Task II. Finish the utterances choosing the correct variant.

1. Regularity of occurrence of stressed syllables in English is closely related to another important feature of English rhythm: …

a) it’s categoric and definite character;

b) alternation of functional and notional words;

c) alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables;

d) close connection of words in speech.

2. The simplest example of close relationship between the stressed and unstressed syllables is …

a) a monosyllabic word-utterance;

b) an utterance with one notional word;

c) a polysyllabic word-utterance;

d) a monosyllabic word.

3. The tendency to alternate stressed and unstressed syllables appears to …

a) reflect the peculiarity of the composition of an English utterance and its utterance-stress;

b) make the meaning of an utterance precise;

c) organize an utterance semantically;

d) not to be very important.

4. The tendency to alternate stressed and unstressed syllables becomes active, i.e. capable of introducing certain modifications in the accentual structure, when an utterance consists of …

a) notional words;

b) exclusively of monosyllabic notional words;

c) functional words;

d) polysyllabic words.

 

5. Juxtaposed stress is …

a) never allowed in English;

b) advisable;

c) possible if the meaning requires it;

d) is strictly prohibited.

6. The “normal” stressing of words in an utterance can be modified: words entitled to become prominent due to the their content nature are “deprived” of prominence in an utterance if both the immediately following and immediately preceding words are stressed. This phenomenon is known as …

a) elision;

b) relative prominence through stress reduction;

c) the influence of rhythm on utterance-stress;

d) prosodic coordination.

7. Anyway, the decisive factor for utterance-stress is the …

a) rhythmic structure of the words;

b) semantic weightof a word in the given context;

c) total number of the words in an utterance;

d) rule of alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables.

8. Many English words have two syllables …

a) due to the rule of alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables;

b) due to their etymology;

c) because of their derivation peculiarities;

d) because of the speakers communicative intention.

9. In connected speech words with two stresses …

a) usually retain both stresses;

b) as a rule lose one stress (or it is suppressed);

c) lose both of them;

d) are ignored by the speaker.

10. The omission of one of the stresses is more typical of …

a) polysyllabic derivative words;

b) borrowed words;

c) English nouns and adjectives;

d) double-stressed words with a second stress having a semantic function.

Task III. Finish the sentences from the left column using the correct information from the right column.

1. Alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables...		a) both the immediately following and immediately preceding words are stressed; b) semantic weightof a word in the given context; c) the utterance is very long; d) is a very important feature of English rhythm; e) the rule of “normal” stressing; f) is typical of English oral speech g) the influence of rhythm.
2. Notional words can be “deprived” of prominence if...
3. The decisive factor for utterance-stress is the...

Task IV. Find the wrong variant.

1. Alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables …

a) an important feature of English rhythm;

b) should be observed in oral English speech;

c) is closely connected to the rule of regular occurrence of stressed syllables in speech;

d) is a mere formality;

3. In connected speech words with two stresses

a) are apt to lose one stress;

b) can be pronounced with partial and full stresses;

c) retain full quality of both stresses;

d) can retain full quality of both stresses.

4. The rule of “normal” stressing means …

a) stress on notional words and absence of stress on functional words;

b) regular alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables;

c) approximately equal periods of time between rhythmic groups;

d) stress only on notional polysyllabic words.

 

Task V. Fill in the gaps with the correct variant.

1. It must be understood that the … of stressed and unstressed syllables is but rarely of an “ideal” pattern.

a) separation;

b) alternation;

c) omission;

d) usage.

2. In the majority of cases the number of … syllables between the stressed ones varies within an utterance.

a) stressed;

b) prominent;

c) notional;

d) unstressed.

3. Stressing all the … words is generally avoided.

a) necessary;

b) consecutive;

c) possible;

d) functional.

4. The decisive factor for utterance-stress is the … of a word in the given context.

a) meaning;

b) syllable number;

c) semantic weight;

d) position.

5. The tendency to alternate strong and weak syllables accounts for making … prominent in many English polysyllabic words

a) one syllable;

b) two syllables;

c) no syllable;

d) any syllable

6. The omission of one of the stresses is more typical of … words with a second stress having a semantic function.

a) double-stressed;

b) monosyllabic words;

c) poplysyllabic words;

d) derived.

Task VI. Finish the utterances or fill in the gaps.

1. Regularity of occurrence of stressed syllables in English is closely related to another important feature of English rhythm ….

2. A sequence of disyllabic words which typically have one stress presents a similar pattern of … … … even though there may be a number of form-words between the notional ones.

3. It must be understood that the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables is but rarely of an ….

4. The rhythmic groups have … numbers of syllables

5. Stressing all the consecutive words is generally avoided, although there may be instances of … stress if the meaning requires it

6. The same tendency to avoid stressing adjacent words is observed even when these words are not ….

7. Polysyllabic derivative words, like examination, conversation are … in the accentual pattern.

Тема: «Basic Intonation Patterns of English»

I. Краткая аннотация.

Данные методические рекомендации предназначены для студентов 2 курса факультета славянских и германских языков при организации КСР по теме «Basic Intonation Patterns of English». Комплекс заданий, направленный на достижение поставленных целей и задач КСР разработан в соответствии с программой по дисциплине «Практическая фонетика».

Цель темы – способствовать развитию умений использовать различные интонационные структуры в устной речи

Задачи:

§ формировать умение практической реализации ритмических структур в речи;

§ совершенствовать слухо-произносительные навыки студентов;

§ развивать память, мышление, внимание;

 

II. Тематический план.

2 курс, 3 семестр.

Тема: «Basic Intonation Patterns of English»

 

III. Список основной литературы.

1. Карневская, Е.Б. и др. Практикум по фонетике английского языка для студентов 2-го курса: учебно-методическое пособие для студентов языковых факультетов/Е.Б. Карневская, М.С. Рогачевская, Т.П. Митева. – Мн.: Бестпринт, 1999. – 50 с.

2. Карневская, Е.Б. и др. Практическая фонетика английского языка на продвинутом этапе обучения: учебник/Е.Б. Карневская, Е.А. Мисуно, Л.Д. Раковская; под общей ред. Е.Б. Карневской. – Мн.: «Аверсэв», 2003. – 400 с.

 

Список дополнительной литературы:

1. Соколова, М.А. Практическая фонетика английского языка: Учеб для студ. высш. учеб. заведений. – М.: Гуманит. изд. Центр ВЛАДОС, 2003. – 384 с.: ил.

2. O’Connor, J.D. Better English Pronunciation/ J.D. O’Connor. – Cambridge, 1997.

3. Baker, A. Tree or Three [kit]: an elementary pronunciation course / Ann Baker. – Cambridge: Cambridge university Press, [2006]. 130 с.: il + 3 эл. апт. Диск

 

Фономатериалы

2. MP3 DISK to “Practical English Phonetics” edited by E. Karnevskaya. Recorded by Toby Doncaster. Advanced Course.

 

IV. Информационный блок.

The number of actual utterances produced by native speakers of English is obviously unlimited. But they can be reduced to a comparatively small list of basic intonation patterns (also called pitch-patterns or contours).

The word “basic” is used to denote several ideas:

- Meaningfulness (the replacement of one pattern by another causes a change in the meaning of an utterance) E.g. – ‘Like to have some ׳ ice-cream to˚night.

- Typical character (the patterns are pronounced and used in much the same way by all educated English speaking people)

- The patterns are associated with a complete communicative unite.

The discrimination of basic intonation patterns relies primarily on the directional type of nuclear pitch change (the rising, falling patterns). Within each of the 4 patterns there’s a further division according to the combination of the nuclear tone with the Head or absence of Head.

The meaning of the intonation patterns (contours) is mostly the sum total of the meanings of the nuclear tones and the heads used in them.

While describing and analyzing the basic contours 2 points should be made clear:

1. The semantic effect of an intonation pattern depends to a degree on the type of the utterance it is used in. The meaning of the pattern may coincide with the communicative nature of the sentence-type (e.g. – finality and assertiveness of the fall with a statement, the interrogative character of a rise with general questions, etc.) In this case the pattern will be regarded as typical for this sentence-type and will be called normal. On the contrary it may not coincide and will be called not-normal. The word “not-normal” here means some additional effect or connotation leading to a modification of the communicative meaning of the sentence-type (e.g. – implicatory statements, insistent or skeptical general questions, friendly special questions, etc.)

2. Intonation patterns differ in the expressiveness of their meaning, which is proportional to the expressiveness of their form. (An utterance with a Scandent Head in combination with any nuclear tone is more expressive and is suitable for a lively conversation while an utterance with a Stepping Head is not so expressive and is suitable for a businesslike talk. Utterances with a Rising-Falling Tone are more colorful than those with a simple Falling Tone)

According to this principle all intonation patterns are subdivided into emotionally neutral and emotionally colored.