed in two-syllable verbs?


In two-syllable nouns the first syllable is more likely to receive the

stress, whereas in two-syllable verbs the second syllable tends to be

stressed.

STOP TO READ

About 90 percent of all English nouns of two syllables are stressed on

the first syllable, and more than 60 percent of all English verbs are

stressed on the second syllable (AVERY, P.; EHRLICH, S., 2008).

THREE-SYLLABLE WORDS

LISTEN CAREFULLY TO THE FOLLOWING THREE-SYLLABLE WORDS AND

IDENTIFY THE STRESSED SYLLABLE.

7

NOW CLICK HERE TO CHECK YOUR ANSWERS.

COMPOUNDS

The placement of stress in English compound words ( -- a noun, an

adjective or a verb made of two or more words) is very regular. Compound

words are sometimes written as one word, sometimes as two words, and

sometimes they are joined by a hyphen. The way in which they are written

does not interfere with their stress pattern, though (AVERY, P.; EHRLICH,

S., 2008).

Let us listen to examples of compound words in English and try to

identify where the stress falls. Then let us decide which generalizations can

be made regarding the stress in compounds.

NOUN COMPOUNDS

8

ADJECTIVE COMPOUNDS

(The definitions used in this section were extracted from Oxford

Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (7th edition). Oxford: Oxford University

Press, 2005.)

VERBS WITH A PREFIX AND A BASE

(The definitions used in this section were extracted from OXFORD

ADVANCED LEARNER’S DICTIONARY (7th edition). Oxford: Oxford

University Press, 2005.)

9

Based on the pronunciation of the compound words presented, answer

the following questions.

In two-word noun compounds, does the stress usually fall on the

stressed syllable of the first noun or the second noun?

In two-word adjective compounds, where does the stress often fall?

In verbs with a prefix and a base, where is the stress often placed?


In two-word noun compounds, it is the first noun which usually

receives the major stress, such as in: DRUGstore, ARMchair, BUS

driver, CLASSroom, AIRplane, TEAspoon, and NIGHTclub.

In two-word adjective compounds, it is the second word which

often receives the major stress, such as in: well BUILT, good-

NAtured, fat-FREE, narrow-MINDed, strong-WILLED, bad-

TEMPered, and self-CONfident.

In verbs with a prefix and a base, it is the base which usually

receives the major stress, such as in: outRUN, overLOOK,

underVAlue, upSET, downLOAD, foreSEE, and withDRAW.

STOP TO READ

Adjective compounds actually take two stress patterns. When the

adjective compound is used attributively ( -- preceding a noun) , it receives

major stress on the first word. On the other hand, when the adjective

compound occurs in predicative position ( -- after a link verb) , major

stress is placed on the second word (CELCE-MURCIA et al, 1996). Listen

to the examples below:

10

PRACTICE 1

Click on the links below and practice identifying the stress in English

words.

http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/word-stress-quiz.htm [1]

http://www.soundsofenglish.org/hollys_corner/wordstress/ex3.htm

[2]

PRACTICE 2

Watch the following video about the importance of word stress in

English.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVEPOAJAVK4 [3]

VOCABULARY SEARCH






cc=global [6]


REFERENCES

AVERY, P.; EHRLICH, S. Teaching American English

Pronunciation. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.

CELCE-MURCIA et al. Teaching Pronunciation: a

Reference for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.

FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/word-stress-quiz.htm

2. http://www.soundsofenglish.org/hollys_corner/wordstress/ex3.htm

3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVEPOAJAVK4




cc=global




11

TOPIC 03: STRESS IN WORDS WITH SUFFIXES

STRESS PATTERN 1

The same stress pattern applies to all the suffixes ( -- morphemes which

are added to the end of a word and which change the meaning or function of

the word) below.

Listen to the pronunciation of the following words and try to

identify where the stress is placed.



12

Based on the pronunciation of the words above, answer the question

below:

Which syllable receives the major stress when the word ends in -ic,

-ical, -ity, -ify, -ogy, -tion, -sion, -ian, -ial, -ous, -ious, -eous,

-graph?


The syllable immediately before the suffixes above always receives

the major stress.

STRESS PATTERN 2

The following examples illustrate the stress pattern of words ending in

the suffixes -ee, -eer, -ese, -esque, -ique, or -ette.

LISTEN TO HOW THEY ARE PRONOUNCED.


We should stress the syllable which contains the suffix.

STOP TO READ

13

Some suffixes are considered neutral, that is to say, they do not affect

the stress pattern of the root word ( -- the word without a prefix or a

suffix) . The suffixes below are considered neutral:

PRACTICE 1: ODD WORD OUT

A. Listen to the pronunciation of the words below and choose the one

which does not receive the stress on the syllable immediately before the

suffix:

B. Listen to the pronunciation of the words below and choose the one

which does not receive the stress on the suffix:

C. Listen to the pronunciation of the words below and choose the one

which does not receive the stress on the same syllable as its root word:


A. TRAINEE

B. EDUCATION

C. FATALITY

PRACTICE 2

Now click on the links below and practice identifying the stress

pattern in English words.

http://www.roadtogrammar.com/wordstress/ [1]

14

http://elt.oup.com/student/americanenglishfile/3/c_pronunciation/ef_stressgame?

cc=br&selLanguage=pt [2]

FORUM

Based on what you have read about word stress, discuss the following

questions with your partners and your tutor:

Concerning word stress, what should English learners do when they

learn new words?

If you don’t know where the stress falls in a given word, what can you do

to find that out?

How can the information in class 1 help you to speak English better?

Which of the topics presented in this class were you unfamiliar with?

Give examples of words whose pronunciation you have learned by

reading this class and doing the exercises. How did you think they were

pronounced?

SUPPLEMENTARY READING

Click on the links below to read more about the importance of good

pronunciation and word stress. Then comment on your impressions in the

forum.

http://www.antimoon.com/how/pronuncwhy.htm [3]

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/word-stress [4]

http://usefulenglish.ru/phonetics/stress-in-compound-words [5]

VOCABULARY SEARCH






cc=global [8]


FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://www.roadtogrammar.com/wordstress/

2. http://elt.oup.com/student/americanenglishfile/3/c_pronunciation/ef_

stressgame?cc=br&selLanguage=pt

3. http://www.antimoon.com/how/pronuncwhy.htm

4. http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/word-stress

5. http://usefulenglish.ru/phonetics/stress-in-compound-words



15


cc=global




16

TOPIC TASK: LISTENING COMPREHENSION AND ORAL PRODUCTION:

PART 1: LISTENING COMPREHENSION

ACTIVITY PORTFOLIO

Listen to the pronunciation of the words below and identify the

stressed syllable in each one. Then, write the words with the stressed

syllable in capital letters on a Word document and send it to your portfolio

for your teacher’s assessment.

PART 2: ORAL PRODUCTION

PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY

The words below all appear in our lesson. Go back to each topic to

listen to their pronunciation again (as many times as necessary) and

record them paying careful attention to the pronunciation of the stressed

syllable. Then, send the recording to your portfolio for your teacher’s

assessment.

1. machine

2. calendar

3. dependent



17

4. present (noun)

5. present (verb)

6. suspect (noun)

7. suspect (verb)

8. nightclub

9. fat-free

10. outrun

11. scientific

12. chemical

13. possibility

14. verify

15. biology

16. permission

17. musician

18. official

19. suspicious

20. photography

21. refugee

22. Chinese

23. technique

24. cassette

25. recently

18

TOPIC 01: THE RHYTHM OF ENGLISH

VERSÃO TEXTUAL

In the previous class, you read and learned about stressed and

unstressed syllables in words. In this class, we will see how the

combination of stressed and unstressed syllables contributes to the

creation of the rhythm in English.

THE RHYTHM OF ENGLISH

Many Brazilian learners of English often find it difficult to understand

native speakers of the language because they usually speak very fast. Do you

think so too? Well, one of the reasons that can explain this rapid flow of

speech is the very nature of the rhythm of English – English is a stress-timed

language.

In other words, the length of an utterance in English depends

not on the number of syllables but rather on the number of

stresses (CELCE-MURCIA ET AL, 1996).

THE WORD/PHRASE PAIRS BELOW ILLUSTRATE WHAT IS SAID ABOVE. LISTEN AND PAY CAREFUL ATTENTION TO THE RHYTHM PATTERNS IN

EACH PAIR.

(The examples above were extracted from GRANT, L. Well said.

Boston: Heinle & Heinle, 2001, pp. 78.)


CLASS 02: SENTENCE STRESS

19

EXERCISE

1. Listen to the pairs above again. Do the word and the phrase in each

pair have the same rhythm pattern or different ones? Do they take a

similar amount of time to be said or do the phrases take longer to be said

than the words?

NOW CLICK HERE TO CHECK YOUR ANSWER.

In each pair, the rhythm pattern of the word is the same as that

of the phrase. And both the word and the phrase take almost the

same amount of time to be pronounced.

2. Now listen one more time and mark the stressed syllable of the word

and the stressed syllable of the phrase in each pair.

NOW CLICK HERE TO CHECK YOUR ANSWER.

1.

engiNEER

He was

HERE.

2.

overTHROW

In a ROW.

3.

conVERT

He’s

HURT.

4.

preSENTed

She SENT

it.

5. PERmit LEARN it.

6.

volunTEER

She can

HEAR.

FIRST

20

We can learn that, just like words, phrases and sentences in English

have stressed and unstressed syllables.

SECOND

We can learn that, in spoken English, some words are stressed and

other words are not.

STOP TO READ

If you stress every word and syllable equally, you may sound angry,

impatient, or rude without meaning to.

PRACTICE 1

LISTEN TO THE WORDS AND THE PHRASES BELOW. THEN MATCH THE

WORD AND THE PHRASE WITH THE SAME RHYTHM PATTERN.

1.approximate

2. justifiable

3. confederate

4. alphabetize

5. orthopedic

A. can better it

B. all of her

C. a box of it

D. just as viable

E. or to feed it

21

6. Oliver F. half her size

(The words and phrases in this exercise were extracted from AVERY,

P.; EHRLICH, S. Teaching American pronunciation. Oxford: Oxford

University Press, 2008, pp. 82.)


1. C 2. D 3. A 4. F 5. E 6. B

PRACTICE 2

Listen to the words and phrases in Practice 1 again and identify the

stressed syllable in both the words and the phrases.


PRACTICE 3

Listen to the words and phrases in exercise 1 again and repeat.

Listening and repeating is important practice for language learning.


Click on the links below to read more about stress and the rhythm

of English.

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-articles/199810.htm [2]

http://www.pronuncian.com/lessons.aspx?Lesson=52 [3]

VOCABULARY SEARCH





22


cc=global [6]


REFERENCES




FONTES DAS IMAGENS


2. http://www.englishclub.com/esl-articles/199810.htm

3. http://www.pronuncian.com/lessons.aspx?Lesson=52




cc=global




23

TOPIC 02: CONTENT AND FUNCTION WORDS

In English stressed syllables are normally more prominent than stressed

syllables in Portuguese. Similarly, unstressed syllables in English are much

weaker than unstressed syllables in Portuguese. Also, in spoken English

some words are more important than other words. The more important

words are called content words ((or lexical words)) , and the less important

words are called function words ((or grammar words)) . When we speak

English we have to stress content words and unstress function words. We do

not normally do this in Portuguese, so we have to remember that native

speakers of English do it and that is one of the main reasons why many

Brazilian learners of English often think they speak too fast.

EXERCISE

1. Listen carefully to the sentences below and mark the words which

are stressed (content words). If the content word has more than one

syllable, mark the syllable which receives the stress.

Her house is quite big, but it doesn’t have a

garden.

They usually listen to the radio in the morning.

London is famous for its red buses.

What newspaper do you read?

They can dance very well but they can’t sing.

Where does your husband work?

How was the weekend?

She’s not Polish. She’s German.



24


Notice that the words HOUSE, QUITE, BIG, HAVE, RED,

WHAT, READ, DANCE, WELL, CAN’T, SING, WHERE, WORK,

HOW, and NOT have only one syllable. Remember that, in English,

we count syllables according to the number of vowel sounds in a

word. For example, HOUSE ( ) has only one vowel sound ( ),

so it has only one syllable. The final ‘E’ is not pronounced in the

words HOUSE, QUITE, HAVE, DANCE, and WHERE: , ,

, and .

2. Now that you have checked your work, write (S) for the kinds of

words which are stressed in the previous exercise and (U) for the kinds

of words which are unstressed.

adjectives nouns

adverbs personal

pronouns

articles prepositions

auxiliary verbs verbs

conjunctions Wh-question

words

negative

contractions/not


(S) adjectives (S) nouns

(S) adverbs (U) personal pronouns

25

(U) articles (U) prepositions

(U) auxiliary verbs (S) verbs

(U) conjunctions (S) Wh- question words

(S) negative

contractions/not

As you can see from the tasks above, English words can be divided into

two groups:

CONTENT WORDS

◾ Content words express independent meaning.

◾ Content words are usually stressed.

◾ Content words include: adjectives, adverbs, main verbs, negatives, nouns, and question words. They also include demonstrative pronouns ( this, that, these, those) and possessive pronouns ( mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs).

FUNCTION WORDS

◾ Function words have little or no meaning in themselves and mainly serve the purpose of expressing grammatical relationships.

◾ Function words are usually unstressed.

◾ Function words include: articles ( a, an, the), auxiliary verbs (e.g. can, do, did), conjunctions (e.g. but, and, so), personal pronouns

(e.g. I, me, my, you, your, he, him), and prepositions (e.g. at, in, from, with). They also include relative pronouns (e.g. that, who, which), demonstrative adjectives, and possessive adjectives (e.g. my, your, his).

STOP TO READ

Listeners of English expect certain words to be strong (stressed) and

others to be weak (unstressed). The strong words are the ones listeners

pay attention to the most. The contrast between stronger words with

weaker words is an important part of clear communication in English

(GRANT, 2001:81). For learners of English to produce sentences that have

the appropriate stress patterns and the appropriate English rhythm, it is

necessary that they know which words are stressed and which are not

stressed.

PRACTICE 1

Listen to the sentences below and mark the words which receive

sentence stress. If the word receives sentence stress and has more than

one syllable, remember to mark the stressed syllable of the word.

1. Nice to meet you.

2. Where did you go for your last vacation?

26

3. We’ve never traveled abroad.

4. I can play the guitar and the flute.

5. He likes pizza but he doesn’t like bread.

6. France is bigger than Italy.

7.They saw a movie and had dinner at a fancy

restaurant.

8. I will call her right now.


1. NICE to MEET you.

2. WHERE did you GO for your LAST vaCAtion?

3. We’ve NEver TRAveled aBROAD.

4. I can PLAY the GUItar and the FLUTE.

5. He LIKES PIzza but he DOESn't LIKE

BREAD.

6. FRANCE is BIGGer than Italy.

7. They SAW a MOvie and HAD DInner at a

FANcy REStaurant.

8. I will CALL her RIGHT NOW.

The words nice, meet, where, go, last, play, flute,

likes,like, bread, France, saw, had, call, right, and now have

only one syllable.

PRACTICE 2

Go back to the sentences in Practice 1 and classify the words which

receive sentence stress into adjectives, adverbs, main verbs, negatives,

nouns, or question words. Remember that these are the kinds of words

which are normally stressed in spoken English.


ADJECTIVES: nice, last, bigger, fancy

ADVERBS: never, abroad, right, now

27

MAIN VERBS: meet, go, traveled, play, likes,

like, saw, had, call

NEGATIVES: doesn’t

NOUNS: vacation, guitar, flute, pizza,

bread, France, Italy, movie,

dinner, restaurant

QUESTION

WORDS:

where

PRACTICE 3

Now listen to the sentences in Practice 1 again and practice saying

them out loud.

PRACTICE 4

Click on the link below to watch a video about content and function

words, and their importance to appropriate sentence stress in spoken

English.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpPCBWsVUp0 [1]


Click on the links below to read more about stress in English.

http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/sentence-stress.htm [2]

http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/sentence-stress-

rules.htm [3]

VOCABULARY SEARCH






cc=global [6]


28

REFERENCES

GRANT, L. Well said. Boston: Heinle & Heinle, 2001.

FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpPCBWsVUp0

2. http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/sentence-stress.htm

3. http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/sentence-stress-rules.htm




cc=global




29

TOPIC 03: REDUCED FORMS

As you were presented in the previous topic, function words in spoken

English are usually weak. Many function words have only one syllable, and

because they are usually very weak, they have a strong pronunciation and a

weak pronunciation. For example, the conjunction ‘and’ is pronounced

in isolation, but it is commonly pronounced or when people are

talking naturally.

It is very important to know the weak pronunciation of one-syllable

function words as it helps you understand English better when it is spoken

fast and it allows you to work on the production of more appropriate and

natural English utterances.

Listed below you will find the strong and the weak forms of some one-

syllable function words. Listen and repeat.

STOP TO READ

In connected speech, where function words are normally unstressed,

they are pronounced in their weak form. In the weak form of most one-

syllable function words, the vowel is reduced to , as you can see in the

chart above.

PRACTICE 1

Listen to the sentences below and mark the pronunciation of the

underlined function words that you hear.

1. It’s A book. [eɪ] [ə]

2.She’s AT home.



30

[æt] [ət]

3. Did you pass OR fail? [ɔːr] [ər]

4. Let’s call THEM again. [ðem] [əm]

5. Think OF all we have. [ɔːv] [əv]

6. He’s THE boss. [ðiː] [ðə]

7. Sally must HAVE left. [hæv] [əv]

8. Buy some milk AND eggs. [ænd] [ən]


1. [ə]

2. [ət]

3. [ər]

4. [əm]

5. [əv]

6. [ðə]

7. [əv]

8. [ən]

PRACTICE 2

Write the phonetic transcriptions below into phrases. Then check

your answers, listen to and practice saying them.

1. /ə glæss ə mɪlk/

2. /ˈlemən ən aɪs/

3. /əz swiːt əz ˈʃʊgər/

4. /gɪv ɪm ə breɪk/

5. /ðeɪ əv ˈfɪnɪʃt/

6. /ɪts fər bɪl/


31

PRACTICE 3

Click on the link below to read and listen to a short paragraph about

restaurants in the US. To listen to the text you must click on the ‘Play-

Windows Media’ button. Listen attentively, as many times as necessary,

and pay careful attention to the use of sentence stress and reduced forms.

For extra practice, you could record yourself reading the paragraph and

afterwards compare your recording to the original audio.

http://www.trainyouraccent.com/a-restaurants.htm [1]


Click on the link below to read more about reduced forms in English.

http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/ReducedForms.html [2]

VOCABULARY SEARCH






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FORUM

Based on what you have read about the rhythm of English in this

class, discuss the following questions with your partners and your tutor:

What did you already know about the rhythm of English before reading

this class?

In your opinion, what are the most important topics presented in this

class?

Do you think the rhythm of English is very different from that of

Brazilian Portuguese? In what way(s)?

How do you intend to use what you have learned in order to understand

and speak English better?

How can we teach our students about the rhythm of English from the

very beginning?

FONTES DAS IMAGENS

32

1. http://www.trainyouraccent.com/a-restaurants.htm

2. http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/ReducedForms.html




cc=global




33

TASK: LISTENING COMPREHENSION AND ORAL PRODUCTION

PART I - LISTENING COMPREHENSION

PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY

Click on the link below to listen again to the paragraph about

restaurants in the U.S. Remember that you must click on the ‘Play-

Windows Media’ button to listen to the audio. While you listen, mark the

words which receive sentence stress (content words). If the content word

has more than one syllable, mark the syllable which receives the stress.

Remember: in our lessons we mark the stressed syllable using CAPITAL

LETTERS. Then, write the paragraph with the stressed syllables of the

content words in capital letters on a Word document and send it to your

portfolio for your teacher’s assessment.

http://www.trainyouraccent.com/a-restaurants.htm [1]

Para escutar o áudio acesse o ambiente Solar.

RESTAURANTS

I sometimes go out to eat at a restaurant if I don't have time to cook or

I just want to relax. My favorite place is a Mexican restaurant downtown,

and the decor and atmosphere are very authentic. You usually don't have

to make a reservation unless you are planning to go during a busy time.

The prices are very reasonable, and the service is great. Best of all, the

portions are large, and the food is superb. I always make sure to leave a

generous tip.

PART II - ORAL PRODUCTION

PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY

The phrases and sentences below all appear in lesson 2. Go back to

each topic to listen to their pronunciation again (as many times as

necessary) and record them. Then, send the recording to your portfolio for

your teacher’s assessment. Make sure to stress content words and unstress

function words. Also, try to produce the weak form of one-syllable

function words as studied in topic 3.

1. He was here.

2. She sent it.

3. Her house is quite big.

4. London is famous for its red buses.

5. What newspaper do you read?



34

6. How was the weekend?

7. She’s not Polish. She’s German.

8. Nice to meet you.

9. I can play the guitar and the flute.

10. He likes pizza but he doesn’t like bread.

11. It’s a book.

12. She’s at home.

13. Did you pass or fail?

14. Let’s call them again.

15. Think of all we have.

16. a glass of milk

17. lemon and ice

18. as sweet as sugar

19. Give him a break.

20. They have finished.

FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://www.trainyouraccent.com/a-restaurants.htm



35

TOPIC 01: LINKING

Speech is a continuous stream of sounds. This means that when we

speak naturally, we do not pronounce a word, make a pause, then say the

next word in the sentence, pause again, and so on.

In rapid speech, when one word is linked with the next, sounds come

together. And when sounds come together in speech, they are influenced

by one another. As a result, some sounds are lost, some sounds are added,

some sounds take on different characteristics, and some are spoken almost

simultaneously.

In classes 3 and 4, you will be presented with some of the major

adjustments which take place in connected speech: LINKING, ELISION,

EPENTHESIS, and ASSIMILATION.

Learning about these adjustments is not only important to help

learners of English to improve their oral production, but it is also crucial in

helping them to improve their listening comprehension (CELCE-MURCIA

ET AL, 1996).

LINKING

Linking can be defined as the connecting of the final sound of one word

or syllable to the initial sound of the next. When words are properly linked,

there is a smooth transition from one word to the next. Linking occurs in

different phonological contexts.

Let us see the most common of these contexts. Click in the boxes to

open.

VERSÃO TEXTUAL DO FLASH

Linking consonants to vowels

When a word ends in a consonant sound and is followed by a

word beginning with a vowel sound, the consonant is often produced

as if belonged to both syllables or as if belonged to the next word.

(Remember that the letter ‘E’ in word-final position is not

pronounced in the words LIKE, MOVE, and LEAVE:

Linking consonants to consonants

When a word ends in a stop consonant and is followed by a word

that begins with a consonant, the stop consonant is not released.

stop consonant:


CLASS 03: CONNECTED SPEECH (PART 1)

36

Linking identical consonants

When a word ends in a consonant sound and is followed by a

word beginning with the same consonant sound, the two consonants

are normally pronounced as one long consonant.

Linking vowels to vowels

When a word ends in a tense vowel and is followed by a word

beginning with a vowel, the words are usually linked by the glide (or

semi-vowel) ending the tense vowel.

tense vowel :

glide (or semi-vowel):

Para escutar aos audios acesse o ambiente SOLAR

STOP TO READ

People do not speak in separate words, they speak in logical

connected groups of words. These groups are often called thought groups.

A thought group can be defined as a portion of a sentence separated from

the rest by a pause or pauses. In the examples below, the thought groups

are separated by a diagonal line:


Please call / if you have to cancel.

Whatever you do, / do well.

Experts say / that what you name your child / can make a huge

difference.

It is not possible to make a clear set of rules to divide sentences into

thought groups. A speaker is normally free to group words according to

personal preference.

(The examples above were extracted from GRANT, 2001: 124-134.)

PRACTICE 1

Listen to the sentences below and identify the places where the

process of linking occurs.


1. She has a lot of friends.

2. What time is it?

37

3. This is my uncle, John.

4. We live in a big house with a big garden.

5. He left home at eight and got to work at nine.

6. We haven’t talked to each other in ages.

7. English is spoken all over the world.

8. I had a really bad day yesterday.


PRACTICE 2

Listen to the sentences in Practice 1 again and repeat. Listening and

repeating is important practice for language learning.

PRACTICE 3

Go back to the sentences in Practice 1 and identify the types of linking

which occur: Type 1 = linking consonants to vowels; Type 2 =

linking a stop consonant to a consonant; Type 3 = linking

identical consonants; Type 4 = linking vowels to vowels. For

example, in ‘has a’ in sentence 1 we link the final consonant of ‘has’ to the

following vowel sound (type 1).

PRACTICE 4

Click on the link below for the lyrics and the audio of the song

“WHEN I NEED YOU” by Canadian singer Celine Dion. Read the lyrics

while listening to the song and identify occurrences of linking. Listen to it

as many times as necessary.

http://letras.mus.br/celine-dion/70030/traducao.html [1]

38


PRACTICE 5

Listen again to the song “When I need you” by Celine Dion and sing it

out loud to practice the occurrences of linking in it

FORUM

Discuss your answers to Practice 3 with your classmates and your

teacher in the forum.


Click on the links below to read more about linking in English.

http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/linking.htm [2]




39


VOCABULARY SEARCH






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REFERENCES




GRANT, L. Well Said. Boston: Heinle & Heinle, 2001.

FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://letras.mus.br/celine-dion/70030/traducao.html

2. http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/linking.htm








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40

TOPIC 02: ELISION

In the previous topic, you learned about the process of LINKING in

connected speech. In this topic, you will learn about another type of

adjustment which happens in spoken English – the process of elision (also

known as deletion).

The most typical phonological contexts in which elision occurs are:


Context 1: Elision of /t/ when the sequence /nt/ occurs between

two vowels.

Context 2: Elision of /t/ or /d/ when they occur in a sequence of

three consonants.

Context 3: Elision of /t/ or /d/ in word-final position, when it is

preceded by a single consonant and is followed by a word beginning

with a consonant.

Context 4: Elision of an unstressed when it is

preceded by the stressed syllable in multisyllabic words

Context 5: Elision of /v/ in the preposition of before words

beginning with a consonant.

Context 6: Elision of initial /h/ and /ð/ in pronominal forms in

connected speech.

Para escutar aos audios acesse o ambiente SOLAR

STOP TO READ

Knowing the phonological contexts in which deletion often occurs

might help you better understand spoken English.



41

PRACTICE 1

Listen to the phrases and sentences below and identify occurrences of

ELISION.


1.We love winter.

2.He suffers from partial blindness.

3.They’re leaving next Monday.

4.Can I have an aspirin?

5. Children love to make sand castles on the beach.

6. We only need a handful of rice.

7. He’s a really fast driver.

8. What a waste of time!

9. Can you help her with the homework?

10. I don’t like history much.


PRACTICE 2

Go back to the sentences in Practice 1 again and identify the

phonological contexts where elision occurs.

42


PRACTICE 3

Now listen to the sentences in Practice 1 and repeat them out loud to

practice the occurrences of elision in them. Remember that repeating is

important for effective language learning.

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44

TOPIC 03: EPENTHESIS

In topics 1 and 2, you learned about linking and deletion in

connected speech. In this topic, you will learn about the process of

epenthesis.

MOST COMMON TYPES OF EPENTHESIS

The most important type of epenthesis in English occurs in certain

morphophonological sequences such as the regular plural and the regular

past tense. In these cases, an epenthetic schwa is added to break up

sequences of sibilants ( -- characterized by a hissing sound, similar to a long

“s”) or alveolar stops, respectively.

The sounds /t/ and /d/

◾ The Regular Plural

The nouns below all end in a sibilant sound. Listen to their

pronunciation and identify the six sibilant sounds in English.


As you can see from above, the six English

sibilants are and



45

In nouns that end in hissing, sibilant sounds, we add the syllable /əz/

(or ) when forming their plural. Let us hear the pronunciation of the

plural of the nouns above.

STOP TO READ

The Plural Rule is also applicable to: the third person singular present

tense ending, the contracted form of “is” and “has”, and the possessive ‘s.

◾ The Regular Past Tense

To regular verbs that end in /t/ or /d/, we add the syllable /əd/ ( or )

when forming their past. Let us hear the pronunciation of the past of the

verbs below.

STOP TO READ

When a verb does not end in /t/ or /d/, the –ed ending is pronounced

as a result of the process of assimilation, which will be studied in our

next class.

PRACTICE 1

Try to pronounce the verbs and nouns below based on what you have

learned in this class. Then listen to their pronunciation, check and repeat.

46

1. washes (v.)

2. watches (v.)

3. misses (v.)

4. uses (v.)

5. laces (n.)

6. fixes (v.)

7. mirages (n.)

8. catches (v.)

9. bridges (n.)

10. crashes (v.)

CLICK HERE TO CHECK THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE WORDS.

PRACTICE 2

Try to pronounce the following past tense verbs based on what you

have learned about epenthesis. Then listen to their pronunciation, check

and repeat.

1. wanted

2. pretended

3. started

4. handed

5. waited

47

6. tested

7. landed

8. surrounded

9. deleted

10. permitted

CLICK HERE TO CHECK THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE WORDS.

PRACTICE 3

Click on the link below to watch a video about the pronunciation of

–S/–ED ENDINGS and LINKING.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=0n1WN8kwz5o&list=PLF6310CB3022A93E7 [1]

VOCABULARY SEARCH






cc=global [4]


FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=0n1WN8kwz5o&list=PLF6310CB3022A93E7



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49

TOPIC TASK: LISTENING COMPREHENSION AND ORAL PRODUCTION

PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY

Click on the link below to do the exercises.

Listening Comprehension and Oral Production


PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY

Listen carefully and identify the occurrences of linking, elision and

epenthesis that occur in the sentences below. Then write your answers on

a Word document and send it to your portfolio for your teacher’s

correction.

She washes her hair twice a week.

After the plane landed, we rented a car

and went to the hotel.

I don’t enjoy having classes on

weekends.

Every morning he wakes up and works

out.

We have a lot of friends but they’re

always too busy to go out with us.

They work in a bank next to the bus

station.

He decided to go for a walk in the

park.

My left leg is hurting. I think I’ve

broken it.

Let’s see what’s on at the cinema.



50

Give him a call if you want to.


PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY

Listen to the sentences in Part I again and record them. Then, send

the recording to your portfolio for your teacher’s assessment. Remember

to produce the adjustments concerning linking, elision and epenthesis that

(can) occur in the phonological contexts in the sentences.

FONTES DAS IMAGENS



51

TOPIC 01: PROGRESSIVE ASSIMILATION

In the previous class, you learned about the processes of LINKING,

ELISION, and EPENTHESIS in connected speech. In this class, you will learn

about another type of adjustment which happens in spoken English – the

process of ASSIMILATION.

Assimilation is a universal feature of spoken language. It occurs when

a particular sound takes on ( -- to begin to have a particular quality) the

characteristics of an adjacent sound. In English, the process of assimilation

frequently occurs, both within words and between words.

There are three types of assimilation in English: PROGRESSIVE

ASSIMILATION, REGRESSIVE ASSIMILATION, and COALESCENT

ASSIMILATION. In this topic, you will learn about progressive assimilation.

Regressive assimilation and coalescent assimilation will be dealt with in

topics 2 and 3, respectively.

PROGRESSIVE ASSIMILATION

Progressive assimilation occurs when a certain sound is

affected by the sound which precedes it.

Examples of this type of assimilation include:

-S ENDING

For the regular plural of nouns, the third person singular

form of present simple verbs, the contraction of ‘is’, the contraction of

‘has’ as an auxiliary verb, and possessive ‘s: the final sound of the

stem word ( -- the word without the –s ending ) conditions the voiced or

voiceless pronunciation of the suffix: /s/ (the voiceless form) or /z/

(the voiced form). For example:



52

-ED ENDING

For the simple past and past participle forms of regular

verbs: the final sound of the stem word conditions the voiced or voiceless

pronunciation of the suffix: /t/ (the voiceless form) or /d/ (the

voiced form).

For example:

STOP TO READ

As you studied in class 3, in words that end in sibilant sounds, the –s

ending is pronounced /əz/ (or ) as a result of the process of

epenthesis.

STOP TO READ

As you studied in class 3, in words that end in /t/ or /d/, the –ed

ending is pronounced /əd/ (or ) as a result of the process of

epenthesis.

STOP TO READ

Similarly to linking, the amount of assimilation that occurs in

speech depends on numerous variables, such as the formality of the

situation, the rate of speech, and the style of the speaker (CELCE-

MURCIA ET AL, 1996).

PRACTICE 1

53

Practice identifying the pronunciation of –s endings as a result of

the process of progressive assimilation.Is the –s ending in the words

below pronounced /s/ or /z/?


1. /S/

The voiceless /k/ conditions the voiceless form of the

–s ending, causing it to be pronounced /s/.

2. /Z/

The voiced /v/ conditions the voiced form of the –s

ending, causing it to be pronounced /z/.

3. /S/

The voiceless /t/ conditions the voiceless form of the –s

ending, causing it to be pronounced /s/.

4. /Z/

The voiced /eɪ/ conditions the voiced form of the –s


5. /Z/

The voiced /b/ conditions the voiced form of the –s


6. /Z/

The voiced /n/ conditions the voiced form of the –s


54

7. /Z/

The voiced /l/ conditions the voiced form of the –s


8. /S/

The voiceless /p/ conditions the voiceless form of the


9. /S/

The voiceless /t/ conditions the voiceless form of the –s

ending, causing it to be pronounced /s/.

10. /Z/

The voiced /d/ conditions the voiced form of the –s


11. /S/

The voiceless /p/ conditions the voiceless form of the


12. /Z/

The voiced /ə/ conditions the voiced form of the –s


PRACTICE 2

Now listen carefully to the words from Practice 1 in the sentences

below. Then listen again and repeat them to work on your pronunciation

of –s endings.

55

PRACTICE 3

Practice identifying the pronunciation of –ed endings as a result of

the process of progressive assimilation. Is the –ed ending in the words

below pronounced /t/ or /d/?


1. /t/

The voiceless /k/ conditions the voiceless form of the

–ed ending, causing it to be pronounced /t/.

2. /d/

The voiced /v/ conditions the voiced form of the –ed

ending, causing it to be pronounced /d/.

3. /t/

The voiceless /s/ conditions the voiceless form of the


4. /d/

The voiced /l/ conditions the voiced form of the –ed


5./d/

The voiced /aɪ/ conditions the voiced form of the –ed


6. /d/

The voiced /n/ conditions the voiced form of the –ed


56

7. /d/

The voiced /eɪ/ conditions the voiced form of the –ed


8. /t/

The voiceless /ʃ/ conditions the voiceless form of the


9. /d/

The voiced /z/ conditions the voiced form of the –ed


10. /d/

The voiced /r/ conditions the voiced form of the –ed


PRACTICE 4

Now listen carefully to the verbs from Practice 3 in the sentences

below. Then listen again and repeat them to work on your pronunciation

of –ed endings.

PRACTICE 5

Click on the link below to watch the video about -S/-ED ENDINGS and

LINKING one more time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=0n1WN8kwz5o&list=PLF6310CB3022A93E7 [5]

57

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REFERENCES




FONTES DAS IMAGENS





5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=0n1WN8kwz5o&list=PLF6310CB3022A93E7




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58

TOPIC 02: REGRESSIVE ASSIMILATION

Regressive assimilation occurs when a certain sound is affected by

the sound which follows it.

Examples of this type of assimilation include:

THE MODALS ‘HAVE TO’ AND ‘HAS TO’

In have to and has to, the voiceless /t/ causes the preceding

voiced /v/ and /z/ to become voiceless /f/ and /s/ respectively.

‘USED TO’ (EXPRESSING PAST HABITUAL ACTION)

In used to, the voiceless /t/ causes the preceding voiced

combination /zd/ to become the voiceless combination /st/.

In rapid native-speaker speech, the sibilant sound /ʃ/ causes the

preceding sibilants /s/ or /z/ to become identical to it. For example:

The stop consonant /t/ may assimilate to a following initial /p/

or /k/, while the stop /d/ may assimilate to a following /b/ or /g/.



59

In both cases, there is a change in the place of articulation, but there is no

change in the voiced or voiceless quality of the segment. For example:

The final nasal consonant /n/ may adjust its place of articulation

and become /m/ when it is followed by a bilabial (/p/, /b/, /m/), or it

may become /ŋ/ when it is followed by a velar (/k/, /g/).

PRACTICE 1


process of regressive assimilation occurs.


1. She has to leave in May.

2. They used to eat popcorn a lot.

3. He has short curly hair.

4. When is she coming?

5. Philip’s shirt is new.

6. We have to study more.

7. Can I have some fruit cake?

8. Boys like thin girls.

60


PRACTICE 2

Listen to the sentences in Practice 1 again and repeat them. Pay

careful attention and give special emphasis to the occurrences of

regressive assimilation in the sentences.

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61

TOPIC 03: COALESCENT ASSIMILATION

VERSÃO TEXTUAL

Coalescent assimilation is a type of reciprocal assimilation:

the first sound and second sound in a sequence come together and

mutually condition the creation of a third sound with characteristics

from both original sounds.

The most common type of coalescent assimilation is referred to as

palatalization. Palatalization occurs when the final alveolar

consonants /s/, /z/, /t/ and /d/ or the final alveolar consonant

sequences /ts/ and /dz/ are followed by initial palatal /j/ and then become

palatalized fricatives (/ʃ/ and /ʒ/) and affricates (/ʧ/ and /ʤ/). Let us look at

and listen to some examples in the following chart.

PRACTICE 1


process of coalescent assimilation occurs.


1. Why don’t you call later?

2. Can I kiss you goodbye?

3. Would you like a cup of coffee?

4. When did your wife get back?

5. Did you tell them what you saw?



62

6. Last year Gina bought a new car.

7. Is that your son? He’s so big!

8. He never takes your advice.

9. Where is your mom?

10. I truly loved you but I don’t anymore.


PRACTICE 2

Listen to the sentences in Practice 1 again and repeat them. Pay

careful attention and give special emphasis to the occurrences of

coalescent assimilation in the sentences.


Click on the link below to read more about connected speech in

English.

http://www.personal.reading.ac.uk/~llsroach/phon2/asscoareli-into.htm

[2]

63

FORUM

Based on what you have read about linking, elision, epenthesis and

assimilation, as well as on your experiences with the English language,

discuss the following questions with your partners:

◾ Which of the adjustments presented in classes 3 and 4 were you already familiar with?

◾ How can learners of English benefit from studying the adjustments of connected speech in an explicit way, both in terms of listening and speaking?

◾ What strategies can you use in order to put these adjustments into practice?

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2. http://www.personal.reading.ac.uk/~llsroach/phon2/asscoareli-

into.htm




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64


PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY

Click on the link below to do the exercises.

Listening Comprehension and Oral Production


PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY

Listen carefully and complete the sentences below. Then write the

sentences on a Word document, save it and send it to your portfolio for

your teacher’s assessment.

1. Please, don’t go. I help.

2. She five miles after she

in the morning.

3. Why come to the party?

4. Bill to know he’s fine.

5. We and all night. It was

a great party.

6. She work every other

Saturday.

7. Gina and her sister fight

a lot when they were younger.

8. After his English class , he

a bus home.

9. we’re going to Canada

for our holiday.

10. You left me just when I

most.



65


PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY

The sentences and phrases below all appear in lesson 4. Go back to

the topics and listen to them again as many times as necessary. Then,

record them paying careful attention to the pronunciation of the segments

in bold and send the recording to your portfolio for your teacher’s

assessment. Make sure to produce the adjustments concerning

assimilation and linking as indicated by the phonetic transcriptions.

FONTES DAS IMAGENS



66

TOPIC 01: FOCUS

In class 2, you learned that in spoken English content words ( --

adjectives, adverbs, main verbs, negatives, nouns, question words,

demonstrative pronouns, and possessive pronouns.) are stressed and

function words ( -- articles, auxiliary verbs, conjunctions, personal pronouns,

prepositions, relative pronouns, demonstrative adjectives, and possessive

adjectives) are unstressed. However, there is one word or one syllable

(when the word has more than one syllable) which receives more stress or

emphasis than the others. This word is called the focus word and it is the

most prominent word in the phrase.

VERSÃO TEXTUAL

When a conversation begins or a topic is introduced, the focus is

usually the last content word or stressed syllable of the last content

word (GRANT, 2001:95). When this happens, the focus is

considered neutral.

Now listen to the examples below. The sentences and phrases illustrate

the placement of focus on the last content word (or its stressed syllable). The

syllables in bold capital letters are stressed, and the large dot (●) is placed

above the word or syllable that receives focus.

EXAMPLE 01

EXAMPLE 02

EXAMPLE 03


CLASS 05: INTONATION

67

OBSERVATION

Listen to the different ways in which the sentence “He finished his

report” is said in the dialogues below and compare the different meanings

that are created because of the change in focus.

The dialogues above illustrate how intonation depends on context.

By putting special emphasis on a given word, we may convey different

meanings and intentions. Listen to the dialogues again and identify

which word (or syllable, if the word has more than one syllable) in

‘John finished his report’ is the most prominent.


STOP TO READ

Focus maintains the natural flow of communication between speakers

and listeners. When focus is not appropriately used, there is usually some

kind of misunderstanding.

PRACTICE 1

The sentences and phrases in the dialogues below all take neutral

placement of focus. Identify the words (or syllables) which are stressed

and then predict which one is the most prominent. Then listen and

practice.

DIALOGUE 1

A: Why haven’t you cleaned up your bedroom?

B: Because I was doing my homework. But I’ll start right now.

DIALOGUE 2

A: What time did you get home?

B: Around eight.

A: That early?

B: Alex gave me a ride.

68

DIALOGUE 3

A: When are you going to have a vacation?

B: Next July.

A: Are you going anywhere?

B: No. I’m saving to buy a car.


PRACTICE 2

It is extremely important to distinguish between content words and

function words to produce the rhythm of English appropriately. Let us

revise this aspect we have studied before by doing the exercises on the

links below.

http://esl.about.com/library/speaking/blpronounce_stress_words1.htm

[2]

69

http://esl.about.com/library/speaking/blpronounce_stress_words2.htm

[3]

PRACTICE 3

In the dialogues below, there is shift of focus to words other than the

last content word in some phrases/sentences. Listen to each one of the

dialogues and identify where this shift happens.

DIALOGUE 1

DIALOGUE 2

DIALOGUE 3

DIALOGUE 4


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VOCABULARY SEARCH






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REFERENCES


FONTES DAS IMAGENS


2. http://esl.about.com/library/speaking/blpronounce_stress_words1.htm

3. http://esl.about.com/library/speaking/blpronounce_stress_words2.ht

m




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71

TOPIC 02: RISING-FALLING INTONATION

In the previous topic, you were presented with the concept of focus and

its importance to English pronunciation. Now you will learn more about

intonation.

More specifically, intonation is the combination of musical tones on

which we pronounce the syllables that make up our speech, and it is often

referred to as the melody of language.

If you listen to someone speak, you will notice that their voice goes up

and down. This movement of the voice up or down is called pitch. These

pitch changes contribute significantly to intelligible communication as

different pitch patterns can signal a wide variety of meanings.

In our course, we will use a simplified system which divides intonation

into four types: normal, high, low and extra-high. In order to show the

movements of the voice up or down, lines will be drawn at four different

levels and arrows will be used to represent the four types of intonation

(tones) we will work with. Look at and listen to the examples below.

Then listen again and repeat, trying to make your voice follow the tones.



72


1. GOOD MORNing.

Extra high

High morn-

Normal Good

Low ing

2. JOHN CALLED me.

Extra high

High called

Normal John

Low me

3. I'd LIKE a SOda.

Extra high

High so-

Normal I'd like a

Low -da.

STOP TO READ

The most prominent word or syllable is the word or syllable with the

greatest pitch change. When we have neutral focus, it is usually the last

content word (or its stressed syllable) that has the greatest change in pitch.

INTONATION PATTERNS

Each speaker has his or her own variety of tones. However, native

speakers and proficient speakers of English usually make their voices rise

and fall at nearly the same places under similar circumstances. It is at the

end of sentences that English intonation is used most uniformly. In this

position, there are two basic types of intonation: rising-falling intonation

(also known as falling intonation) and rising intonation. The first type will be

introduced in this topic, whereas the latter will be dealt with in topic 3.

RISING-FALLING INTONATION

73

In other words, what comes immediately before the high note is spoken

on a normal tone, and what comes after the high note is spoken on a low tone

(PRATOR & ROBINNETT, 1985). The last content word (or the stressed

syllable of the last content word) normally receives the high note.

Listen to the examples below.


4. We DON'T beLIEVE it.

Extra high

High -lieve

Normal We don't be-

Low it.

5. WHY is she ANgry?

Extra high

High an-

Normal Why is she

Low -gry

6. You NEED to STUdy

Extra high

High stu-

Normal You need to

Low -dy.

The movement from one tone to another usually happens between

syllables, as the examples above show. However, the voice sometimes rises

( -- goes up) and falls ( -- goes down) below normal within the same syllable.

This movement is known as a slide. A slide happens when the last sentence

stress and the high note fall on the last syllable.

74

Look at and listen to the examples below.


7. The FILM is GOOD

Extra high

High goo-

Normal The film is

Low -ood.

8. THIS is mySON!

Extra high

High so-

Normal This is my

Low -on.

Notice that this movement up and down within the same syllable causes

the vowel of the syllable to be lengthened ( -- to become longer) . Listen to

examples 7 and 8 again and pay careful attention to the lengthening of the

vowel.

In English, rising-falling intonation is usually used at the end of:

DECLARATIVESENTENCES

THIS IS MY SON.

YOU NEED TO STUDY.

COMMANDS BRING YOUR DICTIONARY NEXT CLASS.

75

DON’T FORGET TO TAKE YOUR UMBRELLA.

WH - QUESTIONS ( -- QUESTIONS THAT BEGIN

WITH AN

INTERROGATIVE WORD, SUCH AS

WHAT, WHO, WHEN, ETC)

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

WHERE DO YOU LIVE?

STOP TO READ

The fall of your voice to a low tone indicates that the thought is

completed. For this reason, it is considered a type of vocal full stop. Clear

rising-falling intonation signals certainty and completeness (PRATOR &

ROBINNETT, 1985).

PRACTICE 1

Identify where your voice is more likely to rise and fall in the

sentences below. Where is there a slide and why?



1. Who wrote it?

Extra high

High wrote

Normal Who

Low it?

2. She wants a sandwich.

Extra high

High sand

76

Normal She wants a

Low -wicn.

3.Try to keep the street clean

Extra high

High clea-

Normal Try to keep the street

Low -ean.

4. Jack is in his bedroom.

Extra high

High bed-

Normal Jack is in his

Low -room.

5. Where's the police station?

Extra high

High -lice

Normal Where's the po-

Low station?

6. What's he talking about?

Extra high

High talk

Normal What's he

Low -ing about?

7. We never have meat.

Extra high

High mea-

Normal We never have

Low -eat

8. Peter's married to my sister

Extra high

High sis-

Normal Peter's married to my

Low -ter.

77

9. I can't see well without my glasses.

Extra high

High glass-

Normal I can't see well without my/p>

Low -es.

10. Don't forget to call us.

Extra high

High call

Normal Don't forget to

Low us.

Answer: There is a slide in sentences 3 and 7 because the

syllable that receives the high tone is the last syllable in the

sentence.

PRACTICE 2

Listen to the sentences in Practice 1 and repeat. Be sure to use rising-

falling intonation.

PRACTICE 3

Go back to the sentences in practice 1 again and identify the content

words in each one of them. Remember that content words are normally

stressed in spoken English. When the content word has more than one

syllable, also identify the syllable that receives sentence stress. Then,

remember why they are content words.


1. WHO WROTE it?

2. She WANTS a SANDwich.

3. TRY to KEEP the STREET CLEAN.

4. JACK is in his BEDroom.

5. WHERE’S the poLICE STAtion?

6. WHAT’S he TALKing about?

7. We NEver HAVE MEAT.

8. PEter’s MArried to my SISter.

9. I CAN’T SEE WELL without my GLASSes.

10. DON’T forGET to CALL us.

WHY ARE THEY CONTENT WORDS?

◾ Who, where and what are wh- words.

◾ Wrote, wants, try, keep, talking, have, see, and forget are main verbs.

78

◾ Sandwich, street, bedroom, police station, meat, sister, and glasses are nouns.

◾ Clean is an adjective.

◾ Never and well are adverbs.

◾ Can’t and don’t are negative contractions.

TO REVISE SENTENCE STRESS, GO BACK TO CLASS 2.

FURTHER READING

Click on the link below to read more about intonation in English.

http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~krussll/138/sec3/inton.htm [1]

VOCABULARY SEARCH






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REFERENCES

PRATOR, C. H.; ROBINNETT, B. W. Manual of American

English Pronunciation (4th edition). Orlando: Holt, Rineliart

and Winston, Inc., 1985.

FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~krussll/138/sec3/inton.htm




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79

TOPIC 03: RISING INTONATION

In English, two types of intonation are most common at the end of a

sentence: rising-falling intonation and rising intonation. In the previous

topic, you learned that rising-falling intonation is used for declarative

sentences, commands, and wh- questions. In this lesson, you will study

rising intonation.

In English, rising intonation is used at the end of questions that do not

begin with a wh- word, i.e., questions that can be answered by ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

These yes/no questions begin with auxiliary verbs, such as can, would, may,

should, is, am, are, have, has, do, does, did, among others.

When rising intonation is used, the voice normally goes up to a high

note on the last sentence stress, just like in rising-falling intonation. The

difference is that,in the rising intonation pattern, the syllables that follow the

rise of the voice are pronounced on the high note as well, i.e., they do not fall

to a low note (PRATOR & ROBINNETT, 1985).



1. Are you BraZIlian?

Extra high

High zilian?

Normal Are you Bra-

Low

2. Can IHELPyou?

Extra high

High help you?

Normal Can I



80

Low

3. Did youSEEhim at the PARty

Extra high

High party?

Normal Did you see him at the

Low

STOP TO READ

When the speaker leaves the voice high at the end of the sentence, he

or she creates in the listener a feeling of incompleteness, suggesting that

something else must be said. This sensation of incompleteness contrasts

with the sense of completeness created by the rising-falling intonation

pattern.

Listen to the sentences below and answer the following questions:

a)What type of end-of-sentence intonation is used?

b)Do the sentences mean the same thing?


1. What time does the class finish?

2. What time does the class finish?


a) In sentence 1, the speaker uses rising-falling intonation. In

sentence 2, the speaker uses rising intonation.

b) They have different meanings. In sentence 1, the speaker is

asking a true question, i.e., he or she really wants to learn what time

the class finishes. But in sentence 2, the question is an echo question,

i.e., it is a question about what was said previously, and it means “Is

that what you just said?” or “Please, repeat what you said”.

STOP TO READ

As you learned in topic 2, wh- questions are usually given rising-

falling intonation. However, they take on a new meaning if they are said

with rising intonation – they are echo questions, which normally mean “Is

that what you said?” or “Please, repeat what you said.”

PRACTICE 1

81

Identify where your voice is more likely to rise in the questions below.

Remember that the voice normally goes up to a high note on the last

sentence stress.



1. Does your WIFE WORK?

Extra high

High work?

Normal Does your wife

Low

2. Did you HAVE a vaCAtion?

Extra high

High vacation?

Normal Did you have a va-

Low

3. Will youHELP me with the BAGS?

Extra high

High bags?

Normal Will you help me with the

Low

4. Is it RAINing

Extra high

High raining?

Normal Is it

82

Low

5. Was the WEAther COLD in LONdon?

Extra high

High London?

Normal Was the weather cold in

Low

6. Have you EVER BEEN aBROAD?

Extra high

High -broad?

Normal Have you ever been a-

Low

7. Has she LOST her CREdit CARD?

Extra high

High credit card?

Normal Has she lost her

Low

8. Would you LIKE a CUP of COffe?

Extra high

High coffe?

Normal Would you like a cup of

Low

9. Should I GO to the DOCtot?

Extra high

High doctor?

Normal Should I go to the

Low

10. Is it GOing to be exCITing?

Extra high

High -citing?

Normal Is it going to be ex-

Low

83

PRACTICE 2

Listen to the sentences in Practice 1 and repeat. Be sure to use rising

intonation.

PRACTICE 3

Go back to the sentences in practice 1 again and identify the content

words in each one of them. Remember that content words are normally

stressed in spoken English. When the content word has more than one

syllable, also identify the syllable that receives sentence stress. Then,

remember why they are content words.


WHY ARE THEY CONTENT WORDS?

◾ Wife, vacation, bags, weather, London, credit card, cup, coffee, doctor are nouns.

◾ Work, have (sentence 2), help, raining, been, lost, like, go, going are main verbs. Remember that the present and past forms of ‘to be’ are normally unstressed.

◾ Cold is an adjective.

◾ Ever and abroad are adverbs.

PRACTICE 4

Click on the link below, listen to the fable “The Fox and the Grapes”

by Aesop, and practice marking sentence stress and intonation in English.

After you check your answers, listen to the fable again and repeat.

http://usefulenglish.ru/phonetics/listening-for-intonation-the-fox-

and-the-grapes [1]

PRACTICE 5

Click on the link below to practice intonation in questions and

answers in English. Listen to and repeat all the questions and answers,

paying careful attention to their intonation.

84

http://usefulenglish.ru/phonetics/listening-for-intonation-in-

questions-and-answers [2]


Click on the links below to read more about rising intonation in

English.

http://usefulenglish.ru/phonetics/rising-intonation [3]

http://www.dce.kar.nic.in/new%20files/English%206.pdf [4] (Visite

a aula online para realizar download deste arquivo.)

VOCABULARY SEARCH






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REFERENCES




FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://usefulenglish.ru/phonetics/listening-for-intonation-the-fox-and-

the-grapes

2. http://usefulenglish.ru/phonetics/listening-for-intonation-in-questions-

and-answers

3. http://usefulenglish.ru/phonetics/rising-intonation

4. http://www.dce.kar.nic.in/new%20files/English%206.pdf




cc=global




85

TOPIC 04: NONFINAL INTONATION

In topics 2 and 3, you studied the raising and lowering of the voice at the

end of a sentence, where appropriate intonation is most conventional and,

thus, easiest to predict. In this topic, you will be presented with nonfinal

intonation.

COMPLEX SENTENCES

Complex sentences ( -- sentences that have one independent clause and

at least one dependent (subordinate) clause ) often have two separate

intonation patterns: a nonfinal intonation contour on the first phrase and a

final intonation contour on the second.

Listen to the examples below. On which words does the voice go up?

1. When you get there, don’t forget to call me.

2. If you need any help, let me know.


Answer: The voice rises on the words there, call, help and know.

In the examples above, the first group is ended by a high note on its final

stress, then the voice goes down to normal. The second group starts at

normal level and ends with the voice rising on the last content word (or its

last syllable) and lowering to below normal. A fall at the end of the sentence

to the lowest pitch indicates that the thought is complete, whereas a fall that



86

does not reach the lowest pitch indicates that the speaker still has more to

say.

SERIES WITH “AND”

Listen to the sentences below. What types of intonation patterns do you

hear? On which words does the voice go up and down?

1. She bought bananas, apples, pears, and strawberries.

2. We went to Paris, London, Rome, and Madrid.

3. They saw Kate, Susan, Bill, and Jack.


ANSWER: We can hear the rising and the rising-falling

intonation patterns. Rising intonation is used on all members of the

series except the last one, whereas rising-falling intonation is used on

the last member.

87

IMPORTANT: Notice that in sentences 2 and 3 the last sentence

stress is also the last syllable, so the voice rises and falls within the same

syllable.

Listen to the sentences again and repeat to practice intonation in series

with ‘and’.

ALTERNATIVES WITH “OR”

In sentences containing alternatives with ‘or’, we have the same

intonation pattern as in series with ‘and’: rising intonation followed by

rising-falling intonation.

Listen to the sentences below and try to identify the rising and falling of

the voice.

1. We can have soup, spaghetti or steak.

2. Jane might wear her black dress or her new jeans.


88

IMPORTANT: Notice that in both sentences the last sentence

stress is also the last syllable, so the voice rises and falls within the

same syllable.

Listen to the sentences again and repeat to practice intonation in

alternatives with ‘or’.

CONTRASTS AND COMPARISONS

In contrasts and comparisons, both ideas being contrasted or compared

receive special attention. One of the ideas will usually have a nonfinal

intonation pattern whereas the other one will have a final intonation pattern.

Also, one of the stressed elements is pronounced on a high note and the

other one on an extra-high note. Normally, it does not make any difference

which element is given the extra-high note. This difference in level between

the two high notes emphasizes the idea of contrast. Listen and check.

EXAMPLE 1

89

EXAMPLE 2

In questions with ‘or’ where the speaker wants the hearer to make a

choice, this contrastive extra-high note is obligatory. For example:

EXAMPLE 1

EXAMPLE 2

However, in questions with ‘or’ that are meant to be interpreted as a

double question and are to be answered ‘yes’ or ‘no’, the intonation pattern

should be the same as of one or two yes/no questions (PRATOR &

ROBINETT, 1985).

Look at and listen to the examples below:

90

EXAMPLE 1

EXAMPLE 2

Notice that in questions with ‘or’ intended to be answered ‘yes’ or ‘no’,

no extra-high note is given on either of the elements.

DIRECT ADDRESS

The most conventional pattern used in pronouncing names and titles

addressed directly to the person you are speaking to is rising intonation.

The direct address should begin on a low note and then rise to normal. Direct

address may come at the beginning, at the end or in any other position in the

sentence, and it does not have any influence on the intonation of the rest of

the sentence (PRATOR & ROBINETT, 1985).


EXAMPLE 1

91

EXAMPLE 2

Click here to check.

1. Mother to Billy:

Stop talking and listen carefully,

Billy.


Listen to Billy’s mother talk to him. How does she feel?

Billy’s mother sounds angry. If your voice does not rise at all when

you address someone directly, your hearer may think you are irritated

(PRATOR & ROBINETT, 1985).

92

PRACTICE 1

Listen to the sentences and repeat. Practice using appropriate

intonation in English.


When we met her, she was crying. (complex sentence)

On my last birthday I got a CD, a pair of jeans, and a blouse.

(series with ‘and’)

Are you coming today or tomorrow? (question with ‘or’)

English is easier than German. (comparison)

Did you talk to Gina or Ann? (double question)

We can have pizza or spaghetti. (alternatives with ‘or’)

PRACTICE 2

Click on the link below and practice different kinds of intonation

patterns in English

http://usefulenglish.ru/phonetics/listening-for-falling-and-rising-

intonation [13]

VOCABULARY SEARCH






cc=global [16]


REFERENCES




FONTES DAS IMAGENS



93











13. http://usefulenglish.ru/phonetics/listening-for-falling-and-rising-

intonation




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94

TOPIC 05: MORE FUNCTIONS OF INTONATION

The meanings of the intonation patterns you have learned so far are

considered grammatical meanings, i.e., these patterns help convey concepts

such as affirmation, negation, general interrogation, among others.

In this topic you will be presented with some patterns of intonation

which express emotions and attitudes. These patterns are normally felt to be

more difficult to learn once they are variable, i.e., they depend on the ideas

the speaker wishes to convey.

Listen to the dialogues below and identify the attitude or emotion of the

second speaker. Click here

Dialogue 1

A: Kevin’s lost the car keys.

B: Kevin’s lost the car keys?

Dialogue 2

A: She’s won a million dollars.

B: She’s won a million dollars?

Dialogue 3

A: They moved out of

Manhattan.

B: Where?

Dialogue 4

A: They moved out of

Manhattan.

B: Where?

In which dialogue(s) is the second speaker showing

surprise?

In which dialogue(s) is the second speaker

asking for clarification?



95

In which dialogue(s) is the second speaker seeking more

information?


In dialogue 2, the second speaker is showing surprise.

In dialogues 1 and 3, the second speaker is asking for clarification.

In dialogue 4, the second speaker is seeking more information.

Now let us look at each one of the situations above.

SHOWING SURPRISE

You can show surprise by using rising intonation to echo ( -- to repeat

what someone else just said, especially because you find it surprising) a

statement. Your voice normally goes up on the stressed syllable of the last

content word.

Listen to the dialogues below: Click here

1. A: She’s won a million dollars.

B: She’s won a million dollars? I

don’t believe it!

2. A: Peter is my son.

B: Peter is your son? But you’re so

young!

3. A: Amanda and Tom got married.

B: Amanda and Tom got married?

Are you sure?

Listen to the dialogues again and identify the syllable where the

pitch rises in the echo statement showing surprise.

96


OBSERVATION

Notice that

‘dollars’, ‘son’, and

‘married’ are the last

content words in the

sentence. Also notice

that the voice goes up

on the first syllable in

‘dollars’ and ‘married’

as these are the stressed

syllables in the words.

ASKING FOR CLARIFICATION

CLARIFICATION OF THE ENTIRE STATEMENT

If you want to request clarification of a whole sentence, your voice

goes up on the last content word (or on its stressed syllable). For example:

Click here

CLICK HERE

A: Mary called.

B: Mary called?

(NOTICE THAT ‘CALLED’ HAS ONLY ONE SYLLABLE)

A: I met John’s parents.

B: You met John’s

parents?

(NOTICE THAT ‘PARENTS’ HAS TWO SYLLABLES, SO THE

PITCH GOES UP ON THE STRESSED SYLLABLE ‘PA’)

97

CLARIFICATION OF A SPECIFIC ITEM

If you want clarification or repetition of a specific item in a statement,

your voice goes up on this specific item. Click here

CLICK HERE

A: Can I call you at nine?

B: At five?

A: No, at nine.

A: I’m going to invite John to the theater.

B: Tom?

A: No, John.

A: Let’s meet at the coffee shop on Second

Street.

B: At the coffee shop?

A: That’s right.

(NOTICE THAT ‘COFFEE SHOP’ IS COMPOUND NOUN AND

THAT IN COMPOUND NOUNS THE PRIMARY STRESS FALLS ON

THE STRESSED SYLLABLE OF THE FIRST NOUN)

Asking for clarification or seeking more information?

In wh- questions, if the speaker is seeking more information, the pitch

falls on the stressed syllable of the last content word. If the pitch rises, the

speaker is probably asking for clarification or repetition. When requesting

repetition, the pitch rise occurs on the wh- word (GRANT, 2001).

98

Listen to the dialogues below and identify the second speaker’s

intention.


1. A: I saw Kate at the mall

B: Where?

'Speaker B' wants to: ( ) request clarification

( ) request more information

2. A: I'll call you this Friday

B: When?



3. A: I saw Kate at the mall

B: Where?



4. A: Mariah Carey is coming to Brazil in November for a concert

B: When?




In dialogues 1 and 2, the pitch rises in the wh- word, so speaker B

is asking for clarification/repetition.

In dialogues 3 and 4, the pitch falls in the wh- question, so

speaker B wants more information.

Listen to the dialogues again and choose the correct answer to speaker

B’s question.


1. A: I saw Kate at the mall.

B: Where?

A:( ) At the mall. OR ( )In front of the cinema.

2. A: I'll can you this Friday.

99

B: When?

A:( ) This Friday. OR ( ) Around nine.

3. A: There was a devastating earthquake in Chile.

B: Where?

A:( ) In Chile. OR ( ) In Santiago

4. A: Mariah Carey is coming to Brazil in November for a concert

B: When?

A:( ) In November. OR ( ) On the 22nd.


1.A: I saw Kate at the mall.

B: Where?

A: At the mall.

2. A: I’ll call you this Friday.

B: When?

A: This Friday.

3. A: There was a devastating earthquake in

Chile.

B: Where?

A: In Santiago.

4. A: Mariah Carey is coming to Brazil in

November for a concert.

100

B: When?

A: On the 22nd.

TAG QUESTIONS

Tag questions are small questions that come at the end of sentences.

They can be used for two purposes: to ask for agreement or to ask a real

question. The intonation pattern in tag questions varies according to their

purpose.

Listen to the sentences below and identify the intonation patterns used

in the tag questions. Click here

1. You know Brian, don’t you?


3. Sarah didn’t come to the party,

did she?


did she?

Which tag questions are given rising intonation? And which tag

questions receive rising-falling intonation?


The tag questions in sentences 1 and 4 are given rising intonation,

whereas the ones in sentences 2 and 3 receive rising-falling intonation.

101

Listen to the examples above again and answer. Click here




did she?


did she?


In sentences 1 and 4, the tag questions are real questions. If the

tag question is a real question, we use rising intonation. The voice

begins on a normal note and then rises to a high note.

In sentences 2 and 3, the tag questions are meant to ask for

agreement (confirmation). If the tag question is not a real question, we

use rising-falling intonation. The voice begins on a high note and then

falls to a low note.

STOP TO READ

Notice that the intonation at the end of the affirmative or negative

sentence which precedes the tag question is always rising-falling

intonation.

TRUE QUESTION

102

CONFIRMATION

PRACTICE 1

Listen to the tag questions below and based on the intonation pattern

used decide which ones are true questions and which ones are a

confirmation.


It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?

You’ve never been abroad, have you?

John wasn’t in class yesterday, was he?

Fiona loves Shrek, doesn’t she?

That’s Bob’s car, isn’t it?

Fred doesn’t like me, does he?

We don’t have classes tomorrow, do we?

You can’t die of influenza, can you?


1. TRUE QUESTION

2. TRUE QUESTION

3. CONFIRMATION

4. TRUE QUESTION

5. CONFIRMATION

6. TRUE QUESTION

7. CONFIRMATION

8. TRUE QUESTION

103

PRACTICE 2

Click on the links below and revise what you have studied so far about

intonation patterns in English.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2bHdXcszJ4 [6]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh6kUsJcu3k [7]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k80wiT0t2rc [8]

PRACTICE 3

Click on the link below and practice listening for intonation.

http://usefulenglish.ru/phonetics/listening-for-intonation-fire-and-

ice [9]

FORUM

Based on what you have learned in this course, discuss the following

questions with your partners:

◾ Has this course contributed to your language learning process? If so, how? If not, why not?

◾ How can this course help you to improve your listening and speaking abilities on a daily basis?

◾ Of all the things that you have studied in this course, which ones do you think are the most important? Why?

◾ How do you intend to use what you have learned?

VOCABULARY SEARCH






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REFERENCES


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6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2bHdXcszJ4

7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh6kUsJcu3k

8. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k80wiT0t2rc

9. http://usefulenglish.ru/phonetics/listening-for-intonation-fire-and-ice




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PART 1: LISTENING COMPREHENSION

PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY 1A

Listen carefully and identify the intonation used in the sentences

below: rising-falling or rising. For rising-falling intonation use the symbol

and for rising intonation use the symbol . Then write your answers

on a Word document, save it and send it to your portfolio for your

teacher’s assessment.

1. Where were you yesterday?

2. Were you at home yesterday?

3. When is Alex going to leave?

4. Is Alex going to leave tomorrow?

5. There’s been an accident.

6. Has anyone got hurt in the accident?

7. You won’t get there before 8:00

8. What time are you getting there?

9. What’s he doing here?

10. What’s he doing here?

PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY 1B

Listen to the dialogues below and choose the correct answer. Then

write your answers on a Word document, save it and send it to your

portfolio for your teacher’s assessment..

1.

KATE: I left my cellphone on the bus.

JOHN: Where?

KATE:


CLASS 05:INTONATION

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a) On the bus.

b) On the back seat.

2.

KATE: I left my cellphone on the bus.

JOHN: Where?

KATE:

a) On the bus.

b) On the back seat

3.

BILL: Nancy is visiting us this weekend.

JANE: When?

KATE:

a) This weekend.

b) On Saturday evening.

4.

BILL: Nancy is visiting us this weekend.

JANE: When?

KATE:

a) This weekend.

b) On Saturday evening.

PART 2: ORAL PRODUCTION

PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY

Record the sentences below paying careful attention to the type of

intonation that is appropriate in each situation. Then, save the recording

and send it to your portfolio for your teacher’s assessment. It is also

important to identify on which syllable your voice should go up and go

down. Practice reading the sentences out loud before you actually record

them.

1. How was your weekend?

2. Did you have a good weekend?

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3. I’d like to speak to the manager.

4. Can I speak to the manager?

5. Is there a problem?

6. What’s the problem?

7. When we met her, she was crying. (COMPLEX

SENTENCE)

8. We need to buy some milk, eggs, and bread.

(SERIES WITH ‘AND’)

9. Are you coming today or tomorrow? (QUESTION

WITH ‘OR’)

10. We can have pizza or spaghetti. (ALTERNATIVE

WITH ‘OR’)

11. He won the lottery? I don’t believe it! (SURPRISE)

12. English is easier than German. (COMPARISON)

13. You’ve never been abroad, have you? (TRUE

QUESTION)

14. You’ve never been abroad, have you?

(CONFIRMATION)

15. Mary called? (CLARIFICATION OF THE ENTIRE

STATEMENT)

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