From:

Tips for Teaching Pronunciation, A practical Approach, Linda Lane, Longman, 2010.

TIPS FOR TEACHING WORD STRESS

The six tips listed below provide some general suggestions for helping students to create
clear differences between stressed and unstressed vowels and to better predict which
syllable is stressed. The tips are based on the characteristics of English word stress and
on problems students have with word stress.

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF WORD STRESS:

1. Primary/Heavy stress
2. Unstressed syllables and vowel reduction
3. Secondary stress
4. Stress with two-syllable nouns and verbs
5. Stress with compounds
6. Stress with verbs and nouns with prepositional prefixes
7. Stress with abbreviations
8. Stress with suffixes
9 More on unstressed syllables
10. Stress switching

1. Primary/Heavy stress

Vowels with primary stress are longer and louder than unstressed vowels. In citation
form (the word pronounced in isolation), the stressed vowel is also pronounced on a
higher pitch; in connected speech, high pitch may be down stepped (lowered) if the
word does not present new or important information in a message. Because the long
duration of English stressed vowels is unfamiliar to many students, it is this aspect of
stress that should be emphasized in the classroom.
Matching or comparing the stress-syl1able patterns of words (e.g..SepTEMber
OcTOber NoVEMber DeCEMber) is effective for building sensitivity to patterns of
stressed and unstressed syllables. Field describes these analogy exercises as having
“strong psychological validity" (2OO5, 42O). Kenworthy (1987, 60,63) also
recommends "odd one out" exercises. in which students decide which of several words
has a different stress pattern (e.g., repeat, travel, explain, believe).

Activity:
1. Select polysyllabic words:

artificial protect media factory cancer

animal environmentalist welcome president
receive kidnap

2. Count the syllables

3. Mark the stressed syllables
4. Determine the stress pattern (_ represents a syllable and / a stressed syllable)
5. Say a sentence for each word, emphasizing on the stressed syllables.

2. Unstressed syllables and vowel reduction

Unstressed vowels are shorter softer (less loud), and pronounced at a lower pitch than
stressed vowels. Most vowels in unstressed syllables are reduced to a centralized vowel,
usually /a,/ (the underlined vowel in ago; for /a/.
The ability to reduce vowels may depend on the presence of vowel reduction in the
native language and/or on an early age of learning English (Flege and Bohn 1989,
Nguyen and Ingram 2005, Lee et al.2OO6, Zuraiq and Sereno 2007). Flege and Bohn
suggest that learning to make a length difference between stressed and unstressed
vowels is a necessary precursor to vowel reduction (1999).
A first step to learning to pronounce reduced vowels, then, may be to develop awareness
for how they sound.

Activity:
1. Present vowel reduction:
Ago evidence bacon fortune physician

2. Mark the stress on each word. What about the underlined syllables? Write the
pronunciation.

3. Secondary stress

In the word démocràt the last vowel has secondary stress. Vowels in syllables with
secondary stress (marked with ' ) have full| vowels (i e , not reduced)' length' and
loudness. The major difference between secondary stress and primary / heavy stress is
pitch: Vowels with secondary stress are pronounced at a lower pitch than vowels with
primary stress. Say démocràt slowly and listen to how the pitch of your voice
changes; it starts high over the first syllable (with primary stress)' then falls over the
second unstressed syllable and remains low over the last syllable with secondary stress.
Secondary stress is often predictable:

COMPOUNDS: Secondary stress occurs on the second word of compounds.

 Airport Office building

NUMBERS “TEENS”:
- Before a pause: he’s sixteen (primary stress falls on teen)
- Before a word whose first syllable is stressed: thirteen candles (teens gets a secondary
stress)
NUMBERS “TENS”: With –TY numbers the stress is always on the number.
VERBS with PREPOSITIONAL PREFIXES: Secondary stress falls on the preposition:
Overlook understand
SUFFIXES: Secondary stress occurs on some suffixes.
Realize childhood
POLYSYLLABIC words with PRIMARY stress toward the END of the WORD: Often
have secondary stress + unstressed syllable + primary stress.
Japanese Contribution Capability

4. Stress with two-syllable nouns and verbs

Over 90 percent of two-syllable nouns are stressed on the first syllable: mother / kitchen
/ husband / table. About 60 percent of two-syllable verbs are stressed on the second
syllable: repeat, occur, admit, announce (Avery anrl Eh ich 1992 67)
Dauer presents an alternative rule for two-syllable verbs and adjectives: Stress is placed
on the root syllable (1993,67). This is a useful rule provided that students can recognize
the foot. Syllable structure also influences stress on two-syllable verbs and may help
students identify the root. The last syllable of the verb is stressed if it contains a long
vowel: repeat / decide / contain; or ends in a cluster: elect / disturb. These are heavy
syllables and they attract stress.

NOUN-VERB PAIRS: The grammatical function determines stress. When stressed on

the first syllable, the word functions as a noun. When stressed on the second syllable,
the word functions as a verb.

Group A: Different stress patterns for nouns and verbs are mandatory for most speakers.
record, conduct, addict, progress, permit, conflict, desert, object, convict,
present, produce, rebel, project, suspect
Group B: The noun pattern can be used for nouns or verbs.
increase, contract (business/legal agreement), protest, research, subject, detail,
defect, insult
Group C; Nouns and verbs are stressed only on the first syllable.
ACcent, COMfort, PURchase, PROm se, REscue
Group D: Nouns and verbs are stressed only on the second syllable (many words with
the prefixes de-, dis-, and re- fall into this group).
conTROL, surPRlSE, deSlRE, deMAND, aRREST, reVlEW

5. Stress with compounds

Compound nouns and adjective-noun compounds have primary stress on the first word
and secondary stress on the second:
Airport / graduate students / the White House.
The first word is pronounced on a higher pitch.
6. Stress with verbs and nouns with prepositional prefixes

Most verbs with prepositional prefixes have primary stress on the verb and secondary
stress on the prefix:
Outlive / overdose / outrage / outlaw
These are not fixed rules and the speaker may change the stress in order to maintain a
more equal alternation of stresses.

7. Stress with abbreviations

The last letter of an abbreviation has heaviest stress and highest pitch: e.g.,: ATM
(automated teller machine).

8. Stress with suffixes

Some suffixes require that stress fall on a particular syllable in a word and may cause
stress to shift from its regular position in the base word. For example, define is stressed
on the second syllable; when -tion/-sion is added, stress shifts to the syllable before the
suffix definition (also vacation, conversation, communication, identification, decision,
profession). With -eer, on the other hand, primary stress shifts to the suffix itself, the
last syllable: engineer, volunteer; pioneer.

9 More on unstressed syllables

Native speakers drop internal unstressed vowels in some common words:

Family, for example, is pronounced "farnly," and every is pronounced "evry." The
dropped vowel is often followed by /r/ ot /l/.

10. Stress switching

The stressed syllable is fixed in most words. However, in some words where secondary
stress is followed by word final primary stress, the two stresses can switch syllables. For
example, in citation form (the word in isolation), TeneSSEE has primary stress on the
last syllable and secondary stress on the first syllable.
However in TEnnesse RIver native speakers switch primary and secondary stress on
Tennessee in order to avoid the two adjacent, heavily stressed syllables that would result
in TennessEE Rlver (a stress clash).
Primary stress on last syllable Primary stress shifts back
l'm sixTEEN. in 1610 (Slxteen TEN)
New YORK NEW York City

CONCLUSION
When students learn to lengthen vowels in stressed syllables and shorten vowels in
unstressed syllables, they not only pronounce individual words more clearly, but also
are primed for one of the keys to natural English rhythm-the alternation of long
(stressed) and short (unstressed) words.
 TIPS FOR TEACHING RHYTHM

The seven tips listed below provide some general suggestions for helping students to
speak English with a clearer, more natural rhythm. The tips are based on the
characteristics of English rhythm and on the problems students encounter with rhythm.

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF RHYTHM

1. Stress-timed rhythm
2. Content and function words
3. Thought groups
4. Linking adjacent words
5. Prepositional phrases and infinitives
6. Article + noun
7. Personal Pronouns
8. Phrasal verbs
9. Conjunctions
10. Reductions of function words
11. Fast-speech reductions of function words

1. Stress-timed rhythm

English rhythm is described as stress-timed rhythm, one of several broad types of

rhythm. The characteristics found in languages with stress-timed rhythm include the
presence of a large variety of syllable types-both open syllables (ending in vowels) and
closed syllables of various types (syllables ending in consonants). Stress-timed
languages may also have heavy and light syllables; heavy syllables, which attract stress,
are those that have long vowels and / or end in consonant clusters. In addition, in stress-
timed languages' unstressed syllables are shorter than stressed syllables, and vowels in
unstressed syllables may be reduced.
The more of these characteristics a language has the more stress-timed its rhythm
(Ramus et al. 1999)

2. Content and function words

Content words are words with clear meaning (e.g., run, coffee, hot) Function words
have abstract or grammatical meaning (e.g., the, to, at).In connected speech, content
words are usually stressed and function words are usually unstressed.

3. Thought groups

Words within an utterance are broken into shorter, meaningful groups of words called
thought groups. A thought group includes at least one content (stressed) word and often
corresponds to a grammatical structure (e.g., a verb phrase, prepositional phrase, or
short clause).In the sentence below, thought groups are underlined.
It's not too late to find a r6om at a national park this season.

The rhythmic cue is a lengthening or holding of the end of a thought group before the
next begins (Selkirk 1984, Wightman et al. 1992).
The lengthening may be heard as a pause, although within an utterance, the voice
"lingers" rather than stops at a thought group boundary In addition, words within a
thought group are linked more closely than words across thought group boundaries.
Thought groups also have their own intonation patterns.

Appropriate thought grouping benefits the student in two ways. Organized into shorter,
meaningful units, the student's message is more comprehensible. In addition, the brief
pause or holding of the end of a thought group slows the student down, giving him more
time to make lexical, grammatical, and pronunciation choices (Gilbcrt 1994, Lcvis and
Grant 2001).

4. Linking adjacent words

In connected speech, sounds at word boundaries join closely together in some cases
creating blends; this linking of words is also referred to as word-to-word timing
(Zsiga 2003, 400).
Inappropriate linking of words contributes to accentedness and unintelligibility and can
disrupt rhythm as students struggle with final sounds.

5. Prepositional phrases and infinitives

The core rhythm pattern of a prepositional phrase is a weak (unstressed) beat on the
preposition (e g., to, at, in, on, for, with, by, of, from) followed by a strong (stressed)
beat on the noun. Infinitives have the same pattern: unstressed to is followed by a
stressed verb. The phrases below illustrate the core pattern

To SCHOOL at HOME in LOVE for JOHN from SPAIN

6. Article + Noun

The core rhythm pattern of an article + noun is identical to that of a prepositional

phrase: a weak beat (the article) followed by a strong beat (the noun).
The article and noun are grouped together.

7. Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns, object pronouns and possessive adjectives are usually unstressed in
connected speech. Some may suffer reduction.

8. Phrasal verbs

In phrasal verbs like come on, figure out, or pick up, the preposition (also called the
particle) has adverbial meaning and receives either primary of secondary stress (Celce-
Murcia et al. 1996, 112).

Phrasal verbs can be transitive (separable), as in pick it up, turn it on, and Try them on,
or intransitive (inseparable), as in come on and watch out. When separable verbs have
pronoun objects and end a sentence, the preposition/particle is usually more heavily
stressed than the verb. The same is true for intransitive phrasal verbs.

Nouns Formed from Phrasal Verbs: a takeoff' Nouns and adjectives formed from
phrasal verbs have primary stress on the first word and secondary stress on the second,
the same stress-pitch pattern as compounds (e.g., the takeoff, my makeup).

9. Conjunctions

In connected speech, conjunctions are not stressed, and some are also reduced.
Conjunctions are usually grouped with the words they introduce.

10. Reductions of Function Words

When students learn about the reductions and blends used by native speakers, they may
try to speak faster than they are able to in order to sound more English like (Riney,
Takagi, and Inutsuka 2005).

Teachers should advise students not to race through the weak words, but rather to group
words and lengthen the stressed syllables of the strong word(s) in each group.

11. Fast-Speech Reductions of Function Words

The reductions described above reflect pronunciations that occur in formal as well as
informal speech. Other reductions, like Whaja do? for what did you do? Or Whatcha
been doing? for What have you been doing? are associated with fast, casual speech. A
native speaker delivering a formal presentation at a conference would be unlikely to use
these forms.
CONCLUSIONS

Most classroom topics involving English rhythm target the linking or grouping of words
or the difference in length and loudness between stressed (content) words and
unstressed (function) words. Research shows that these aspects of English pronunciation
can be learned by students. It also shows that native listeners of English rely as heavily,
and possibly more heavily', on rhythmic cues as they do on appropriately pronounced
consonants and vowels Therefore, as students gain skill with the features of rhythm,
they improve the comprehensibility of their own speech. At the same time, their
comprehension of native speakers improves as they gain familiarity with how words are
altered or emphasized in connected speech.

TIPS FOR TEACHING INTONATION

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF INTONATION

1. Highlighting
2. Contrastive stress
3. Final intonation patterns
4. Comprehension checks and tag questions
5. Intonation with lists, choice questions, nonfinal intonation patterns
6. Appositives and parentheticals
7. Intonation, emotions, and attitudes

1. Highlighting

Sonia (walking, exasperated, accusing): can't find my GLASSeS.

Mom (not listening, still reading), What about your glasses?
Sonia (bitterly, since it's morn's fault): I've LOST them.
Highlighting involves the use of salient pitch (usually high, but not always), together
with length and loudness (rhythmic prominence), on the stressed syllable of a word that
the speaker considers to be more important than surrounding words.
Highlighting is also referred to as information focus, sentence stress, primary stress,
pitch accent, nuclear stress, and tonic stress.

2. Contrastive stress

Contrastive stress is like highlighting, except that two words are pronounced with
salient pitch and stress. Contrastive stress tells the listener that two pieces of
information are being contrasted or compared.
The lecture will be in HAMlLTON Hall, not LEWISOHN Hall

3. Final intonation patterns

Final Falling Intonation

- Declaratives, Comrnands, Information Questions. Final falling intonation (also called
rising-falling) is typical with declarative sentences, commands, and information
questions. The general meaning of falling intonation, certainty or finality, is consistent
with the typical meanings of declaratives and commands.
- Yes-No Questions. Thompson describes yes-no questions with falling intonation as
conducive questions, questions to which the speaker already knows the answers
(1995).
Final Rising Intonation
- Yes-No Questions. A final rising intonation can mean that the speaker is uncertain.
This final pattern is common in yes-no questions and intonation questions
(declaratives used as questions)
- WH Questions Asking for a Repetition or Clarification. When WH questions are used
to ask for a repetition or clarification, intonation rises on the question word, remains
high, and rises a little at the end of the question.
- Holding the Floor: A final falling intonation indicates a speaker has finished
speaking.

4. Comprehension checks and tag questions

Comprehension checks, tags like OK? or Right? are appropriate for all levels of
students. Comprehension checks are added to the ends of statements and pronounced
with rising intonation.

5. Intonation with lists, choice questions, nonfinal intonation patterns

- Listing Intonation. The first items in a list are usually pronounced with rising
intonation, especially when they a-re single words or short phrases. The last item is
pronounced with falling intonation to indicate that the list is complete.
- Choice Questions and Questions with or. Choice questions are often phrased with or.
They look like Yes-no questions, but the speaker expects them to be answered with
one of the choices, rather than with.Yes or No.The choices are in different thought
groups; pitch rises on the first choice(s) and falls on the last.
- Non-Final-Thought Groups. Non-final-thought groups (phrases or clauses) can end
with a slight rise or fall.
6. Appositives and parentheticals

Appositives. Appositives are phrases that follow a noun and provide additional
information about the noun. They are pronounced in a group by themselves, set off
from the rest of the sentence.
When an appositive occurs inside an utterance, intonation also sets it off from the rest
of the sentence. At the beginning of the appositive, pitch drops to a low note, rises a
little on the important word in the appositive and falls again to a low level.
When appositives end a sentence, intonation usually starts low, rises, and then falls.

Parentheticals. Parentheticals are expressions that are set apart from the main
utterance. Examples include direct address forms (e.g.,Mr Smith, can I ask you a
question?), comments that express how the speaker feels about the message (e.g.,
He's late again, I suppose), politeness expressions (e.g., I’d like an application, please),
of final reporting expressions, (e.g., I'm lazy, he said). Parenthetical information is
pronounced in its own thought group, with low pitch and low volume. This rather
monotone delivery sets the parenthetical information off from the "livelier" intonation
of the main message.

7. Intonation, emotions, and attitudes

Intonation plays an important role in the expression of emotion and attitude.

Gussenhoyen (2004) distinguishes between informational interpretations of intonation
and affective interpretations. An example of an informational interpretation of falling
intonation is "finished" or "certain."
Affective interpretations of intonation are believed to have developed from the big-
small meanings of low and high pitch. Low pitch is associated with assertiveness,
confidence, dominance, aggression, finality', and threat; high pitch is associated with
lack of certainty, friendliness, lack of confidence, politeness, vulnerability, and
submissiveness (Ohala 1983, Gussenhoven 2004).
In interpreting others' emotional states, we rely not only on vocal cues (level or range
of pitch), but also on visual cues (facial gestures, posture, or body language); on
context cues (the situation in which a particular conversation takes place or the
relationship between speaker and listener); and on linguistic cues (the specific words
used and their connotations).

CONCLUSIONS
The role of intonation in both structuring and interpreting a speaker's meaning makes it
a crucial component of pronunciation. It is also the most communicative aspect of
pronunciation: Alone, without words, it can communicate meaning. Native speakers,
for example, may "hum" common utterances like I don't know or yes.