เอกสารประกอบการสอนวิชาสัทศาสตร์

47

In Figure 5.3, the pre-initial consonant is followed by 8 initial consonants /p t k m n f
l w j/ as /sp/ as in /spa:/ 'spa', /st/ as in /spa:) 'star', /sk/ as in /skaɪ/ 'sky', /sm/ as in /smɔ:l/
'small', /sn/ as in /snəʊ/ 'snow', /sf/ as in /sfɪə/ 'sphere', /sl/ as in /sləʊ/ 'slow', and /sw/ as
in /sweɪ/ sway'.

When two consonants which are combination of /s/+ other consonants as examples
above are at the beginning of a syllable, many Thai learners add a vowel sound between
the sound /s/ and the other. For example, they pronounce the word 'stop' as /sətɒp/ So,
be careful of pronouncing the word with two consonants starting /s/+C at the beginning.

Word Incorrect sounds Correct sounds

Skip /səkɪp/ /skip/

Scope /səkəʊp/ /skəʊp/

Scott /səkDt/ /skDt/

Scout /səkaʊt/ /skaʊt/

Scoop /səkʊp/ /skʊp/

Scan /səkan/ /skan/

Skim /səkIm/ /skIm/

Sky /səkaɪ/ /skaɪ/

The another sort begins with an initial consonant and is followed by one of these /l/,
/r/, /w/, and /j/ as in /pleɪ/ 'play', /preɪ/ “pray', /kwa:/ 'qua', and /nju:/ 'new'. They are
called post-initial consonants. They can follow the following initial consonants.

Initial

L p btdkgmnŋfvϴðszʃʒ h l r w j

+ +--+++ +-+- - - -- -- - - - - -

R + ++ ++ + - - - + - + - - - +- - - - - -

W - - + ++ - - - - - - - - + - - - - - - - -

J + + + ++ - + + - + + - - + - - - + + - - -

Figure 5.4 Two consonant cluster with post-initial consonant /I r w j/

In Figure 5.4, the first post-initial consonant /l/ is preceded by 6 initial consonants /p
b k g f s/as /pl/ as in /pleɪ/ 'play', /bl/ as in /bləʊ/ 'blow', /kl/ as in /kleɪ/ 'clay', /gl/ as in
/glu:/ 'glue', /fl/ as in /fləʊ/ 'flow', and /sl/ as in /sləʊ/ 'slow. The second post-initial

48

consonant /r/ is preceded by 9 initi consonants /p b t d k g f θ ʃ/as /pr/ as in /preɪ/ ‘pray',
/br/ as in /braʊ/brow /kr/ as in /kraɪ/'cry', /gr/ as in /grəʊ/ grow',/fr/ as in /fraʊ/ 'fry', and
/θr/ as/θri:/ 'three', and /ʃr/as in /ʃru:/-shrew'. The third post-initial consonant /w/ is
preceded by 4 initial consonants /t d k s/ as /tw/ as in /twɪn/ 'twin', /dw/ as in /dwel/
'dwell', and /sw/ as in /sweɪ/ 'sway'. And the last post-initial consonant /j/ is preceded by 11
initial consonants /p b t d k m n f v s h l/ as /pj/ as in /pju:/ 'pew', /bj/ as in /'bju:.tɪ/
'beauty', /tj/ as in /tju:n/ 'tune', /kj/ as in /kju:/ 'cue', /mj/ as in /mju:/ 'mew', /nj/ as in /nju:/
'new', /fj/ as in /fju/ 'few', and /vj/ as in /vju:/ 'view', /sj/ as in /sju:/“Sue', /hj/ as in /hju:dʒ/
“huge', and /lj/as in /lju:d/ 'lewd'.

When we look at three-initial consonant clusters, we can combine twosorts of two-
consonant clusters above as pre-initial + initial + post-initial consonants as in /spreɪ/ 'spray',
/streɪ/ 'stray', and /skru:/ 'screw'.

Pre- Initial Initial Post- Initial
P Irwj
++-+

S T Irwj
-+-+

k Irwj
++++

Figure 5.5 Three-consonant clusters

In Figure 5.5, the three initial consonants /p t k/ can be preceded by the pre-initial
consonant /s/ and followed by the post-initial consonants /l r w j/ as in /spleɪ/ 'splay', reɪ/
'spray', /stres/ 'stress', /skweə/ square', and /skri:m/ 'scream'. The initial consonant /p/ is a
three-initial cluster by combination with /s/ and /l r j/ as /spl/ as in /spleɪ/ 'splay', /spr/ as
in /spreɪ/ 'spray’,/spj/ as in /spju:/ 'spew'. The initial consonant /t/ is a three-initial cluster
by combination with /s/ and /r j/ as /str/ as in /strɔ:/ 'straw' and /stj/ as in /stju:/ 'stew'. And
the initial consonant /k/ is a three-initial cluster by combination with /s/ and /l r w j/ as /skl/
as in /'sklɪə.rə/ 'sclera', /skr/ as in /skri:/ 'scree', /skw/ as in 'squab', and /skj/ as in /skju:/
'skew.

49

The initial consonant clusters may consist of the following patterns

Initial clusters Patterns

Two- Initial consonant + Pre- Initial consonant+ Initial consonant

cluster Or + Initial consonant + post-final

Three- Initial consonant cluster + Pre- Initial consonant+ Initial consonant+
post- Initial consonant

2.3 One-syllable words with final consonants

Some one-syllable words have the final consonant (s) as /æs/ 'as', /ɑ:sk/ 'ask’,
/ɑ:skt/ 'asked'. So they can be the syllable pattern for final consonants as VC, VCC, and
VCCC. If there are more than one final consonant, we call them a final cluster. We may find
a four-final consonant here as VCCC. Here are four syllable patterns of final consonant.

VC

VC VCC VCCC VCCCC

Figure 5.6 Final consonants.

In Figure 5.6, someone-syllable words may end with one final consonant as in /æn/
'an', two final consonants as in /ænt/ 'ant', three finalconsonants as in /ænts/ 'ants'. or four
final consonants consonants as in /læpst/ 'lapsed'. One final consonant is called a final
consonant. Two final consonants are called two-final consonant clusters three final
consonants are called three-final consonants, and four final consonants are called four-final
consonant clusters. All consonants except /w h j/ can be a final consonant of a word. Here
in BBC accent, the sound /r/ doesn't occur as a final consonant except it is followed by a
word starting with a vowel sound.

When two final come together, the final one which is followed by the another one is
called pre-final consonant as in /kæmp/ camp, /ænt/ ant', /mɪlk/ ‘milk', /ɑ:sk/ 'ask', and
/bæŋk/ bank'. So /m n l s ŋ/ are pre-final consonants. The structure of a two-final
consonant cluster is pre-final consonant +final consonant.

50

The three-final consonant cluster consists of two as said above and final one which
is called post-final consonant as in /bets/ 'bets', /bedz/'beds',/bækt/ 'backed', /bægd/
bagged', and /eɪtθ/ ‘eighth'. So /s z t d θ/ are post final consonants. The structure of three-
final consonants consists of pre-final consonant+ final consonant+ post-final consonant. If
there are four final consonants come together, they consist of pre-final consonant+ final
consonant+ post-final consonant 1+ post-final consonant 2.

The final consonant clusters may consist of the following patterns:

Final cluster Pattern
+ Pre- final consonant+ final consonant- post- final consonant
Two-final Or - Pre- final consonant + final consonant+ post- final consonant
Consonant
cluster + Pre- final consonant+ final consonant+ost- final consonant
Three-final
consonant
cluster

Four-final Pre-final consonant +final consonant
consonant + post-final consonant 1 + post-final consonant 2
cluster

In pronouncing a two or more syllable word, we can

Step 1: Move active articulator to passive articulator (don't release)

Step 2: Continue the second consonant as the first one and release the airstream.

For example, when we pronounce the word /desk/ 'desk’, at the final consonants we
will raise the tip of the tongue near the alveolar ridge, continue raising the back of tongue to
the soft palate to close the airstream, and release it.

3. Syllables with -s endings

The infinitives /wɔ:k/ 'walk' and /plæn/ 'plan' have one syllable, and the present
tense form of them used with a singular subject such as a third person: he, she, and it or
singular nouns: a man, a tiger, a pen, or a university adding -s as /wɔ:ks/ 'walks' and /plænz/
'plans' still have one syllable. But each syllable has one more final consonant.

Both of them, 'walk' and 'walks' are different that 'walk' has one final sound: /k/, but
'walks' has two final consonants: /ks/. Regular plural nouns are also the same to singular

51

verbs. So singular verbs and regular plural nouns ending in -s are grouped into two-final
consonant clusters. They can be divided into three as follows:

3.1 If -s is added after verbs ending in these voiceless consonants sounds: /k/, /p/,/f/,
it is pronounced as /s/.

3.2 If -s is added after verbs ending in the voiced consonants sounds or vowels, it is
pronounced as /z/.

3.3 If -s is added after verbs ending in these consonants sounds: /tʃ/,/ʃ/, /s/, /dʒ/,
and /z/, it is -es /ɪz/ and gives one more syllable.

4. Syllables with -ed endings
The infinitive 'pray' has one syllable, and the past tense form of the verb 'pray',

prayed, also has one syllable. Both of them, 'pray' and 'prayed' are different that 'pray' does
not have the final sound like this /preɪ/, but prayed' has the final consonant sound like this
/preɪd/. So every regular verb ending in -ed is ad one final consonant after it. Some regular
verbs may be grouped into two-final consonant clusters. -ed can be pronounced as /t/ or
/d/ which is a consonant /id/ which is a syllable. Here are details of -ed endings.

4.1 If -ed is added after verbs ending in these consonants sounds: /k/, /p/,/s/, /ʃ/,
/tʃ/,/f/, it is pronounced as /t/.

4.2 If -ed is added after verbs ending in the voiced consonants sounds or vowels, it is
pronounced as /d/.

4.3 If -ed is added after verbs ending in these two consonants sounds: /t/ and /d/, it
adds one more syllable /ɪd/.

Summary
In this unit, we have learned what a syllable is and how to formulate a one-syllable

word in different syllable patterns. After counting a number of a word, we know how many
phonemes there phonemes there are in a one-word. We have also known how to identify
any and pronounce the consonant clusters at the beginning and end of especially the words
with both more than two initial and final consonants.

In addition, we have practices pronouncing grammatical verbs, namely singular
present verbs (present verbs used with singular nouns) and regular past tense verbs (past
verbs ending in -ed).
Exercise

52

1. How will you define a syllable? Give examples.

2. Give three examples of one-syllable words without initial and final consonants.

3. Give a syllable pattern to the following words:

a. thought b. sleep c. television

4. What is a consonant cluster? Give examples to the followings:

a. words with two initial consonants

b. words with three initial consonants

c. words with two final two consonants

d. words with three final consonants

5. How many initial consonant sounds are there in the words ‘screw’?

6. How many final consonant sounds are at there in the words ‘asked’?

7. Remove one of two final consonants to make a new word.

a. change b. field c. fix

8. If the subject is singular, make the correct verb form of these verbs.

Then tell a number of syllables.

a. Come b. go c. dance

9. Add –ed to the following one-syllable verbs. Then write the syllable pattern for
each.

a. clap b. dive c. cite

10. What do you think syllable division?

Reference

Anne E. Baker and Kees Hengeveld. (2012). Linguistics. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Baker, A. (2006). Sip or sheep? : An intermediate pronunciation course. Cambridge:
Cambridge University press.

Bowler, B. & Parminter, S. (2003). New Head Pronunciation Course. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.

Daniel Jones. (1998). An outline of English phonetics. (9th ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.

David Crystal. (2008). A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. (6th ed.). Oxford: Blackwell
Publishing.

53

Gerald Kelly. (2000). How to Teach Pronunciation. Pearson : Pearson Education Limited.
Gilbert, J. (2006). Clear Speech. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hancock, M. (2006). English Pronunciation in Use. Cambridge: Cambridge University press.
J.D.O' Conner. (2009). Better English Pronunciation. 31st Printing. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.
Michael Vaughan-Rees. (2002). Test your Pronunciation. Pearson: Pearson Education

Limited.
Paul Dale, Lilian Poms. (1994). English Pronunciation for International Students. New

Jersey : Prentice Hall Regents.
Peter Roach. (2009). English Phonetics and Phonology. (4th ed.). A Practical Course.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ralph W. Fasold, Jeffrey Connor-Linton. (2014). An Introduction to Language and

Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Chapter 5
WORD STRESS

1. Introduction
English and Thai are absolutely different because English is a stress-timed language

which means one of all syllables in a word is stressed, but Thai is a tonal language or
syllable-timed language which means all syllables of a word are stressed. So if Thai learners
want to speak English similarly as a native speaker, they have to try their best to do as the
native speakers do. In Unit 5 we have studied the characteristics of one-syllable words. In
this unit, we will study the following topics.

1.1 Syllable division
1.2 Stressed and unstressed syllables
1.3 Simple words
1.4 Complex words

2. Syllable division
The process of grouping phonemes into syllables is called syllabification (Anne E.

Baker and Kees Hengeveld, 2012: 322). When a word has more than one syllable, we can
divide a word into syllables in two ways: phonology and morphology or orthography. For
example, the word 'teacher' can be divided phonologically as I'ti:.tſəl and morphologically or
orthographically as I'ti:tſ.əl. This word can be divided into two ways because the consonant
/tſ/ belongs to two vowels /i:/ and /əl. It is called ambisyllabic (Peter Ladefoged and Keith
Johnson, 2010 : 248). Most words which are added suffixes starting with vowel sounds as
able, -ist, -ity and the root word containing a long vowel as in the following words.

Phonological division Morphological division

/ 'ri:.də.bəl/ ‘readable' /'ri:d. ə.bəl/ 'readable'

/'a:.tist/ 'artist' / 'art.ist/'artist'

/dai'v3:.sə.ti/ 'diversity' /dai'v3:s.ə.ti/ 'diversity'

In the examples above, the syllables which can phonologically be divided contain

only long vowels, but the ones with short vowels cannot be done. The word Tə'sis.tənt/

'assistant, for instance, is divided the same in both dimensions. Since this is phonetics, we

focus on only phonologically syllable division. Here are rules of syllable division.

2.1 When consonants are surrounded by vowels, divide the syllable ending in a long

vowel before a consonant as CV+CV as in following examples.

/'bei.bi/ 'baby'

/'frəw.zən/ 'frozen'

/ai.vi/ 'ivy'

56

But when the syllable ends in a short vowel, it is divided after a final consonant as
CVC as in the following examples.

/ 'riv.ə /'river'
/'met.ǝl/ ‘metal'
/'win.əl 'winner'
2.2 When there are two consonant sounds after a vowel, divide two consonants as
VC + CV as in the following examples.
/'pb.dzıkt/ object'
/'bæn.did3
/ 'bandage'
/'kpm.bæt/ 'combat'

2.3 When a syllable has a final consonant + -le, divide it before 'le' as in the
following examples.

/'ter.bəl/ 'table'
/'ram.bəl/ 'rumble'
/'sai.kəl/ cycle'

3. Stressed and unstressed syllables
The important feature of a polysyllabic word which contains more than one syllable

word consists of stressed and unstressed syllables. We also call a stressed syllable as strong
form and an unstressed syllable as a weak form. When the syllable is stressed, it will be
pronounced higher, louder, or longer than the other syllables. A stressed syllable is also
called an accented syllable. For example, when we say the words /'fei.məs/ 'famous', the
first syllable is higher, louder, and longer than the second syllable. A77 Listen to these
words and repeat them..

/'bet.əl "better
/'əv.pən/ 'open'
/'fəv.tə.gra:f/ 'photograph'
/ fəw.ta græf.ik/"photographic
/fə'tpg.rə.fi/ 'photography'
In the examples above, we saw the marks: (') as in all the examples and () as in some
examples. The mark (') indicates a primary stress by placing it high up before the stressed
syllable in transcription, so it is used for all polysyllabic words, but the mark () which is used
only in more than two syllable words indicates a secondary stress by placing low up before
the stressed syllable. These marks are used to indicate a level of stress in IPA, Longman
Dictionary of Contemporary English, and the Cambridge English Dictionary which we use as a

57

model in this book. Both the primary stress and secondary stress are stressed, but the

primary stress is strongest.

The stressed syllables contain full vowel sounds, but the unstressed or weak

syllables contain shortened vowel sounds as a 'schwa' /ə/, /1/, and /i/. The difference

between /i/ and /i/ is that /i/ is used for a weak syllable ending in a final consonant, but /i/

is used with the one without a final consonant (Peter Roach, 2009: 67-68) as in the following

examples.

The weak vowel/I/ The weak vowel/i/

/'dpl.fin/ 'dolphin' l'lav.li/ 'lovely

/'kæb.id3/ 'cabbage' l'krei.zi/ 'crazy'

/'pr.ind3/ 'orange' l'fan.i/ 'funny

4. Word stress patterns
As we have said, all polysyllabic words have stressed syllables and unstressed

syllables. The question is “How can we find the stressed syllable of a polysyllabic word?”.
Before we answer that tough question, we should know how many kinds of words there are
to identify. There are generally two kinds of words to identify the stress. One is a simple
word which is also called a root word. It means a word which is not added any affixes as
l'fa:.ða/ 'father', /'haŋ.gri/ “hungry', and /dı.'li:t / 'delete'. They can be both two and more
syllable words. Another one is a complex word. It will be a word adding affixes as
I'mæn.id3.mənt/ ‘management' (manage+ment) or a compound word as /'ſpp.in ,mo:1/
'shopping mall' (shopping+ mall). In order to find a stress pattern, it is necessary to answer
all or some of the following questions.

Q1. Is it a simple word or a complex word?
Q2. If it is a simple word, what is its word class?
Q3. If it is a complex word, does it contain an affix or is it a compound word?
Q4. If it is a word containing an affix, do they influence or do not influence the word
stress?
Q5. If it is a compound word, what compound word is it; noun, adjective, or verb?
Q6. How many syllables does it have?
Observe to these words and repeats them.
1. /'brað.ə/'brother'
2. /'dzel.əs/ 'jealous'
3. /'ni:.did/ 'needed'
4./ vjet.nə'mi:z/ 'Vietnamese'
5. /'su:.pə, ma:kit/ supermarket'
In the examples above, the first two words /'brað.ə) brother and I'dzel.əs/ jealous'
whose the first syllable is stressed, but the last one is not stressed because they are two-

58

syllable nouns or adjectives. We can give more information for the second one that the
suffix -ous appears on it. The third one has the same stress pattern as the first two words,
but the different information is that two-syllable words contain a suffix (-ed) which does not
influence the word stress, just adding more syllable to the root /ni:d/ 'need'. The fourth one
has stress on the suffix -ese because it is always stressed when is added to the root word.
The root word / vjet'næm/ “Vietnam' which has stress on the second syllable. And the last
word has a primary stress on the first syllable, a secondary stress on the third syllable
because it is a compound noun.

4.1 Simple words
Simple words are words which are not composed of more than one grammatical unit
(Peter Roach. 2009: 82). We can call them as root words. We mainly focus on the content
words: nouns, adjectives, and verbs. They can be two or more -syllable words. We will find
the stress patterns of two-syllable simple words and three-syllable simple words.
(1) Two-syllable words
When simple words have two syllables, one syllable is stressed and the another one
is not stressed. The first syllable or the second one is stressed depending on the word class.
So the stress pattern of two-syllable simple words is as follows.
1) stressed syllable + unstressed syllable
2) unstressed syllable + stressed syllable

A. Two-syllable nouns and adjectives

Most two-syllable nouns and adjectives are stressed on the first syllable, but the

second one is not stressed. Observe to these words and repeats them.

Nouns Adjectives

/'man.i/ 'money' I'sım.pəl/ “simple'

l'dzen.dəl gender' l'nær.əv/ 'narrow'

l'pen.səl/ 'pencil' l'i:.zi/ 'easy'

I'win.dəv/ 'window' l'kpm.ən/'common'

/'bpd.i/ 'body' /'stju:.pıd/ stupid'

Note: There are exceptions. Some two-syllable simple nouns and adjectives are stressed on

the second syllable as follows.

Two-syllable nouns Two-syllable adjectives

/bə'lu:n/ 'balloon' /kə'rekt/ 'correct'

/di'zain/ 'design' /pə'lait/ 'polite'

B. Two-syllable verbs

59

Most two-syllable verbs are stressed on the second syllable and unstressed on the
first syllable.A80 Listen to these words and repeat them.

/ə'plai/ 'apply
/ə'raivl 'arrive'
/ə'trækt/ 'attract'
/rəv'teit/ 'rotate'
/ə'sist/ 'assist
Note: There are some exceptions to this general rules, especially, the words ending in -er, -
en, -y which are stressed on the first syllable as in /'a:n.səl'answer', /'pf.əl offer', l'en.tə /
'enter', /'hæp.ən/ 'happen', /'əv.pən/ 'open', /'kpp.i/ 'copy'.

C. Numbers ending in -ty and -teen
Stress patterns can help us hear difference between similar words, for example,
numbers ending in -ty or -teen. If a number ends in -ty, it is stressed on a syllable before it
as in l'ei.ti/ ‘eighty'. But if a number ends in -teen, it is stressed on it as in /,ei'ti:n/ ‘eighteen'.
Observe to these words and repeat them.

Numbers ending in -ty Numbers ending in teen
/3:.ti/ 'thirty' /3:'ti:n/ 'thirteen'
/fɔ:'ti/ 'forty' /'fɔ:.ti/ 'forteen'
/ 'fif.ti/ 'fifty' /fif'ti:n/ 'fifteen'

D. Homographs

Some two-syllable simple words have the same (noun) and the second syllable of

verbs spelling, but different word class or meaning are called homographs. If they are nouns

or adjectives, they are stressed on the first syllable as in l'æb.strækt/ 'abstract as in

læb.'strækt 'abstract' (verb).

Observe to these words and repeat them.

Nouns or adjectives Verbs

/kəm.'pækt/"compact' /'kom.pəkt/ 'compact'

/'kon.dəkt/ 'conduct' /kən.'dakt/"conduct'

/'kpn.trækt/ 'contract' /kən.'trækt/ 'contract'

/'rek.əd/ 'record' /rı.'kɔ:d/ 'record'

/'kpn.tra:st/ 'contrast' /kən.'tra:st/ 'contrast'

(2) Three-syllable syllables

60

Three-syllable simple words can be stressed on different syllables as the first syllable
as in /'kæb.i.nət/ 'cabinet', the second syllable as in /bə'na:.nə/ ‘banana’, and the third
syllable as in /en.tə'tein/ 'entertain'. Here are the stress patterns of three-syllable words.

1) unstress + primary stress + unstress
2) primary stress + unstress + secondary stress
3) secondary stress + unstress + primary stress

To safer space and easily understood, we use 0 for a stressed syllable, for secondary
stress, and for unstressed syllable (s). Observe to these words and repeat them.

12 1 21
/'jes.tə.dei/ 'yesterday' /ə'dzen.dəl'agenda' / kæŋ.go.'ru:/ 'kangaroo'
/'jes.tə.dei/ 'yesterday' / ə pəv.nənt/'opponent' / vol.ən'tiəl 'volunteer'
/'rev.ən.ju:/ ‘revenue / mi'məw.səl 'mimosa' / træm.pə.'l.i:n/ 'trampoline'
/'æl.ə.keit/ ‘allocate' /bə'na:.nəl 'banana' / a:f.tə'nu:n/ afternoon'
/'in.təl.ekt/ 'intellect' /dı'za:.stəl disaster' / rez.ə.'rekt/ ‘resurrect'

The other three-syllable words can be grouped into these three stress patterns.

4.2 Complex words
Complex words are words composed of two or more grammatical units as in
/'æk.ſən/ 'action' being composed of two grammatical units: act (verb)+ion (suffix) and /'bɔ1.,
frend/ ‘boyfriend composed of two parts: boy (noun) + friend (noun). So complex words are
divided into two categories: root words adding an affix and compound words. Two
grammatical units come together as one word are called complex words.

(1) Complex words
Complex words mean root words which are added affixes. Affixes mainly consist of
two types: prefixes and suffixes. Prefixes are morphemes which precede a root word as pre-
as in / pri:'wɔ:/ 'pre-war'. There are many prefixes, but all of them don't influence stress in a
word. And other ones are suffixes which are opposite affixes because they follow a root
word as -ment as in Idi'pa:t.mənt/ 'department. All suffixes morphologically change parts of
speech as the example above because the root 'depart' is a verb, but after adding the suffix
ment' as 'department', it is a noun. But in phonological dimension, some influence stress in a
word, some don't.

61

1) If we add the following suffixes; -ial, -ic, -ion, -ious and -ian, the primary stress is

always on the last syllable of the root as in the following examples. Observe to these words

and repeats them.

Root Root+ suffix

/kpm.3:s/ 'commerce' /kə'm3: fəll commercial'

/rəv'mæns/ “romance' /rəv'mæntik/ “romantic'

/pra'dzu:s/ 'produce' /pra'dak.ſən/ “production'

/pres.'ti:3 'prestige' /pres 'tid3.əs/ 'prestigious'

/mæl'mæt.ik/ 'mathematic' /mæ0.mə'tiſ.ən/ mathematician'

Sometimes the -al suffix is added after -ic and -ion, but it is stressed on the last
syllable of a root word before -ic and -ion, for example, 'electrical' is stressed on the last
syllable of the root word before -ic as /i.'lek.tri.kəl/. -ion and -ian are pronounced /Sən such
as musician /mju:sifən.

Remember that if these suffixes come together in one word, focus on the suffixes as
said as in li'lek.trik/ 'electric' and /ıl.ek'triſ.ən/ 'electrician'.

2) If a complex word ends in the -y, -er, -ist suffixes, it is stressed on the third
syllable from the end as in the following examples.

/.p3:.sən'æl.ə.ti/ personality'
/fə tog.rəfə/"photographer'
/ klai.ma tol.ə.dzist/ 'climatologist
3) If a longer word is followed by the following suffixes: -ade, -aire, -ee, ese, -eer,
ette, and -esque, it is stressed on them as in the follows examples.

Root Root + suffix

/'lem.ən/ 'lemon' /lem.ə'neid/ 'lemonade'

/'kwes.tſən/ question' /kwes.tſə'neal 'questionnaire'

/rı'f3:/ 'refer' / ref.ə'ri:/ 'referee'

/dzə'pæn/Japan' /dgæp.ən'i:z/ Japanese'

/'maun.tin/ 'mountain' / maun.tı'nıəl 'mountaineer'

/si'ga:/ 'cigar' /sig.ər'et/'cigarette'

/'pik.tſəl 'picture' /pik.tſər'esk/ 'picturesque'

4) If a longer word is followed by the following suffixes: -able, -age, -al, -en, -ful, -ing,
-like, -less, -ly, -ment, -ness, -ous, and -wise, the stress of the root does not change as in the
following examples. Observe to these words and repeats them.

62

Root Root + suffix
/'kam.fət/ 'comfort' /kam.fə.tə.bəl/ 'comfortable'
/ə'raiv/ 'arrive' /ə'rai.vəll'arrival
/'brait/ 'bright' /'brai.tən/ 'brighten'
/'spr.əv/ 'sorrow' l'spr.əv.fəl/ 'sorrowful'
/sli:p/ 'sleep' /'sli:p.iŋ/ 'sleeping'
/tſaild/'child' /'tſaild.laik/ childlike'
/'mi: .niŋ/ 'meaning' '/mi:.nıy.ləs/ 'meaningless'
/'kwarət/ 'quiet' /'kwaiət.li/ quietly'
/in'dzɔ1/ 'enjoy' /in'dzor.mənt/ 'enjoyment'
/i'fektiv/ 'effective' i/'fekºtivnəs/'effectiveness'

/rı'lıdz.ən/ 'religion' /rı'lid3.əs/ “religious'
/aðəl'other' /'að.ə.warz/ 'otherwise'

(2) Compound words
When two root words are combined as one word, they are called compound words.
They may be nouns, adjectives, and verbs. They have different patterns as follows:
1) If a compound noun derives from a smaller word + a noun, we put primary stress
on the first part and secondary stress on the second part as in the following examples.
Observe A. one-syllable word + one-syllable word

/'bas., stop/ 'bus stop'
/'buk. Jop/bookshop'
/'bed.,rum/-bedroom'
/'ka:. pa:k/ car park
Observe B. one-syllable word + two-syllable word
l'saŋ..gla:.sız/ 'sunglasses'
/'bas., stei.ſən/ 'bus station'
Observe C. two-syllable word + one-syllable word
/'træf.ik. lait/ 'traffic light'
/'bɔ:diŋ pa:s/ 'boarding pass'

63

2) If it is a compound adjective or adverb, it is stressed on the first and the second
part as in the following examples.

Observe /'hænd. 'meid/ 'handmade' (compound adjective)
/'əw.və'nait/ 'overnight' (compound adjective or adverb)
/'Sɔ:t.'sai.tid/-short sighted' (compound adjective)

3) If it is a compound verb, a primary stress is on the second part
Observe /,an.də.'stænd/ 'understand'
/,əU.və.'ran/ 'overrun'
/ , an.də.'fan.did/ ‘underfunded'
/.və.'sli:p/ 'oversleep'

4) If a compound noun consisting of adjective + noun which is not written as one, a
stress is on both parts as in the following examples.

Observe /'gri:n.'haus/ green house'
/'red. 'pen/ 'red pen'

Summary
In this unit, we have learned all about stressed and unstressed syllables in a

polysyllabic word. The stressed syllable is more prominent than the unstressed one. In a
word, the stressed syllable is transcribed with a full vowel, but the unstressed one is done
with unstressed vowels: 'schwa /ə/, /1/, or /il. There are two stressed syllables: a primary
stress (the strongest stress) and a second stress (the weaker one). The components of a
stressed syllable consist of consonant + a long vowel or a diphthong. It also has consonant
+ a short vowel + final consonant. We have found and identified the stress in a root word
and a complex word. There are rules for a word stress. Different word classes: nouns,
adjectives, and adverbs have different stress patterns. So do compound words. All prefixes
and some suffixes do not influence the stress in a complex word, but some influence the
stress. The rules mostly have exceptions, so to be better in pronouncing polysyllabic words
we should know both rules and their exceptions. Phonologically,

Exercise
1 How do you pronounce a stressed syllable?
2 Mark the stress on the following words:
a. fifteen b. seventy c. today d. detest
e. captain f.career g.injury h. disconnection

64

3 If it is a two-syllable noun or adjective, which syllable can you put the stress on,

the first syllable or the second syllable? Give three examples each.

4 What is the stress pattern of the underlined word in this sentence 'We import too

much petrol.

5 Which part of a compound noun can you put a primary stress on, the first part or

the second part?

6 How many suffixes can change stress pattern after they are added to a root? What

are they? Give examples.

7 Mark the (') above the primary of the following words:

a. telecommunication e. philosophy

b. economical f. climatologist

C. socialistic g. geography

d. unforgettable

8 Build a new word from these roots, and then compare the primary stress of each

pair.

a. person d. civil b. nation e. believe C. photograph

9 Divide the following words with transcription.

a. ability b. under C. calculate d. ceremony e. grammatical

f. artistic g. defeat h. entertain

10 Do you think you find some difficulty in word stress? If yes, what are they?

Reference
Baker, A. (2006). Sip or sheep?: An intermediate pronunciation course. Cambridge: Cambridge

University press.
Bowler, B. & Parminter, S. (2003). New Head Pronunciation Course. Oxford: Oxford University

Press.
Daniel Jones. (1998). An outline of English phonetics. (9th ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.
Gerald Kelly. (2000). How to Teach Pronunciation. Pearson : Pearson Education Limited.
Gilbert, J. (2006). Clear Speech. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hancock, M. (2006). English Pronunciation in Use. Cambridge : Cambridge University press.
J.D.O' Conner. (2009). Better English Pronunciation. 315€ Printing. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.
Michael Vaughan-Rees. (2002). Test your Pronunciation. Pearson: Pearson Education Limited
Paul Dale, Lilian Poms. (1994). English Pronunciation for International Students. New Jersey:

Prentice Hall Regents.
Peter Ladefoged and Keith Johnson. (2010). A Course in Phonetics. (6th ed.). Boston :

Wadworth Cengage Learning.

65

Peter Roach. (2009). English Phonetics and Phonology (4th ed.). A Practical Course.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Rebecca M. Dauer. (1993). Accurate English : A Complete Course in Pronunciation.
New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents.

Chapter 6

SENTENCE STRESS

1. Introduction

As we have learned in the previous unit, each word has a stress pattern, especially a
word with more than one syllable. If it is a two-syllable word, one syllable is stressed
(strong), but another one is unstressed (weak). For example, the word /'ↄ:.rindᴣ/ 'orange' has
two syllables according to the rule that for a two-syllable noun or adjective, the first
syllable is normally stressed and the second one is not stressed. Remember that if it is
unstressed, we use a weak form which is pronounced as /ə/ or/I/. We focus on the stressed
syllable in a word, especially an important word which is a noun, an adjective, a verb, or an
adjective. In this unit, we focus on stressed and unstressed syllables in a sentence which is
larger and more complicated than a word. Sentences are sometimes short or long. It is
possible that words and short sentences have the same stress pattern as follows.

Three-syllable word and sentence

/'jes.tə.deı/ 'yesterday' /'ɑ:n.sər.ım/ 'Answer him.'

/tə'mɒr.əʊ/ 'tomorrow' /fə ‘get.ıt/ 'Forget it.'

/dƷæp.ən'i:z/ Japanese' /də.jə.'sməʊk/ 'Do you smoke?'

In the examples above, when it is a sentence, we still use the word stress rules as we
have learned in Unit 5. Not only all classes of words (nouns, pronouns. verbs, adjectives,
adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and determiners) are stressed, but some can be
stressed, and some cannot. Consider the first sentence / ‘ɑ:n.sərım/ ‘Answer him.' Which
consists of two words: 'answer' (verb) and 'him' (pronoun)The word 'answer' is stressed
according to the exception of a two-syllable verb, but the word 'him' is not stressed
because it is a pronoun, when comparing it with other sentences, we can say that the verbs
'answer', 'forget', and 'smoke' are stressed as the rules said in Unit 6, but pronouns 'him',
'it', and 'you' including an auxiliary 'do' are not stressed. The reason why verbs are stressed
is that they are important words or content words. In contrary, pronouns and an auxiliary
are not stressed because they are just grammatical words or function words. If somebody
asks how many word classes are stressed and unstressed. The answer is from the following
examples.

1. /hı ız ə 'gʊd 'lʊk.ıƞ 'bɔı/ 'He is a good-looking boy.'

2. /maı 'brʌð.ə 'gəʊz tə 'sku:l ət 'sevən ın ðə 'mↄ:nıŋ/

‘My brother goes to school at 7:00 in the morning.'

68

In the examples above, we can find that the unstressed words are as follows:
1. pronoun 'he'
2. verb 'be' 'is'
3. determiners 'a', 'the',
4. prepositions 'to', 'at', and 'in'
And the stressed words consist of the following words:
1. nouns 'boy', 'brother', 'school', 'morning'
2. adjective 'good-looking'
3. verb 'goes'
Some are stressed because they are important words or content word, but some are
not because they are not important words or grammatical words or function words.

2. Content words
The word stress rules as we have learned in Unit 6 are mostly important words which

are called content words. They consist of nouns, verbs, phrasal verbs, adjectives, adverbs,
negative auxiliary verbs as in the following examples.

Noun: Emergency!
Verb: Smile!
Phrasal verb: Stand up!
Adjective: Quiet!
Adverb: Come quickly!
Negative Auxiliary verb: Don't worry!
Short answers: Yes, I do.
Some sentences may have one or two words, but some are longer. It is not difficulty
to identify if we know what word class each is. Look at the longer sentences and consider
the stressed words.
1. /aɪ' vɪzɪtɪdmaɪ'əʊuld'frendətðə ‘ʃɒpɪŋmɔ:l ' jestədeɪ/
"I visited my old friend at the shopping mall yesterday."
In the sentence 1, the stressed words are 'visited', 'old', 'friend', shopping mall',
'yesterday because they are important words, but the others are not stressed.
2. /maɪ 'frendəndaɪ 'wentəðə ‘ wedɪŋ’ pɑ:.ti'lɑ:st'naɪt/

69

"My friend and I went to the wedding party last night."
In the sentence 2, the stressed words are 'friend', 'went', 'wedding party', 'last night'
because they are important words, but the others are not stressed.
So if the words in a sentence are important words as said, they are stressed as the
word stress rules in Unit 5.

3. Functional words
Some words are not normally stressed because they are not important words. They

just have grammatical meaning. They are called function words or grammatical words.
They consist of pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, determiners, verb 'be', and auxiliary
verbs. They are composed in a sentence because they help a sentence grammatically
correct. One-syllable function words are usually not stressed in a phrase or a sentence, but
if they are polysyllabic words, they are stressed. When syllables are not stressed, the vowel
sound is normally shortened as schwa /ə/ or /ɪ/ sound. Look at the sentences and consider
the unstressed words.

1. /aɪ'vɪzɪtɪdmaɪ' əʊld' frendətðə ‘ ʃɒpɪŋmↄ:l' jestǝdeɪ/
"I visited my old friend at the shopping mall yesterday.

In the sentence 1, the stressed words are 'visited', 'old', and ‘friend’. "Shopping mall',
'yesterday', because they are important words, but the others are not stressed.

2. /maɪ' frendəndaɪ' wentəðə ‘ wedɪŋ'pɑ:.ti ‘lɑ:st' naɪt/
"My friend and I went to the wedding party last night."
Some words which are important words like nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs
are stressed, but these words in sentence 1 and 2 ‘ I ', 'my', 'at', and 'they are not
stressed because they are not important words.
In the examples, these words 'your', 'was', 'the', and 'can' are not stressed
because they are not important. So, now we can summarize that the unstressed words
are as follows:

1. pronouns
2. prepositions
3. conjunctions

4. determiners
5. verb 'be'
6. auxiliary verbs

70

When these words are composed in a sentence, we have to use a weak form. Here
are details of each one.

3.1 Pronouns

Pronouns are normally not stressed in a sentence, so a weak form as in Figure 7.1 is
used.

Pronouns Strong form Weak form
he hi:
hɪ
him hɪm ɪ
ɪm

his hɪz hɪz
ɪz
he ʃi:
her hɜ: ʃɪ

h3:r hə

me mi: ə

hər
ər
mɪ

we wi: wɪ

them ðəm ðəm / ðm

you Ju : jʊ

Figure 7.1 Strong form and weak form of pronouns

We use a weak form of pronouns as /hɪ/, /hɪz / , /hə/, and /her/ When they are
put at the beginning of a sentence. And we use These weak forms of pronouns as
/ɪ/ /ɪm/, /ɪz/,and /ə/ when they are put anywhere of a sentence as in the following
examples.

But these weak forms as /ʃɪ/, /mɪ/, /wɪ/, /ðəm/ or /ðm/, /jʊ/or /jə/ are used
elsewhere as in the following examples.

3.2 Prepositions

71

Prepositions are one of the unstressed words, so when they are used sentence,
their weak forms as in Figure 7.2 are usually taken.

Prepositions Strong form Weak form
at æt ət

for fↄ: fə

from frɒm fər
frəm

fo ɒv əv

to tu: tʊ

tə

Figure 7.2 Strong form and weak form of prepositions

We use a weak form of prepositions 'for' as /fə/, 'to' as /tə/ when they precede a
consonant. And we use these weak forms of prepositions /fər/,/tʊ/ when they follow
a vowel as in the following examples.

3.3 Conjunctions

Conjunctions are not stressed because they are also the function words. So the weak
forms as in Figure 7.3 are mostly used.

Prepositions Strong form Weak form
than /ðæn/ /ðən/
but /bʌt/ /bət/
and /ænd/ /ən/

Figure 7.3 Strong form and weak form of conjunctions
We use a weak form of conjunctions as /ə/, /bət/, and /ən / elsewhere as in
the following examples.

3.4 Determiners

72

Determiners are the function words, too. So they are not stressed in a sentence. Their
weak forms as in Figure 7.4 are used.

Determiners Strong form Weak form

a /əɪ/ /ə/

an /æn/ /ən/

the /ði:/ /ðə/,/ðɪ/

Some /sʌm/ /səm/

Figure 7.4 Strong form and weak form of determiners

We use a weak form of determiners elsewhere. Remember that we use "the" as /ðə/
before a consonant sound, but /ðɪ/ before a vowel sound as in the following examples.

3.5 Auxiliary verbs

Auxiliary verbs are not important words because they are Function word. They just
help sentences meaningful as the negatives, questions, ability, and permission. There are
two kinds of auxiliary verbs

(1) Primary auxiliary verbs

Primary auxiliary verbs are verbs which can function as a main verb and an
auxiliary verb. There are three verbs 'be', 'do', and "have'. If they are content words
except the verb 'be', their strong forms are stressed, but the verb 'be' is always stressed,
so only its weak forms as in Figure 7.5 are used.

Primary Auxiliary verbs Strong form Weak form

Am /æm/ /m/, /əm/

Are /a:/ /ə/ /ər/

Is /ɪz/ /s/, /z/, /ɪz/

was /wɒz/ /wəz/

were /wɜ:/ /wə/ /wər/

Do /du:/ /də/ /dʊ/

does /dʌz/ /dəz/

73

Has /hæz/ /həz/ /s/ /əz/ /z/
have /hæv/ / v/ /əv/
Had /hæd/ /həd/ /d/

7.5 Strong form and weak form of primary auxiliary verbs

We use these weak forms of 'am' as /m / after 'l' and /əm/ elsewhere as in the
following examples.

We use these weak forms of 'are': /ə/ before a consonant sound and /or/ before a
vowel sound as in the following examples.

We use these weak forms of 'is' as /s/ after a voiceless consonant sounds like /k/, /p/,
or /t/, /z/ after a voiced consonant sounds, and /ɪz/ after /s/, /tʃ/, and /ʃ/ as in the
following examples.

We use these weak forms of 'were' as /wə/ before a consonant sound and /wər/
before a vowel sound as in the following examples.

We use these weak forms of 'do': /də/ before a consonant sound and /dʊ/ before a
vowel sound as in the following examples.

We use these weak forms of "has': /s/ after a voiceless consonant sounds like/ k/,
/p/, or /, /t /, /z / after a voiced consonant sounds, and /əz/ after /s/, /tʃ /and /ʃ /, and
/həz/ at the beginning of a sentence as in the following examples.

/maɪs bɪn sɪk/ 'Mike's been sick.’
/ðƷɒnz bɪn sɪk/ ‘John's been sick.'
/ðə rəʊz əz bɪn red/ 'The rose has been red."
/hǝz ɪ pid ðə bɪl/ 'Has he paid the bill?'
We use a weak form of 'have' /v/ after 'I', 'he', 'she', 'we', and they and/əv/ elsewhere
as in the following examples
We use a weak form of 'had' as/d/ after vowel sounds and /həd at the beginning of a
sentence as in the following examples
We use only weak form of 'was' and 'does' as /wəz/ and /dəz/ elsewhere as in the
following examples.

(2) Modal auxiliary verbs

74

Modal auxiliary verbs are used only as helping verbs, but they are grammatical
meaningful as in 'can' expressing ability, 'may expressing possibility. So they are not
stressed in a sentence. We usually use their weak forms as in Figure 7.6.

Modal Auxiliary verbs Strong form Weak form
will /wɪl / / l / /əl /
would /wʊd / /wəd/ /d/ /əd/
shall /ʃæl / / ʃəl /
/ʃʊd / / ʃəd /
should /kæn / /kən /
can /kʊd / /kəd /
could /mʌst / /məs / /məst /
must

Figure 7.6 Strong form and weak form of modals

We use a weak form of 'will' as / I / after consonants except /I/, and also after
'l', 'he', 'she', 'we', 'you', 'they' and /əl/ after vowels and / I / as in the following examples.

We use a weak form of 'would' as /d/ after 'I', 'he', 'she', 'we', 'you', 'they', and /wəd/
at the beginning of a sentence, and /əd/ elsewhere as in the following examples.

We use a weak form of 'must' as /məs/ before consonant sounds and /məst/ before
vowel sounds as in the following examples.

We use only one weak form of "shall', 'should', 'can', and 'could' as /ʃəl/,/ʃəd/, /kən,
and/ kad/ elsewhere as in the following examples.

4. Stressed functional words
As we have known that content words are usually stressed and function

words are not stressed in a sentence. But there are some rules to put stress on the
function words as follows.

2. The purpose of emphasis
If we want to emphasize what we want to mean, we can put stress on any words as
in the following examples.

75

I've never borrowed that pen from you.
In the examples, l' is stressed in Sentence A because it means someone has
borrowed that pen from you. 'from' is stressed in Sentence B because it means I've never
borrowed that pen from someone. But you' is stressed in Sentence C because it means
I've borrowed that pen from someone except you.
3. Contrast between function words
If we want to contrast two words in a sentence, the function words are stressed as in
the example.

/'ðæt.'pres.ənts.fə.'mi:.'nɒt.'ju:/ "That present is for me not him.'
So not only content word is stressed, but function words are also in a sentence when
we want to focus on meaning.

Summary
In speech, all words are not stressed. The stressed words are called important words

or content words containing nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, two word verbs or phrasal
verbs, question words, and negative auxiliary verbs. But the unstressed words are called
function or grammatical words containing pronouns, determiners, prepositions, conjunctions,
auxiliary verbs, and the verb 'be'. The strong form is used for the content words, and the
weak form is for function words. We can also find a stress pattern for each phrase or
sentence and speak English effectively and fluently.

Exercise
1. Which words are stressed in a sentence? What are they?
2. Which words are not stressed in a sentence? What are they?
3. When are function words stressed when in a sentence?
4. When are auxiliary verbs stressed?
5. When words are not stressed, which vowels are used for them?

Reference
Alan Cruttenden. (2014). Gimson's Pronunciation of English. (8 th ed.). London, New York:

Routleedge.

76

Baker, A. (2006). Sip or sheep?: An intermediate pronunciation course. Cambridge:
Cambridge University press.

Bowler, B. & Parminter, S. (2003). New Head Pronunciation Course. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.

Daniel Jones. (1998). An outline of English phonetics. (9th ed.). Cambridge University Press

Gerald Kelly. (2000). How to Teach Pronunciation. Pearson : Pearson Education Limited.

Gilbert, J. (2006). Clear Speech. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hancock, M. (2006). English Pronunciation in Use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

J.D.O. Conner. (2009). Better English Pronunciation. 31Printing. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.

Michael Vaughan-Rees. (2002). Test your Pronunciation. Pearson: Pearson Education
Limited.

O'Grady, W. D., Dobrovolsky, M., & Katamba, F. (1997). Contemporary linguistics : An
introduction (6h ed.). London: Longman.

Paul Dale, Lilian Poms. (1994). English Pronunciation for International Students New
Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents.

Peter Roach. (2009). English Phonetics and Phonology. (4th ed.). A Practical Course.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Ralph W. Fasold, Jeffrey Connor-Linton. (2014). An Introduction to Language and
Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Rebecca M. Dauer. (1993). Accurate English: A Complete Course in Pronunciation. New
Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents.

Chapter 7

Connected Speech

1. Introduction

In spoken English, when we speak English, we detect the rhythm of heat beat or of a
piece of music because English has stress-timed rhythm that implies stressed syllables are
separated by unstressed syllables according word and sentence stress rules (Peter Roach,
2009: 107). For example, in the sentence 'John takes a shower at seven.' /'dzpn 'teiks ə
'favər ət 'sev.ən/ syllable 1 and 2 are not separated by any syllables, 2 and 3 are separated
by one stressed syllable, 3 and 4 by two, and 4 and 5 by one. We have seen that words are
not separated; they join together. It is sometimes difficult to know where one word finishes
and the following word begins. It is probably unfamiliar with words heard, especially for
nonnative speakers. For example, when we say the sentence 'I get up at eight.’ we don't
separate words as lai gpt ap ət eit/, but we join all words together as /ar'gpt'apət'eit/. Thai
learners may imagine some sounds are like 'nonnuusena'. This maybe makes them
misunderstand. That's called 'linking' or 'connected speech'. Or some phrases sound the
same as in /'pet'sentə/ pets enter and 'pet'sentəl "pet center', but Many Thai learners will
separate words as ''pets 'entə/ and /'pet 'sentə/. Their sounds are the same, but different
spelling and sense. Moreover, words can join between vowels as in /'pli:z'du:wit/ 'Please do
it.'. In addition, words can join between consonant sounds as l'samba:0/ 'sun bath. It may
be difficulty for many Thais. It is called assimilation. In addition, some pronounced, written
in a sentence. They are called sounds of some words are not pronounced, written in a
sentence. They are elision or deletion. For example, what s his name?' is pronounced as
/'wotsis'neim/. /h/ sound is deleted or left out. The others related to connected speech is
juncture. For example, a pair of words as in an aim and a name as /ən'eim/. In natural
English have same sounds but different spelling and sense. It is juncture. And finally, /ail/ I'll'
is contraction of 'I will' also used in spoken English. So the aspects of connected speech we
will study in this unit are as follows:

1. Rhythm
2. Connected speech between consonants and vowels
3. Connected speech between vowels and vowels
4. Connected speech between consonants and consonants
5. Elision or deletion
6. Juncture
7. Contraction

79

2. Rhythm

Rhythm refers to the perceived regularity of prominent units in speech.These
regularities may be stated in terms of patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables (David
Crystal, 2008: 417). That means words in a sentence have both stressed and unstressed
syllables, and stressed syllables are separated by unstressed syllables. We have the stress-
timed rhythm theory for this. Here numbers: 1,2,3... stand for 'strong or stressed syllables as
in the following examples'.

1. Only five people attended the meeting yesterday.

Iəwnl' farv' pi:pələ 'tendidðə'mi:tıŋ' jestədi/

1 23 456

2. I'm very well. /aim'veri'wel/

12

In the first sentence, syllables 1 and 2 separated by one unstressed syllable,

syllables 2 and 3 not separated by any unstressed syllables, syllable 3 and 4 by two,

syllables 4 and 5 by two, and syllables 5 and 6 by one, and in the second sentence,

syllables 1 and 2 are separated by one unstressed syllable.

Some writers have developed theories of English rhythm by using foot to identify
rhythm. The foot begins with the stressed syllable and continues to the last unstressed
syllable before the next stressed syllable. Look at the examples.

1. |only |five| people at| tended the| meeting | yesterday.
/əwnlı'faiv' pi:pələ' tendidðə' mi:tıŋ jestədi/
2. I'm| very| lwell.| /aim'veri'wel/
In the examples, the first sentence can be divided into 6 feet, and the second one

into 2.

So to determine the rhythm in English, we can use different ways of explanation, but
the same pronunciation. Consider these sentences by using two ways as said above.

In the examples, we have seen that there are two feet in the first sentence, three in
the second one, two in the third one, three in the fourth one, and two in the last one. If we
know how many syllables there are in a sentence, we can identify the rhythm in English.

3. Connected speech between consonants and vowels
This type of connection of sounds in a phrase or sentence is very common. It is that

when one word ends with a consonant sound and a following word begins with a vowel

80

sound, we push the consonant sound forward and put it right before the vowel sound when
speaking as in the following examples.

/stæn.dap/ 'Stand up!'
/stpp. It/ 'Stop it.'
In the examples, the two sentences are divided according to the syllable division
rules in Unit 6, but in speech, we can join the preceding consonant sound with the following
vowel sound as 'Stand up!' and 'Stop it.' In joining sounds between two words, we use the
symbol u as in the following examples.

4. Connected speech between vowels and vowels
When the preceding word sometimes ends with a vowel sound, and the following

begins with a vowel, too, we can join them as follows.

4.1 When the preceding word ends in vowel sounds /u/, or /u:/ and the following
word begins with any vowel sounds, the sound /w/ is added between them as in the
following examples.

4.2 When one word ends in vowel sounds /1/, /i:/ and the next word begins with any
vowel sounds, the sound /j/ is added between them as in the following examples.

4.3 In BBC pronunciation, when the preceding word ends with vowel sounds spelt
with the letter 'r' as 'ar', 'er', 'ir', 'or', the following word begins with any vowel sounds, it is
pronounced as /r/ as in the following examples.

5. Connected speech between consonants and consonants

When the When the preceding word ends with consonant sounds and the following
word begins with consonant sounds, the first consonant sound is often changed. In
linguistics, it is called 'assimilation' which describes how sounds modify each other when
they meet. For example, if we consider the phrase 'that book’, we pronounce it as
/ðæp.buk/ because to be smooth in speech we pronounce the sound at the end of the
preceding word 'that' as /ðæp/ in order to get the same place of articulation to the first
sound of the following word as /buk/. Actually the sound /t/ is an alveolar stop sound, but
when it is placed before a bilabial stop sound, it is changed as a bilabial stop sound, too.
Voicing is not changed. Here are some rules for assimilation.

81

5.1 If the initial consonants of the following words are bilabial sounds, the final
consonants of the preceding words will be changed to as /p/, /b/, and /m/ respectively as in
the following examples.

In the examples, ‘the fat boy’ in the first sentence the final consonant /t/ is changed
to as ‘a voiceless bilabial stop/ which is /p/. /t/ which the final consonant of the word
/short/ in the second sentence is changed to as /a voiceless bilabial stop/ which is /p/ /d/
which is the final consonant of the word /good/ in the third sentence is changed to as / a
voiced bilabial stop /which is /b/. And /n/ which is the final consonant of the word /ten/ in
the last sentence is changed to as ‘a voiced bilabial nasal’ which is /m/. So we have seen
that we change the final consonant of preceding word to be the same place of articulation
as the initial consonant of the following word.

5.2 If the initial consonants of the following words are velar sounds, the final
consonants of the preceding words will be changed to as /k/, /g/, and /ŋ/ respectively as in
the following examples.

5.3 If the sound /n/ is the final consonant of the preceding word and the initial
consonants of the following word are /k/ or /g/, /n/ is changed to /y/ as in the following
examples.

5.4 If the sound /s/ is the final consonant of the preceding word and the initial
consonants of the following word is /S/, /s/ is changed to /S/ as in this example.

5.5 If the sound /z/ is the final consonant of the preceding word and the initial
consonants of the following word is /S/ , /z/ is changed to /3/ as in this example.

5.6 If the sound /d/ is the final consonant of the preceding word and the initial
consonants of the following word is /j/, /t/ and /j/ coalesce as /ts/ as in this example.

5.7 If the sound /d/ is the final consonant of the preceding word and the initial
consonants of the following word is /j/, /d/ and /j/ coalesce as /dz/ as in this example.

6. Elision and deletion

Elision is the omission of a sound in connected speech (David Crystal, 2008: 166). It
describes the disappearance of a sound, especially more than two final sounds and the
initial sounds. For example, when we say the sentence ‘l'll meet you next month.’ we
generally leave out the sound /t/ in the word 'next' like this ‘I'll meet you next month.'. So

82

to be smooth in speaking English, elision is important. If we don't know how to elide or
leave out the sounds, especially more consonant sounds which are difficult to say but if we
know how to leave our say but if we know how to leave out the sound, we feel smooth in
speaking. Here are rules for elision.

6.1 We leave out the final sound /t/ and /d/ when they are at the end of a
consonant cluster as in the following examples.

6.2 When there are three final consonants, we leave out the second sound of three
as in the following examples.

6.3 When a vowel sound is unstressed vowel /ə/ before /n/, /V. and /r/, it can be
left out as in the following examples.

6.4 in rapid speech, if a syllable contains the unstressed sound, we often delete it as
in the following examples.

6.5 The /h/ sound is also often deleted s in the following examples.

6.6 If the word 'of' appears before a consonant sound, the sound /v/ is! left out as in
the following examples.

6.7 If the verbs ‘had', 'is', ‘has’, ‘have', and 'will' appear after a vowel sound, they are
pronounced as /d/, /s/ or /z/, /v/, and /I/ respectively as in the following examples.

But if they appear after a consonant sound, they are pronounced as jad/, /s/, /z/,
/əv/, and /I/ as in the following examples.

6.8 'are' is pronounced as /ə/ after vowels and consonants as in this example.

/wiə/ 'we're'

So when the vowel sound is left out, the syllables are also reduced as the examples
above.

7. Juncture
Juncture refers to the phonetic boundary features which may demarcate

grammatical units such as morpheme, word or clause (David Crystal, 2008: 259). It describes
how words in a phrase or a sentence are cut although a number of sounds are the same.
For example, a pair of these two phrases; pets enter and pet center are the same in sounds
like /petsentəl, but juncture is different like pets + enter and pet + center. Here are other
pairs of phrases or sentences which have the same sounds but different juncture or meaning
as in the following examples.

83

If the juncture is different, it is surely different in meaning. It is difficult for Thai
learners to identify the juncture if they cannot the sense. If they can understand the sense
of a sentence, they won't have difficulty in telling where the join is. But if a pair of sentences
has each sense, we have to consider the context.

'It's my train' /mai.'trein/.
'It might rain'/mai.'trein/.
'Can I have some more rice' /'mɔ:.'rais/?
"Can I have some more ice' /'mo: 'rais/?

8. Contractions

Contraction is a short form of a word (Oxford Dictionary, 2010: 316). It occurs when
two words combine to be pronounced as one word or one syllable. Mostly two words
consist of pronouns + auxiliary verbs or auxiliary verbs + not as in the following examples.

Summary
In rapid English, when we speak English ten we speak English, it is rhythmic by

determining feet which precede with stressed syllables and the unstressed syllables may
follow until the next stressed syllables. Words as in a sentence, especially the final sounds
of the preceding words and the first sounds of the following words can join in different ways
as consonant + vowel, vowel + consonant, and consonant + consonant. In addition, some
phrases have the same pronunciation, but different meaning. Some sounds of some words
are not pronounced, but written in a sentence.

Exercise

1. Explain these terms with example.

a. linking b. assimilation c. elision or deletion

d. juncture e. contraction

2. Use stress-time rhythm for these phrases or sentences.

a. a cup of coffee

b. Nick is going to buy a new brand car.

c. They refused to join the wedding party.

3. When you say this sentence ‘There are four eyes of two people.’ How do you join

sounds of words as possible?

84

4. In rapid English, how does this abbreviation ‘AIM’ sound?
5. Which kind of connected speech do you think is not difficult for you? Why?

Reference
Baker, A. (2006). Sip or sheep?: An intermediate pronunciation course. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.
Bowler, B. & Parminter, S. (2003). New Head Pronunciation Course. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.
Daniel Jones. (1998). An outline of English phonetics. (9th ed.). Cambridge Cambridge

University Press.
David Crystal. (2008). A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. (6th ed.). Oxford

Blackwell Publishing.
Gerald Kelly. (2000). How to Teach Pronunciation. Pearson: Pearson Education

Limited.
Gilbert, J. (2006). Clear Speech. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hancock, M. (2006). English Pronunciation in Use. Cambridge: Cambridge University

press.
J.D.O'Conner. (2009). Better English Pronunciation. 31st Printing. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.
Paul Dale, Lilian Poms. (1994). English Pronunciation for International Students.

New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents.
Peter Roach. (2009). English Phonetics and Phonology. (4th ed.). A Practical

Course. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wikipedia. (26 December 2016). Website online. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki.
Oxford Dictionary. (26 December 2016). Website online. http://www.oxford

dictionaries.com/definition/english.

85

Chapter 8
Intonation

1. Introduction

Intonation is often called the melody of language since it refers to the patterns of
pitch changes on certain parts of the sentence or groups of words that we use when we
speak. If you listen to someone speaking, you will notice that there are many changes in
pitch. These pitch changes are called intonation patterns, and they play an important role

in conveying meaning. Some languages, like Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, and Thai, use
pitch to distinguish word meanings. Languages that use pitch to signal a difference in
meaning between words are referred to as tone languages. English does not use pitch in

this way. Nevertheless, pitch changes do contribute significantly to the meaning of English
sentences and also to the clarification of syntactic structure. These changes in pitch in
English occur over entire clauses or sentences, and different pitch patterns can signal very
different meanings for the same sentence. Using the appropriate patterns of intonation can
minimize misunderstanding between the speaker and the listener. It also makes the speech
easier to understand and more native-like. Generally, mistakes in pronunciation of sounds
can be overlooked, but mistakes in intonation make a lasting impression.

2. Functions of intonation
1. To mark the end of a speaker’s utterance;
2. To indicate the kind of response he’s expecting; and
3. To clarify syntactic structure and meaning of the utterance beyond the words.

Examples of variations of intonation patterns:

a. Y es with mid falling means ‘that is so’
b. Y es with high falling means ‘of course it is so’
c. Y es with rising and falling means ‘most certainly’
d. Y es with rising intonation means ‘is it really so?’
e. Y es with rising intonation mean (starting not as high as the previous one)

means ‘yes, I understand what you have said: please continue (the telephone
yes)’
f. Y es with falling and rising intonation means ‘it may be so’

3. Intonation patterns

87

Intonation patterns prevail. These patterns usually have three common pitch levels in

some cases can have four pitch levels.

 Normal or 2 is where the voice often is.

 High or 3 is where the voice usually rises to indicate the nuclear stress of information

focus.

 Very high or 4 is where the voice rises to show stronger emotions (e.g. surprise,
disbelief, fear, and excitement).

 Lower or 1 is where the voice falls at the end of many types of sentences.

Take a look at the following examples and see how the pitch levels change over the

stretch of utterances.

Intonation pattern

1. It’s còld in hére. 2-3-1

2. Are you tíred? 2-3

3. Lèt’s gèt out of hére. 2-3-1

4. Could you pàss me súgar? 2-3

In sentences 1 and 4, if the voice does not drop far enough, the listener might think
the speaker has not finished saying yet and expect him or her to say more. This could cause
an uncomfortable silence for the listener, and the listener might feel unsure about what the
speaker is speaking.

3.1. Final intonation (2-3-1 and 2-3)
We can think of intonation as the melody of speech; the voice will rise and fall in
certain patterns as we speak. For example, when a native speaker says, “Good morning.

How are you?”, the pitch of voice will rise and fall. Here, we will mark intonation with lines

and numbers. For example, a line right under a word and number 2 indicate a normal tone;
a line above a word together with number 3 indicate a high tone; and a line lower than the
normal tone with 1 represents a low tone as shown below:

3 3
2 Gòod mórning. 2 Hòw àre you?

1 1

88

The part of an utterance which an intonation pattern extend can be called a
thought group; a short utterancee normally comprises one thought group, but a longer unit

of speech may be made up of several thought groups. A thought group often coincides with

a phonological sentence which is terminated by a juncture. Furthermore, a thought group

typically is a unit of information with a specific focus which is commonly highlighted by

intonation in combination with sentence stress.

33

2 Hòw àre you? 2 I’m fíne.

11

In North American English, there are two basic final intonation patterns: rising-falling

intonation and rising intonation. Different patterns of intonation are used in spoken English

to distinguish various kinds of utterances from one another. For example, the rising-falling

pattern of a declarative sentence distinguishes it from the rising intonation of a yes-no

question. In the following sections, we introduce two of the basic final intonation patterns of

English.

3.1.1. Rising-falling or 2-3-1 intonation pattern

A sentence with 2-3-1 intonation pattern starts off with normal pitch (2) and rises to

high pitch (3) on the syllable that carries sentence stress. This high pitch will fall to low pitch

(1) on any following syllables. Listen to yourself when you say the following sentence:

3

2 Sùsan bòught a nèw swéater.

1

Notice that the pitch of your voice rises at the major sentence stress, the first syllable

of the word, ‘sweater,’ and falls over the second syllable of this word. The pitch of the

entire sentence is referred to as the intonation pattern. The pattern in this sentence is

rising-falling. It is the most common intonation pattern in English and is the characteristic of

simple declarative sentences, commands, Wh-questions, one-word answers to questions,

and other single item utterances. Say the sentences below, concentrating on the pitch

change of the word receiving major sentence stress.

3
2 He wànts to gò hóme.

1
3
2 She gàve him five dóllars for it.

1

89

3

2 Gìve him a swéater.

1

3

2 Whàt do you wànt to dò with it?

1

3

(Who is late for class today?) Pèter.
21

3

2 Spèak quíetly.

1

In each case, the pitch rises at the major sentence stress and falls over the remaining

part of the sentence. This descent in pitch can be rather abrupt, especially when it must be

accomplished (rise and fall) over just one syllable as is the case with the first sentence (He

wants to go home.). In the other sentences, the sentence stress is on the first syllable of the

last content word so the voice will fall in the remaining part. When the voice falls to the

bottom of the pitch range. It usually indicates that the speaker has finished speaking.

Consider the following types of sentence:

3

Statements 2 The wèather is hót.

1

3

2 I’d like a bòwl of nóodles.

1

3

2 Màry hàsn’t tèlephoned yét.

1

3

2 The Khmèr chàsed the wáter bùffalo.

1

3

2 I dòn’t knòw whàt he sáid.

1

3

Wh-questions Why’s she sò láte ?

2

90

1

3

Whère are you góing?
21

3

2 Whàt tíme is it?
1

3

2 Whòm did you tàlk tó?
1

3

Commands Whàt do you wànt to dó with it?
21

3
Tùrn òn the fán?

2

1

Single item utterances 3

Be quíet.
21

3
Còme to sée me.
21

3
Gìve me a pìece of páper.
21

3
Tomórrow.
21
3
Péter.

21

3

Yés.

21

3.1.2. Rising or 2-3 intonation patterns

91

Listen to the pitch of your voice when you say the following sentence.

Did Susan by a new sweater?

Notice again that the pitch of your voice rises at the major sentence stress. Rather
than a sharp decline in pitch level after the stressed syllable, as with the rising-falling
intonation pattern, the voice continues to rise. The intonation pattern in this case is rising
and is the characteristics of Yes/No questions that require a simple yes or no answer, echo

questions or questions that repeat what has been said with the rising intonation, and

requests.

In order to familiarize yourself with this pattern, say the following sentences,
concentrating on the pitch of your voice.

Yes/No 3
Questions
Does he wànt to gò hóme?
Echo 23
Questions
Requests 2 Did she gìve him five dóllars for it.
3

2 Còuldn’t she have sée him?
3

2 Do you wànt to gíve it to him?
3

2 Do you thìnk he wánts it?
3

2 Have you séen him?
3

2 It’s tìme to gó?
3

2 He hàd an áccident?
3

2 Could you pàss the sálad? 3

2 Would you mìnd gìving me a ríde?

92

The two sentences of declarative sentences are said with a rising intonation pattern to
express some doubt regarding the truth of the statement; thu, a response from a listener is
requested. We can turn a simple statement into a yes/no question through the use of rising
intonation. Thus, we can see that in English, intonation patterns can contribute to sentence
meaning.

In conclusion, this second most common kind of intonation is found at the end of a
yes-no question, and a request.

3.2. Non-final intonation
The two intonation patterns mentioned in the previous section are called final

intonation patterns because they are the patterns that occur in the last thought group of a
complex sentence or in the only thought group of simple sentence. When a complex
sentence is pronounced, the sentence is usually cut off into parts or thought groups. Each
thought group carries one particular intonation pattern depending on what kind of utterance
it is. The intonation contour of any thought group except the final one is called non-final

intonation pattern. There are two types of non-final intonation pattern.

14.3.2.1. Continuation rise or 2-3 non-final intonation pattern

Say the following sentences:

33 3

2 Sùsan bòught a nèw swéater, nèw shóes, a2nd a nèw dréss.
2
1

33 3 3

2 He bòught ápples, péaches, péars, and óranges.
21
22

3 33

2 I’ll hàve twò péncils, a blàck pén and some ínk.
1
22

33 3 3

2 We wènt to Páris, Brússels, Ámsterdam, and Lóndon.
2 2 2
1

The pitch of the voice rises slightly on each noun of the list, indicating that we are not

yet finished speaking. On the final noun of the list, we find the familiar rising-falling.

The 2-3 non-final intonation patterns normally occur in sentences of series or list of

things (indicated by the existence of and before the last item). As shown above, all items

but the last one have a rising (2-3) intonation pattern, and the last item (an item proceeded
by and) has a rising-falling (2-3-1) intonation pattern. Similarly, in alternative sentences

93

(indicated by the existence of or before the last item), all items except the last one

preceded by or have a 2-3 intonation pattern, and the last one has a 2-3-1 intonation

pattern. Finally, in vocatives or direct addresses, the names or titles addressed directly to
whom one is speaking has a 2-3 intonation pattern, it is noted that the names or titles can
occur at the beginning or the end of the sentence. Try saying the following sentences of
alternative sentences and vocatives in order to familiarize yourself with this pattern.

Would you care for tea or coffee?
Would you prefer whisky or bee?
Billy, have you seen my wallet?
May I see you at 9, Dr. Angelis?
Dr. Angelis, may I see you at 9?
Is the color black or dark grey?
I don’t like either the red or the blue one.
Mr. Bickel, it’s been decided.
Officer, I am not sleeping.

* Notice that all sentences above have two intonation contours. The name or title

has its own information focus and intonation contour. We indicate that there should be two
separate contours by the use of /.

3.2.2. Rising-Falling or 2-3-2 Non-Final Intonation Pattern
this type of non-final intonation pattern normally occurs in a complex sentence
separated by a comma (,) or a complex sentence whose second part is closely related to
the first one. Say the following sentence:

33

2 Because of his athlètic abílity, he was gìven a schólarship.

2 2 1

Here the pitch rises and falls on the word ability, and also on the word scholarship.

On scholarship, the pitch drifts to the bottom of the pitch range (2-3-1), while on ability,

the pitch does not fall nearly as far. The intonation contour on the first part of the sentence
is a 2-3-2 non-final rising-falling contour.

The following sentences usually have two intonation contours: the non-final contour
on the first part and the final contour on the second. We represent these contours
differently as shown by the intonation lines. The pitch on the non-final contour does not fall
as far as that on the final contour.

94

33 1
2 When Jòhn lèft the hóuse, /it was ráining.

22

33

2 The màn you sày you mèt yésterday / has lèlf tówn.
1
22

33

2 It’s nòt whàt he sáid; / it’s the wày he sáid it. 1

22

33

2 After we hàve dínner, / we’ll gò to a móvie. 1

22

A fall at the end of the sentence to the lowest pitch possible (2-3-1) indicates that

ours thought is complete. A fall that is not to the bottom of the pitch range (2-3-2) indicates

that a speaker still has more to say. It is our experience that if a speaker does not have

enough drop in pitch in ending a sentence, the expectation of native speakers will be that

there is more to come. This can lead to embarrassing silence and communication

breakdowns.

4. Tag Questions
A tag question is a statement followed by a short yes/no question (called a tag).

Therefore, each part has an information focus. Tag questions can display either final rising-

falling or final rising intonation contours. Their meaning will differ depending on which of

these contours is used. Pronounce the following tag questions with the intonation contours
indicated.

He is smart, isn’t he? (2-3-1/2-3) / patterns: Speaker is unsure.)
He is smart, isn’t he? (2-3-1/3-1 pattern: Speaker expects agreement.)

The first part of a tag question will have regular rising-falling intonation as if it were a
separate declarative sentence. The second part, which is the tag question, can have one of
two intonation patterns. If the tag question is a genuine question with which the speaker is
actually asking the hearer to answer yes or no, then the tag question itself will have a rising
intonation (2-3), just like a regular yes-no question. On the other hand, if the tag question is
to be interpreted as essentially a statement of fact, the tag question is pronounced with a

95

rising-falling intonation (3-1). This pattern shows that the speaker is merely eliciting
confirmation from the listener. Note that in a 2-3 tag question, the high pitch will occur on
the unstressed pronoun and not, as might be expected, in the auxiliary verb which might
carry sentence stress in the tag.

Tag questions with rising-falling intonation are very often used to begin conversations.
For example, in attempting to begin a conversation with a stranger, one might say:

Lovely day, isn’t it?

In uttering this sentence, the speaker is not demanding an answer to a question but
rather opening the lines of communication.

5. Intonation patterns that affect the meaning
5.1 Talking TO or talking ABOUT

A. This is my daughter, Cindy. (2-3-2/2-3 → talking to Cindy)
This is my daughter Cindy. (2-3-1 → talking about Cindy)

B. This could hurt, Molly. (2-3-2/2-3 → talking to Molly)
This could hurt Molly. (2-3-1 → talking about Molly)

The two pairs of sentences focus on talking to and talking about. In the sentences
with talking to, two thought groups are created, and thus two intonation patterns are used.
The thought group before the name of the person you are talking to carries a 2-3-2
intonation pattern, and the name of the person you are talking to is a thought group that
has a 2-3 intonation pattern. Again, the name of the person can be at the beginning or the
end of the sentence. No matter where it is, it always carries a 2-3 intonation pattern. In
contrast, in talking about sentences only one thought group is created, carrying a 2-3-1
intonation pattern because it is a statement.

5.2 Echo questions
Intonation can change the meaning of sentences. Consider the following example:

96

A. She is a teacher. (2-3-1 → a statement of fact)
She is a teacher (2-3 → echo question or statement of surprise or disbelief)

B. Mr. Anderson won the election. (2-3-1 → a statement of fact)
Mr. Anderson won the election? (2-3 → echo question or statement of surprise or
disbelief)

5.3. Alternative questions

An alternative question or a question with ‘or’ in it can have different intonation
patterns, conveying two different meanings and consequently requiring different kind of
answer.

A. Do you want water or soda? (two thought groups of 2-3/2-3 patterns)
Do you want water or soda? (with 1 thought group of 2-3 pattern)

These two sentences above share the same meaning –asking if the person wants these
drinks or another drink.

B. Do you want tea or coffee? (2-3/2-3-1 patterns: offering a choice, either tea or coffee)

The first one in A. is called an open choice question: a kind of yes/no question;
whereas the second one is called a closed choice question because the speaker is offering
a limited choice and thus an answer of yes or no would be inappropriate or strange. For a
closed choice question, one is expected to choose one of the options offered. Consider the
following examples of alternative questions:

1. Do you speak French or German?
2. Would you like to play tennis or badminton today?
3. Can you bring salad or dessert?
4. Have you ever been to japan or China?
5. Should I take history or geography?
6. Did you take after your mom or dad?
7. Which kind of music do you prefer: rock or jazz?
8. Would you like continental breakfast or cereal?
9. Did you buy pineapples or papayas?

97

10. Would you enjoy watching basketball, football, or volleyball?

Exercise

1. Explain these terms with your words.

a. intonation b. tonality c. tonicity d. tone

2. Which sentences do you use falling intonation for?

3. Which sentences do you use rising intonation for?

4. When we want to use intonation, which kind of words at the end of a sentence

does your voice go up or down?

5. Do you think intonation is difficult for you? Why?

Reference
Baker, A. (2006). Sip or sheep?: An intermediate pronunciation course. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.
Bowler, B. & Parminter, S. (2003). New Head Pronunciation Course. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.
Daniel Jones. (1998). An outline of English phonetics. (9th ed.). Cambridge Cambridge

University Press.
David Crystal. (2008). A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. (6th ed.). Oxford

Blackwell Publishing.
Gerald Kelly. (2000). How to Teach Pronunciation. Pearson: Pearson Education

Limited.
Gilbert, J. (2006). Clear Speech. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hancock, M. (2006). English Pronunciation in Use. Cambridge: Cambridge University

press.
J.D.O'Conner. (2009). Better English Pronunciation. 31st Printing. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.
Paul Dale, Lilian Poms. (1994). English Pronunciation for International Students.

New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents.
Peter Roach. (2009). English Phonetics and Phonology. (4th ed.). A Practical

Course. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wikipedia. (26 December 2016). Website online. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki.
Oxford Dictionary. (26 December 2016). Website online. http://www.oxford

dictionaries.com/definition/english.

98

ชอ่ื สถาบันอดุ มศกึ ษา รายละเอยี ดของรายวิชา Course Syllabus
คณะ/ภาควชิ า มหาวิทยาลยั มหาจุฬาลงกรณราชวทิ ยาลัย วทิ ยาลัยสงฆ์บุรรี มั ย์
คณะครุศาสตร์

หมวดที่ ๑ ข้อมูลท่ัวไป

๑. รหสั และช่อื รายวิชา
๒๐๕ ๓๐๙ สทั ศาสตร์และสรวิทยาภาษาอังกฤษ (English Phonetics and Phonology)

๒. จานวนหนว่ ยกิต
๓ หนว่ ยกิต (๓-๐-๖)

๓. หลกั สตู รและประเภทของรายวชิ า
พทุ ธศาสตรบัณฑิต สาขาวิชาการสอนภาษาองั กฤษ วชิ าบังคบั

๔. อาจารย์ผ้รู ับผิดชอบรายวชิ าและอาจารย์ผู้สอน
พระมหาไสว สริ ปิ ญโฺ ญ

๕. ภาคการศกึ ษา / ช้นั ปที ่ีเรียน
ภาคการศึกษาที่ ๒ / ช้ันปีท่ี ๓

๖. รายวิชาทตี่ ้องเรยี นมาก่อน (Pre-requisite) (ถา้ มี)
ไมม่ ี

๗. รายวชิ าท่ีต้องเรียนพร้อมกนั (Co-requisite) (ถา้ ม)ี
ไม่มี

๘. สถานที่เรียน
มหาวิทยาลยั มหาจุฬาลงกรณราชวิทยาลยั วทิ ยาลยั สงฆ์บุรรี มั ย์

๙. วันทีจ่ ดั ทาหรือปรับปรุงรายละเอียดของวิชาครง้ั ลา่ สุด
ตลุ าคม ๒๕๖๓

หมวดท่ี ๒ จดุ มงุ่ หมายและวัตถปุ ระสงค์

99

๑. จดุ มงุ่ หมายของรายวชิ า
๑.๑ เพ่อื ให้นิสิตได้มคี วามรคู้ วามเข้าใจระบบเสียง สรรี ะสัทศาสตร์ การออกเสยี งสระ พยัญชนะ
ภาษาองั กฤษ
๑.๒ เพื่อให้นิสิตมีทักษะการออกเสียงควบกล้า เสยี งสงู -ตา้่ หนัก-เบา ในภาษาองั กฤษ
๑.๓ เพอ่ื ใหน้ สิ ติ สามารถถา่ ยทอดเสียงเป็นสัญลักษณ์ทางสัทศาสตร์ได้อย่างถูกต้อง
๑.๔ เพือ่ ใหน้ ิสิตมีความรู้ความเขา้ ใจในเร่ืองปัญหาและการแกป้ ญั หาการออกเสียงภาษาองั กฤษ

๒. วตั ถปุ ระสงคใ์ นการพฒั นา / ปรับปรุงหลักสูตร
เพอ่ื ใหส้ อดคล้องกับสาระสา้ คญั ในกรอบมาตรฐานคณุ วฒุ ริ ะดบั ปรญิ ญาตรคี ณะครุศาสตร์ “สาขา

การสอนภาษาอังกฤษ พ.ศ. ๒๕๕๖” และเพ่ือพัฒนารปู แบบการเรยี นการสอนภาษาอังกฤษได้หลากหลายวธิ ี
โดยเพิ่ม/ปรบั การใช้โปรแกรมสา้ เร็จรปู มาใชเ้ ปน็ ตวั ช่วยในการออกเสียงภาษาองั กฤษ เช่น Audio CDs,
Application: Get Rid of Your Accents เป็นต้น เพอ่ื ใหส้ อดคลอ้ งและมคี วามสัมพันธท์ ด่ี ีกบั ผู้เรยี นและสิง่
ท่ีเรียนซงึ่ ปรากฏในสถานการณป์ ัจจบุ ันน้อี ย่างมีประสิทธิภาพ

หมวดที่ ๓ ลกั ษณะและการดาเนินการ

๑. คาอธบิ ายรายวชิ า
ศึกษาระบบเสียง สรีระสัทศาสตร์ การออกเสยี งสระพยัญชนะ เสยี งควบกลา้ เสียงสงู -ตา่้ หนัก-เบา

การถา่ ยทอดเสียงเปน็ สญั ลักษณ์ทางสัทศาสตร์ การศึกษาปัญหาและการแกป้ ัญหาการออกเสียงภาษาอังกฤษ
ของผ้เู รยี น

๒. จานวนชวั่ โมงท่ีใช้ตอ่ ภาคการศึกษา

การฝึกปฏิบตั ิ / งาน

บรรยาย สอนเสริม ภาคสนาม / การ การศึกษาด้วยตนเอง

ฝึกงาน

บรรยาย ๔๕ ชัว่ โมงตอ่ สอนเสรมิ ตามความต้องการ ไม่มีการฝกึ ปฏบิ ัตงิ าน การศึกษาดว้ ยตนเอง ๙๐

ภาคการศึกษา ของอาจารย์และนิสติ ภาคสนาม ช่วั โมงต่อภาคการศึกษา

๓. จานวนชัว่ โมงต่อสปั ดาห์ทอ่ี าจารย์ให้คาปรกึ ษาและแนะนาทางวชิ าการแก่นสิ ิตเป็นรายบุคคล

- อาจารย์ประจา้ รายวชิ า ประกาศให้ค้าปรึกษาผ่าน Application: Line และ Messenger

- อาจารยจ์ ดั เวลาให้คา้ ปรกึ ษาเป็นรายบุคคล หรือรายกลมุ่ ตามความต้องการ ๑ ชว่ั โมง / สปั ดาห์

หมวดที่ ๔ การพัฒนาการเรยี นรขู้ องนสิ ิต

๑. คณุ ธรรม จรยิ ธรรม

๑. มจี รรยาบรรณทางวิชาการและวชิ าชีพครู

สิง่ ทีต่ ้องพัฒนา วธิ กี ารสอน วิธีการประเมนิ ผล

ความตระหนักรใู้ นเรอ่ื ง ๑. ให้นสิ ติ แสดงความคดิ เหน็ ที่ ๑. ประเมินจากพฤตกิ รรมของ
นิสิต
คณุ ธรรมและจรยิ ธรรม เกย่ี วข้องกับคุณธรรม