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Lngllsh edagogy
oqllsb lbooetlcs ooJ lboooloqy. 5opto-seqmeotols, 5ecooJ 1etm 2012

Breaking Speech into Units (1): Breath Groups
Once appreciated the use of identifying content from function words in a given sentence, it is the
time for recognizing that when speaking, we actually divide our speech in units due to the fact
that our speech is embedded within our respiratory system. Such units are known as Breath
Groups. Thus, then, an utterance can be defined easily as the portion of speech located between
...you guessed it?...pauses. Every breath groups must contain a Nucleus, meaning there must be
a syllable that stands out from the rest, and therefore, made more prominent. And it is that
syllable, within a lexical unit, usually of a content-word nature, that carries the principal melody in
such utterance. Have a look at the following dialogue, and try to identify the pauses and within
each utterance, identify the main prominent word: the one that carries the most important and
relevant piece of information. And start practising it out loud.
A: Have you got much work on just now?
B: Dr. Goetz has given us a very hard essay, but I mustnt get a low mark
this time.
A: I had an argument with my tutor last week.
B: What happened?
A: Well, I couldnt find my coursework, so I asked for a couple of days extra.
He got really annoyed with me and complained I was always late for lectures.
Anyway, I told him I thought his course was a waste of time.
B: Did you? Well, at least Dr. Goetz doesnt shout at us,
although Im not very confident that Ill pass his exam.
Have a look at the following portion of speech and try to divide it into its major units.
In the morning the sun was up and the tent was starting to get hot.
Nick crawled out under the mosquito netting stretched across the
mouth of the tent, to look at the morning. The grass was wet on his
hands as he came out. He held his trousers and his shoes in his
hands. The sun was just up over the hill. There was the meadow,
the river and the swamp. There were birch trees in the green of the
swamp on the other side of the river.