Vowels in stressed and unstressed syllables in English.

Unstressed syllables in English words are in most cases pronounced with the neutral vowel[ ] which is historically the result of the reduction, or weakening, of various vowels in an unstressed position. In unstressed syllables containing the letter”e” the sound [i] is often pronounced, which is also regarded as a case of weakening since the letter “e” in a stressed syllable normally corresponds to either[i:] or [e]. in some English words, however, there is no reduction,i.e. the unstressed syllables in them retain a full-quality vowel. This means that the letter-sound correlation here is the same as in stressed syllables. Unstressed full-quality vowels, however differ from stressed ones in length and the force of articulation.

13)Reduction of functional words in English.

The basic principle of utterance-stress in English, as in other languages, is that form-words, or functional words, are not stressed, unless there is a need for special contrast or prominence on them. The list of functional words that are generally unstressed in speech includes articles, prepositions, conjunctions, some pronoun and modal verbs.

An important feature of English pronunciation is the weakening and reduction of functional words in an unstressed position in an utterance. However, not all functional words are always reduced when unstressed. Some of them may be both weak and strong. There is yet another group of functional words which are never reduced.

14)The intonation of non-final parts of utterances.

An utterance-the minimal independent unit of communication-is realized in as a combination of intonation-groups. In the first case the utterance has a simple tune, while in the second it has a combined tune. According of their position in a combined tune intonation-groups are divided into final and non-final.

Non-final intonation-groups are normally formed by initial clauses of compound and complex sentences, adverbial and subject groups within a clause, parenthetical words, direct address and reporting phrases.

When a Low Rise is used it indicates for the hearer that the utterance is not finished and there is a continuation without which the information is incomplete. An important characteristic of this intonation pattern is the high pitch of the prenuclear part.e.g: Mr. Prestley’s daughter studies at a business collage.

This pattern is typically pronounced in grammatically incomplete parts of utterances, such as:a)adverbial phrases;2)enumeration;c)initial subordinate clauses;d)principal clauses formed by the author’s words in reported speech.

15)Intonation of parentheses.

Utterances may contain words, phrases or clauses which are only partially related to the main subject-matter,and without which they remain grammatically and semantically complete.

Initial parentheses. Parenthetical words and phrases at the beginning of an utterance are used for various purposes: a)in order to gain time while the speaker is framing the main remark of his utterance or to call the listener’s attention to what is going to follow; b)to show the speaker’s attitude towards the subject-matter: supposition, satisfaction, regret, etc.e.g: Unfortunately, Charles doesn’t know about it.

Initial parentheses often form a separate intonation-group which possesses all the typical characteristics of a non-final group: a common pattern for an initial parenthetical phrase is a Low Rising nuclear tone preceded by a normal prehead and high head:As far as I know, his daughter has a beautiful voice.

Parentheses pronounced with a Falling nuclear tone sound weighty and make the whole utterance more important.

Final parentheses. Parentheses at the end of an utterance serve to summarize or add some details to the speaker’s main remark. They don’t, as a rule, form an intonation-group of their own and are pronounced as unstressed or partially stressed postnuclear syllables: I’m not good at languages, you know.

16) Intonation of reporting phrases and reported speech.

Reporting phrases are phrases such as “he asked”, “said the other”,etc, used in conversational passages in novels or in real conversation. They may be found at the beginning, middle or end of the Quoted speech.

Initial Reporting Phrases generally form a separate intonation-group. Thr most frequent nuclear tone of these groups in conversation is Mid Level. It shows that the intonation-group is semantically incomplete and leads on to the more important part of the utterance.

In reading aloud the most common pattern for initial Reporting phrases is the Low Rise. Like the Mid-Level tone it shows that the Reporting phrase is semantically incomplete without the following Quoted speech.

Final Reporting Phrases. In the final position the Reporting phrase usually forms the tail of the tune of the Quoted speech. Its pitch-pattern, therefore, is determined by the nuclear tone of the Quoted speech. After Rising and Falling-Rising nuclear tones the Reporting phrase is rising, and it is pronounced on a low pitch after a Falling tone:” If you like”,she asks.

In Reported speech the Reporting phrase generally forms the first intonation-group of an utterance while the main remark forms the following group. Like all non-final groups, Reporting phrases may take various nuclear tones: low rising, falling-rising, falling.

 

17. Intonation of direct address. Initial direct address.

Direct address is placed at the beginning of an utterance when the speaker wants to call his listener’s attention to the subject-matter or the fact that the remark concerns him personally. It usually forms a separate intonation-group which may be pronounced with any of the nuclear tones.

The falling tone on a Direct Address shows the speaker’s serious attitude to what he is going to say.

The Falling-Rising tone is normally used on an initial Direct Address in informal conversation yo convey the speaker’s warm and friendly attitude:Kitty, why aren’t you eating anything?

Direct Address at the beginning of an informal speech can also pronounced with a Low Rising tone: My friends, I am happy to meet you here tonight.