DAPON, JASMIN FRANCISCO

Stress Physiologically, stress means greater articulatory effort. By putting stress on particular segments we give it greater prominence. Various PHONOLOGY types of meaning are conveyed by distributing stress pattern over speech segments in a controlled manner. Two types of stress can he established f-nl'-j, f-) 1. Word stress (or accent) n., pl., -gies. 2. Phrasal (or sentence stress) Word Stress 1. The study of speech sounds in language or a In words made up of more than one syllable, some syllable stands out language with reference to their distribution and from others. In a word like fable it is the first syllable that receives stress or more articulatory energy which results in its sounding patterning and to tacit rules governing louder and longer than the other syllable the second syllable here. The pronunciation. distribution of stress over the word fable can be shown in this manner 2. The sound system of a language: the phonology of fa-ble. In monosyllabic words these words may contain more than one English. phoneme, but that doesnot matter-stress falls on the only syllable they Study of sound patterns within languages. Diachronic contain: l /ai/ (single phoneme word) (historical) phonology traces and analyzes changes in see /si:/ (two-phoneme word) speech sounds and sound systems over time (e.g., the cat /kaet/ (three-phoneme word) process by which sea and see, once pronounced with flame /fleim/ (four-phoneme word) different vowel sounds, have come to be pronounced tract /traekt/ (five-phoneme word) In words made of more than one syllable, the stress is distributed over alike). Synchronic (descriptive) phonology investigates the syllables; one of the syllables is pronounced with greater syllabic sound patterns at a single stage in a language's energy or prominence. In words like sector and enable, the first development, to identify which ones can occur and in what syllable is prominent in sector and the second syllable in enable. position (in English, for example, nt and rk appear within The syllable that is strongly stressed is called a strong syllable and weakly stressed syllable is called weak syllable. In sector, sec is strong or at the end of words but not at the beginning). syllable and-tor weak syllable. In enable, en is weak syallable and no srong syllable followed a weak bl. In polysyllabic words the stressed syllable may be more than one, for example these words understand, segmental phonemes Segmental phonemes are similar, slightly different appetizing examination. Syllabic division is shown as follows: Un-der-stand; ap-pe-ti-zing; e-xa-mi-na-tion. sounds within a language. (noun)An example of A polysyllabic word is graded in terms of the release of syllabic energy. It can be seen that from the strongest to the less strong to the weak, we segmental phonemes are the sounds of "a," "e," can easily perceive different parts carrying these stresses. For example, "i," "o," and "u." in a word like consolidation, the strongest stress falls on the fourth syllable /-dei-/, the next prominent syllable is the second one, the other syllables carry weak stresses. suprasegmental phonemes arephonemes or reason why the features of speech, as pitch, stress, and juncture, Onevoice changes onfourth syllable is the strongest is that the pitch of the this syllable. Therefore, this is also called that may extend over and modify series of primary stress or tonic stress. A strong stress accompanied by a pitchchange or pitch movement is known as primary stress. Roger Kingdon segmental phonemes says that the prominence of a syllable is also affected by its pitch; highpitched syllables sound more prominent than low-pitched ones. Stress features are thus divided into the following levels: Primary stress Supra-segmental Phonemes and Phonetics Secondary stress Tertiary stress Phonemic particles that we have so far been considering such as Weak stress vowels, consonants, diphthongs, etc. are called segmental phonemes. The strongest release of syllabic energy accompanied by a potential They contribute to the meaning of a speech segment. Apart from this change of pitch direction marks the primary stress. The next strong class of segmental phonemes, there is another class of particles that stress is called secondary stress. Primary stress is represented by the play equally important role. These are supra-segmental phonemes. half straight bar [], and the secondary stress by the bar placed at the Features of stress, pitch, intonation and juncture comprise this class, bottom before the syllable that is stressed. Thus in apple the primary and are said to be overlaid on the segmental units. It is difficult to stress is on the first syllable apple; so with father; but in garage it is imagine human communication without these features. They invariably on the second syllable. The word understand carries a primary and a accompany our speech and lend the additional dimension which is secondary stress indicated as /understand. Tertiary stress is weaker mote immediately and directly understood. These features convey the than the secondary stress and close to weak or unmarked stress. It is speakers identity, attitudes, emotional states and his/her evaluation of somewhat difficult to define and describe it. The two identically how he/she is being received. Often, in the totality of communicational pronounced words nightrate and nitrate, show that the second situation, a listener doesnot pay so much attention to the wards as he example has a tertiary stress while in night rate rate carries the does to the rise and fall of pitch, volume of voice, stress and pauses, secondary stress. A weak stress is always left unmarked. Here the pitch and so on. He understands the meaning by simply responding to these is low and the vowel lax as in tobacco. extra-linguistic indices. Stress pattern in English has to be learned; there is nothing in a syllable itself which indicates that it may receive stress or not. In some We will now look at these features or phonemes a little more closely. disyllabic words the first syllable is stressed, for example writer,

bellow, coral, glimmer, ginger, while other disyllabic words have the syllable are unstressed; the third and the sixth words are stressed. It is second syllable sressed: record, below, consort (vb), disable. the tendency among the English speakers to crowd together the Compared to the unstressed syllable, the vowel in a stressed syllable is unstressed syllables between the two stressed syllables. The effect is a longer. Similarly, a long vowel becomes reduced in length when it rhythm which makes English a stress-timed language. occurs in an unaccented syllable. There is another process that produces the characteristic English Stress Shift rhythm, that of weakening of the accent on certain words. In connected It has been observed that stress shifts in derivative words. The speech stress tends to be re-arranged due to elision and assimilation. following table shows how different derivative words take stress on Syllables that in isolated expressions appear stressed may be different syllables. unstressed in such instances. Form-words, like articles, prepositions, Table auxiliary verbs, conjunctions and other elements may show this, where 1st syllable 2nd syllable 3rd syllable consonant and vowel quality of the weak form is affected. Let us look at fraternise fraternity these sentences. fragility fragile a. I shall let you have it transcribed as fragment fragment fragmentation /ai l let ju: hv it/; the verb shall has become weak and is represented Orthographer orthographic as /i/ instead of /l/. syllable syllabify syllabification b. Lend me the book, Id read it transcribed as product produce productivity /lend me buk, aid ri:d it/; would becomes simply /d/ here. excavate excavation a. There was a book on the table transcribed as excellence excel /wz buk n teibl/; note the weakening of vowels in there /e/ photograph photographer photographic Shift of Primary Stress in Syllables In derived words also there is no predictability about the placement of // and was /w z/ /wz/. stress. However, an interesting aspect of the stress distribution is that for noun/adjective, stress is on the first syllable and for verb it is on the We can, therefore, say that such words have two forms; a strong form second syllable. (in isolation) and a weak form (in raid speech). Below are listed a few Noun/Adjective Verb words with the two forms. produce produce Strong form Weak form import import t t /t subject subject bai b perfect perfect in tu: int record record tu: t, tu contract contract iz z,s Compound Word Stress kn kn, kn Compound word consists of two words, which are written as one word. will l, l, l Mostly the nuclear, tonic or primary stress falls on the first syllable of kud kud, kd the first word as in postman, batsman, chairman, etc. Distribution of j: selvz jselvz stress varies greatly according to the syllabic composition of the maiself mself compound words. tu him tuim Primary stress on the first syllable hd hd, d, d Honeymoon, honey suckle, market day, main spring, long shore, m^st mst, ms live stock, liveryman. aend nd, n, d Primary stress on the first, secondary on the third syllable aez z borderline, firebrigade, copyright eni ni Primary stress on the first, secondary on the fourth syllable s^m sm National issue, labour exchange, cabinet maker su s Primary stress on the third, secondary on the first syllable frm frm Secondhand, country farm, easygoing, seargent major f: f Phrasal Stress Intonation Although words have more or less fixed stress in connected speech, the Another significant suprasegmental feature of English language is intonational and contextual imperatives guide a speakers choice of intonation or variation of pitch from one segment of an utterance to stress. Longer utterances, clauses and segments can show changes in another. A lot of emotional meaning is conveyed by consciously varying stress pattern. This is accompanied by the rise and fall in the pitch intonation level. level. For example in a sentence like Pitch is closely associated with vibration of the vocal cords. In males Bring those chairs closer the vocal cords vibrate at a rate of 70-125 times per second, and in different words can be stressed in the manner shown below: adult females it is between 150-200 times. Increase in the vibration of bring those chairs closer the vocal cords results in the rise of pitch. In normal conversation, bring those chairs closer pitch variations are quite an integral part and cannot be completely bring those chairs closer ignored. bring those chairs closer A combination of stress on a syllable and change in pitch-range Each of the above examples conveys a different meaning. Normally, produces tone, a significant element of intonation. Two types of tone content words receive the primary stress, grammatical words donot As have been identified i) static tone and ii) kinetic tone. A syllable T. Balasubramanian says, The choice of the syllable receiving primary pronounced on a level tone of unvarying pitch is said to have static accent depends on the meaning the speaker wants to convey. tone. The kinetic tones show different kinds of change in pitch contour. Speech Rhythm Physiologically, this is explained by variation in the tension of the vocal In connected speech certain words receive the primary stress and other cords. words are unstressed. A pattern of alternations between the stressed Different levels of kinetic tone have been postulated by different and unstressed words is formed. If we consider the sentence, see the phoneticians, some grade it into fie, some into four. This shows that cat on the roof we will find that the second, the fourth and the fifth

precise location of a tone contour is not possible gradations are made only as identification of a range, where correspondence with modulations in the emotional level can also be identified. In rapid speech pitch contours rapidly alternate but it must be remembered that all pitch movements are not discriminating, and therefore, significant. Only those variations that serve as significant units, discriminating between meanings are phonemic. Below are presented the signs that are used for indicating itch contours Rising Tone is symbolized as [] Falling Tone is symbolized as [`] Falling Rising Tone is symbolized as [v] Rising Falling Tone is symbolized as [^] Intonation pattern in English can be understood by dividing an utterance into breath-groups. Each breath-group forms a tone group. In a sentence like She will not` go we can identify the whole utterance as a breath group, a sense group and an information unit. Under normal conditions it is the final syllable /gu/ that shows the pitch variation. This syllable, therefore, contains tonic prominence. It is known as tonic syllable. Tonic prominence is a stress on the syllable, plus change in pitch level. A speaker can vary the tonic syllable to correspond to the meaning, sense and emphasis he wishes to convey. That means that tonic prominence can shift from final syllable to any other in a sentence. Thus in the example cited above, she will not go, shifts in tonic prominence can be demonstrated alongwitht he corresponding meaning changes: i) She will not go = it is she who will not go. ii) She will not go = come what may, she wont go. iii) She will not go = she will do anything but go. We shall now consider below some examples of all the four tones. 1. Rising Tone: Are you coming? (stress on are) Is, he at home? Wait, , keep it in place (gentle command) Come, ,here (encouraging, inviting) Really? (surprise) 2. Falling Tone: When this tone is used, special implication is conveyed which is not verbally expressed, like sympathetic attitude, surprise, disbelief, sarcasm, boredom, routine greeting, detached attitude, and so on. Put it on the stool (neutrality) Good ,morning (routine greeting) How ,nice (routine, bored) ,Sit down ,please (polite command) ,Such a ,waste (mildly sarcastic) 3. Falling-Risging Tone: The pitch registers a fall from about mid to low and then from high to mid. We are vwaiting (= better make haste) v Carefully ! (soothing, encouraging) The vfood was nice (=but the hotel awful) v Well done (appreciating) You may vre lax (you really need it) v Can she do it? (=are you sure?) 4. Rising-Falling Tone: The pitch changes from low to close to mid and low again. Normally, sarcasm, surprise, interest, enthusiasm are expressed. Is he^alright? (surprise) She looked^beautiful (enthusiastic) Yes, it is^nasty (full agreement) But,^will that do? (doubt) Juncture: In connected speech it is necessary to distinguish within one macrosegment such phonems whose function is to keep utterances apart. We must, for example, convey to the listener whether we mean a part (a+part) or apart when we use these segments, however rapid our speech may be. The accent feature of course plays a significant part in it; but we must also give a brief pause that would separate a from part

when we wish to say a part, and remove that pause when we wish to say apart. As Hockett says, Any difference of sound which functions to keep utterances apart is by definition part of the phonological system of the language. Such transition from one segmental phoneme to another is called juncture and represented by [+] mark. Juncture is thus a type of boundary between two phonemes. Often, juncture helps the listener to distinguish between pairs such as see Mill and seem ill in Did he see Mill? And Did he seem ill? (Richards, Platt, Weber). Terminal juncture is represented by the [+] sign as in the following examples. a + name an + aim that + stuff thats + tough Ice + cream I + scream Two vowels in close proximity both bearing the primary stress must receive a terminal juncture.

GRAMMAR
(grm'r) n. 1. a. b. The study of how words and their component parts combine to form sentences. The study of structural relationships in language or in a language, sometimes including pronunciation, meaning, and linguistic history. The system of inflections, syntax, and word formation of a language. The system of rules implicit in a language, viewed as a mechanism for generating all sentences possible in that language. A normative or prescriptive set of rules setting forth the current standard of usage for pedagogical or reference purposes. Writing or speech judged with regard to such a set of rules.

2. a. b.

3. a.

b. 4. 5.

A book containing the morphologic, syntactic, and semantic rules for a specific language.

a. The basic principles of an area of knowledge: the

grammar of music. b. A book dealing with such principles.

VERBS(vrb)

n.

1. (Abbr. V or vb.)

a. The part of speech that expresses existence, action, or occurrence in most languages.
b. Any of the words belonging to this part of

speech, as be, run, or conceive.

3

2. A phrase or other construction used as a verb. TAG QUESTIONS A question used after a statement when seeking or expecting confirmation of that statement, as wasn't he in He was here, wasn't he?

Jack: I refuse to spend Sunday at your mother's house! Jill: Oh you do, do you? We'll see about that! Jack: I just won't go back! Jill: Oh you won't, won't you?

Patterns of negation can show regional variations. In North East Scotland, for example, positive to positive is used when no special effect is desired:

This pizza's fine, is it? (standard English: This pizza's delicious, isn't it?)

Note the following variations in the negation when the auxiliary is the I form of the copula: Tag questions in English English tag questions, when they have the grammatical form of a question, are atypically complex, because they vary according to four factors: the choice of auxiliary, the negation, the intonation pattern and the emphasis. Auxiliary The English tag question is made up of an auxiliary verb and a pronoun. The auxiliary has to agree with the tense, aspect and modality of the verb in the preceding sentence. If the verb is in the present perfect, for example, the tag question uses has or have; if the verb is in a present progressive form, the tag is formed with am, are, is; if the verb is in a tense which does not normally use an auxiliary, like the present simple, the auxiliary is taken from the emphatic do form; and if the sentence has a modal auxiliary, this is echoed in the tag:

England (and America, Australia, etc.): Clever, aren't I? Scotland/Northern Ireland: Clever, amn't I? nonstandard dialects: Clever, ain't I?

Intonation English tag questions can have a rising or a falling intonation pattern. This is contrasted with Polish, French or German, for example, where all tags rise. As a rule, the English rising pattern is used when soliciting information or motivating an action, that is, when some sort of response is required. Since normal English yes/no questions have rising patterns (e.g. Are you coming?), these tags make a grammatical statement into a real question:

He's read this book, hasn't he? He read this book, didn't he? He's reading this book, isn't he? He reads a lot of books, doesn't he? He'll read this book, won't he? He should read this book, shouldn't he? He can read this book, can't he?

You're coming, aren't you? Do listen, will you? Let's have a beer, shall we?

The falling pattern is used to underline a statement. The statement itself ends with a falling pattern, and the tag sounds like an echo, strengthening the pattern. Most English tag questions have this falling pattern.

He doesn't know what he's doing, does he? This is really boring, isn't it?

A special case occurs when the main verb is to be in a simple tense. Here the tag question repeats the main verb, not an auxiliary: This is a book, isn't it? (Not doesn't it?, as the normal rules for present simple would suggest.) If the main verb is to have, either solution is possible:

Sometimes the rising tag goes with the positive to positive pattern to create a confrontational effect: He was the best in the class, was he? (rising: the speaker is challenging this thesis, or perhaps expressing surprised interest) He was the best in the class, wasn't he? (falling: the speaker holds this opinion) Be careful, will you? (rising: expresses irritation) Take care, won't you? (falling: expresses concern)

He has a book, hasn't he? He has a book, doesn't he?

Balanced vs unbalanced tags English tag questions may contain a negation, but need not. When there is no special emphasis, the rule of thumb often applies that a positive sentence has a negative tag and vice versa. This form usually seeks confirmation of the questionner's opinion or belief.

Sometimes the same words may have different patterns depending on the situation or implication. You don't remember my name, do you? (rising: expresses surprise) You don't remember my name, do you? (falling: expresses amusement or resignation) Your name's Mary, isn't it? (rising: expresses uncertainty) Your name's Mary, isn't it? (falling: expresses confidence)

She is French, isn't she? She's not French, is she?

These are sometimes called "balanced tag questions". However, it has been estimated that in normal conversation, as many as 40%-50%[2] of tags break this rule. "Unbalanced tag questions" (positive to positive or negative to negative) may be used for ironic or confrontational effects:

Do listen, will you? Oh, I'm lazy, am I?

It is interesting that as an all-purpose tag the Multicultural London English set-phrase innit (for "isn't it") is only used with falling patterns:

He doesn't know what he's doing, innit? He was the best in the class, innit?

On the other hand, the adverbial tag questions (alright? OK? etc.) are almost always found with rising patterns. An occasional exception is surely. Variant forms There are a number of variant forms that exist in particular dialects of English. These are generally invariant, regardless of verb, person or negativity. The tag right? is common in a number of dialects across the UK and US. The tag eh? is of Scottish origin, and can be heard across much of Scotland, New Zealand, Canada and the North-Eastern United States. In Central Scotland (in and around Stirling and Falkirk), this exists in the form eh no? which is again invariant. False tag in Welsh English It is often erroneously assumed that Welsh speakers of English use a tag question to make an emphatic statement, e.g.: Lovely day, isn't it? However, this is instead a cleft sentence of the form: Lovely day, is in it. This has its roots in the Welsh language, and this type of cleft features in all extant Celtic languages. The lack of verb at the start of this construction coupled with the lack of rising intonation mark this as distinct from tag questions, which are used in Welsh English in the same manner as the majority of the UK.