Suez Canal University

Faculty of Arts & Humanities

Department of English

PHONOLOGY 3
A COMPILED BOOK

2022
Suez Canal University
Faculty of Arts & Humanities
Department of English

PHONOLOGY 3
A COMPILED BOOK
Collected and edited for educational purposes

2022
 Contents
Chapter Title Page
No.
ONE Introduction 1

TWO Rhythm 17

THREE Prominence 27

FOUR Intonation 38

Exercises 57

II
 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

English has 44 sounds (phonemes), divided

into consonant and vowel sounds.

Consonants are produced with more

obstruction of the airflow than vowels. This

means that while producing consonants, the

air is obstructed in the vocal tract in one

way or another. On the other hand, the air

comes out freely without any obstruction

when producing vowels.

1
 Vowels are produced without any

obstruction to the flow of air passing

through the vocal tract. The air passes

freely from the larynx till it is released out

of the mouth. Vowels are made by moving

the tongue slightly without touching any of

the other articulators (organs of speech).

Unlike consonants, all vowels are voiced,

oral, and continuant (air does not stop in

the mouth).

2
 There are 20 vowels in English divided

into two groups: 12 monophthongs and 8

diphthongs. Monophthongs are the basic

vowels (also known as pure vowels)

represented on the vowel chart:

THE VOWEL CHART

3
The 12 pure vowels are represented using

the IPA symbols for British English:

VOWEL SOUNDS

Pure vowels are divided into 2 sub-groups

according to vowel length: 7 short and 5

long.

4
 Diphthongs are referred to as double

vowel sounds. There are eight (8)

diphthongs in English, represented using

the IPA symbols for British English:

DIPHTHONGS

5
 Diphthongs can be divided into three

different groups as in the diagram below:

Diphthongs are divided into three (3)

centering diphthongs and five (5) closing

diphthongs which are also divided into two

sub-groups: 3 front closing and 2 back

closing.

6
 A syllable is basically a small unit of

speech that consists of a vowel; it might

consist of a vowel and one or more

consonants. Syllables are usually described

according to how they are produced: a

syllable consists of a center which has little

or no obstruction to airflow – a vowel. The

center of a syllable is referred to as the

peak, and it sounds comparatively loud.

There could be more obstruction to airflow

– consonants – before or after the center.

7
Syllable Structure:

A syllable is a phonological unit

composed of one or more phonemes. Every

syllable has a nucleus, which is a vowel

(the center/peak). The nucleus may be

preceded by one or more phonemes called

the syllable onset and followed by one or

phonemes called the coda. The number of

syllables within a word can be determined

by counting the number of vowels.

8
 The onset or coda of a syllable might

consist of more than one consonant (a

consonant cluster). The onset could have a

maximum of (3) consonants, while a coda

might have up to (4) consonants. The

English language has a complex syllable

structure as presented in the following

table:

9
SYLLABLE STRUCTURE EXAMPLE

V I /aɪ/
CV key /ki:/
CCV tree /tri:/
CCCV spree /spri:/
CVC seek /si:k/
CCVC speak /spi:k/
CCCVC scram /skræm/
CCCVCC striped /straɪpt/
VC an /æn/
VCC ant /ænt/
VCCC ants /ænts/
CVCC pant /pænt/
CVCCC pants /pænts/
CVCCCC texts /teksts/
CCCVCCC splints /splɪnts/
CCVCC stamp /stæmp/

11
 'Stress' is a phonological aspect that

applies to syllables within words in

pronunciation. The term is used to describe

the extra effort given to one syllable to

make it more noticeable and prominent than

other syllables within the same word. A

syllable is made more prominent through

length, loudness, and pitch level.

Thus a stressed syllable tends to be:

a. louder

b. longer

c. at a higher pitch level

11
Levels of stress:
In poly-syllabic words (i.e. words with

more than one syllable), one syllable is

stressed the most. There are two levels of

stress in English: secondary stress where a

syllable sounds louder and primary stress

where a syllable sounds the loudest. Only

one syllable carries the primary stress

within a word. The stress is fixed within

words, which means that we need to learn it

as it is pronounced by native speakers.

12
 The vowel in the stressed syllable

becomes louder and longer and is said at a

higher pitch level. Stressed syllables are

marked in the transcription with a small

vertical line ( ' ) just higher than the symbol

level.

understand /ʌndə'stænd/

13
• Mono-syllabic words:

These are short words of only one

syllable. When pronounced in isolation,

these words receive the primary stress.

All monosyllabic words carry a stress.

Even short function words, when

pronounced as single utterances in their

strong form, receive a primary stress.

cat /kæt/

and /ænd/

14
• Weak syllables:

Weak syllables including the schwa /ə/,

close front /i/, close back /u/, and syllabic

consonants are never stressed within a

word.

better /'betə/

happy/'hæpi/

15
Connected speech

When words are joined together into

one single utterance in rapid casual speech,

some phonological features might occur.

Such features are known as aspects of

connected speech. This is a characteristic

of fast speech that might not be observed in

slow careful speech. Among those aspects,

focus is given to the following:

Assimilation, Elision, and Linking

16
 CHAPTER TWO
RHYTHM

Rhythm is the sense of movement in

speech, which is marked by stress, timing

and quantity of syllables. Spoken English

words with two or more syllables have

different stress and length patterns.

The rhythm of English is based on the

contrast of stressed and unstressed syllables

in regular intervals, with the stresses falling

within content words.

17
 The stressed syllables of the sentence

create beats. The beats of the following

sentence fall on the words 'like' and the

second syllable of 'Colombia'.

* Large dots are used to mark stressed

syllables (which sound stronger than other

syllables) whereas small dots are used to

mark less stressed syllables in any given

utterance.

18
To know whether the words are stressed or

not, we can consider the types of words:

content and function.

Words that have the most stress in

English are called content words. Content

words are usually the nouns, verbs,

adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns

(demonstrative, possessive, reflexive, and

interrogative). These words are important to

express the main meaning of the sentence.

19
Nouns: Sam, chair, happiness, etc.

Verbs: read, love, dance, etc.

Adjectives: red, big, strong, etc.

Adverbs: nicely, patiently, equally,

yesterday, always, etc.

Negative words: not, never, neither, etc.

Modals: should, could, might, etc. (but not

will and can).

Yes and No in short answers.

Quantifiers: some, many, no, all, one, two,

three, etc.

Wh-Question words: who, why, when, etc.

21
 Function words are those words that

are weaker and shorter. They include

auxiliary verbs, prepositions, conjunctions,

determiners, and possessive adjectives.

These words are less important in

expressing the meaning of the sentence.

Auxiliary verbs: are, was, has, could,

would, etc.

Prepositions: at, on, to, near, etc.

Conjunctions: and, so, but, not, etc.

Determiners: a, an, the, some, any, etc.

Pronouns: I, you, she, him, us, ours, etc.

21
EXAMPLES:

22
 The foot is a unit of rhythm in English

(with a parallel in the metrical analysis of

verse). The foot begins with a stressed

syllable and includes all following

unstressed syllables up to (but not

including) the following stressed syllable.

This utterance would be divided into feet as

follows:

23
EXERCISE

Decide which words are function and

content words in the following sentences.

1. John wants to be an actor, so he wants to

live in Hollywood.

2. Mary made an appointment with the

dentist on Monday.

3. What did you do yesterday?

4. You are not going to that place, are you?

5. Most people are fully aware that

motorcycles can be dangerous to ride.

24
 Check your answers below:

Exercise Answers. Content words are

in bold and the stressed syllables are in

capital letters.

1. John wants to be an ACtor, so he

wants to live in HOllywood.

2. MAry made an apPOINTment with the

DENtist on MONday.

3. What did you do YESterday?

4. You are not GOing to that place, are you?

5. Most PEOple are FULly aWARE that

MOtorCYcles can be DANgerous to ride.

25
Now practice your English rhythm.

26
 CHAPTER THREE
PROMINENCE

Prominence is marking of particular

syllables as salient in English speech. This

marking is accomplished by the pitch,

duration and intensity of the voice, and is

multi-functional in English.

Always when speaking we decide that

certain words are more important than

others. In such cases we emphasize the

27
words , that is, we give them prominence. A

shift in prominence can change the meaning

of the sentence. The prominent syllable is

made more noticeable by slightly greater

volume, duration and higher pitch.

To make any polysyllabic word

prominent, you emphasize the stressed

syllable within this word.

* To show prominence, we capitalize the

prominent syllable.

28
Example:

a. He lives in AlexANdria.

b. He LIVES in Alexandria.

Utterance (a) emphasizes the place,

Alexandria as opposed to Cairo or Ismailia,

whereas (b) emphasizes the fact the he lives

there as opposed to working or going to

school.

29
* All monosyllabic words can be made

prominent even if they are not usually

stressed - like function words.

* Unlike word stress that is fixed in a word

and cannot be changed, prominent is

determined by the speaker - he decides

which words he wants to give emphasis to.

So, prominence can be shifted in an

utterance depending on the meaning the

speaker wishes to convey.

31
1. I told you to go.

A: Are you still here?

B: Mr. Hardy told me to stay and finish off

this report.

A: But I told you to go, never mind what he

says!

2. I TOLD you to go.

A: Are you still here?

B: Why was I supposed to leave?

A: I TOLD you to go at 8 o'clock.

31
3. I told YOU to go.

A: Are you still here?

B: Yes, Sheila said she would take it

there.

A: But I told YOU to go.

4. I told you to GO.

A: Are you still here?

B: Yes.

A: But I told you to GO!

32
 Functionally, prominence has multiple

uses, the most important of which are to

mark a default placement on the final

content word of a phrase, to mark

contrasting information, and to signal new

and given information. Prominence refers to

the greater strength of a word or a syllable

compared to other words or syllables

surrounding it within an utterance. In

English, for example, some prominent

syllables are perceived as more important

than others, and they often bear stress.

33
 Prominence is typically presented as a

required element of prosody. The form

involves marking a syllable in a phrase as

more prominent than other syllables.

Prominent syllables are typically said to

occur once (and sometimes more than once)

within each spoken phrase. In regard to

pitch, a prominent syllable is usually

represented with a pitch movement up or

down from the pitch line.

e.g. I’m going to ArgenTIna.

34
 Up to 90% of English phrases in

spontaneous spoken language have

prominence in the default position for

English, that is, on the stressed syllable of

the last content word in the phrase.

Prominence placement may deviate

from the default position in a number of

sentence structures. Some words are being

prominent because they are important,

rather than because they are final.

35
Example:

A: Where's the BOOK?

B: The book's on the COUNter

In (A) the content word "book" is the

most important word in this question. It

receives standard sentence-level stress. In

(B) the word "book" is now old

information, so the content word "counter"

- the new piece of information - is stressed

(informational stress).

36
Example:

A: Next to the PAper?

B: No, UNder the paper.

The content word "paper" is the most

important word in this question in (A). It's

new information. In (B), the most important

word is the preposition "under" (a function

word) because it's a new piece of

information and because it contrasts with

"next to."

37
 CHAPTER FOUR
INTONATION

Intonation means when, why and how

a speaker chooses to raise or lower or

sustain the pitch of her or his voice at

particular points while speaking. At

its simplest, intonation could be described

as 'the music of speech'. A change

or variation in this music (or pitch) can

affect the meaning of what we say.

38
 We can therefore think of intonation as

referring to the way we use the pitch of

our voice to express particular meanings

and attitudes. Intonation is about how we

say things, rather than what we say.

In addition, the voice tends to rise, fall

or remain flat depending on the meaning or

feeling we want to convey (surprise, anger,

interest, boredom, gratitude, etc.).

Intonation therefore indicates the mood of

the speaker.

39
 There are two basic patterns of

intonation in English: falling intonation and

rising intonation. In the following examples

a downward arrow (➘) indicates a fall in

intonation and an upward arrow (➚)

indicates a rise in intonation.

These are not rules but patterns

generally used by native speakers of

English. Just remember that content words

are stressed, and intonation adds attitude or

emotion.

41
Falling Intonation (➘)

(The pitch of the voice falls at the end of

the sentence.)

Falling intonation is the most common

intonation pattern in English.

It is commonly found in statements,

commands, wh-questions (information

questions), confirmatory question tags and

exclamations.

41
 Statements

o Nice to meet ➘ you.

o I’ll be back in a ➘ minute.

o She doesn’t live here ➘ anymore.

o Dad wants to change his ➘ car.

o Here is the weather ➘ forecast.

o Cloudy weather is expected at the

end of the ➘ week.

o We should work together

more ➘ often

o I'm going for a walk in the ➘ park.

42
 Commands

o Write your name ➘ here.

o Show me what you’ve ➘ written.

o Leave it on the ➘ desk.

o Take that picture ➘ down.

o Throw that ➘ out.

o Put your books on the ➘ table.

o Take your hands out of

your ➘ pockets.

43
 Wh-questions (requesting

information.)

(questions beginning with 'who', 'what',

'why', 'where', 'when', 'which', and 'how')

o What country do you come ➘ from?

o Where do you ➘ work?

o Which of them do you ➘ prefer?

o When does the shop ➘ open?

o How many books have you ➘ bought?

o Which coat is ➘ yours?

o Whose bag is ➘ this?

44
o Questions Tags that are statements

requesting confirmation rather than

questions.

Not all tag questions are really

questions. Some of them merely ask for

confirmation or invite agreement.

o He thinks he’s so clever, doesn’t ➘ he?

o She's such a nuisance, isn't ➘ she?

o He failed the test because he didn't

revise, did ➘ he?

o It doesn't seem to bother him much,

does ➘ it?

45
 Exclamations

o How nice of ➘ you!

o That's just what I ➘ need!

o You don't ➘ say!

o What a beautiful ➘ voice!

o That's a ➘ surprise!

46
Rising Intonation (➚)

(The pitch of the voice rises at the end of a

sentence.)

Rising intonation invites the speaker to

continue talking. It is normally used with

yes/no questions, and question tags that are

real questions.

47
 Yes/no Questions

(Questions that can be answered by

'yes' or 'no'.)

o Do you like your new ➚ teacher?

o Have you finished ➚ already?

o May I borrow your ➚ dictionary?

o Do you have any ➚ magazines?

o Do you sell ➚ stamps?

48
  Questions tags that show uncertainty

and require an answer (real

questions).

o We've met already, ➚ haven't we?

o You like fish, ➚ don't you?

o You're a new student ➚ aren't you?

o The view is beautiful, ➚ isn't it?

We sometimes use a combination of

rising and falling intonation in the same

sentence. The combination is called Rise-

Fall or Fall-Rise intonation

49
Rise-Fall Intonation (➚➘)

(The intonation rises and then falls.)

We use rise-fall intonation for choices, lists,

unfinished thoughts and conditional

sentences.

51
 Choices (alternative questions.)

o Are you having ➚ soup

or ➘ salad?

o Is John leaving on ➚ Thursday

or ➘ Friday?

o Does he speak ➚ German

or ➘ French?

o Is your name ➚ Ava or ➘ Eva?

51
 Lists (rising, rising, rising, falling)

Intonation falls on the last item to show

that the list is finished.

o We've got ➚ apples, pears, bananas

and ➘ oranges

o The sweater comes in ➚ blue, white

pink and ➘ black

o I like ➚ football, tennis, basketball

and ➘ volleyball.

o I bought ➚ a tee-shirt, a skirt and

a ➘ handbag.

52
 Unfinished thoughts (partial

statements)

The rise-fall indicates reservation. The

speaker hesitates to express his thoughts.

o Do you like my new handbag? Well

the ➚ leather is ➘ nice... ( but I don't

like it.)

o What was the meal like? Hmm,

the ➚ fish was ➘ good... (but the rest

wasn't great).

53
 Conditional sentences

(The tone rises in the first clause and

falls gradually in the second clause.)

o If he ➚ calls, ask him to leave

a ➘ message.

o Unless he ➚ insists, I'm not going

to ➘ go.

o If you have any ➚ problems,

just ➘ contact us.

54
Fall-Rise Intonation (➘➚)

(The voice falls and rises usually within one

word.)

The main function of fall-rise intonation is

to show that the speaker is not certain of the

answer they are giving to a question, or is

reluctant to reply (as opposed to a falling

tone used when there is no hesitation). It is

also used in polite requests or suggestions.

55
 Hesitation/reluctance:

o So you'd be willing to confirm that?

...Well ... I ➘sup➚pose so ...

o You didn't see him on Monday? I

don't quite ➘re➚member ...

 Politeness-Doubt-Uncertainty: (You

are not sure what the answer might be.)

o Perhaps we could ➘vis➚it the

place?

o Should we ➘cop➚y the list?

o Do you think it's ➘al➚lowed?

56
EXERCISES

57
Transcribe the following words and
mark the stressed syllables:

de cide

tho rough

re me dy

fic tio nal

su rren der

ta ble

po ta to

love ly

re ward

58
com pa ny

re fu sal

mar ke ting

cli ma tic

se cond class

con nec tion

vo lunt eer

Ja pan ese

pu nish ment

a part ment

59
di rec tion

co llap sing

con tro ver sy

dip lo mat ic

dic tate

quan ti ty

a ppa rent

cap tive

com put er

pho to graph

61
bad tem pered

won der ful

poi son ous

pow er less

good ness

sun rise

re fug ee

en ter tain

in dus try

re fine

61
Write each word in the correct column in
the table.

● • • ● ● • • • ● •
problem Repeat passengers important

1. example

2. pocket

3. practice

4. police

62
5. possible

6. probably

7. pronounce

8. picnic

9. impatient

10. upstairs

11. official

12. envelope

63
Review
Stress in Words
1 Read the words below. Circle the word in each
line that does not have the same stress pattern as
the others.

1. challenge - major - finished - enjoy

2. decide - special - machine - instead
3. serious - delicious - exercise - sensible
4. exciting - expensive - excellent - explosion
5. information - energetic - television - demonstration
6. decision - commercial - occasion - casual
7. vegetable - amazing - interesting - agency
8. biology - usually - psychology - unusual

2 Listen. Repeat the words and check your

answers.

64
Word Stress (1)
Recognition
1
Listen and repeat. How many syllables are there
in each of these words?
1 police ……….

2 intend ……….

3 revise ……….

4 playing ……….

5 predict ……….

6 cabbage ……….

7 master ……….

8 yellow ……….

9 machine ……….

10 table ……….

65
2

Listen and repeat. How many syllables are there

in each of these words?

1 anyhow ……….

2 intending ……….

3 realize ……….

4 distinction ……….

5 manager ……….

6 optional ……….

7 bananas ……….

8 expected ……….

9 qualify ……….

10 popular ……….

66
3

Listen and repeat. How many syllables are there

in each of these words?

1 synonymous ……….

2 bureaucracy ……….

3 adventurous ……….

4 pedagogic ……….

5 predictable ……….

6 domination ……….

7 confidential ……….

8 humiliate ……….

9 operation ……….

10 infinitive ……….

67
4

Listen and repeat. How many syllables are there

in each of these words?

1 consideration ……….

2 objectively ……….

3 counterproductive ……….

4 interdependence ……….

5 university ……….

6 physiology ……….

7 rehabilitate ……….

8 enthusiasm ……….

9 interrogative ……….

10 vocabulary ……….

68
5
Listen and repeat. What part of speech are these
words? ● •
1 pencil ……….

2 orange ……….

3 lesson ……….

4 carpet ……….

5 brother ……….

6 open ……….

7 perfect ……….

8 pretty ……….

9 picture ……….

10 water ……….

11 heavy ……….

12 crimson ……….

69
6
Listen and repeat. What part of speech are these
words? • ●
1 forget ……….

2 review ……….

3 obtain ……….

4 decide ……….

5 annoy ……….

6 accuse ……….

7 contain ……….

8 defend ……….

9 compose ……….

10 advise ……….

11 inform ……….

12 believe ……….

71
7
Listen and repeat. ● • •

1 yesterday

2 cabinet

3 syllable

4 resident

5 nucleus

6 avenue

7 intimate

8 orator

9 paragraph

10 tapestry

11 parallel

12 element

71
8
Listen and repeat. • ● •

1 imagine

2 remember

3 phonetics

4 umbrella

5 reluctant

6 religion

7 assassin

8 adventure

9 essential

10 fanatic

72
9
Listen and repeat. • • ●

1 entertain

2 kangaroo

3 comprehend

4 understand

5 guarantee

73
10
How many syllables are there in each of these
words? The first one is done for you.
1 independent (4)

2 exploitation ……….

3 revision ……….

4 introduction ……….

5 practice ……….

6 trees ……….

7 another ……….

8 student ……….

9 industry ……….

10 composition ……….

11 family ……….

12 fifteenth ……….

74
11
Mark, using the correct symbol ('), the stressed
syllable in each of these words. The first one is
done for you.
1 'happy /'hæpi/

2 summer ……….

3 police ……….

4 suffix ……….

5 reply ……….

6 mother ……….

7 adapt ……….

8 grammar ……….

9 honest ……….

10 accept ……….

75
12
Mark, using the correct symbol ('), the stressed
syllable in each of these words.

1 mediate ……….

2 hospital ……….

3 continue ……….

4 president ……….

5 capital ……….

6 position ……….

7 educate ……….

8 elephant ……….

9 hesitate ……….

76
Exploitation

Look up the following words in your dictionary.

Check the number of syllables in each word and
then find the root for each word.

Word Number of Root

syllables
e.g. government 3 govern
1 silky
2 luckless
3 plentiful
4 helpfulness
5 experimental
6 sheepishly
7 sympathetic
8 disagreeable
9 wisdom
10 activate

77
Word Stress (2)
1
Listen and repeat.

1 poli'tician

2 phone'tician

3 his'torian

4 li'brarian

5 di'vision

6 dis'cussion

7 des'cription

8 'brevity

9 re'ality

10 uni'versity

Nouns ending in -ian, -ion, -tion and -ity are stressed

on the syllable preceding the suffix.

78
2
Listen and repeat.

1 'qualify

2 'rectify

3 i'dentify

4 'classify

5 so'lidify

6 'finish

7 'polish

8 es'tablish

9 re'linquish

10 di'minish

Verbs ending in -ify or -ish are stressed on the

syllable preceding (before) the suffix.

79
3
Listen and repeat.

1 his'toric

2 geo'graphic

3 sympa'thetic

4 his'torical

5 geo'graphical

6 consci'entious

7 su'spicious

8 my'sterious

9 cou'rageous

10 'joyous

Adjectives ending in -ic, -ical, -(e)ous, -ious and -

cious are stressed on the syllable preceding (before)
the suffix.

81
4
Listen and repeat.

1 'active

2 ex'plosive

3 at'tractive

4 pro'tective

5 ex'pensive

6 'sensible

7 de'fensible

8 'terrible

9 'negligible

10 in'telligible

Adjectives ending in -ive, -tive, -ible and -igible are

stressed on the syllable preceding the suffix.

81
5
Listen and repeat.

1 'dominate

2 'circulate

3 'legislate

4 'indicate

5 ne'gotiate

6 trans'late

7 de'bate

8 dic'tate

9 re'late

10 lo'cate

Verbs of two syllables ending in -ate are stressed on

the final syllable, that is, the suffix itself. But if the
word has three syllables, we stress the first syllable.

82
6
Listen and repeat.

1 civili'zation

2 conso'lation

3 appli'cation

4 imagi'nation

5 pronunci'ation

6 trans'lation

7 infor'mation

8 imi'tation

9 compo'sition

10 conver'sation

Nouns ending in -ation and -ition are stressed on the

first syllable of the suffix, that is, before (tion).

83
Practice

7
Mark using the correct symbol (') the stressed
syllable in each of these words.

1 musician ……………

2 necessity ……………

3 attention ……………

4 reality ……………

5 location ……………

6 exploitation ……………

7 permission ……………

8 electricity ……………

9 physician ……………

10 recognition ……………

84
8
Mark using the correct symbol (') the stressed
syllable in each of these words.

1 operate ……………

2 terrify ……………

3 relish ……………

4 placate ……………

5 personify ……………

6 publish ……………

7 flourish ……………

8 dedicate ……………

9 donate ……………

10 horrify ……………

85
9
Mark using the correct symbol (') the stressed
syllable in each of these words.

1 melodic ……………

2 methodical ……………

3 selective ……………

4 numerous ……………

5 medical ……………

6 dangerous ……………

7 basic ……………

8 horrible ……………

9 effective ……………

10 poetic ……………

86
Exploitation

You may use your dictionary for these

exercises.

10
Change the following nouns into adjectives.
Mark the stress on the new word.

1 system ……………

2 fame ……………

3 outrage ……………

4 problem ……………

5 music ……………

87
11
Change the following verbs into nouns. Mark
the stress on the new word.
1 collect ……………

2 recognize ……………

3 reject ……………

4 deduce ……………

5 solve ……………

12
Change the following nouns into verbs. Mark
the stress on the new word.
1 class ……………

2 solid ……………

3 nomination ……………

4 education ……………

5 allocation ……………

88
Word Stress (3)
1
Listen and repeat. How many syllables are there
in each of these words?

1 want ……………

2 wanted ……………

3 wanting ……………

4 unwanted ……………

5 perfect ……………

6 perfectly ……………

7 imperfectly ……………

8 selfish ……………

9 selfishness ……………

10 unselfishness ……………

89
2
Listen and repeat. Mark the stressed syllable in
each of these words.

1 blacken ……………

2 farming ……………

3 roses ……………

4 soften ……………

5 conducted ……………

6 teacher ……………

7 familiarize ……………

8 colorless ……………

9 commencement ……………

10 honestly ……………

91
3
Listen and repeat. Mark the stressed syllable in
each of these words.

1 illegal ……………

2 misadventure ……………

3 dishonest ……………

4 overlooking ……………

5 impossible ……………

6 unrelated ……………

7 extraordinary ……………

8 international ……………

9 underestimate ……………

10 insecure ……………

91
4
Listen and repeat.

1 'interest 'interesting 'interested

2 re'port re'porting re'ported

3 sup'port sup'porting sup'ported

4 end 'ending 'ended

5 mend 'mending 'mended

6 rent 'renting 'renting

7 re'peat re'peating re'peated

8 look 'looking 'looked

9 'manage 'managing 'managed

10 play 'playing 'played

92
5
Listen and repeat.

1 white 'whiten

2 soft 'soften

3 loose 'loosen

4 tight 'tighten

5 'simple 'simplify

6 clear 'clarify

7 'liquid 'liquify

8 'modern 'modernize

9 'central 'centralize

10 'legal 'legalize

93
6
Listen and repeat.

1 harden hardener

2 fertilize fertilizer

3 sterilize sterilizer

4 soften softener

5 purify purifier

6 commence commencement

7 resent resentment

8 require requirement

9 settle settlement

10 manage management

94
7
Listen and repeat.

1 greedy greedily

2 happy happily

3 sad sadly

4 great greatly

5 stern sternly

6 calm calmly

7 timid timidly

8 swift swiftly

9 brisk briskly

10 cold coldly

95
8
Listen and repeat.

1 burden burdensome

2 whole wholesome

3 trouble troublesome

4 child childlike

5 business businesslike

6 life lifelike

7 lady ladylike

8 fool foolish

9 self selfish

10 England English

96
9
Listen and repeat.

1 possible impossible

2 formal informal

3 state restate

4 name rename

5 tidy untidy

6 civil uncivil

7 pronounce mispronounce

8 hear mishear

9 agree disagree

10 order disorder

97
10
Listen and repeat.

1 nuclear antinuclear

2 nuclear antinuclear

3 mural extramural

4 sensory extrasensory

5 state understate

6 rate underrate

7 mix intermix

8 national international

9 use overuse

10 work overwork

98
Practice

11
Add the correct suffix to change the following
words to verbs. Mark the stress on the new
word.

1 terror ……………

2 standard ……………

3 apology ……………

4 black ……………

5 hard ……………

99
12
Add a suffix to change the following adjectives
to adverbs. Mark the stress on the new word.
1 easy ……………

2 free ……………

3 ready ……………

4 impossible ……………

5 wonderful ……………

13
Add a suffix to change the following verbs into
nouns. Mark the stress on the new word.
1 act ……………

2 beg ……………

3 manufacture ……………

4 improve ……………

5 measure ……………

111
14
Add a suffix to change the following nouns to
adjectives. Mark the stress on the new word.
1 child ……………

2 gold ……………

3 wool ……………

4 war ……………

5 hunger ……………

15
Add a prefix to make the following words
negative. Mark the stress on the new word.
1 equal ……………

2 responsible ……………

3 friendly ……………

4 obedient ……………

5 patient ……………

111
References:

- Birjandi, P., & Salmani-Nodoushan, M. (2005). An

introduction to phonetics. Tehran: Zabankadeh
Publications.
- Egyptian International Publishing Company - Longman.
(1991). A university course in practical phonetics:
Consonants, vowels, and diphthongs. Cairo: Longman.
- Gebhardt, F. (n.d.). English pronunciation [PDF file].
Retrieved from https://mymission.lamission.edu/userdata/
wentzj/docs/English%20Pronunciation%20and%20IPA.pdf
- Mojsin, L. (2009). Mastering the American Accent. Los
Angeles, CA: Barron's.
- Roach, P. (2009). English phonetics and phonology. (4th
ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

112
Rhythm and Intonation
M. tohamy
Aspects of Connected Speech
• Connected speech is a continuous sequence of sounds forming
utterances or conversations in spoken language. The Study of connedt
speech includes:
1- Speech Rhythm
2- Assimilation
3- Elision
4- Linking
 What is Rhythm
• The notion of rhythm involves some noticeable event happening at
some regular intervals of time. (e.g. heart beat)
• English speech is rhythmical: rhythm is detectable in the regular
occurrence of stressed syllables.
• English is a stress-timed language which means that stressed
syllables will tend to occur at relatively regular intervals whether
they are separated by unstressed syllables or not.
In this sentence
Syllables 1 and 2 are not separated by any unstressed syllables.
Syllables 2 and 3 are separated by one unstressed syllable.
Syllables 3 and 4 are separated by two unstressed syllables.
Syllables 4 and 5 are separated by three unstressed syllables.

The stress-timed theory states that the times from each stressed
syllable to the next will tend to be the same, irrespective of the
number of intervening unstressed syllables.
Some languages (e.g. Russian and Arabic) have stress-timed rhythm
similar to that of English.
Others, such as French, have a different rhythmical structure called
syllable-timed rhythm: all syllables, whether stressed or unstressed,
tend to occur at regular time intervals and the time between syllables
will be shorter or longer in proportion to the number of unstressed
syllables.
The unit of rhythm is called “Foot”. The foot begins with stressed
syllable and includes all following unstressed syllables up to (but not
including) the following stressed syllable.
Some feet are stronger than
others, producing strong-weak
patterns in larger pieces of speech
above the level of the foot. For
example, the word "twenty" has
one strong and one weak syllable,
forming one foot.
S= string
W = weak
In the phrase "twenty places",
"places" will normally carry
stronger stress than "twenty", i.e.
will be rhythmically stronger.
"twenty places further back",
By analysing speech in this way we are able to show the
relationships between strong and weak elements, and the
different levels of stress that we find. The strength of any
particular syllable can be measured by counting up the
number of times and S occurs above it.
English normal speech shows alternation between stronger and weaker
feet, and tends to adjust stress levels to achieve this:
We vary in how rhythmically we speak:
We are very rhythmically when we give public speeches, but we are
very arhythmical when we are hesitant or nervous, for example.
English Intonation
Adapted from: Peter Roach (1998). English
Phonetics and Phonology. Cambridge University
Press.
SOME BASIC CONCEPTS REGARDING
INTONATIOIN
1-Tone unit
2-Tone boundaries
3-Tonic syllable
4-Pre-head
5-Head
6-Tail
DIFFERENT INTONATION SYMBOLS
• Falling tone yes
• Rising tone yes
• Fall-rise tone yes
• Rise-fall tone yes
• Level tone yes
PHONOLOGY AND INTONATION
• We define phonology as the production, transmission and reception
of speech sounds. That is why it includes not only the study of
phonemes but also
1-Stress
2-Intonation
SEGMENTAL AND SUPRASEGMENTAL
PHONOLOGY
1-Study of phonemes is something related to individual segmental
phonemes, it is therefore a part of segmental phonology.
2-Intonation and stress are not related to individual segmental
phonemes but are applied to syllables and are therefore part of
suprasegmental phonology.
Function of intonation

• Without intonation speech will be as though produced by a

mechanical speech device.
Functions of intonation

• Attitudinal functions
• Accentual functions
• Grammatical functions
• Discourse functions
Attitudinal functions

• Expresses our feeling, attitudes, emotions

• For example
Anger
Boredom
Gratefulness and so on
Analysis of attitudinal functions
• Five alternative approaches are proposal by the analysts to analyze
attitudinal functions and formulate some basic functions of
intonation for the English language learners.
How to express a certain attitude
1-Different voice qualities for different attitudes
2-Different pitch range in different ways
3-Different keys: high key, mid key or low key
4-One may use different facial expressions, gestures and body
movements
Four Types of Attitudinal Intonation
1- Fall Intonation
2- Rise Intonation
3- Fall-rise intonation
4- Rise-fall intonation
Falling Intonation
This is the tone that is usually regarded as more or less neutral. If
someone is asked a question and the reply is yes or no, it will be
understood that the question is now answered and that there is
nothing more to be said. Thus the falling tone gives an impression of
finality.
Examples of falling intonation

1- |This is the end of the news|

2- |I am absolutely certain|
3- |Stop playing|
4- |I have finished working|
5- |Stop talking|
1-Rising Intonation

This tone conveys an impression that something more is to follow.

1- |I phoned them| (but they were not home)
2- |You must write it again| (and this time get
right)
3- |I have to leave now| (because I am getting late)
2-Rising Intonation
It can be used while making general questions
1- |Can you help |
2- |Is it over|
3- |Can I go now|
3-Rising Intonation
• This tone can be used while listing things
1- |Red, brown, yellow, green, and blue|
2- |Peter, Jack, Roger, and Sam|
3- |Oranges, bananas, mangoes and apples|
4-Rising Intonation
• It may be used while encouraging someone.
1- |It wont hurt|
2- |You will get it right|
3- |There is always next time|
Fall-rise tone

This tone shows limited agreement, response with reservation, uncertainty, or

doubt
1- |You may be right|
2- |Its possible|
3- |If I am not mistaken|
4- |He may be honest|
5- |It can be true|
Rise-fall tone
This tone is used to convey strong feelings of approval, disapproval or
surprise.
1- |It’s impossible|
2- |You were first|
3- |All of them|
4- |He is honest|
5- |Its true|
Some Key Definitions
• What is intonation?
It can be defined as the changes in the voice pitch in connected speech through
variations in the rates of vocal fold vibrations. Therefore, intonation is the
systematic use of patterns of pitch movement. It also refers to the variations in the
pitch of a speaker's voice used to convey or alter meaning.
• What is a tone?

Tone is defined as a height of pitch and change of pitch which is associated with the
pronunciation of syllables or words and which affects the meaning of the word.
Accordingly, pitch is described in terms of high and low. A tone language is a
language in which the meaning of a word depends on the tone used when
pronouncing it. Therefore, it is the type of pitch change which takes place on the
tonic syllable
• What is tone-unit?

It is the basic unit of intonation in English. It is viewed as a stretch of speech which

contains one tonic syllable and which may contain other stressed syllables, normally
preceding the tonic syllable.
• What is a tonic syllable?
It is a strongly stressed syllable which marks a major change of pitch direction. The
pitch thus goes up or down. This is because not all stressed syllable are of equal
importance. Some stressed syllables have greater prominence than others.
More Examples on English Tones
2. 'Fall' tone ( )
This type of tone expresses certainty, completeness or independence. It also
has a sense of finality and definiteness.
Examples:
The visitors haven't come, yet. That is the end of the news
When has she gone? I'm absolutely certain
Why is he worried? Stop talking
Here's a cup of tea for you.
N.B.: Information questions are pronounced with a falling tone.
'Rise' tone ( )
This type expresses uncertainty or incompleteness or dependence. The speaker
is uncertain of the truth of what he is asking about.
Examples:
General questions:
- Are you leaving?
- Can I help you?
- Is it over?
- Are you ready?
- Can you tell me the exact time it opens?
Listing:
- red, brown, yellow or blue
N.B.: fall is normal on the last item.
More to follow:
If you want, I can bring a cup of coffee later.
- I phoned them right away (and they agreed to come)
- You must write it again (and this time, get it right)
Encouraging:
- It won't hurt
- No. Please interrupt me if you wish
- Do sit down
'Fall-rise' tone ( )
This tone combines the falling tone's meaning of assertion and certainty with the
rising tone's meaning of dependence and incompleteness. It often conveys a
feeling of reservation, uncertainty or doubt.
Examples:
Requesting:
- A: Are you busy? B: Not really.
- Can I buy it?
- Will you lend it to me?
 Uncertainty or doubt:
- A: Do you like popcorn? B: Sometimes, but not always
- A: Aren't you happy with the exam results? B: No
- The Johnsons are buying a freezer so that they tell me.
- I can't allow you to do that.
- He didn't mean to do it.
- Most of the time we stayed on the beach.
- People who work in offices ought to take plenty of exercise.
- It's possible
- You may be right.
- In my opinion,…
- As I see, …..
- ,but….
'Rise-fall' tone ( )
This is used to convey strong feelings of approval, disapproval or surprise.
Examples:
Surprise, being impressed: - you were first. - All of them
A: Isn't the view lovely B: yes
A: I am sorry to tell you that the boss has just fired you!
B: no
N.B.: The tone of a tonic syllable determines the pitch of the rest of the unit
following it. Thus, after a falling tone, the rest of the tone unit is at a low pitch. After
a rising tone, the rest of the tone unit moves in an upward pitch direction.