Super useful suprasegmentals

Super Useful Suprasegmentals

Ronaldo Lima Jr

Word Stress

• Any syllable can be stressed: TECHnical baNAna underSTAND

• A stressed syllable: – is longer – has higher pitch – is louder

SOME RULES:

1. Prefixes and Sufixes: usually unstressed. QUIetly, oRIGinally, deFECtive, etc.

3. Compound Words: Stress usually on the first word. NEWSpaper, TEApot, CROSSword, etc. Notice:

GREENhouse – the effect green HOUSE – a house that is green

HARD drive – computer memory hard DRIVE – a difficult drive

(a) white HOUSE (the) WHITE house

I SCREAM ICEcream

YELLOW jacket yellow JACKET HEAD doctor head DOCTOR

1. a chocolate cake 2. a pancake 3. a short nail 4. a finger nail 5. a wrist watch 6. a nice watch 7. a baby bottle 8. a baby monkey

9. a football 10. a new ball 11. a clean cup 12. a coffee cup 13. a steak knife 14. a sharp knife 15. a chaep ring 16. a wedding ring

Now it’s your turn!

4. Words with dual roles: Tendency: noun on the first syllable, verb on the last one. IMport(n.), imPORT(v.), REbel(n.), reBEL(v.), INcrease (n.), inCREASE(v.), etc.

5. Stress-attractors endings: -ade, -ain, -ee(r), -esque, -esce, -ess, -ette, -ique, -oo(n), -ese, -self(ves). paRADE, abSTAIN, interviewEE, engiNEER, groTESQUE, convaLESCE, asSESS, statuETTE, criTIQUE, kangaROO, japaNESE, herSELF, etc.

How to show stress to students?

HOT dog

hot dog

hot dog

hot dog

potential community tomorrow demonstration political photographic hospital tradition

excellent mysterious elephant professor bicycle practical graduation confusion

adjective example ability education

Odd man out

regulation - satisfation - supermarket - artificial

president - embarrassed - eraser - banana

military - ordinary - elevator - television - fascination

Sentence Stress• Sentence Stress determines rhythm • Content words

Bob sees Betty. He sees her.

Jan sells some apples. She sells them.

Bill and I fix the bikes. We fix them.

Sentence Stress• English tends to be stress-timed or

isochronous (as opposed to syllable-timed) • Sentence Stress determines rhythm

They LIVE in an OLD HOUSE. They LIVE in a NICE OLD HOUSE.

They’ve been LIVing in a deLIGHTful OLD HOUSE. They’ve been LIVing in a deLIGHTful OLD COTTage. They’ve been LIVing in a deLIGHTful vicTORian COTTage.

The dogs eat the bones.

The dogs are eating the bones.

The dogs will eat the bones.

The dogs would have eaten the bones.

The dogs shouldn’t have eaten the bones.

The dogs eat might have eaten the bones.

They eat them.

They are eating them.

They will eat them.

They would have eaten them.

They shouldn’t have eaten them.

They eat might have eaten them.

New, old, (un)expected information

I live in Chicago.

Where do you live? I live in Chicago.

What do you do in Chicago? I live in Chicago.

Who lives in Chicago? I live in Chicago.

I will drive you to the airport on Friday morning. I will drive you to the airport on Friday morning. I will drive you to the airport on Friday morning. I will drive you to the airport on Friday morning. I will drive you to the airport on Friday morning. I will drive you to the airport on Friday morning. I will drive you to the airport on Friday morning. I will drive you to the airport on Friday morning. I will drive you to the airport on Friday morning. I will drive you to the airport on Friday morning.

Hand-out

Sentence Stress• Full Forms vs. Weak Forms – function words (prepositions, pronouns,

conjunctions, articles, auxiliary verbs)

‘He could have gone’

‘Pass her all the cookies’

‘Leave him alone’

‘Her sister is at the door’

INTONATION

• Sentence Stress determines rhythm. • Intonation determines pitch, melody. • Tone Languages – Mandarin “ma” can be mother, hemp

or scold.

INTONATION

• Tone: pitch movement – Rise – Fall – Fall-rise – Rise-fall

yes – answering yes – asking yes – euphoric yes – confirming what someone has said

INTONATION AND GRAMMAR

• Statements fall: He lives in the house on the corner. • Information (-wh) questions fall when

asked for the first time: What’s your name? • Information (-wh) questions rise when

asked for the second time: What’s your name? (I didn’t hear it right)


• Yes/no questions rise: Are you ok? • Tag questions expecting information

rise: You’re a doctor, aren’t you? (I really don’t know) • Tag questions expecting confirmation fall: It ‘s a lovely day, isn’t it? (small talk)


• Imperatives fall: Sit down and put it on the table. • Lists rise, rise, rise and fall: I’ll need a pen, a pencil and eraser and a sharpner. • Non-final clauses fall-rise: If I had a million dollars, I’d travel around the world.


• Echo questions rise: What I will do? I’ll quit tomorrow.


“The passangers who had children were told to board the plane.”


“The passangers, who had children, were told to board the plane.”


Right pause to find the subject

“Teacher Evaluations: publicly naming educators tied to

performance scores hinder reform, study says.”

(Huff Post, Nov. 14, 2011)

INTONATION AND ATTITUDE

• With intonation it is possible to notice if the speaker is happy, excited, angry, proud, dubious, sceptical, friendly, shocked, etc.

Curb your enthusiasm

INTONATION AND ATTITUDE

right – answering right – asking right – euphoric right – confirming what someone has said right – showing you’re following the conversation

All right (short fall) “I agree with it” (factual)

All right (long fall) Enthusiastic acceptance

All right (sharp rise) “No, that is not acceptable”

All right (low rise) “I am listening, go on”

All right (fall-rise) “Yes, but I am doubtful” (with reservation)

All right (rise-fall) Great enthusiasm

All right (level) “how inspiring” (ironic)

ASSIMILATION

ELISION/DISSIMILATION

Denda

S s

Cald

Oncotô

Pó pô pó?

Quicachô?

LINKING/LIAISON (JUNCTURE)

I'm from Macau

You're from a cow?!

Thank you!

[email protected]

@ronaldojunior

Super useful suprasegmentals

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