Post on 20-Jul-2015
WHAT IS SENTENCE
STRESS?
Remember that word stress (syllable stress) is the ‘beat’ on one or more syllables within a word; sentence stress is the ‘beat’ on certain words within a sentence.
In other words, sentence stress can be described as the ‘rhythm’ of spoken language.
Like word or syllable stress, sentence stress can help you to understand a language, especially when spoken fast.
WHY IS ‘STRESS’ IMPORTANT IN PRONUNCIATION?
Stress is important because it addsrhythm when you speak.
If you stress all the words in an utterance, you may sound unpleasant or even cause misunderstanding, because:
1. You are giving too much information; and
2. English native speakers usually stress all words only when they are impatient or angry.
Dealing with sentence stress, we have to know
which words should be stressed and which should
be unstressed.
To know more about this, let’s see the following
types of words:
According to the way they function, words in a
language are normally classified into two types:
a). Content words, are the key words of a
sentence. They are the important words that
carry the meaning or sense.
b). Structure words, are not very important
words. They are small, simple words that make
the sentence correct grammatically. They give
the sentence its correct form or structure.
Imagine that you receive a telegram message:
Will you sell my car because I've gone to France
This sentence is not complete. It is not a grammatically correct sentence. But you probably understand itbecause the four words communicate very well. This kind of words are known as the content words.
The sentence above may has a meaning that:
“Somebody wants you to sell his car for him, because he has gone to France.”
We can add a few words to the sentence:
You sell my car because I've gone to
France
The new words (my, I’ve, and to) do not really add
any more information, but they make the message
more correct grammatically.
We can add even more words to make one complete,
grammatically correct sentence, but the information is
basically the same.
Will you sell my car because I've gone to
France?
In the sentence above, the four key words (sell, car,
gone, and France) are the “content words” and are
all stressed.
The additional information to complete the sentence
are called “structure words” and are all unstressed.
In the previous example, there is 1 syllable between
“sell” and “car” and 3 syllables between “car” and
“gone”, but the time (t) between “sell” and “car” and
between “car” and “gone” is the same.
Will you sell my car because I've gone to France?
We maintain a constant beat on the stressed words (sell,
car, gone, France). To do this, we say "my" more slowly,
and "because I've" more quickly.
1 syllable 3 syllables
We change the speed of the small
“structure words”, so that the rhythm of
the key “content words” stays the same.
In other words, the time (t) between each
stressed word is the same.
Will you sell my car because I've gone to France?
2 1 3 1
t t t t
N u m b e r o f S y l l a b l e s
0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6
RULES OF SENTENCE STRESS
The basic rules of sentence stress in English are:
1. Content words are stressed;
2. Structure words are unstressed; and
3. The time between stressed words is always the
same.
The following table can help you decide which words are the
content words and which are the structure words:
Words Carrying the Meaning or
Sense:Examples:
Main Verbs buy, give, take, eat, employ
Nouns chair, book, music, Mary
Adjectives red, big, interesting, beautiful
Adverbs quickly, loudly, never, always, now
Negative Auxiliaries don’t, can’t, won’t, shouldn’t
Possessive Pronouns mine, yours, her, his, ours, theirs
Interrogatives what, who, why, where, when, how
CONTENT WORDS
Words for Correct Grammar: Examples:
Personal & Relative Pronouns I, you, we, he, whom, which
Prepositions on, at, into, in
Articles the, an, a
Conjunctions and, but, because, or
Auxiliary Verbs do, can, have to, must, will
Possessive Adjectives my, your, her, his, our, their, its
Demonstratives this, that, these, those
Expletive “THERE” there
STRUCTURE WORDS
Exception !!!
The above rules are for what is called “normal
stress”. But sometimes we can stress words that are
structure words, for example to correct information,
such as in:
They’ve been to Japan, haven’t they?
No, they haven’t, but we have.
NOTE: The underlined words are stressed, although they
belong to the structure words.
English as a
Stress-timed Language
English is a stress-timed language, which has absolute
patterns of rhythm. In other words, approximately every 0.6 seconds a stressed syllable must occur.
This syllables may follow the variety of patterns that affect the length of the stressed and unstressed syllables,
but the length of time required to pronounce the various sentences is the same.
a. English, typically, has a predetermined rhythm, and the syllables seem to scramble to accommodate this beat. The rhythm requires a major stressed syllable every 0.6 seconds, and there are normally one or two unstressed syllables near each major syllable:
The Rhythm of a Typical English Sentence
Example:
The beautiful lady has talked to my brother.
[ðə ‘bju:tɪfl ‘leɪdi həz ‘tɔ:kd tə maɪ ‘brʌðə(r)]
0.6 0.6 0.6
second second second
b. The rhythm is maintained (kept in existence) by the stress syllables. If there are several unstressed syllables around the stressed syllables, its duration is shortened, and the unstressed syllables must be glided over very rapidly:
The Rhythm with Several Unstressed Syllables
Example:
Children should not be allowed to play alone near a congested street
[‘tʃɪldrən ʃəd nɒt bi ə’laʊd tə pleɪ ələʊn ‘nɪə(r) ə kəndʒestɪd ‘stri:t]
0.6 0.6 0.6
second second second
c. If there are no unstressed syllables nearby, the stressedsyllables are naturally lengthened in order to fill the spaces of 0.6 second intervals:
The Rhythm with No Unstressed Syllables
Example:
Go to bed now! [‘gəʊ ‘tu: ‘bed ‘naʊ]
0.6 0.6 0.6
second second second
Formality of the Language Levels of
Pronunciation
The stress pattern used at the
phrase or sentence level is highly
interrelated to both the formality of
the language and the intonation
pattern.
There are four levels of pronunciation that reflect
the formality of the speaking situation. They are:
A• Stage speech (public reading style)
B• Formal speech (public speaking style)
C• Formal colloquial (vernacular)
D• Everyday Speech (familiar colloquial)
Each of those levels of speech vary in
cases of rate of speech, the number of
stressed and unstressed words, the
situation, the dialect, and vocabulary.
Here are the four levels of pronunciation
that reflect the formality of the speaking
situation:
A. Stage Speech (Public Reading Style)
This type of speech is used in a formal presentation situation in which a large group of people are listening.
It is used for stage productions (theater), literary readings, church services, or other settings when there is little audience contact.
Sentences are composed primarily of stressed
words making the pronunciation clear and
deliberate (done carefully without hurrying).
Open juncture and slow rate of speech are
common.
There is little use of the schwa (weak vowel
sound) with the exeption of adding the schwa to
the end of words for emphasis, such as speak
[‘spi:k] becomes [‘spi:kə].
B. Formal Speech (Public Speaking Style)
This type of speech is used in
particular situations, which might
include a lawyer presenting in the
courtroom, an interviewee
answering questions with an
employer, or when talking to
individuals in authority or
positions of importance.
This style requires exact
pronunciation and an accurate
vocabulary. This requires open
juncture with many stressed
words and a slow rate.
All final consonants are pronounced, including “nt”, “nd”, and other CC endings.
Examples: sent [sent], send [send].
The voiceless plosive /p/, /t/, and /k/ are aspirated briefly.
Examples: pen [phen], take [theɪk], cat [khæt].
The dipthongs /əʊ/ are pronounced clearly.
Examples: go [gəʊ], note [nəʊt], code [kəʊd].
/ju/ is used in all types of /u/ context.
Examples: new /nu:/ → /nju:/, during [dʊrɪŋ] → [djʊərɪŋ].
C. Formal Colloquial (Vernacular)
This type is used in everyday
situations involving
conversation with people in
structures situations, such as a
classroom lecture (involving
questions and answers from
the class), or a conversation
with a store clerk during the
purchase of a selected item.
This type is less intentionally
using some stressed words.
Although technical of
occupational terms may be
used, slang is not acceptable.
D. Everyday Speech (Familiar Colloquial)
Familiar colloquial speech is used in everyday, casual situations with friends, family, or close relatives.
The rate of speech fasterwith closed juncture, few stressed words, and less exact or accuratepronunciations.
Vocabulary is relaxed and may contain slang type words.