By: PETER ROACH

E>UC MINH
(dich va chu giai)

NGO AM VA AM VI HOC
A
, ■ ■

TIENG ANH
-GIAO TRiNH TH T/C HANH-

English Phonetics and Phonology

A practical CHfff ~ --------,
NG DAI H O C PH ENIKAA
TRUNG TAM THONG
TIN - THU VIEN

.222%%%
T hi rd E ditio n

TRUO NG U~ H O C PHENIKAA

TRUNG TAM THONG TIN· THU VIEN

So : ..... J..11.~~- .
2019 | PDF | 290 Pages
buihuuhanh@gmail.com

NHA XUT BAN THANH NIEN

 Mu• c Lu• c
Preface to the third edition : 5
Loi noi ddu
List of symbols 7
How to use this hook 9
Cdch st d u n g sach·
Chart of the International Phonetic Alphabet (revised 1993, updated 1996) 12

J Introduction , 15
Gidi h ie

2 The production of speech so undo, 23

SI! h1nh thanh ca ngt am
3 Long vowels, diphthongs and triphthongs 36
Nguyen am da i, nhi trng am va tam t rn g am
4 Voicing and consonants 46
A m hit thanh vu cc phu am
5 The phoneme 59
A m vi
6 Fricatives and affricates 72
Am xci t vii am t cfc x d t

7 Nasals and other consonants 83

Am mi va c ac phu am k hac
8 The syllable 96
Am t i e't

9 Strong and weak syllabics 108

Cdc dm tiet manh vi yeu
10 Stress in simple wordo, 122
T ro n g i m t ro n g c c ic n '{ cfoH gidn

11 Complex word stress L~S

• T ro n g am ci a tu plc tap

12 W cak forms 145

Ci: d qn g ye'u
13 Problems in phonemic analysis 156
C t c v an de trong vie&c phan tich am vi
14 Aspects of connected speech 172
C cic kh fa c c,mh Cl {(! noi dm
15 I nto na ti o n 1 I.90
N gi? ctiea 1

1 6 I ntona ti o n 2 ; 204
Ngdie 2

1 7 I nto na ti on 3 2 15
N gt diu 3

18 Functions of intonation l 2.ll

C/ 11J:c n d ng czfa ng t? dif u I
19 Functions of intonation 2 :. 243
C huc nang cii a n g z7 c1ifu 2

20 .Further areas of study in phonetics ancl phonology .,. .. 256

C cic linh vc ng h i en cr ch1yen s au ho ve ng ? d m hoc va d m vi hoc

Recorded exercises 268

Cde bi tip doe ghi am

Answers i:o writte.n exercises 3 00

Dci/1 ci1' cii a ccic bai t(i.p vie't
Answers to recorded exercises :;.. 31 0
fJci/J ci n c1:ia ccic b a i t(i.JJ dul;lc ghi d m
 5
Preface to the third edition
Th e s econ d ed itio n o f th is b oo k was
p ub lis h ed in 1 9 9 1 , an d s in ce th en a n u mb er
o f irh p o rtan t b o o k s an d p ap ers in th e field
h av e ap p eared . My firs t tas k , th erefore, h as
b ee n to u p d ate tho rou g h ly th e
reco mmen d ation s for furth er read in g an d ,
wh ere p o s s ib le, to in co rpo rate s o me n ew
id eas . [ h av e tried to avo id reco mmen d ing
wo rk s wh ich are n o lo ng er in p rin t, alth ou gh
th is h as n o t alway s b een p o ss ib le. Th e
s tructu re o f th e b oo k remain s v irtu ally
u n ch ang ed ex cep t th at I h av e mov ed th e
d is cu s s io n o f d is tin ctiv e featu res fro m
Ch ap ter 2 0 to Ch ap ter 1 3 , an d s h o rten ed it. I
feel it n o w fits mo re n atu rally with th e
d is cms io n o f o th er, p h o n o lo g ical iss u es in
th at ch ap ter, wh ich I h av e s imp lified a little.
I h av e g iv en up th e u s e o f th e n ame Received
Pron u n cia tio n (RP) for th e accen t d es crib ed
ir. th e b o o k : it is a term which I h av e alway s
d is lik ed , an d I h av e ch os en to refer in s tead
to BBC p r o n u n cia tio n . I h av e attemp ted to
imp rov e th e treatmen t o f wo rd s tress , an d
h av e ad d ed s o me mo re mo d ern id eas ab o u t
th e an aly s is o f in to n atio n .
Sin ce th e p u b licatio n o f th e s eco n d
ed itio n , I h av e wo rk ed o n th e 1 5 th ed itio n
o f th e Da n iel Jo n es En g lis h Pr ono u n cing
Dictio nar y ·(Jon es, 1 9 9 7 ; ed ited an d rev is ed
by Ro ach an d Hartman ), an d I h av e mad e a
n u mb er o f ch an g es to tran s crip tion s in th e
p res en t b oo k in o rd er lo av o id d is ag reemen ts
with wh at I wou ld reg ard as a co mp an io n
v o lu me. I h av e mad e a larg e n u mb er o f mino r
ch an g es to th e tex t in an attemp t to mak e it
clearer to read , and I h av e remov ed a n u mb er
o f errors . I wis h I co u ld b eliev e th at I h av e
remov ed all o f th em. Th e reco rd ed ex ercis es
Loi noi dau
An ban lan th& hai duoc xuat ban vao
nam 1991, va ke tu d6, da ra ddi vo so
quyen sach va bai bao quan trong viet
ve linh vuc ny. Do vay, nhiem vu dau
ti@n ca toi la cap nhat day du nhung
bai gioi thieu de cac ban doc them, va
neu c6 the la ket hop them mot so quan
niem moi. Toi ding luon luon co.gfog
tranh gioi thieu den nhung cuon sach
khong con dudc xuat ban nl a. C au truc
cua quy€n sach nay hilu nhu duqc gia
nguyen ven, ngoai tr& vi@c t i da dua
muc thao luan nhung net dc biet tu
C huong 20 len C huong 13 va c6 rut ngfo
mot it. Toi nghi nhu the muc thao luan
nay se thich hop tu nhien hon voi muc
thao luan cac van de am vi hoc khac
nhau trong chuong nay. Toi cung da phan
no gian luoc muc tho luan nay. Toi
da tho i kh6 ng dung ten go i Rece iv ed
Pronunciation (Phat am chua'n) de' goi
giong n6i duqc mo ta trong quy€n sach,
vl do la ten goi ma t6i thuong khong
may LIU thfch, thay vao d6 toi da chon
ten goi BBC pronunciation (Phat am theo
giong n6i cua dai BBC ). No luc hien nay
cl a toi la cai tien each di'jt trong am,
va dua them vao nhieu quan niem moi
ve cach phan tich ngl dieu.
Ke' tu khi phat hanh an ban tht hai,
toi da nghien cuu ve an ban th 15 cl a
quyen sa ch D a n i el Jo n es E n g l i s h
P ron o un ci ng D i ct i on a r y (Tu die'n phat am
ti€ng Anh Daniel Jones (Jones, 1997;
Roach & Hartman) chinh st a va tai ban),
va toi da thay d6i nhieu ve cach phien
am trong quyen sach hi n tai de tranh
nhung khac bi@t voi nhung phien am toi
se de cap den trong quyen sach di kem.
Toi ding co nhieu thay d6i nho ve phan
bai viet de cac ban doc de doc hon, dong
tho'i chinh sda nhdng loi trong cac bai

have been kept unchanged in order to retain
continuity with the earlier editions, and these
a,e now also available on audio CD.
In the previous editions I thanked the
many people who had given me help, and I
remain grateful to all of them. This third
edition has had the benefit of advice from
many more people who have used the book
for teaching or study and who have
suggested improvements. I would like to
thank everyone who has helped me in this
way, although there are too many for me to
name all of them. Takeshi Shimaoka and
Hiroshi Miura translated the book into
Japanese, and passed on to me many
valuable observations as a result of their
careful work. Snezhina Dimitrova has given
me very useful feedback from her
experience with using the book. At the
University of Reading my colleagues Erik
Fudge, Paul Kerswill and Linda Shockey
have provided me with helpful advice and
ideas. I am grateful to Jane Setter for helpful
advice and discussion on many points. She
and James Hartman were co-editors of the
15th edition of the Daniel Jones English
Pronouncing Dictionary, and their
collaboration has also been helpful in the
revision of the present book. I would like to
thank Mickey Bonin of Cambridge
University Press for his editorial work and
guidrnce. I remain grateful, as ever, to my
wife Helen, who has helped in the work of
revising the liook and supported me while I
was trying to finish the work.
6
viet nay. Toi rnong r~ng toi khong bcl
sot mot loi nao. Cac bai tap thu am duoc
giO' nguyen de· c6 Sl/ lien tuc vo i cac an
ban trl/cJC do, va hien nay chung con
duoc ghi am tren CD.
Trong cac an ban truoc, toi da g&i
loi cam on den rat nhieu ngudi da tan
tinh giup do toi, va toi van luon biet on
ho. Quyen an ban th@ ba nay lai nhan
duoc loi khuyen htu ich cla nhieu nguoi
khac nO'a, bao gom nhtng nguoi da st
dung quyen sach cho vi@c giang day
hoac nghien ctu, va ho da de xuat nhieu
cai tien. Toi xin cam on tat ca nhCtng
ngua i da giup do to i, cho du to; kh6 ng
the ke het ten cac ban ra day. Takeshi
Shimaoka va Hiroshi Miura dich quyen
sach nay ra tie ng Nhat, va da glli den
cho ti nhieu loi nhan xet co gia tri rut
ra tu cong viec nghien cuu rat can than
cLla ho. Snezhina Dimitrova da phan h6i
cho t6i nhung thong tin rat hC1u fch sau
kh i co st dung quyen sa ch nay. Tc) i
truing Dai hoc Reading, cac dong
nghiep ca toi nhu Erik Fudge, Paul
Kerswill va Linda Shockey da dong gop
nhieu Idi khuyen va y kien dang quy.
T6i cung biet on Jane Setter da co loi
khuyen va binh luan huu (ch ve nhieu
diem trong sach. Co va James Hartman
la d6ng chu bien cua an ban Daniel Joes
English Pronuoncing Dictionary thlf 15,
va ho cling c6 SL/ cqng tac dang nghi
nhan trong vi@ec chinh sta quyen sach
hi@n th' i nay.
 7

List of symbols

1 Sy mbols for ph one me s

I as in 'pit' p t i: as in 'key' ki:
e as in 'pet' pet a: as in 'car ka:
re as in 'pat' pet 3: as in 'core' k:
,\ as in 'putt' pxt u: as in 'coo' ku:
D as in 'pot' pot 3: as in ' cur' k3:
0 as in 'put' pot

0 as in 'about, upper'
abat, Apa
eI as in 'bay' be, 0U as in 'go' gau
a, as in 'buy' ba , au as in 'cow' kau
JI • as in 'boy' b

a as in 'peer' p1a
ca as in 'pear' pea
0a as in 'poor' pua
p as in 'pea' pi:
t as in.'toe' tau
k as in 'cap' kep
f as in 'fat' fret
8 as in ' thing' 8 1 0
s as in 'sip' sip
b as in 'bee' bi :
d asin ' doe' dau
g as in 'gap' g a p
V as in 'vat' vaet
ii . as in ' this' h1s
z as in 'zip' zip

.r as in ' ship' J1p 3 as in 'measure' me3a

h as in 'hat' hat
m as in 'map' map
n as in ' nap' nap
!) as in 'hang' hen
as in ' led' led
r as in 'red' red
w as in 'yet' jet
w as in 'wet' wet

f as in 'chin' tJm d3 as in·' gin' d3mn

-
 8
2 Non-phonemic symbols
as i n 'react ', 'h ap py ' ri ekt,hae pi
u as i n 't o each ' t u i:tf
? g l o ttal s t o p
asp i rat i on, as i n 'p i n ' p"mn
s y llab i c co n son an t , as i n 'b u t t o n ' bA tn
s ho rt en ed v o w el , as i n 'mi s s ' m i s
s y llab l e d i v i s i on, as i n 'd i ffer' duf·a

3 Stress and intonation

t o n e-un i t b ou n d ary
II p au s e

p ri mary s t res s , as i n 'op en ' 'a o pa n

s econd ary s t res s, as i n 'i ce cream' ,a 1 s 'kri m
Ton es : ,fall
,ri s e
.fall-ri s e
.ri s e fall l ev el
s t ress ed s y llab l e i n h ead, h i g h p i tch , as i n 'p l eas e ,d o
s t res s ed s y llab l e i n h ead, l o w p i t ch, as i n ,p l eas e d o
s t ress ed s y llab l e i n t ai l , as i n ,my •t u rn
t ex t ra p it ch h ei g h t , as i n t ,my t u rn
 9

H o w t o u s e t hi s bo o k
Cach s& dung sach
Th e fi rs t t h in g t o rememb er ab o u t t h i s D i eu d au t i n can n h o v e .q u y en s ach
b oo k i s t h at i t i s i n t en d ed t o b e a co ur s e. It i s n ay l a no d u ; c v i &t t h an h g i ao t ri n h . Sach
d esign ed t o b e read fro m b egin n i ng t o en d , ' d u @c b i en s o an d e d o c t u d au d en cu 6'i,
an d i s t h erefo re d i fferen t fro m a referen ce v a v i v ay , k h ac v o i s ach t h am k h ao . D oi
b oo k . Mo s t read ers o f the b ook are ex p ect ed t u on g ch d y eu cd a s ach n ay la s i n h v i en ,
eit h er t o b e s t ud y i n g i n a co lleg e o r h o ac g i ao v i en d an g d ay t i en g A n h . C6
u n i v ers it y , o r t o b e p ract i s i n g E n g l i s h t h e ph an n ho m d o c g i a n hu s au :
l a n g u a g e t e a c h e rs . T h e re a d e rs ca n b e
d i vid ed i nt o g ro u p s as fo llo w s :

• Fi rst l y , t h ey w i ll b e eith er (a) s tud en t s • Tntac h e' t , h o la (a) s i n h v 1en d L)n g

u s i ng t h e co ur s e un d er t h e d i rection o f a
t u t o r i n ch arg e o f t h ei r co ur s e, o r (b )
w o rk i n g t h ro u g h t h e co u rs e as
i nd i v i d u al s .
Second l y , t h ey w ill b e ei t h er (a) n at i v e
s p eak ers o f a l angu ag e o t h er t h an
En g l i s h , o r (b ) n at i v e s p eak ers o f E n g lis h .
g i ao t ri n h d u 6'i s u h u o n g d an ci a g i ao
v i en p h u trach mo n h o c, h o ac (b ) t u
mi n h n gh i en cu u.
• T h u h ai , h o l a n g u oi 116 t i e'.n g A n h (a)
p h i b an n g u , h o ac (b ) b an n g @.

• Fi n ally, t h ey w i ll b e ei t h er (a) t each ers • Sau cun g , h o l a (a) g i ao v i @n t i en g

o f E n g lis h (o r b ei n g t rain ed t o b e s uch ), A n h (h o ac d an g d ud c d ao t ao t h an h
o r (b ) s tud en t s o f En g lish o r l i n gui s t i cs g i ao v i @n t i eng A n h ), h o ac (b ) s i n h
an d p h on et i cs . v i en h o c t i e'.n g A n h , n g 6 n n g Ct h o c v a
n g u a m h o c.

T h e co ur s e i s i n t en d ed t o b e u s ed by all
o f t h es e g ro u p s (i f y o u mu lt i p l y t h em
t o g e t h e r y o u g e t e i g h t ca t e g o ri e s , an d y o u
s h o u l d b e ab l e t o p l ace y o u rs el f i n o n e o f
t h e m ); m o s t o f t h e m at e ri a l i n t h e co u rs e h a s
at s o me t i me o r o th er b een u s ed b y p eo pl e
o f all ei gh t cat ego ri es , b u t it i s n eces s ary t o
u s e t h e co u rs e d i fferen tly i n t h es e d i fferen t
ci rcu mst an ces .
G i ao t ri n h du o c b i en s o an ch o t at ca
cac d o i t uo n g t ren (n eu n h an cac n h o m
t ren lai t h i s e co t am lo ;;t i d o'i t u c,1n g , v a
b an s e tu x ac d i n h d u o c m i n h t h u o c m o t
t ro n g t am lo ai d6 ). Ph an lo n g i ao t ri n h
n ay d a d u o c n g udi t h u o c t at ca t am l o ai
d 6 i t ug n g tr@n s t d u n g b an g cach n ay
h ay cach k h ac, n h u ng cun g can d u n g g i ao
tri n h n ay t h eo n h u ng cach k h ac n h au .

E ach ch ap t er i s fo llo w ed by s h o rt Sau mo i ch u ong l a n h d n g p h an b o

ad d it i o n al s ect i on s , w h i ch y o u may ch o o s e
n o t t o u s e. Fi rs t l y, t h ere i s a s ectio n o f n o t es
o n p ro b l ems an d fu rt h er read in g : t h i s t ells
y o u h o w y o u can g o fu rt h er i n s t u d y i n g t h e
areas d is cu s s ed i n t h e ch ap t er. Seco n d l y ,
w h ere rel ev an t , t h ere are b ri ef n o t es fo r
t each ers abou t p ro _nun cfat ion t each in g an d
s u n g n g an ma b an co t h € t uy y k h 6 n g
d o c. T ru c h et , co mo t ph an g h i ch u v e
n h u n g v an d e v a t ai l i eu d o c t h em c h i
d an b an cach n gh i en cu u t h em n h Ci n g
lin h v u c t h ao l u an t ro n g ch lf dng d 6 . T h Ct
h ai , d n d i c6 l i en qu an , s e co n h u n g g hi
ch a n g an ch o g i ao v i en n o i v e v i ec d ay

the use of the taped practice material.
Finally, there are some written exercises
which test your understanding of the material
in the chapter. Answers to the questions are
given near the end of the book.
the course includes recorded material
(available on audio CD and on cassette)
which comprises practical exercise material.
There are 1 9 Audio Units (AU) which
correspond to Chapters 2-20 of this book.
When there is a relevant recorded exercise
the following symbol is placed in the margin
, with a reference to the exercise: O AU 1, Ex
1 indicates Audio Unit 1, Exercise I. If you
are a non-native speaker of English, every
unit ought to be relevant to you, although
the relevance of any particular exercise will
depend on your particular native language.
If you are a native speaker of English, only
some of the exercises will be relevant: those
on intonation are the most likely to be worth
studying. The CD version of the material can
be used in a domestic CD player or personal
CD stereo, and also on a computer with a CD
drive.. The cassette version was designed for
use in a language laboratory, but such a
facility is hard to find these days. However,
the cassettes can be used conveniently in
an ordinary cassette recorder. The material
is the same in both cases. The way in which
this book is designed for students using the
course under the direction of a tutor is as
follows:
i) All the students in the class read a
chapter of r11is book.
ii) The students then have a class with the
tutor in charge of this part of their course.
This provides an opportunity to discuss
the material in the chapter, and for the
tutor to check if difficult points have been
understood, to provide additional
explanation and examples if necessary
and possibly to recommend further
reading.
iii) If the students are not native speakers of
English it is expected that they will then
have a session working on the Audio Unit
corresponding to the chapter they have
10
phat am va viec dung tai lieu ghi am
thtc hanh. Cui cung, co mot so bai tap
viet kiem tra kha nang hieu bai hoc trong
c huong. Bap an nam gan cuoi sach.
Giao trinh c6 nln7ng tai li~u ghi am
Ire n CD va cassette, bao go m bai tap
thuc hanh. Co bai nghe tuong ung voi
cac chuong 2-20 trong sach. Khi co bai
tap ghi am lien quan thi ngoai le se co
bi&u tuong sau tham chi@u den bai tap
do: OAU 1: Ex 1, chi Audio Unit 1, bai
tap 1. Neu ban la nguoi noi tieng Anh
phi ban ngu, moi bi nghe deu lien quan
den ban, du mtc do lien quan CLJa mot
bai tap cu the con phu thuoc ngon ngd
Ill!;! de CLJ the CLJa ban. Neu ban la nguoi
noi ti@ng Anh ban ngd, chi c6 mot so
bi tap nghe la co lien quan: nhL7ng bai
nghe ve ngu dieu co the la dang nghien
cuu nhat. Phan tai lieu tr@n CD co the
hoc bang may hat CD gia dinh hoac may
hat CD ca nhan, hoac 6 dia CD tren may
tinh. Phan tai lieu tren cassette duoc bi@n
soan de dung trong phong lab, nhung hien
nay nhung phLfdng tien nhtJ v~y kh6 tim.
Tuy nhien, bang cassette co the dung mot
cach thuan tien bang may cassette thong
thuong. Tai lieu tr@n CD va tren cassette
la giong nhau. PhLfo'ng each ma giao trinh
nay dLfQc bien soan cho sinh vie,i hoc
voi su huong dan cua giao vien nhu sau:
i) Ta't ca sinh vien trong lop doc mot
chuong sach.
ii) Sau d6, sinh Vien hoc voi giao vien
phu trach mon hoc. Nhu vay, se co
dip de giao vin va sinh vien thao
luan bai hoc trong chuong, va de giao
vien kiem tra xem sinh 'vien da .hieu
nhung diem kh6 hay chua, giai thich
them va cung cap them vi du neu can
thiet, va co the la gioi thieu tai lieu
doc them. .
iii) Neu sinh vi@n khong phai la ngudi
noi tieng Anh ban ngu, thi ho nen co
mot bu&i hoc bai nghe tuong (ng vo i
chuong ho vt a doc va thao luan xong.
 11
read and discussed.
iv) The group then goes on to the next
chapter.
If you are working through the course
individually you will of course arrange your
own way of proceeding; the only important
point here is that it would not be advisable
to use the Audio Units without first reading
the relevant chapters in the book.
The book begins with Chapter l which is
an introduction, and there is no Audio Unit
corresponding to this. Please read the
Introduction, whichever category you come
into, since it explains the purpose of the
course and pre.sents a number of basic points
that are important for understanding the
material that follows.
iv) C ac sinh vien buoc sang chuong ke
tiep.
Neu ban tu hoc g,ao trlnh nay hien
nhien ban se tu sap xep cach tie'n tri€n
viec hoc cua ban. Dieu quan trong duy
nhat o day la khong nen.hoc bai nghe
kh, chlla doc chuong sach tuong ung.
Quyen sach bat dau tu C huong 1 la
phan gioi thieu, va khong co bai nghe
tuong ung voi chuong nay. C ho d u ban
thuoc loai doc gii nao, xin hay doc phan
gioi thieu, boi vi no giai thich muc tieu
cl a quyen sach va gioi thieu mot so
diem can ban quan trong d hiu nhung
chlldng sau.
 CONSONANTS ( PVLMONI C)

Bila bia l /La biode nla ll Denta l Alve ola r Posta lve ola Re tro fle x
l> n
Pa la ta l I Ve la r I Uvular
Plosive Ip b - Q
"'C ::r
t d t ,
Na sa l I ill n Q ....
- er
Tr ill / B r
- (D 0
Ta por Fl a p I I v .... ~
Fric a tive
f I r
0 o L [ T

.veral
4 Btv s z[ f 3 $z/€ -m ....
frica tive
::r
5.
Appro xima nt 'k
l tn
La te ral
-l I UJ•· (D -
appro ximnnt I I l I k L C. :::,
Where s y mb o ls ap p ear in p airs. lh e on e lo th e rig h t rep resen ts a v o iced co n son an t. Sh ad ed areas d eno te articulatio n s ju d g ed imp o s s ib le. ....
_. (I)
CON S ON ANT S ( N ON -P U LMONI C)
0 3
IE
0
~
Clic ks Voice d implosive s Ejec tive s
Bilabial Bilabial
­-......
0 6 ' Ex amples : C t
I Dental cf r>cntal/alvcolar p' Ailabial
"'C ._
(Pos t)alveolar Palatal t' Dental/alveolar 2 ­
' J ­
;-
=j= Palatoalveolar Velar k' Velar
df Q. "'tJ
I Alveolar lateral cf Uvular s' Alveolar fricative
5
_. 0
~ :::,
~ (I)
~
- ....-·n
 13

VOWELS
SUPRAS EGMENTA LS
Front Central B ack
Primary s tres s
Clos e 1 y l~ UI•U
scccfndary stress
IY U founo't1[on
Clos e-mid e (f,-- 5 e--Y 0
Long e:
..,
Half-long e•
V

Open-mid
.• . € ce-~G-A :) Extra-short e
I ~ Minor (fo ot) gro up
ae Major (inlonation) group
Open a »cl a 0
Where symbols appear in pairs , the one
to the right repres ents a rounded vowel.
Syllable break Ji .zekt
Linking ( a bsence of a brea k)

TONES AND WORD ACCENTS

LEVEL CONTOUR
O T H E R S Y M BO L S ....,.
M V o itelc!IS lab ial- vt.lnr f r ic ativ e cZ A lv eo lr,.p al:u al f ricativ es
.N
e,. or 7 Exira
high
e,,, /1 Ris ing

1 e e" \J Falling
w
'
Vo iced lab ial- v elar approxi mant A lv co l:u' later al n ap High

l{ Voiced labial- palatal approximant fj S i mult ancnu~ J :a n d X

e -I Mid
.J

e -1
High
risin g
'- Low
H V o iceless cp ig lon al fric u tiv c
A ffr icates an d d o u b le ar1ic u latio n s
kp
e,,' -I low e ,,-1 ri si ng
~
?
Voiced i:-pi~lottal fru;.i tive

Epiglonal plosive
can be rep r ese n ted b y two symbols
jo ined b y a tie ba r if necessary.
!§
e J Extra
low e 1 Ris ing­
falling
,1. Downstcp 7 Global ris e

t Ups lcp ~ Global fall

DIACRITICS Diacritics may be placed above a symbol with a descender, e.g. l)

n
Voiceles s 1). d .. Breathy voiced b a.. M
Dental t
M d
Voiced s t ~ Creaky voiced b a u
Apical t d
u
V V V

h th d " ! d Lamina! t d
As pirated
-w Linguolabial 0 Cl

e
0

1
More rounded 2 labiali, c<l
(w d ~ Nas alized

di n de
'
j Nas al releas e
(
Less rounded 9 Palatalized
y 1 d'
a.
Advanced u Velarized t d ,
L a t e ra l rc lc: 1sc

e Ii' Pharyngcalizcd t1 d' No audible release d

.-.
Relrackxl

Centralized e ~ Velarized or pharyngealized t

X
Mid-centralized
X
e ... Rais ed e ! = voice d a 1ve o1ur fri cat i ve )

Syllabic n ~ Lowered e
T
-voiced bilabial appro, imant)
' '
~ Non-s yllabic e J
Advanced tongue root e-4

'\,
Rhoticity d" er-
______,.__.t:.._ __
Retracted tongue root
- ·-
e... - - - - - - - -- - - -
-- - - --
 14

CHUONG 1

accent / 'a:ksant/ (n)

gi ong (Anh, My, Nam, Bdc, ... )
comparatively /bm' pa:ratrvh/ (adv) tU<fng dli'i (=relatively)
consistency /k.m' srstansr/ (n) .qr nluit qudn
convention I bn' venJn/ (n)
u<Jc dinh, urJ c I f
de facto / ,der' fa:ktau/
thtc hi@n, thutc hzu
dialect / 'daralekt/ (n)
phU<fng ngtl
estuary /'cst.fuari/ (n)
cila srJng
linguistics /lrl)' gw1st1b/ (n)
ngrJn ngt7 h(lc
phonetics /fa' neHks/ (n)
ngil am hoc
phonology /fo' nld31/ (n)
@ m v i hoc
pitch / pTtJ/ (n)
cao do, ctong do
preliminary /prr' lrmmarr/ (adj)
s<1 kluJi, klu fi d d u
regulate / 'regjulert/ (v)
chi phoi, tdc dong
relative /' relat1v/ (adj)
tlf<lnl{ drJ'i
represe.nt /, repn' zent/ (v)
thii' hifn
sociolinguistic I, saus1auhl)' gw1st1k/ (adj)
ngon ng hoc xa hi
speech /spi:tJI (n)
lr ii noi, ngon ng? noi
speech sound /'spi:tJ ,saund/
ngil cim , c1 m thanh cil a ngiJn
ng?
universally /ju:nr' v3:sah/ (adv)
ph6 bie n, ph6 quit, rang rai
 15

1. Introduction
1. Gioi thie• u
You p rob ab ly wan t to ... ,o w wh at th e Co le ban muon biet muc dich cl a
p u rp o s e o f th is co urs e is , an d wh at y o u can quyen giao trinh nay la gi va ban co th€
ex p ect to learn fro m it. An imp o rtan t p u rp o s e mong dgi dieu gi khi hoc no. Muc dich
o f th e co u rs e is to ex p lain h o w En g lis h is quan trong cda quyen giao trinh nay la
p ronoun ced in th e accen t n o rmally ch o s en giai thich cach phat am tieng Anh theo
as th e s tan d ard for p eo p le learnin g th e giong thudng dugc chon lam ti@u chun
En g lish s po k en in En g land . If th is was th e cho nhung nguoi dang hoc tieng Anh
o n ly th in g th e co u rs e d id , a mo re s u itab le duc,c n6i a Anh. Neu day la dieu duy
title wo u ld h av e b een "En g lis h nhat ma quyen giao trinh nay da lam thl
Pron un ciatio n ". Ho wev er, at th e mot tua de thich h<;1p hdn le ra se la "Cach
co mp arativ ely ad v an ced lev el at wh ich th is phat am tieng Anh". Tuy nhien, v6i trinh
cou rs e is aimed it is u s u al to p res en t th is do tuong doi cao ma giao trinh nay nham
in formatio n in th e co n tex t o f a g en eral den, thong tin nay thuong dLlc;ic trlnh bay
th eo ry abo u t s p eech s oun d s an d h o w th ey theo gia thuyet noi chung ve ngd a 111 Vil
are u s ed in langu ag e: this th eo retical con tex t cach chung duoc dung trong ng6n ngC!;
is called p h o n etics an d p h o n o lo gy. Wh y is ngu canh theo gia thuyet nay duoc goi
it n ecess ary to learn th is th eo retical la n gu am h oc va am vi h oc . Ti! i sao
b ack g rou n d ? Th e s ame q u es tio n aris es . in hoc kien tht c theo ly thuyet nay lai can
conn ectio n with g rammar: at lo wer lev els o f thiet? Cau hi tuong t! nhu the nay phat
s tu d y on e is con cerned s imp ly with s ettin g sinh gan lien voi ngt phap: voi trinh do
o u t ho w to form g rammatical s en ten ces , b u t hoc thap hon, m(>t nguoi chi quan tam
p eop le wh c are g o ing to wo rk with th e toi vi@c bat dau hoc cach thnh lap cac
lan g u ag e , · n ad v an ced lev el as teach ers cau theo ngu phap, nhLlng nlu7ng ngLIOi
or re s e a rc h e rs n eed th e d eep er se lam vi@c voi ngon ng@ nay } trinh do
u nd ers tan d in g p rov id ed by th e s tu d y o f cao nhut cac giao vien va nha nghien
g rammatical th eo ry an d related areas o f CULi dn pha i co S L,i hie\ , bie't sau hon
lin gu is tics . Th e th eo retical material in th e bang cach nghien ct u ly thuyet ve ngd
p res en t cou rs e is n eces s ary for any o n e wh o phap va cac linh Vl./C co lien quan ci a
n eed s to u n d ers tan d th e p rin cip les ngon ngd hoc. Tai lieu mang tinh lj
regu latin g th e u s e o f s o u nd s in s p o k en t huyet trong quyen giao trinh nay dn
En g lis h . t hiet cho bat c(( ai dn hie'u dLIQ'C cac
nguyen tac dieu hoa cach dung cac am
trong tieng Anh noi.
Th e n atu re o f p h o n etics an d p h ono logy Ban chat cda ngd am hoc va am vi
will b e ex p lain ed as th e cou rs e p rog ress es. hoc se dLtQ'c gia i thich khi quyen sach
b u t o n e o r two b as ic id eas n eed to b e nay tiep tuc, nhung mot hoac hai y ca
in trod u ced at th is in trodu cto ry s tag e. In an y ban can phai duoc gioi thieu giai doan
langu ag e we can id en tify a s mall n u mb er o f dau. Trong bat c& ngon ng& nao chung
reg u larly u s ed s o und s (v o wels an d ta deu c6 the nhan biet mot so luong
co n s on an ts ) th at we call pho nem es ; for nho cac am duqc dung thuong xuyen
ex amp le, th e v o wels in th e wo rd s 'p in ' and (nguyen am va phu am) ma chung ta goi
'p en ' are d iffe_ren t p h o n emes, an d s o are th e la am vi (phoneme); vi du, ca C nguye 11

consonants at the beginning of the words 'pet'
and ' bet' . Because of the notoriously
confusing nature of English spelling it is
particularly important to learn to think of
English pronunciation in terms of phonemes
rather than letters of the alphabet; one must
be aware, for example, that the word 'enough'
begins with the same vowel phoneme as that
at the beginning of 'inept' and ends with the
same consonant as ' stuff'. We often use
special symbols to represent speech sounds;
using the symbols chosen for this course, the
word 'enough' would be written (tra ns cri bed)
as mnA f. A list of the symbols is given on p.
ix, and the International Phonetice Alphabet
(IPA) on which the symbols are based is
reproduced on p.ix ,x .
The first part of the course is mainly
concerned with identifying and describing
the phonemes of English. Chapters 2 and 3
deal with vowels and Chapter 4 with some
consonants. After this preliminary contact
with the practical business of how some
English sounds are pronounced, the fifth
chapter looks at the phoneme and at the use
of symbols in a theoretical way, while the
corresponding Audio Unit revises the
material of Chapters 2-4. After the phonemes
of English have been introduced, the rest of
the course goes on to look at larger units of
speech such as the syllable and at aspects of
speech such as s tres s (which could be
roughly described as the relative strength of
a syllable) and i nto na ti o n (the use of the
pitch of the :voice to convey meaning). It
would be a mistake to think that phonemes
are studied first because they are the most
important aspect of speech; the reason is
simply that, in my experience, courses which
begin with matters such as stress and
intonation and deal with phoneme\ later are
found more confusing by the students who
use them. You will have to learn a number of
technical terms; you will find that when they
are introduced in order to be defined or
explained, they are printed in bold type. This
has already been done in this Introduction
in the case of, for example, pho nem e,
16
am trong tu 'pin' va 'pen' la cac am vi
khac nhau, va cac phu am o dau cac tf
'pet' va 'bet' cuh'g vay. Vl b_an cha't trong
cach vi et ting Anh co ting la kho hi@u
cho nen di@u dc biet quan trong la phai
hoc tu du ve cach phat am ting Anh i:J
di! ng am vi thay vi & dang mau tu CLla
bang ch Ct ca i; chang han, mot nguoi phai
biet rang tu 'enough' bat dau voi am vi
nguyen am giong nhu am vi o du tu
' inept' va ket thuc voi phu am tuong tu
nhu 'stuff'. Chung ta thLlo'ng dt', ng cac ky
hi@u dac bi@t d& trinh bay pg am; bang
cach dung cac ky hieu da duoc chon
cho quyen giao trinh nay, tu 'enough' se
dLl<;lc Viet (phien am) la IIl A f. Danh sach
cac ky hieu duoc trinh bay ci trang ix va
bang ngu am quoc te (IPA) chtta cac ky
hieu dLl<;lc trlnh bay (1 trang ix,x.
Phan dau tien cla quyen giao trlnh
nay chi yeu ban ve vi ec nhan biet va
mieu ta cac am vi cla tieng Anh. ChLlong
2 va 3 de cap den cac nguyen am va
chuong 4 d cap den phu am. Sau phan
tiep xic so bo vo i cach phat am ctla
mot so am tieng Anh, chLlo'ng 5 xem xet
am vi va each dung cac ky hieu theo
gia thuyet, mac du phan Audio Unit tuong
Ling 6 11 lc)i noi dung CLla cac clulong tt'I.
2 den 4. Sau khi gioi thieu cac am vi
cua tieng Anh, phan con lai cia quyen
giao trinh nay se tiep tuc xem xet cac
don vi I6'i 116i Ion hon chJng han nhu am
tit va xem xet cac khia qnh ctla lo"i
noi chang han nhu tron g am (duoc rreu
ta dai khai la CLl6' ng do tuong doi cua
am tiet) va n gu di@u (dung cuong do cia
giong n6i de' chuyen tai y nghia). Se that
sai lam khi nghi rang am vi dug n gh i en
CL/LI trlfoc vi chu ng la khia Cc) nh quaI1
trong nhat cia loi noi; ly do don gin la,
theo kinh nghiem cua toi, cac sach giao
trlnh bit du voi cac va'n de nlut trong
am va ngd dieu roi sau do de cap den
am vi de gay nham lan cho cac hoc vi@n
st dung chung. Ban se phai hoc mot so
thuat ngu ky thuat; ban se tha'y ding khi
chung d uo c gioi thieu de dLl<;lc dinh nghia
hay giai thfch, chung dLl(jc in dam. Vi
du, trong phan Gioi thieu nay la am v i,
 17

pho neti cs an d pho no l og y . Ano th er ng u am hqc v a am v j hqc. Mo t q u i vo e

conv en tion to rememb er is th at wh en wo rd s k h ac can p h ai n h o la k h i cac tu d u @c
u s ed as ex amp les are g iv en in s p elling form, • d u n g lam v i d u d u o c n eu o d an g ch in h
th ey are en clo s ed in s in g le q u o tes (s ee for ta, ch u n g d u o c dt tron g d au tu ich d an
ex amp le ' p in ' , ' p en ' , etc.). Dou b le q u o te d o n v i du ' p in ' , ' p en ' v .v .). Dau trich d an
mark s are us ed wh ere q u o te mark s wo u ld k ep d uo c d u n g o n o i cac d au trich d an
n o rmally b e u s ed ; s ee, for ex amp le, "En g lis h thuon g d u o c s t d u n g , v i d u " Cach p h at
Pron u n ciatio n " ab ov e. am tien g Anh " a tren .

Lang u ag es h av e d ifferen t a ccents : th ey Cac n go n n gu co cac g ion g h ay frq n g

are p rono un ced d ifferen tly b y p eo p le fro m a m (accen t) k h a c n h au : ch u n g d u q c
d ifferen t g eog rap h ical p laces, fro m d ifferen t n h u ng n gu d i o cac v mn g d ia ly , cac tan g
s o cial clas s es, o f d ifferen t ag es an d d ifferen t lop xa h o i, d o tu 6 i v a n en tan g g iao d u c
ed u catio n al b ackg rou n d s . Th e wo rd "accen t" k h ac n h au ph at am th eo cach k h ac n h au .
is o ften co n fu s ed with di al ect. We u s e th e T l " accen t" th u on g b i n h am lan v o i tu
wo rd "d ialect" to refer to a v ariety o f a "di a l ect" (phu o n g n g a). Ch un g ta d un g
lang u ag e wh ich is d ifferen t fro m o th ers n o t tu " d ialect" d e ch i mt lo ai n g o n n g @
ju s t in p ronu n ciatio n b u t als o in s u ch matters k h ac v d i n h u n g n go n n g a k h ac k h o n g
as v o cab u lary , g rammar an d wo rd -o rd er. ch i cacl p h at am ma co n n h u n g v an a
Differen ces o f accen t, o n th e o th er h an d, are d e n h u tu v u ng , n g u p h ap v a trat tu tu .
p ron u n ciation d ifferen ces o n ly . M.'.)t k h ac, s t! k h ac b iet v e g ion g ch i la
s u k h ac b iet v e cach p h at am.

Th e accen t th at we co n cen trate o n an d Gio n g ma chu n g ta tap trun g v o v a

u s e as o u r mod el is th e o n e th at is mo s t o ften d u n g lam mau la g io n g th µo n g d u c;1c d @
reco mmen d ed for foreig n learners s tudy in g n g h i s t d un g d o i v o i n h u n g h cc v ien n u o c
Britis h Eng lis h . It h as for a lo n g time b een ngcfiii d an g h o c tin g An h g io n g An h . TLI
id en tified b y th e n ame R ecei v ed lau no d a d u o c n h an ra q u a ten "C a ch
P ro nunci a ti o n (u s u ally . abb rev iated to its phat a m ti@u chua n" (th u on g v i&t tat b an g
in itials , RP) , b u t this n ame is o ld -fas hio n ed each d un g cac ch u cai d au la RP), n h Ltn g
an d mis lead in g . Sin ce it is mos t familiar as ten n ay d a Ii th ' i v a s ai lech . Vi n o la
th e ar.cen t u s ed b y mo s t an n ou n cers an d g io n g q u en th uo c n h at d u c;1c d u n g b cJi cac
n ews read ers o n BBC an d Britis h p h at th an h v ien tren d ai BBC v a cac k en h
in d ep en d en t telev is io n b road cas tin g tru y en h in h d o c lap cu a An h n en ten
ch an n els, a p referab le n ame is BBC du c;lc Lia ch u 6 n g h o n la "C.i ch phat il ft l
pro nunci a tio n. Th is s hou ld n o t b e tak en to cua dai BBC ". Dieu n ay k h o n g c6 n g h Ta
mean th atth eBBCits elfimp o s es an " o fficial" ran g b an th an BBC ap d at mo t g io n g
accen t - ind iv id u al b road cas ters all h av e " ch in h th u c" - v l cac p h at th an h v ien
th eir o wn p ers o n al ch aracteris tics, an d an d eu co d ac d iem rien g cu a h o , v a s o
in creas in g n u mb u o f b road cas ters with lu o n g cac p h at th an h v ien g ion g Xco t­
Sco ttis h . Wels h an d Iris h , accen ts are len , XL/ Wales v a Ai len d u q c s Lr d 1,1n g
emp lo y ed . Ho wev er, th e accen t d es crib ed n g ay can g tan g . Tu y n h ien , g io n g d u o c
h ere is typ ical o ilflE~~~ J:a d d ay la g ion g d i€ n h ln h cL1a
En g lis h accen t, al LJ,.U;;u;...i..:;....i;1...U:.1;J..IJ.L...tlq;ir:t:.C:...,_.,ULJ,
~;-i; 1 t th an h v ien n o i g io n g An h , v a

o r con s is ten cy i#
th es e s p eak ers .
pkg#gr#fr "}e%. A'
to
pg pp4t1 « e ien dth b au 1ch 1r o e
'hl Jl{:- 1, a p h at th an h cu a n h u n g p h at
0
So : .... ..l.rrH.1.b ... .th an h v n n ay .
Th is cou rs e is n o t written for p eop le wh o Giao trinh n ay k h on g d an h ch o n h Ctn g
wis h to s tud y American p ron un ciatio n . Th e n g u o i mu o n h o c cach p h at am k i€ u My .
p ronu n ciatio n o f En g lis h in No rth America Cach p h at am tieng An h & Bac My k h ac
is d ifferen t fro m mo s t accen ts fou n d in v 6'i h au h et cac g io n g a An h . Ngo ai ra,

Britain. There are exceptions to this - you
can find accents in parts of Britain that sound
American, and accents in North America that
sound English. But the pronunciation that
you are likely to hear from most Americans
does sound noticeably different from BBC
pronunciation.
In talking about accents of English, the
foreigner should be careful about the
difference between England and Britain;
there are many different accents in England,
but the range becomes very much wider if
the accents of Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland (Scotland and Wales are included in
Britain and with Northern Ireland form the
United Kingdom) are taken into account.
Within the accents of England, the distinction
that is most frequently made by the majority
of English people is between N o rthern and
So uthern. This is a very rough division, and
there can be endless argument over where
the boundaries lie, but most people on
hearing a pronunciation typical of someone
from Lancashire, Yorkshire or other counties
further north would identify it as "Northern" .
This course deals almost entirely with BBC
pronunciantion. There is, of course, no
implication that other accents are inferior or
less pleasant-sounding; the reason is simply
that BBC is the accent that has always been
chosen by British teachers to teach to foreign
learners, and is the accent that has been most
fully described and has been used as the
basis for textbooks and pronouncing
dictionaries.
A term which is widely found nowadays
is Es tua ry Eng lis h, and many learners of
English have been given the impression that
this is a new accent of English. In reality
there is no such accent, and the term should
be used with care. The idea originates from
the sociolinguistic observation that some
people in public life who would previously
have been expected to speak with a BBC
(or RP) accent now find it acceptable to speak
with some characteristics of the accents of
the London area (the estuary referred to is
the Thames estuary), such as glottal stops.
18
c6 nhli'ng trlfctng hop ngoai le - ban co
th€ thay cac giong i.'J nhang VL)ng mien
cua Anh phat am giong My, va nhli'ng
giong 8 Bac My phat am giong Anh.
Nhung cach phat am ma ban co th€ nghe
tu hau ht nhtng ngudi My c6 am ra't
khac voi cach phat am cia phat thanh
vien dai BBC.
Khi n6ive cac giong trong ting Anh,
ngudi nuoc ngoai nen luu y su khac nhau
gili'a Eng l a nd v a Bri ta i n; c6 nhi~·- giong
khac nhau o England, nhung pham vi nay
tr} nen rong hon nhieu neu tinh den cac
giong Xc6' tlen, x (( Wales va Bac Ai-len
(Xcot len v a XU Wales dt/Q'c bao g6m trong
Britain va cung voi Bac Ai-len tao than]
Vuong quoc Anh). Vi cac giong cia
England, su khac bi@t nay von thung
do da so nguoi Anh t,;10 ra la gida mien
Bfr v a mien Nam. Day la ranh gii rat
ro ret va luon co su bat dong ve vi@c
ranh gioi nam d dau va hu ht moi
nglfcti nghe cach phat am di&n hinh cia
mot nguoi aer r !Lr Lancashire, Yorkshire
hay nhL7ng dia hat khac xa hon deu s@
nhan ra do la giong " mien Bac" . Giao
trinh nay chi yeu de cap den cach plat
am theo giong cia dai BBC. Di nhien, a
day khong ngu rang nhung giong khac
la giong thap kem hay kh nghe; ly do
don gian la vl BBC la gio ng luon duoc
cac giao vien Anh chon de day hoc vi@n
nuoc ngoai v a la giong duoc mi@u ta
day du nhat va da du;c dung lam co so
cho hu het cac sach giao khoa v a tt
di€n phat am.
Mot thuJt nga dttQ'c !1 111 thay rong rai
nga y nay la Es tua ry Eng lis h v a nhieu
ngL/oi hoc tie'ng Anh co an tuong ra ng
day la giong tie' ng Anh moi. Trong tlutc
te, kh6ng c6 giong nhu the, va thuJt ngC/
nay nen d ug c dung mot cach can thin.
Y tuong nay ba"t ngu6n W cu9c quan siit
ngon ng xa hoi ma mot so nguoi trong
ddi hoat dong cho xa hoi v6n truoc d6
duoc cho la noi voi giong BBC (hay RP)
hi@n thay rang co the chap nhan duoc
khi noi co mot so dac diem cla cac
giong vung Luan Don (estuary duoc am
 19

which would in earlier times have caused
comment or disapproval.
If you are a native speaker of English and
your accent is different from BBC you should
try, as you work through the course, to note
what your main differences are for purposes
of comparison. I am not, of course, suggesting
that you should try to change your
pronunciation! If you are a learner of English
you are recommended to concentrate on
BBC initially. though when you have
worked through the course and become
familiar with this you will probably find it an
interesting exercise to listen analytically to
other accents of English, to see if you can
identify the ways in which they differ from
BBC and even to learn to pronounce some
examples of different accents yourself.
chi den la ct a song Thames), chang han
nhu am tac thanh hau, trong nhdng thdi
ky dau da gay phan d6i hay bat dong.
Neu ban la ngudi ban ngu n6i tieng
Anh va giong cda ban khac voi giong
BBC , khi doc qua quyen sach nay, ban
nen ghi chi nhung su khac bi@t chinh
cda minh la gl de so sanh. Di nhien, o
day khong de nghi ban nen co gang thay
d6i cach phat am ci a minh! Neu ban la
ngudi hoc tieng Anh, ban dau ban nen
tap trung vao giong BB C , mac du khi doc
qua quyen sach nay va quen thuoc voi
giong, ban se thay no la bai tap ly tho
de nghe cac giong khac cua tieng Anh,
de xem ban co the nhan ra cac giong
khac vdi BBC nhu the no va tham chi
IL! hoc cach phat am mot so vi d u v e
cac giong khac nhau.

Notes on problems and further reading

The recommendation to use the name BBC pronunciation rather than RP is new to this
edition of the book, and is not universally accepted. It is used in the Daniel Jones English
Pronouncing Dictionary (15th edition; edited and revised by P. Roach and J. Hartman,
1997), in Trudgill (1999) and in Ladefoged (2000); for discussion, see the Introductions to
the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (Wells, 2000; pp. xiii, and the I5th Edition of the
Daniel Jones English Pronouncing Dictionary (p. v). In the original English Pronouncing
Dictionary of 1917, by the way, the term used was Public School Pronunciation (PSP).
Where other writers have used the term RP in discussion of standard accents, I have left the
term unchanged. Other writers have suggested the name GB (General British) as a term
preferable to RP; I do not feel this is satisfactory, since the accent being described belongs
to England, and citizens of other parts of Britain are understandably reluctant to accept that
this accent is the standard for countries such as Scotland and Wales. The BBC has an excellent
Pronunciation Unit, but most people are not aware that it has no power to persuade
broadcasters to use particular pronunciations: BBC broadcasters only use it on an optional
basis, and the Corporation obliges the Pronunciation Unit to charge a fee for their advice.
I feel that if we had a completely free choice of model accent it would be possible to find
more suitable ones: Scottish and Irish accents, for example, have a much more straightforward
relationship between spelling and sounds than does BBC, and have simpler vowel systems,
and would therefore be easier for most foreign learners to acquire. However, the majority of
English teachers would be reluctant to learn to speak in the classroom with a different
accent, so it seems this is not a practical possibility.
For inlroductory reading on the choice of English accent, see O' Connor (1980: 5-6):
Brown (1990: 12-13): Cruttenden (1994: Chapter 7). For a discussion of the status or RP, see
Abercrombie ( 1965). For those who want to know more about British accents, a simple
troduction is Hughes and Trudgill (1996); more advanced works are Trudgill (1999) and
lkes and Docherty (1999). Undoubtedly the major work on accents of English is Wells
), which is a very valuable source of information (see especially pp. 117-18 and 279­
RP).
 20
Much of what has been written on the subject of, " Estuary English" has been in minor or
ephemeral publications. A valuable collection of such works has been made available by J.
C. Wells on the Internet. See http://www.phon.ucl. ac.uk/home/estuary
A problem area that has received a lot of attention is the choice of symbols for rexesenting
English phonemes. In the past, many different conventions have been proposed and students
have often been confused by finding that the symbols used in one book are different from
the ones they have learned in another. The symbols used in this book are in most respects
those devised by A. C. Gimson for his Introduction to the Pronunciation of English (the
latest version of which is the revision by Cruttenden; see Cruttenden, 1994). These symbols
are now used in almost all modern works on English pronunciation published in Britain, and
can therefore be looked on as a de facto standard. Although good arguments can be made for
some alternative symbols, the advantages of having a common set of symbols for
pronunciation teaching materials and pronunciation entries in dictionaries are so great that
it would be very regrettable to go back to the confusing diversity of earlier years. The
subject of symbolisation is returned to in Section 5.2 of Chapter 5.
Notes for teachers
Pronunciation teaching has not always been popular with teachers and language-teaching
theorists. and in the 1970s and 1980s it was fashionable to treat it as a rather outdated
activity. It was claimed, for example, that it attempted to make learners try lo sound like
native speakers of Received Pronunciation, that it discouraged them through difficult and
repetitive exercises and that it failed to give importance to communication. A good example
of this attitude is to be found in Brown and Yule (1983: 26-7). The criticism was misguided,
I believe, and it is encouraging to see that in recent years there has been a significant
growth of interest in pronunciation teaching and many new publications on the subject. No
pronunciation course that I know has ever said that learners must try to speak with a perfect
RP accent. To claim this mixes up mo del s with go a l s : the model chosen is BBC (RP). but the
goal is normally to develop the learner' s pronunciation sufficiently to permit effective
communication with native speakers.
")

Pronunciation exercises can be difficult, of course, but if we eliminate everything difficult

from language teaching, we may end up doing very little beyond getting students to play
little communication games. It is, incidentally, quite incorrect to suggest that the classic
works on pronunciation and phonetics teaching concentrated on mechanically perfecting
vowels and consonants: Jones ( 1956, first published 1909), for example, writes ' Good'
speech may be defined as a way of speaking which is clearly intelligible to all ordinary
people. ' Bad' speech i s a way of talking wh.ch is difficult for most people to understand ...
A person may speak with sounds very different from those of his hearers and yet be clearly
intelligible to all of them, as for instance when a Scotsman or an American addresses an
English audience with clear articulation. Their speech cannot be described as other than
' good' (pp. 4-5).

Much has been written recently about I nterna ti o na l Englis h, with a view to defining
what i s used in common by the millions of people around the world who use English as a
foreigg language (Crystal, 199.7: Jenkins, 2000). This is a different goal from tat of this
book. which is describing a specific accent. The discussion of the subject in Cruttenden
(1994: Chapter 13) i s recommended as a survey of the main issues, and the concept discussed
there of M i ni mum Genera l I ntel li g i bi l i ty is a useful contribution to the International
English debate.
 21
Th ere are man y d ifferen t an d well-tried meth o d s o f teach ing an d tes tin g p ronun ciatio n,
s o me o f wh ich are u s ed in this b oo k . I d o n o t feel th at it is s u itab le in this b oo k to g o in to a
d etailed an alys is o f class roo m meth o d s, b u t th ere are s ev eral ex cellen t treatmen ts o f th e
s u b ject; s ee, for ex amp le, Ken wo rth y (1 9 8 7 ); Dalto n an d Seid lho fer (1 9 9 4 ); Ce Ice-Mu rcia
et al. (l 9 96). At a mo re ad v an ced lev el, Iou p an d Weinb erg er ( 1 9 8 7 ) is a co llectio n o f
p ap ers o n Interlanguage Phonology th at is relev an t to th e s tud y o f learners ' p rob lems .

2 '
 22

CHUONG 2

ai rfl o w / 'eo fl u / = flo w o f ai r l u 6 n g kh i

alv eol ar ri d g e / a: l v r ,;JU I;} 'n d 3 , a: l ' v r;JJ ;J-/ 11urJ u r iin g
art i cu l ato r/ a: ' t rkj u l ert ;J/ (n )
bo p h a n cdu a m
b ack v o w el I 'b a: k 'v au ;Jf/
n g u yen iim (han g ) s a u
b i l abi al s ou n d / ' b a1 ' l e1 b r;}f ' s au n d / a m (h a i) m 6 i
card i n al v o w el / k a: d rn l ' v au ;JV
n g u yen a m ch u <in
cl o s e vo w el / k f;Ju s 'v au ;JV
n g u yen a m h f;!p ld o n g
cl o s e-mi d / ' k f;Ju s ,mrd / (adj )
n rla h f;!p ld 6 n g
con t o id / ' knnt :ird / (n )
a m t o p h u a m tin h
d en t al s o u n d / d en t! ' s au n d/
a m r iin g
fri ct i o n / frrkJ n/(n )
st m a s d t
fri cti o n n o i s e/ frrkJ n ,n :irz/ r
t i @ n g xa t
fro n t v o w el / frx n t 'v au l/
n g u yen a m (h a ng ) t rurJc
h ard p al at e /'h a: d 'p al t/
n g r;H: ciln g
l abio d en t al s o und / l erb i ;:i u ,d en tl 's au n d/ a m m o i l' iin g
l ary n x / 'l a: rrl) k s / (n )
t h an h q u d n
l i p -ro u n d i n g / lr p , rau n d rry'
S lf tr im m rJi
n as al cav i t y / n erzl ' k aev o t /
kh o an g m iii
n as al s oun d / n erzl ' s au n d/
a m m iii
o p en v o w el / ' a 5 p a n ' v au o l /
n g u yen a m r i}n g/m iJ
o p en -mi d / ' ;m p ;Jn ,mrd / (adj )
n rla r i}nglm iJ
p al at e / ' p ael at / (n )
g c (v o m m i @ n g )
p h aryn x / 'fa: rr!J ks / (n )
yet hdu
p h on eti ci an / , fo u n ;J' t rJ n / (n )
nh d n g il iim h 9 c ·
referen ce s y s t em/ refrn n s s rs t ;:i m/
h f t h ong t h a m ch i eult h a m
kh d o
s o ft pa l at e /'s ft 'p el t/
n ga c m em
s p re a d / s p re d / (a d j )
d et m o i
V a.ri abl e / ' v e;:irr;:i b l/ (n )
b i@n to
v e l u m / ' v i : l a m / (n )
n ga c m em
v o cal ap p arat u s /'v au k l ,ap a' rert as /
b i} m d y p h d t a m
vo cal t ract /'v au k l , t ra: k t/
t dur)ng d d n t h an h
v o c o i d / ' v a u k o 1 d / (n )
a m t o ' n g u yen a m t i n h
 23

2 The production of speech sounds

2 . St; h1nh thanh cua ngu am
2.1 Articulators above the larynx 2 .1 Ca c bepha n pha t a m phia tr@n
tha nh qua n
All th e s ou n d s we mak e wh en we s p eak Ta't ca cac am chung ta t<}O ra khi
are th e res u lt o f mu s cles con tractin g . Th e n6i deu la ket qua ci a vi@c co rut co.
mu s cles in th e ch es t th at we u s e for b reath in g Cac c d i:J ngt!c ma chung ta di':1ng d€ thi:J
p rodu ce th e flo w o f air th at is n eed ed for tao ra ludng khf dn thie't cho hfo- nhu'
almo s t all s p eech s o u n d s ; mu s cles in th e mqi ngu am; cac C d trong thanh quan
lary nx p rodu ce man y d ifferen t mo d ification s tao ra nhieu thay d6i khac nhau trong
in th e flo w o f air fro m th e ch es t to th e mo u th . lu6ng khf tu ngt!c den mi~ng. Sau khi di
After p as s in g th ro ugh th e larynx , th e air go es qua thanh quan, lu6ng khf qua qua d u on g
th rough wh at we call the v o ca l tra ct, wh ich d i n th anh ket thuc o mieng va 16 mLii.
en d s at th e mo u th and n o s trils . Here th e air 0 day, khong khf tu phoi thoat ra ngoai
fro m th e lung s es cap es in to th e atmo s ph ere. khf quye'n. C hung ta co mqt bq c d Ion
We h av e a larg e an d co mp lex s et o f mu s cles va phuc t<}p co the' t<,1.O ra cac thay d6i i:J
th at can p rod u ce ch ang es in th e s h ap e o f th e hinh dang cl a duong dan thanh, va de
v o cal tract, an d in o rd er to learn h o w th e biet cac ngu am tao ra nhu the no, ban
s o u n d s o f s p eech are p rod u ced it is can phi quen thuoc voi cac bo phan
n ecess ary to b eco me familiar with th e khac nhau cua duong d~n thai1h. NhCtng
d ifferen t p arts o f th e v o cal tract. Th es e_ bo phan nay duoc goi la b} phan ph at
d ifferen t p arts are called a rti cul a to rs , an d am , va viec nghien cuu chung dugc goi
th e s tu d y 'of th em is called a rti cul a to ry l a n gu am h o c p h a t am .
pho neti cs .
Fig . 1 is a d iag ram th at is u s ed freq u ently Hlnh 1 la s d d6 thuong duc;1c dung
in th e s tu d y o f p h o n etics. It rep res en ts th e trong vi~c nghien CULi ngu am hoc. N6
h u man h ead , s een fro m th e s id e, d is p lay ed tu@ng trung cho dau nguoi, nhin tu phfa
as th o u gh it h ad b een cu t in h alf. Yo u will ben, duc trinh bay nhu the no duoc cat
ed to lo o k at it carefu lly as th e articu lato rs ra lam doi. Ban se can phai xem so do
~ d es crib ed , ·an d yo u will o ften fin d it nay mot cach can than khi cac bo phan
•I to h av e a mirror an d a g ood lig h t ca'u am dudc mi eu ta va ban thuong
s o th at y o u can lo o k at th e in s id e o f t huong se thay ht u (ch khi co mot cai
1o u th . guong va mot den t6t de ban co the' nhln
vao ben trong mieng cua minh.

at am

i) The pha ry nx is a tube which begins
just above the larynx. His about 7 cm long in
women and about 8 cm in' men, and at its top
end it is divided into two, one part being· the
back of the mouth and the other being the
beginning of the way through the nasal
cavity. If you look in your mirror with your
mouth open, you can see the oack of the
pharynx.
ii) The v el um or s o ft pa l a te is seen in
the diagram in a position that allows air to
pass through the nose and through the mouth.
Yours is probably in that position now, but
often in speech it is raised so that air cannot
escape through the nose. The other important
thing about the velum is that it is one of the
articulators that can be touched by the
tongue. When we make the sounds k and g
the tongue is in contact with the lower side
of the velum, and we call these v el a r
consonants.
iii) The hard palate is often called the
"roof of I.he mouth" . You can feel its smooth
curved surfaee with your tongue.
iv) Till.! :Jlveolar ri dg e is between the
top front eeh and the hard palate. You can
feel il.5 shap1; with your tongue. Its surface is
rea I ly rnu ch rougher than it feels, and is
covered w Jl h little ridges. You can only see
these 1f you have a mirror small enough to
go inside your mouth (such as those used by
denLi.ts Sounds made with the tongue
touc h1ng here (such as t and d) are called
alveolar
v) [he to ngue is, of course, a very
important articulator and it can be moved
into mauy different places and different
shapes. It is usual to divide the tongue into
difLrent parts, though there are no clear
dividing lines within the tongue. Fig. 2 shows
,he tongu'-· on a larger scp l e wirh these parts
shown· lip, blade, t ·out, bjlck and root. (This
u,c uf the word "front" often'seems rather
slr.rn gc al fir st.)
24
i) H.iu la m(lt o'ng bi t dfo ngay ben
tren thanh quan. N6 dai khoang 7 C!ll o
plw nt va khoang 8 cm a nam gioi, va Ci
dau tren cl a no, no duc chia lam d6i,
mot phan nam o phia trong cung ci a
mieng va phan con lai nam o dau doan
di qua khoang mui. Nea ban nhin vao
guong voi mieng ha ra, ban co the ihy
phia trong cuing cl a hau.
ii) Vom mi@ng mem duoc nhin thay
trong Sd d6 d 111Qt "' tr. cho phep kh6ng
khi di qua mui vs qua mi ng. Co le vom
mieng mem ci a 'an hien gio nam o vi
trf d6, nhung lh•lcillg. th] khi n6i no duoc
nang cao de kong khi khong th& thoat
qua mui. bieu quan trong khac ve vom
mieng mem la 116 ia m(>t trong nhClng b(>
phan cau am ma luoi co the cham toi.
Khi chung ta n6i am k va g , luoi tiep
xuc voi pfia duoi cua vom mieng mem
va chung ta goi nhung am nay la phu
am vom mem.
iii) Vom mi@ng cung thuong dugc goi
la "vom mieng". Ban co the' dung luai
cam nhan be mat cong nlan ca no.
iv) Nu'ou rang nam giua ham rang tren
va vom mi@ng cung. Ban co the cam
nhan hinh dang cl a no bang each dung
ludi. Be mat ci a no that ra tho nham
hon nhieu so voi cam nhan cl a ban va
duoc phi bang cac chm nh6. Ban chi
c6 the' tha'y nhung chd m nay neu ban
c6 mc'it cai gudng nho du de dua vao
trong mieng (chang han nhu cai guong
nha si st dung). Am thanh do luoi t,;10 r,
khi cham vao day (chang han nhu t ,.
d) du(Jc go i I.a am lqi.
v) Lu'oi, dT nhien, la m(lt b(l phar
am ra't quan trong va no co the di ch
de'n nhi@u vi tri khac nhau va c6
hinh dang khac nhau. Thuong th1
ta chia luoi thanh nhung phn ''
m<)c ch) khong co dun
rang ben trong luoi. t-'
theo m(lt ph,;1m vi I
duoc minh hoa:
luoi truoc, mat '
luai. (Thoat '
thuong c6 ve
 25
vi) The teeth (upper and lower) are
usually shown in diagrams like Fig. l only at
the front of the mouth, immediately behind
the lips. This is for the sake of a simple
diagram, and you should remember that most
speakers have teeth to the sides of their
mouths, back almost to the soft palate. The
tongue ls in contact with the upper side teeth
for many speech sounds. Sounds made with
the tongue touching the front teeth are
called denta l.
fro nt
tip
Fig.2 Sub-divisions of the tongue
H inh 2 C ac phn c hia nh c ia luoi
vii) The lips are important in speech.
They can be pressed together (when we
produce the sounds p, b) , brought into contact
with the teeth (as in f, v) , or rounded to
produce the lip-shape for vowels like u:.
Sounds in which the lips are in contact with
each other are called bila bial, while those
with lip-to-teeth conta.ct arc called
l a bi o denta l.
The seven articulators described above
are the main ones used in speech, but there
are three other things to remember. Firstly,
the larynx (which will be studied in Chapter
4) could alsq be described as an articulator
- a very complex and independent one.
Secondly, the ja w s are sometimes called
articulators~ certainly we move the lower jaw
a lot in speaking. But the jaws are not
articulators in the same way as the others,
because they cannot themselves make
contact with other articulators. Finally,
although there is practically nothing that we
can do with the no s e and the nasa l ca v i ty ,
they are a very important part of our
equipment for making sounds (what is
s o m eti ac s called our v o ca l ...- t"a t•s ),
v i) Rang (ham t r@n v a ham duoi)
t huong duoc m inh hqa t rong c ac st d6
giong nhu hlnh 1 chi a phfa truoc mieng,
ngay phia s au m i. Viec m inh hoa nhu
t he la de c ho s o do don gian, v a ban
nen nho rang hu het m oi nguoi n6i deu
c o rang a hai ben m ieng, ·nam s au t rong
c ung den v om m i@ng m m . Ludi t iep x uc
v di ham rang t r@n de t ao ra nhi€u ngCI
am . C ac am dLlc;I C t i:} O ra k hi luoi t iep
x uc v oi ham rang t ren duoc goi la am
ran g.
v i) M6i thi quan t rong t rong loi noi.
C hung c o t he duoc ep lai v oi nhau (k hi
c hung t a t i:} O ra dm p, b), dua v ao t iep
x uc v oi rang (nhu t rong f, v ) hoac 1:t 111
t ron d€ li:} O ra hinh dang m oi c ho ca c
nguy en am nhu u: . C ac am dt./ c;I C li)O ra
k hi hai m i t iep x uc v oi nhau dugc goi
la am moi, tr ong k hi nhung am duoc t ao
ra k hi m oi t iep x uc v oi rang dLIQ c goi la
am moi ran g.
Bay bo phan c au am du; c m ieu t a o
t ren la nhung t hanh phfo c hinh dt.1c;1c
dung t rong loi noi, nhung c o ba bo phan
k hac can nho. T h(t nha' t la, t hanh quan
(s e dugc nghien c t u o c huong 4) c ung
c6 t he duoc m ieu t a la bo phan cau am
- day la m ot bo phan doc lap va rat
phuc t o;1 p. T hu hai la, h am doi k hi dLI Qc
goi la bo phan c au am ; c hic c han c hung
t a c d dong ham dudi nhieu k hi noi
c huy en. N hung ham k hong phai la bo
phan c au am t heo c ac h giong nhu nhCt ng
t ha nh phan k hac , v i ban t han c hung
k hong t iep x uc v di c ac bo phan cau am
k hac. C uoi c ing la, m ac du c hang c o gi
dac bi&t de c hung t a lam v oi m ui v a
k hoang m ui, nhung c hung la mot t hanh
. '
 26
p articu larly n as al con s o n an ts s u ch as m, n. phan rat quan trong c da he thong tao am
Ag ain , we can n o t really d es crib e th e n os e c ia c hung ta (doi k hi dugc goi la bo may
an d th e n as al cav ity as articu lato rs in th e tao am), dac biet la ca c phu am mui
s ame s en s e as (i) to (v ii) abov e.
nhu m, n. Hon nua, tren thuc te c hung ta
k ho ng the' mieu ta mu i v a k hoang Ill Li i
la bo phan c au am theo y nghia nllli (i)
Va (v ii) 0 tren.
2.2 Vowel and consonant 2.2 Nguyen am va phu am
Th e wo rd s vowel an d con son an t are v ery Cac tu nguyen am v a ph9 am la nhli'ng
familiar o n es , b u t wh en we s tud y th e s ou n d s tu r,ft quen thuqc , nhling k hi c hung ta
o f s p eech s cien tifically we fin d th at it is n o t nghi@n ct u ca c am trong lei noi bang
eas y to d efin e ex actly wh at th ey mean . Th e phuong phap k hoa hoc , c hung ta thay
mo s t co mmo n v iew is th at vo wels are s ou n d s rang that k hong de dang dinh nghia c hinh
in wh ich th ere is no o bs tructio n to th e flo w x ac c hung la gl. Quan die'm ph6 bien
o f air as it p ass es from th e laryn x to th e lip s . nhat la: nguy e 11 am la nllli' ng a m duoc
A d o cto r wh o wan ts to lo ok at th e b ack o f a tao ra k hi lu6ng k hf di qua tu thanh quan
p atien t' s mo u th o ften as k s th e p atien t to s ay den mdi k hong bi ca n tr 8 . M o t bac s i
"ah " ; mak ing th is v o wel· s oun d is th e b es t muon x em phia trong CL)ng a trong mieng
way o f p res en tin g an u n ob s tructed v iew. Bu t c la mot benh nhan thuong bo ho n6i
if we mak e a s ou n d lik e s o r d it can b e clearly "ah"; n6i am nay la eac h 161 nhat M c6
felt th at we are mak in g it d ifficu lt o r mot tam nhin k hong bi can tr&. Nhung
imp o ss ib le for th e air to p as s th rough th e neu c hung ta tao ra mot am nhu s hay d,
mo u th . Mo s t p eo p le wou ld h av e no d o u b t ta c6 the' ca m thay r6 rang k ho ng k h f
th at s o u nd s lik e s an d d s h o u ld b e called k h6 ho~c k hong the' di qua mieng. Hau
con s on an ts . Ho wev er, th ere are man y cas es het moi ngudi deu c hac c han rang ca c
wh ere th e d ecis io n is n o t s o eas y to mak e.
am nhu s va d nen dugc goi la phu am.
On e p rob lem is th at s o me Eng lish s ound s Tuy nhi@n, co nhieu truong hop, dua ra
th at we th in k o f as con s o n an ts, s u ch as th e quv et dinh nhu the k hong phai la dieu
s o u n d s at the b eg in n in g o f th e wo rd s 'h ay ' de dang. Van de la mot s6 am ting Anh
an d 'way ' , do n o t ·really o bs truct th e flo w o f
ma c hung ta nghi la phu am, c hJng han
air mo re th an s o me v o wels d o . Ano th er nhu c ac am & dau nhmng tu nhu ' hay ' v a
p rob lem is th at d ifferen t lan gu ag es h av e
'way ' thL_lc s L_f k hong ca n tro lu6ng k hf
d ifferen t way s o f d iv id ing th eir s o u n d s in to
v o wel an d co n s on an t; for ex amp le, th e u s u al
nhieu s o v oi mot so nguy en am. Mt v an
de nda la ca c ngon ngt k hac nhau c6
,;o u n d p rodtlced at th e b eg in n in g o f th e wo rd
c a c ac h k hac nhau de c hia cac am c da
·ed ' is felt to b e a con s on an t b y mo s t Eng lis h
c hung thanh nguy en am Va phu am; v f
p eak ers . b u t in s o me .o th er lan g u ag es (s o me
du, hau het nhang nguoi noi tieng Anh
d ialects o f Ch in es e, for ex amp le) th e s ame
ca m thay am binh thuong du@c tao ra Ci
s oun d is treated as o n e o f th e v o wels .
dau tu 'red' la phu am, nhung CJ m(lt s o
ngon ng@ k hac (m o t s o phlkJ' ng ngt .c ia
Trung Quoc , c hang han) am llio'ng IV nhL(
the duoc x em la nguy en am.
If we s ay th at th e d ifferen ce b etween Neu ta noi rang s u k hac nhau giL7a
vo wels an d con s on an ts is a d ifferen ce in th e
c ac nguyen am va phu am la s u k hac
way th at th ey are p rodu ced , th ere will
nhau a eac h c hung dugc tao ra, thi c hac
i nev i &a bl y b e s o me cas es o f u rcertain ty o r
c han s e co m(lt s o' trliong hqp k hong c ha' c
disagreement; th is is a p rob lem th at can n o t
c ha n hay ba' t d6 ng; day la mQt v an de
be av o id ed . It is p o s s ib le to l:Stab lish two
ma k hong the nao tranh du@c. Ta c 6 th&
distinct g rou p s o f s o u n d s (v o \v els an d
lap ra hai nh6om am phan bi@t (nguy en
 27
con s o n an ts ) in an o th er way . Co n s id er
En g lis h wo rd s b eg inn in g with th e s o u n d h;
wh at s ound s can co me n ex t after th is h? We
fin d th at mo s t o f th e s ound s we n o rmally
think o f as v o wels can follo w (for ex amp le e
in th e wo rd ' h en ' ), b u t p ractically n o n e o f
th e s o und s we clas s as co n s o n an ts . No w th ink
o f En g lis h wo rd s b eg in n in g with th e two
s ou n d s br; we fin d man y cas es wh ere a
co n s on an t can follo w (for ex amp le d in th e
wo rd ' b id ' , o r I in th e wo rd ' b ill' ), b u t h ard ly
an y cas es wh ere a vo wel may follo w. Wh at
we are d o ing h ere is lo o kin g at th e d ifferen t
co n tex ts an d p o s ition s in wh ich p articu lar
s o un d s can o ccur; th is is th e s tu dy o f th e
di s tri buti on o f th e s oun d s, an d is o f g reat
imp o rtan ce in p h o n o lo g y . Stu d y o f th e s o u nd s
fou n d at th e b eg in n in g an d en d o f Eng lis h
wo rd s h as s h o wn th at two g roup s o f s o und s
with q u ite d ifferen t p atterns o f d is trib u tion
can b e id en tified , an d th es e two g rou p s are
th o s e o f v o wel an d con s o n an t. If we loo k at
th e v o wel-con s o n an t d is tin ctio n in th is
way , we mu s t s ay th at th e mo s t impo rtan t
d ifferen ce b etween v o wel an d con s o n an t is
n o t th e way th at th ey are mad e, b u t th eir
d ifferen t d is trib u tion s . Of co urs e, th e
d is trib u tio n o f v o wels an d con s on an ts is
d ifferen t for each lan gu ag e.
Th ere are man y in teres tin g th eo retical
p rob lems co nn ected with th e v o wel­
con s o n an t d is tin ctio n , b u t we will n o t retu rn
to this q u es tio n . Fo r th e res t o f th is cou rs e it
will b e as s u med th at th e s o u nd s are clearly
d iv id ed in to v o wels an d co n s o n an ts .
We b eg in th e s tud y o f En g lis h s ound s in
th is co u rs e b y lo o k in g at v o wels , an d it is
n ecess ary to s ay s o meth in g abo u t v o wels in
g en eral b efore tu rnin g to th e v o wels o f
Eng lis h . We n eed to k n o w in wh at way s
v o wels d iffer fro m each o th er. Th e firs t matter
to co n s id er is th e s h ap e an d p o s ition o f th e
to n g u e. It is u s u al to s imp lify th e v ery
co mp lex p o ss ib ilities b y d es crib in g ju s t two
th in g s : firs tly , th e v ertical d is tan ce b etween
am va phu am) theo mot cach khac. Hay
xet cac tu ting Anh bat dau bang am h;
nhung am nao c6 the dung ke tiep sau
am h nay? Ta thay rang hau ht cac am
ma ta thuong nghi la nguyen am deu ce
t he theo sau (vi du e trong tu 'hen'), nhLlng
thuc te khong co am nao chung ta xep
loai la phu am. Bay gio hay nghi ve cac
tu tieng Anh bat dau voi hai am: br; ta
thy nhieu trui ng hop ma & d6 mot phu
am c6 the theo sau (vi d~1 d troi1g tu 'bid',
hoac I trong tu 'bill' ), nl1Ltng hJu nhLI
khong co truong hop nao ma a do mot
nguyen am co the theo sau. Dieu ma
chung ta dang lam d day la xem cac
n g Ct canh va tinh huong khac nhau o do
cac am cu the c6 the xuat hi@n; day la
s! nghien ct u ve vi@c phan b6 cac am
va co tam quan trong Ion lao trong am
vi hoc. S u nghien cuu cac am dudc tim
tha"y o dau va cuoi cac tu ting Anh da
chung minh rang hai nh6m am voi cac
mau phan bo hoan toan khac nhau c6
the duoc nhan biet, va hai nhom nay la
nh6m nguyen am va phu am. Neu chung
ta xem su khac biet nguyen am - plH_I
am theo each nay, ta phi noi rang SL_/
khac biet quan trqng nha't giua nguyen
am va phu am khong phi i la each ch(mg
dugc tao ra ma la su phan b6 khac nhau
ci a chung. Di nhien, su phan b6 cua cac
nguyen am va phu am khac nhau trong
m 6 i ng 6 n ng u.
C 6 nhieu van de ly thuyet thu vi lien
quan den su phn bit nguyen am - phu
am, nhung chung ta se khong quay trd
lai voi van d nay. P han con lai cda
sach nay se gia dinh rang cac am duoc
chia thanh nguyen am va phu am mot
each r6 rang. .
-C hung ta bat dau nghien cu cac am
tieng Anh trong giao trinh nay bang each
xem cac nguyen am, va can phai noi
mot di€u_gl do ve cac nguyen am n6i ,
chung truoc khi d6i thanh cac nguyen
am ca tieng Anh. C hung ta can phai
biet cac nguyen am khac nhau nhu the
nao. Van de dau tien can xem xet la
hlnh dang va vi tri cl a ludi. Thuong ta
don gian hoa cac kha nang phutc tap bang
 28
the upper surface of the tongue and the cach mi eu ta chi hai dii§u: thu nha't la,
palate, and secondly the part of the tongue, khoang cach theo chieu doc gi@a mat
between front and back, which is raised tren cla ludi va vom mieng va, th& hai
highest. Let us look at some examples: la, phan luoi, gil a mat ludi trudc va mat
ludi trong cu ng, la noi nho cao nhat.
Chung ta hay xem mot so vi du.
i) Make a vowel like the i: in the English i) Tao ra mc;lt nguyen am nhu i: trong
word 'see' and look in a mirror; if you t,ilt w 'see' cua tieng Anh va nhin vao guong;
your head: back slightly you will be able fo neu ban hoi nghieng dau ra phfa sau, ban
see that the tongue is held up close to the .se co th thay rang ludi duc giu sat voi
roof of the mouth. Now make an re vowel (as vom mieng. Bay gio tao nguyen am e
in the word 'cat' ) and notice how the distance (nh; trong w 'cat') va luu y xem khoang
between the surface of rhe tongue and the cach gida mat luoi va vom mieng bay
roof of the mouth is now mucl11 greater. The gio lon hon nhieu nhu the no . Su khac
difference between i: and re is a difference nhau giua i: Va re la su khac nhau ve
of tongue height, and we would describe i: chi@u cao cl a luoi, va chung ta mieu ta
as a relatively close vowel and as a relatively i: la nguyen am dong tuong doi va ae la
open vowel. Tongue height can be changed nguyen am md (open) tuong do'i. Chieu
by moving the tongue up or down, or moving cao cua luoi co the thay d6i bang each
the lower jaw up or down. Usually we use di chuyen luoi len hoac xuong, hoac di
some combination of the two sorts of chuy€n ham duoi len xuong. Thuong thi
movement, but when drawing side of-the­ chung ta ke't hc;;p hai loc:ii cu dc;lng nay,
head diagrams such as Fig. I and Fig. 2 it is nhung khi ve cac so do mat ben ca dau
usually found simpler to illustrate tongue nhu hinh 1 va 2 ta thuong thay don gian
shapes for vowels as if tongue height was hon khi minh hoa hinh dang ca luoi danh
altered by tongue movement alone, without cho cac nguyen am nhu the chieu cao
any accompanyrng jaw movement. So we ci a luoi bi thay d6i chi do cu dc;lng ILt6'i,
would illustrate the tongue height difference kh6ng co bat cu Sl/ cu dc;lng nao cua ham.
between i: and re as in Fig. 3. Vi v3y chung ta se minh hqa su khac
nhau ve chieu cao cua ludi gil a am i:
va a nhu trong hlnh 3 .
ii) In making the two vowels described ii) Khi tao ra hai nguyen a m duoc
above, it is the front part of the tongue that is mi@u ta o tr@n, chinh phan phia truoc
raised. We could therefore describe i: and re cl a luoi duoc nang len. Do do, chung ta
as comparatively front vowels. By changing co the mieu ti i: va a la nguyen am
the shape of the tongue we can produce truoc tuong doi. Bang each thay d6i hinh
vowels in which a different part of the tongue dqng ctla IL/oi, ta co the tao ra cac
is the highest point. A vowel in which the nguyen am ma o d6 mot phan khac cua
back of the tongue is the highest point is luoi la 'diem cao nhat. M o t nguyen am
called a back vowel. If you make the vowel duoc tao ra khi phan trong ci ng ci a luoi
in the word ' calm' , which we write la diem cao nhat du@c goi ia nguyen am
phonetically as a:. you can see that the back sau. Neu ban tao ra nguyen am trong ti:t
of the tongue is rais~d. C.ompare this with re 'calm', theo ngt am ta vi&t no la a:, ban
in front of a mirror; re is a front vowel and a: c6 the thy phan trong cung cua luoi
is a back vowel. The vnwd in 'too' ( u:) is duoc nang len. So sanh am nay voi a o
also a comparatively back vowel, but phia truoc guong; re la nguyen a m t r u o c
compared with a: it is close. va a: la nguyen am sau. Nguyen am trong
'too' (u:) cu ng la nguye 11 am sau ILtong
doi, nhung so voi a :, no la nguyen am
dong.
 29

Fig.3 Tonge positions for i: and re

Hlnh 3 Gic vi tri ludi danh cho i: va

So now we have seen how four vowels
differ from each other; we could show this in
a simple diagram (Fig. 4).
Vay by gio ta thay bon nguyen am
khac nhau nhu the no; ta co the minh
hoa su khac nhau nay trong mot scJ dc3
don gi n (hinh 4).

Front (J r ud e) Back ( Sau)

Close ( Dr5 ng) i: u:

Open ( M d ) a:

Fig.4 Extreme vowel positions for English

Hlnh 4. Cac vi tri nguyen am eve diem trong tieng Anh.

However, this diagram is rather

inaccurate. Phoneticians need a very
accurate way of classifying vowels, and have
developed a set of vowels, arranged in a
close-open, front-back diagram like Fig.
4, which are not the vowels of any particular
language. These ca rdi na l v o w el s are a
standard reference system, and people being
trained in phonetics have to learn to make
them accurately and recognise them
correctly. If you learn the cardinal vowels,
you are not learning to make English sounds,
but you are learning about the range of
Fron<
CloK
Tuy nhien, so do nay khong chinh xac
hoan toan. Nha ngd am hoc can mot
each ra't chinh xac de phan loai cac
nguyen am va da phat trien mot tap hop
cac nguyen am, sap xep theo so do dong
- mo', tnioc - sau giong v6i hinh 4 nhLlng
khong phai la nguyen am cua bat k
ngon ngu dac biet nao. Cac ng uy en am
chu.i n nay la he tham chie'u chuan, va
nhung ngudi du@c dao tao ngd am hqc
& trlnh dQ cao phai hoc cach phat am
chinh xac va nhan biet chung dung. Neu
ban hoc cac nguyen am chui n nay, ban
Back

C lose-mid e ~- - - ---- - - - o

Fig.S Primary cardinal vowels.

Hlnh 5 Cac nguyen am chui n
O pe n-mud

s ci
.-"
Open

cap.
a ••=--_..._ «l o
 30
vowels that the human vocal apparatus can
kh6ng dang hoc each tao cac am tieng
make, and also learning a useful way of
Anh ma dang hoc Ve day cac nguyen
describing. classifying and comparing
am ma bo may phat am cua con nguoi
vowels. They are recorded on Track 21 of
co the tao ra va cung dang hoc mot cach
CD2 and at the encl of Cassette 2.
hetu ich de mi@u ta, phan loai va so sanh
cac nguyen am. Ching duoc ghi lai tr@n
Track 21 cda CD 2 va d cu6i bang
cassette 2.
It has become traditional to locate Theo truyen thong, ca C nguye 11 a Ill
cardinal vowels on a four-sided figure
chuan duc dat tr@n mot hinh b6n canh
(quadrilat1::Eai) of the shape seen in Fig. 5
co hinh dang nhu trong hinh 5 (hinh duoc
(the design used here is the one
dung a day la hinh do Hiep h(li ngCI am
recommended by the International Phonetic
quc5'c te de nghi stl dt.1ng). Hinh dang
Association i n 1989). The exact shape is not
chinh xac thuc SI/ kh6ng quan trong -
really important - a square would do quite
m(lt hinh vu6ng cOng dC1ng dtl(Jc - nhtfng
well - but we will use the traditional shape.
d day chtlng ta se dung hinh truyen
The vowels on Fig. 5 are the so-called
thong. Cac nguyen am tren hinh 5 dt/Q'c
prima ry cardinal vowels; these are the
goi la nguyen am chun Sd ca p; day la
vowels that are most familiar to the speakers
nhL7ng nguyen am quen thuoc nhat voi
of most European languages, and there are
nhung nguoi noi ngon ngd chau Au va
other cardinal vowels (s eco nda ry cardinal
con co nhung nguyen am chuan khac
vowels) that sound less familiar. Cardinal
(nguyen am chua' n thu ca p) nghe co ve
vowel no. l has the symbol [i], and is defined
ft quen thuoc hon. Nguyen am chuan so
as the vowel which is as close and as front as
1 co ky hi@u [i] va du;c dinh nghia la
it is possible to make a we! without
nguyen am truoc va dong giong nhu mot
obstructing the flow of air enough to produce
nguyen am co the duoc tao ra ma kh6ng
friction noise: friction noise is the sort of
can tr& lung khf du de tao ra tieng sat;
hissing sound that one hears in cc :onants
tieng sat la loa i tieng rit ma nguoi ta
like s or f . Cardinal vowel no. 5 has the
nghe duoc o cac phu am nhu s hoi_ic f.
symbol [a] and is defined as the most open
Nguyen am chuan s6 5 c6 k hi&u [a] va
and back vowel that it is possible to make.
duoc dinh nghia la nguyen am sau v
Cardinal vowel no. 8 [u], is fully close and
llld ro ng nha't den he't mt?c co the' .
back and no. 4 [a] , is fully open and front.
Nguyen am ch, 1 s6 8 [u], la nguyen
After establishing these extreme points, it is
am sau va khep hoan toan va so 4 [a] la
possible to put in intermediate points
nguyen am truoc va mo hoan toan. Sau
(vowels no. 2, 3, 6 and 7). Many students
khi tao ra nhung cuc diem nay, ta co
when they hear these vowels find that they
the dt cac diem & gila (nguyen am s6
sound strange and exaggerated: you must
2, 3, 6 va 7). Nhieu hoc vien khi nghe
remember that they are extremes of vowel
nhdng nguyen am nay thay rang chung
quality. It is useful to think of the cardinal
nghe co ve la va cuong dieu; ban phi
vowel framework like a map of an area of
nho rang chung la nhang cuc diem chi
country that you are interested in. Obviously,
chat luong nguyen am. That hau (ch khi
if the map is to he useful to you it must cover
nghi khung nguyen am chuan nay giong
all the area: but if it covers the whole area of
nhu la mot bn d6 ve mot vung mien
interest it must inevitably go a little way
cla quoc gia ma ban quan tam. Ro rang,
beyond that and include some places that
neu ban d6 nay co fch cho ban thl no
you might never want to go to. However, it
is still important to know where the edges of
phai bao g6m tat ca vung do; nhung nu
no bao gom ca vung ma ban quan tam
the map are drawn. When you are familiar
thi chic chan n6 se n6 phai bao gom ca
with these extreme vowels, you have (as
mot so noi nao do ban co the ban khong
 31
mentioned above) learned a way of
describing, classifying and comparing
vowels. For example, we can say that the
English vowel re (the vowel in 'cat') is not as
open as cardinal vowel no. 4 [ a ] . (In this
course cardinal vowels will always be printed
within square brackets to distinguish them
clearly from English vowel sounds.)
We have now looked at how we can
classify vowels according to their tongue·
height and their frontness or backness. There
is another important variable of vowel
quality and that is lip-rounding. Although
the lips can have many different shapes and
positions. we will at this stage consider only
three possibilities. These are:
i) Ro unded, where the corners of the lips
are brought towards each other and the
lips pushed forwards. This is most clearly
seen in cardinal vowel no. 8 [u].
ii) Sprea d, with the corners of the lips
moved away from each other, as for a
smile. This is most clearly seen in
cardinal vowel no. I [i].
iii) N eutra l. where the lips are not
noticeably rounded or spread. The noise
most English people make when they are
hesitating (wrillen ' er' ) has neutral lip
position.
Now. using the principles that have just
been explained, we will examine some of
the English vowels.
2. 3 E n gli sh sh ort vowels
English has a large number of vowel
sounds; the first ones to be examined arc
short vowels. The symbols for these short
vowels are: i, e, , A, 1, o, o. Short vowels are
only relatively short; as we shall see later,
bao giu muon den. Tuy nhien, dieu quan
trong la ban phai biet cac mep cla ban
d6 dudc ve & dau. Khi ban quen thu6c
voi nhung nguyen am cuc diem nay, (nhu
da de cap o tr@n) ban hoc duoc cach
miu ta, phan loai va so sanh cac nguyen
am. Vf dl!, chung ta c6 the' n6i rang
nguyen am re trong tieng Anh (nguyen
am trong 'cat') kh6ng md nhLI nguyen am
chu5n so 4 [a ]. (Trong tai lieu nay, cac
nguyen am chu5n se lu6n dLIQ'C dc)t trong
dau ngoac vuong de phan biet chung mot
each rd rang voi cac am nguyen am
tieng Anh.)
Gio thi chung ta da xem cach phan
loai cac nguyen am theo chieu cao luoi,
phan phia truoc va phn trong cung cda
ludi. Co mot bi@n the quan trong khac
chl chat luong nguyen am, va do chfnh
la su lam tr6n m6i. Mc)c dl'.1 m6i c6 the'
c6 nhi§u hlnh dc)ng va vi tri khac nhau
nhung o giai doan nay chung ta se xem
xet chi ba kha nang. 06 la:
i) M ai t ron, o do cac goc canh cua moi
duoc dua ve phia truoc cda nhau va
cac mi duoc day ra phia truoc. Dieu
nay duc nhin thay ro rang nhat trong
nguyen am chuin so 8 [u].
ii) M ai b et, voi cac goc canh cua mi
di chuye' n ra xa nhau, nhu de mlm
cuoi. Dieu nay duoc nhin tha'y r6 rang
nhat trong nguyen am chuin so
1 [i].
iii) Mi t rung lap , moi kh6ng tron cling
khong bet. Tieng on ma hau het nguoi
Anh tao ra khi ho chan cht (vi du 'er' )
c6 vj trf m6i trung tfnh.
Bay gio bang ca ch dung cac nguye n
tac vla dugc giai thich, chung ta se xem
xet mot so
nguyen am ting Anh.
2 .3 Ca c ng uy en a m ng .in tro ng tie'ng
Anh
Tieng Anh c6 mqt scs' IL(Q'ng lon cac
am nguyen am; nhung nguyen am dau
tien can dL(c;lc xem xet la nguyen am
ngan. K y hieu danh cho nhung nguyen
am ngan nay la: 1, e,, a, , u. Cac nguyen

vowels can have quite different lengths in
different contexts.
Each vowel is described in relation to
the ca-rdinal vowels.
1 (example words: ' bit, ' pin' , 'fish' ) The
diagram shows that, though this vowel is
in the close front area, compared with
cardinal vowel no. l [i] it is more open,
and nearer in to the centre. The lips are
slightly spread.
e (example words: 'bet' , 'men', ' yes' ) This is
a front vowel between cardinal vowel no.
2 [e] and no. 3 [_). The lips are slightly
spread.
re (example words: 'bat' , 'man' , ' gas' ). This
vowel is front, but not quite as open as
cardinal vowel no. 4 [ a ] . The lips are
slightly spread.
A (example words: 'but', ' some', ' rush' ). This
is a central vowel, and the diagram shows
that it is more open than the open-mid
tongue height. The lip position is neutral.
32
am ngan chi la ngan t uang doi; nhu chung
ta se thay sau, cac nguyen am co th& c6
do dai hoan toan khac nhau trong nhCtng
ngu canh khac nhau.
Moi nguyen am d uo c mieu ta lien
quan den cac nguyen am chua'n.
I (cac tu mJu: 'bit', 'pin' , 'fish' ) Sa do
nay cho thay rang, mac du nguyen
am nay nam & vung phia truoc khep,
nhung so voi nguyen am ch.ua'n so 1
[i) thi no mi'J hon va gan voi chinh
giua hon. Moi hoi bet.
e (cac W mJu: ' bet' , 'men' , 'yes' ) Day
la nguyen am trlio'c nam giL1'a nguyen
am chuan so' 2 [e] va so 3 [_). Mai
hoi bet.
re (cac W rnJu: ' bat' , ' man' , 'gas' ) Day
la nguye 11 am trL(dc, nhung kho ng
hoan ton mo
nhu nguyen am chuan
s6 4 [a]. Mi hoi bet.
A (cac tu mJu: 'but' , 'some' , 'rush' ) Day
la nguyen am gida va so do cho tha' y
rang no hoi rni'J hon so v6'i chieu cao
luoi nta mo. Vi tri moi trung lap.
 33
(example words: ' pot', ' gone' , ' cross' ).
This vowel is not quite fully back, and
between open-mid and open in tongue
height. The lips are slightly rounded.
(cac t u mau : ' p o t ' , ' g o n e' , ' cros s ' )
N g u y en am n ay k h on g n am h o an t o an
& t ro n g cmn g , ma n am o v i t ri n l a mo
v a mo t ro n g ch i eu cao ca l uo i. Mo i
h o i t ro n .

u (example words: ' put', ' pull', ' push'). The
nearest cardinal vowel is no. 8 [u] , but it
can be seen that u is more open and
nearer to central. The lips are rounded.
o (cac tu mu : ' p u t ' , 'p u ll ' , ' p u s h ' )
N g u y en am c h u an g an n h at n ay l a
n gu y en am ch u an s 6 8 [u) , n h u n g
n g u o i t a c o t h e t h a y ra n g u m o h o n
v a g an v o i ch i n h g i l a h on. Mo i t ron .

There is one other short vowel. for which
the symbol is 3. This central vowel, which is
called s chw a - is a very familiar sound in
English; it is heard in the first syllable of the
words 'about', 'oppose' . ' perhaps' , for example.
Since it. is different from the other vowels in
several important ways, we will study it
separately in Chapter 9.
•
Co mo t n g u y en am n g an k h ac v o i k
h i ~u la _a. N g u y en l m g i u a n ay -- g o i la
s chw a - la am rat [uen t h u o c t ro n g t i en g
A n h ; n o d u o c n gh e ran g am t i et d au t i e
cd a cac tu v i d u n hu ' abo u t ' , ' o p p o s e' ,
' p erh ap s ' . Vi n o k h ac v d i cac n gu y en am
k h ac o mo t s o k h i a can h qu an t ro n g n en
ch u n g t a s n g h i en ct u ri en g no ch u o n g
9.

N ote s on p r ob le m s an d fur th e r r eadin g

'
One of the most difficult aspects of phonetics at this stage is the large number of technical
terms that have to be learned. Every phonetics textbook gives a description of the articulators,
and I will not attempt to list all of them. Two useful introductions are Ladefoged (1993:
Chapter I) . and O' Connor ( 199 l: Chapter 2).
The best-known discussion of the vowel - consonant distinction is by Pike (l 943: 66-
79). He suggests that since the two approaches to the distinction produce such different
results we should use new terms: sounds which do not obstruct the airflow (traditionally
called "vowels" ) should be called vocoids, and sounds which do obstruct the airflow
(traditionally called "consonants" ) should be called contoids. This leaves the terms "vowel"
and "consonant" for use in labelling phonological elements according to their distribution
and their role in syllable structure; see Section 5.8 of Laver (1994). While vowels are
usually vocoids and consonants are usually contoids, this is not always the case; for example,
 34
j in 'y et' an d w in 'wet' are (p h o n etically ) vo co id s b u t fun ction (p hono lo g ically ) as con s o n an ts .
A s tu d y o f th e d is tribu tion al d ifferen ces b etween v o wels an d con s o n an ts in Eng lis h is
d es crib ed in O' Con nor an d Trim (1 9 53 ); a b riefer treatmen t is in Cruttend en (1 9 9 4 : Sectio n s
4 .2 an d 5 .6 ). Th e class ification o f vo wels h as a larg e literatu re; I wo u ld reco mmen d Jon es
(19 7 5 : Ch ap ter 8 ); Lad efog ed ( 1 9 9 3) g iv es a b rief in trod u ction o n p p . 1 2 -1 4 , an d mu ch
mo re d etail in Ch ap ter 9 ; s ee als o Ab ercromb ie (19 6 7 : 5 5 -6 0 an d Ch ap ter I0 ). Th e Handbook
of the International Phonetic Association (1 9 9 9 : Sectio n 2 .6 ) ex p lain s th e PA's p rin cip les
o f v o wel clas s ificatio n . Th e d is tin ctio n b etween p r imar y an d s eco n d a ry Card in al Vo wels is
a rath er du b io u s o n e wh ich ap p ears to b e b as ed to s o me ex ten t o n a d iv is ion b etween th o s e
v o wels wh ich are familiar an d th o s e wh ich are u n familiar to s p eak ers o f mos t Eu rop ean
lang u ag es . It is p o ss ib le to clas s ify v o wels q u ite u n amb igu ou s ly with o u t res o rtin g to th is
n o tio n b y s p ecify in g th eir fron t/b ack , clo s e/o p en an d p o s ition s .

Written exercises B a i ta p v iet

I. On th e d iag ram p rov id ed , v ario u s 1. Tr@n so d d cho, cac bo phan cau
articu lato rs are in d icated b y n u mb ered am khac nhau duoc chi ro bang nhung
arrows (a-e). Giv e th e n ames for th e mui ten co danh so (a - e) . Hay neu
articu lato rs . ten cua cac b phan cau am do.

1 r l J.J---C•J

(<)
I
2 . Us in g th e d es crip tiv e lab els in trod u ced
for v o wel class ificatio n , s ay wh at th e
follo win g Card in al Vo wels are:
2 . Dung cac nhan mieu ta da duc gioi
trong phan phan loai nguyen _am, hay
cho biet cac nguyen am chuan sau
day la:

a)u b) e c) a d) i e) o
3 . Draw a v o wel q u ad rilateral an d ind icate 3. Ve mot so do nguyen am hinh tu giac
o n it th e co rrect p laces for th e follo win g va chi ro cac vi tri chinh xac danh
En g lis h v o wels: cho cac nguyen am tieng Anh sau day:

a) re b) A c) I d) e
4 . Write th e s y mbo ls for th e v o wels in th e 4. Viet cac ky hi@u danh cho cac nguyen
follo win g wo rd s : am trong cac W sau day:

a) b read b) rou g h c) foo t d) h y mn

e) pu ll f) co u g h g) mat h) frien d
 35

CHU ONG 3

an ticip atio n / ren , t 1S1' p e1 J n / (n ) s ch u a n bi

ca rd i n a l v o w e l / k a : d m l ' v a u 3 V n g u yen a m ch u d'n

cen t ri n g / ' s en t(3 ) rIIJI (ad j) h ucJn g t r un g ( h u d n g v€

n g u yen a m g i ila )

cl o s i n g / 'k J 3 o z1 1JI (adj ) kh ep d a n (h u hng v€ n g u yen

a m h ep /d o n g )

con s i s t en tly / b n's 1 st an t h / (ad v ) n ha t qu a n

d i p h th on g / ' d 1 f8mJ , 'd i p -/ (n ) n hi t r ung a m , n g u yen a m kep

g l i d e / g l a d / (n -v ) ( .Hf) LurJt , t r U(lf

l ax / l eek s / (ad j ) (a m ) La i , eh u ng

mi d -cen t ral vo w el /'mrd ,s ent ral ' v au al/ n g u ye n a m ch i n h t n m g

mo d erat el y / ' mu d 3 r3 t lJ/ (adv ) vu a p h d i

n eces si t at e/ m' s es ite1 t / ( v) d oi h o i

p o s h / p u J / (a d j ) t h U(l n g Luu, ke ed , ki / u ea ch

p ure v o w el /'pj o a ' v au al/ = mono th o ng / mun af0 u 1]/ n g u yen a m t hu a n

res u l t fro m I n ' u lt fru m/ (v . p h r) do , ga y ra b oi

res u l t -i n / n ' u lt m/ (v . p h r) tao r a , d a n den

ro o f o f t h e mo u t h / ru :f 3 V 0 3 ' mau B/ vo m m i i n g

t en s e / t ens / (adj ) (ilm ) ea ng

t ri p h tho n g / ' t n f8mJ , ' t rrp -/ (n ) t a m t run g ilm , n g u yen a m h a


3 Long vowels, diphthongs and triphthongs
3. Nguyen am dai, nhi trung am
va tam trung am
3.1 Long and short vowels
In Chapter 2 the short vowels were
introduced. In this chapter we look at other
types of English vowel sound. The first to be
introduced here are the five Jong vowels;
these are the vowels which tend to be longer
than the short vowels in similar contexts. It
is necessary to say "in similar contexts"
because. as we shall see later, the length of
all English vowel. sounds varies very much
according to context (such as the type of
sound that follows them) and the presence
or absence of stress. To remind you that these
vowels tend to be long, the symbols consist
of one vowel symbol plus a lengthmark made
of two dots :. Thus we have: i: , 3: a:, J:, u:.
We will now look at these long vowels
individually.
i: (example words: 'beat', ' mean', 'peace')
This vowel is nearer to cardinal vowel
no. I [i] (that is, it is more close and front)
than the short vowel of 'bid' , 'pin', 'fish'
described in Chapter 2. Although the
tongue shape is not much different from
cardinal vowel no. I. the lips are only
slightly spread and this results in a rather
different vowel quality.
--~~.-- -.-\-,--~~
7
36
3 .1 Ng uy en am dai va ng uy en am
nga n
Chuong 2 da gioi thieu ve cac nguyen
am ngan. Trong chliong nay, chting ta
xem xet cac loai am nguyen am khac
cla tieng Anh. Cac nguyen am dau tien
can phai duoc gioi thieu o day la nam
nguyen am dai; day la nhang nguyen am
c6 khuynh huong dai hon nhang nguyen
am ngan trong nhL7ng ngd canh tuong tl_(.
Can phai noi "trong ng! canh tuong tu"
vi, nhu chung ta se thay o phan sau, di;>
dai cua tat ca cac am nguyen am thay
d6i rat nhieu.theo ngu canh cua chtung
(chang han nhu loai am theo sau chung)
va su co hay khong c6 trong am. Nham
nhac lai cho ban nho rang nhung nguyen
am nay co khuyn h huong dai, ca c ky
hieu gom co mot ky hieu nguyen am
cong voi mot dau chi do di duoc t,JO ra
tt hai dau cham :. Nhu v ay , chung ta co
i: , 3: , a: , J: , u:. By gio chung ta se xem
xet rieng moi trong so cac nguyen am
dai nay.
i: (cac tu mc'iu: 'beat' , 'mean' , 'peace' )
Nguyen am nay gJn vai nguyen am
chua'n so 1 [i ] (nghTa la no dong hon
va & phia truoc) hon nguyen am ngan
CLJa 'bid' , 'pin' , 'fish' da dL((JC mieu
ta trong chuong 2. Mac du hinh dang
ca luoi kh6ng khac nhau nhieu so
voi nguyen am chua'n so 1, moi chi
hoi bet va dieu nay dan den su khac
nhau hoan toan o chat luong nguyen
am.
 37
3: (ex ampl e w o rds : ' b i rd ' , ' fern ' , ' p u rs e' )
T h i s i s a cen t ral vo w el w h i ch i s w ell­
k no w n i n mo s t En g l i s h accen t s as a
h es i t at ion s oun d (s p elt ' er' ), b u t w h i ch
man y fo rei gn ers fin d d i ffi cu l t t o co py .
T h e lip p o s i t i o n i s n eu t ral.
3: (cac tu mi u: 'bird', 'fern', 'purse') Day
la nguyen am gil a ma trong hau het
cac giong noi tieng Anh du@c goi la
am do du (dudc viet la "er"), nhung
nhieu ngudi thay no kho doc n6. Moi
nam o vi tri trung lap .

o: (ex amp l e w o rds : ' card ' , ' h al f, ' p as s ' ) T his o: (cac tu mi u: 'card', 'half', 'pass') Day
i s an o p en v ow el i n t h e regi o n o f card i n al la hguyen am md nam trong vung
vo w e} n o . 5 [o:], b u t n o t as b ack as t h i s . nguyen am chuan s6 5 [a :), nhung
T h e l i p p o s i ti on , i s n eu t ral. kh6ng n~m cJ trong c.:rng nhu the nay.
Moi o vi tri trung lap.

o : (ex amp l e w o rd s : 'bo ard ' , ' t o rn ' , ' h o rs e' ) o: (cac tu mciu: 'board', 'torn', !horse')
T h e t ongu e h ei g h t fo r t h i s v o w el i s D
o cao cda ludi danh cho am nay
b et w een card i n al v o w el n o . 6 [o ] and n o . nam gida nguyen am chuan so 6 [o ]
7 [ o ] an d cl o s er t o t h e l etter. T h i s v o w el va so 7 [o l , va gan hon v6' i nguye n
i s al mos t fu lly b ack an d h as q u it e s t ron g am chuan s6 7. Nguyen am nay gan
lip -ro u n d i n g . nhu nam hoan toan o trong cung va
c6 cach doc tron moi kha manh.

u : (ex ampl e w o rds : ' fo o d ' , 'so on ' ," l o o s e' )
Th e n eares t card i n al vo w el t o t h i s i s n o .
8 [u ], b u t it i s n o t q u i t e s o b ack n o r s o
cl o s e, and t h e lip s are o nl y mo d erat el y
ro un d ed .
u: (cac tu mciu: 'food' , 'soon', 'loose')
Nguyen am chuan gan nhat vd i
nguyen am nay la s6 8 [ul, nhung no
nam a phfa trong cung ft hon va ft
khep hon, trong kh i mo i khong duqc
tron lam.

Yo u may h av e n o ticed th at th es e fiv e
lo n g v o wels are d ifferen t fro m th e s ix s h o rt
v o wels d es crib ed in Ch ap ter 2 , n o t o n ly in
len g th b u t als o in q u ality . If we co mp are s o me
s imilar p airs o f lo n g an d s h o rt v o wels , for
ex amp le , with i:, o r u with u:, o r re with a:,
we can s ee d is tin ct d ifferen ces in q u ality
(res u ltin g fro m d ifferen ces in to n g u e s h ap e
an d p os itio n , an d lip p o s itio n) as well as in
len g th . Fo r th is reaso n , all th e lo n g v o wels
h av e s y mb o ls wh ich are d ifferen t fro m th o s e
o f s ho rt v o wels ; y o u can p erh ap s s ee th at
th e lo n g an d s h o rt v o wel s y mb o ls wou ld s till
all b e d ifferen t fro m each o th er ev en if we
o mitted th e leng th mark , s o it is impo rtan t to
n;memb er th at th e len g th mark is u s ed no t
b ecau s e it is ess en tial b u t b ecau s e it h elp s
learners to rememb er th e len g th d ifferen ce.
Perh ap s th e o n ly cas e wh ere a lon g an d s h o rt
v o wel are clo s ely s imilar in q u ality is th at o f
a and a:; b u t a is a s p ecial cas e, as we s h all
s ee later.
3. 2 D ip h th on gs
BBC p ron u n cition h as a larg e nu mb er o f
di phtho ng s , s ou n d s wh ich con s is t o f a
mo v emen t o r g lide from o n e v o wel to
an o th er. A v o wel wh ich remain s co n s tan t an d
d o es n o t g lid e is called a pure v o w el , and
o n e o f th e mo s t co mmon p ronun ciatio n
mis tak es th at res u lt in a learner o f En g lis h
h av in g a "foreign " accen t is th e p rodu ctio n
o f p u re v o wels wh ere a d ip h th o ng s h o u ld b e
p rono u n ced .
I
In terms o f len g th , d ip h th o n g s are lik e
th e lo n g v o wels d es crib ed ab ov e. Perh ap s
th e mo s t imp o rtan t th ing to rememb er ab o u t
all th e d ip h tho ng s is th at th e (irs t p art is mu ch
38
C6 the ban da nhan thay rang nam
nguyen am dai nay k hac v oi s au nguy en
am ngan da duoc mieu ta trong c hLlo'ng
2, k h6ng c hi i'J do dai ma c on i'J s o 11./Q'ng.
Neu ban s o s anh mot s o c ap nguy en am
ngan va dai, v i du r v oi i:, hoac u v oi u:,
hay re v di a:, c hung ta co the' tha' y du'<;ic
s u k hac bit ro rang i'J' c hat 11./Q'ng (tao ra
tu s u k hac biet & hinh dang v a v i tr c la
ludi, va v i tri c la moi) c ung nhu a do
dai. Vi ly do nay , tat c a c ac nguyen am
dai deu co ca c k hieu k hac v oi k y hieu
c la ca c nguy en am ngan; c6 le ban thay
rang c ac k y hi@u nguy en am dai v a ngan
tat ca deu s e v an k hac nhau c ho du c hung
ta bo qua dau c hi d6 dai, v i v ay dieu
quan trqng c an phai nho la dau c hi d6
dai dll<;lc dung k h6ng c hl v i no c an thiet
ma c on v i no giup nguoi hoc nho duoc
su k hac nhau v e d6 dai. C6 le truong
hc;tp duy nha' t ma mot nguyen am ngan
v a dai gan giong nhau o c hat luong la
truong hop c da a v a s :; nhung a lai la
mot truing hop dac bi@t, nhu c hung ta
s e thay & phan s au.
3. 2 Nh j trung a m
Cac h phat am k ieu dai BBC c6 mot
s o lu<;1ng Ion c ac nhi trung am, c ac am
g6m co su c huy en dic h hay luot tt mc)t
nguyen am nay s ang nguy en am k hac.
MQt nguyen am v i1n k h6ng thay doi va
k hong luot thi dudc goi la nguy en am
thua n v a mot trong n hung 16 i pha t am
thuong gap nhat k hie'n c ho nguoi hoc
tieng Anh c o giong "nuoc ngoai" la c ac
nguyen am thuan dugc tao ra a v j trf ma
mc;,t nhi trung am nen dugc phat am.
Xet ve d6 dai, ca c nhi trung am giong
nhu ca c nguyen am dai da duoc mi@u ta
a tren. Co le di€u quan trong c an nho
ve tat ca ca c nhi trung am la phan dau
 39
tien di hon va manh hon phan tht hai;
lon g er an d s tron g er th an th e s eco n d p art; for
vi du, phan lon nhi trung am m (nhu trong
ex amp le, mo s t o f th e d ip h th o n g m (as in th e
wo rd s ' ey e', 'I') co n s is ts o f th e a v o wel, an d
tu 'eye', 'I') g6m c6 nguyen am a, va
chi trong khoang mot phan tu cuoi cung
o n ly in abou t th e las t q u arter o f th e d ip h tho n g
d o es th e g lid e to I b eco me n o ticeab le. As
nhi trting am II.lot Mn 1 c6 th€ nh~n bie't
duqc. Khi su luat den 1 xay ra, am thanh
th e g lid e to 1 h ap p en s , th e lo udn es s o f th e
cl a am nay giam. Ket qua la, ph1n ,
s o un d d ecreas es . As a res u lt, th e 1 p art is
s ho rter an d q u ieter. Fo reign learners mu s t,
nga'n hon va em hon. Do do, nguoi hoc
th erefore, alway s rememb er th at th e las t p art
ngoai ngu phdi luon nho rang phan cuoi
o f En g lis h d iph th o n g s mu s t n o t b e mad e too
cung cua cac nhi trung am tie'ng Anh
khong duoc tao ra qua manh.
s tron g ly .
Th e to tal n u mb er o f d ip h tho n g s is eig h t C6 tong s6 tam nhi trung am (mac du
(th o u g h u a is in creas ing ly rare). Th e eas ies t
a ngay cang hie'm khi duqc dung). each
way to rememb er th em is in terms o f th ree
de dang nhat de nho chung la chia thanl
ba nh6m nhll trong s d d6 sau day: ·
g rou p s d iv id ed as in this d iag ram:

DIPHTHONG

~
khep dan
dinh tam

tan cuing bang 1

tan cung bang U
tan cung bang a

/1\
13 ea ua
/1\
e1 31 :n
I\
3U au

Th e cen trin g d ip h th o n g s g lid e to ward s

C ac nhi trung am dinh tam luot ve
th e a (s ch wa) v o wel, as th e s y mbo ls ind icate.
phia nguyen am a (schwa), nhu ky hieu
chi r6.
n (cac tu m.lu: 'beard' , 'Ian' , 'fierce' )
Ia (ex amp le wo rds : 'b eard ' , 'Ian', ' fierce' )
Th e s tartin g p o in t is a little clo s er th an
Diem khdi dau gan hon r mot chut
in 'b it' , 'b in ' .
1
trong tt
' bi t ' , ' b i n ' .

--!;_3 (ex amp le wo rds: ' aired ', 'cairn', ' s carce')
e a (cac tu mau: 'aired', 'cairn', 'scarce' )
" h is d ip h th o n g b eg in s with th e s ame Nhi trung am nay ba't di u voi am
•el s oun d as th ee o f ' g et' , 'men '. nguyen am nhll gio'ng e Clla 'get',
'men' .
 ua (ex amp le wo rd s : 'mo o red ' , ' tou r' ) Fo r
ua (cac tu m au: 'm oored' , 't our' ) E6i v 6i
s p eak ers wh o h av e th is d ip h th o n g , th is
nhung nguai n6i c6 nhj t rung am nay ,
h as a s tartin g p o in t s lig htly clo s er th an o
nhi t rung am nay c 6 diem k h&i dJ u
in 'p u t' , 'pu ll'. Many s p eak ers p ron o u n ce
hdi g~n hdn o t rong ' put', 'pull' . T hay
;1: in s tead.
v i v ay nhieu ngudi noi phat am la : .

\
Th e clo s in g d ip h thon g s h av e th e
ch aracteris tic th at th ey all en d with a g lid e
Cac nhi t rung am k hep dan c6 dac
diem la t at ca c hung deu t an c ung bang
to ward s a clo s er v o wel. Becau s e th e s eco n d
c ac h luot v e phia nguyen am gan hon.
p art o f th e d iph th o n g is weak , th ey o ften d o
Vi phan t h& hai c la nhj t rung am y eu
n o t reach a p o s itio n th at co u ld b e called
nen c hung t huong k hong dat den vi t ri
clo s e. Th e imp o rtan t th in g is th at a g lid e fro m
m a c6 t he goi la k hep. D ieu quan t rong
a relativ ely mo re o p en to ward s a relativ ely
la t ao ra t inh t rang luot tu nguy en am
mo re clo s e vo wel is p rodu ced .
t uong doi m o hon v e phia t uong doi k hep
hon dugc t ao ra.
Th ree o f th e d ip h th o ng s g lid e to ward s ,,
as d es crib ed b elo w: Ba t rong s o c ac nhj t rung am nay luot
v phia , , nhu duc;,c m ieu t a duoi day :
ei (ex amp le wo rds: 'p aid ' , 'p ain', 'face' ) Th e
e, (ca c tu m au: ' paid' , 'pain' , 'fa ce' )
s tartin g p o in t is th e s ame as th e e o f 'g et',
'men'. 0iem k h&i dJ u t hl t uong t i/ nlut e c ua
'get ' , ' m en' .

m (ex amp le wo rds : ' tid e' , 'time' , 'n ice' ) Th is
or (c ac
d iph th o n g b eg in s with an o p en v o wel
which is b etween fro n t an d b ack ; it is
quite s imilar to th e A o f th e wo rd s ' cu t' ,
'11nm'.
\
tu m ~u: 't ide' , 't im e' , 'nic e' ) N hj
t rung am nay bat dau vo i m ot nguy en
am md nam giaa vj t ri t ruoc va s au;
no k ha giong v oi A t rong c ac t ut 'r
' bu n' .
 41
JI (ex amp le wo rds : 'v o id ' , ' lo in ' , 'vo ice' ) Th e
firs t p art o f th is d ip h th o n g h as th e s ame
q u ality as J: in 'o u g h t' , ' bo rn' .
Two d ip h th o h g s g lid e to ward s u, s o th at
as th e to ngu e mo v es clo s er to th e roo f o f th e
mo u th th ere is at th e s ame time a rou n d ing
mo v emen t o f th e lips . This mo v emen t is no t
a larg e o n e, ag ain b ecau s e th e s eco n d p art
o f th e d ip h thon g is weak .
au (ex amp le wo rd s : 'lo ad ' , 'h o me', 'mo s t') Th e
vo wel p o s ition for th e b eg in n in g o f th is
is th e s ame asfor th e "s ch wa" v o wel a , as
foun d in th e firs t s y llab le o f th e wo rd
' abou e'. Th e lip s may b e s lig htly rou nd ed
in an ticip ation o f th e g lid e to ward s u, for
wh ich th ere is q u ite n o ticeab le lip ­
roun d in g .
ou (ex amp le wo rds: 'lo ud ', ' go wn ', ' ho u s e')
Th is d ip h th o n g b eg in s with a v o wel
s imilar to a:. Sin ce th is is an o p en vo wel,
a g lid e to u wo u ld n ecess itate a larg e
mov emen t. Usu ally in Eng lis h th e g lid e
to ward s u b eg in s b u t is n o t co mp leted ,
th e en d o f th e d ip h th on g b ein g
JI (cac tu mJ u : ' v o i d ' , ' l o i n ' , ' v o i ce' )
Ph an d au t i n cl a n h i t ru n g am n ay
co ch at l u o n g t u o n g t u n hu : t ro n g
' ou g h t ', ' b o rn ' .
H ai n h i tr u n g am t ru d t v e p h i a u , v l
th e k h i l u di di ch u y en g an h o n v @i v 6 m
mi en g t h i cu n g l ac d o co s u cu d on g
t ro n mo i . Ct d on g n ay k h o n g p h i l a ct
d o n g l o n v i p h an t h @ h ai cd a n h i t run g
am n ay y eu.
a u (cac t u mJ u : 'l o ad ' , ' h o me' , ' mo s t ' )
V i t ri n g u y en am d an h cho p h an d au
cl a am n ay g i o'ng n h u n g u y en am
s ch w a a, n h u d u d c t h y t ro n g am t i et
d j u t i en cu a tu ' ab ou t ' . M6 i co t h e'
h o i t ro n d e ch u i n b i tnlqt v ~ p h ia u ,
d o'i v 6'i tru on g h q p n ay c6 s u t ron mo i
d e n h an t h ay .
ou (cac tu m~u : ' l o u d ' ., ' g o w n ' , ' h o u s e' )
N h i t run g am n ay b at d au b an g mo t
n g u y en am t u o n g t u n h u a: V l d ay l a
n g uy en am mo , h an h d on g t ru o t v e u
s e can s t! cu d q n g Io n . T h uon g t h l
t ro n g t i en g A n h , h an h d o n g t ru t v e
p h i a u b at d au n hu n g k h o n g k et t hu c,

somewhere between close-mid and
open-mid in tongue height. There is only
slig'1t lip-rounding.
3.3 Triphthongs
The most complex English sounds of the
vowel type are the tri phtho ng s . They can
be rather difficult to pronounce, and very
difficult to recognise. A triphthong is a glide
from one vowel to another and then to a third,
all produced rapidly and without
interruption. For example, a careful
pronunciation of the word 'hour' begins with
a vowel quality similar to m, goes on to a
glide towards the back close rounded area
(for which we use the symbol u), then ends
with a mid-central vowel (schwa, a) . We use
the symbols a ua to represent the way we
pronounce ' hour' , but this is not always an
accurate representation.of the pronunciation.
The triphthongs can be looked on as
being composed of the five closing
diphthongs described in the last section, with
a added on the end. Thus we get:
e r + a = era
a1 + 3= 210
::n +a= :na
The principal cause of difficulty for the
foreign learner is that in present-day English
the extent of the vowel movement is very
small, except in very careful pronunciation.
Because of this, the middle of the three
vowel qualities of the triphthong (that is, the
1 or u part) can hardly be heard and the
resulting sound is difficult to distinguish
42
phan cuoi ci a nhi trung am nam o
mot noi nao do gil a vi tri nt a khep
v a nda mo d d cao ca luoi. Mo i
hoi tron.
\
',
\
3. 3 Tam trung am
Cac am tieng Anh pht c tap nhat cl a
loai nguyen am nay la t a m t rung a m.
Chung hoi kho phat am va rat kh6 nh,J.n
biet. Tam trung am la si.f luat w m(it
nguyen am nay den mot nguyen am khac
roi den am tht ba, tat ca deu duc tao
ra nhanh ma kh6ng co sv gian doc)n. Vi
du, su phat am c.fn th,J.n cua w 'hour'
bat du bang mot chat lung nguyen am
tlfong IL! nhu a:, tiep tuc den hanh dong
l u ot ve
phia vung tron m i khep phia sau
(trui ng hop nay chung ta dung ky hi@u
0) ri ket thuc bang nguyen am chinh
trung (schwa, a). Chung ta dung ky hieu
a ua de trlnh bay cach phat am tt 'hour',
nhung day khong phai luc nao cung trlnh
bay chinh xac cach phat am nay.
Cac tam trung am c6 the' duQ'c xem
la dudc cau tao tu nam nhj trC,ng am
khep dan da dudc mi@u ta o phan vt a
roi, vdi a du; c them v ao cuoi. Nhu v ?y
chung ta c6 :
a u+a =a ua
a u+ a = a ua
Nguyen nhan chinh gay kh6 khan cho
ngudi hoc ngoai ngd la trong tieng Arih
ngay nay muc do ct dong ci a nguyen
am la rat nho, ngoc)i tru trong cach phat
am rat can than. Vi the, phan o gil a ci a
ba chat luong nguye n a m cua tam trCrng
am (nghia la phan 1 hoac o) hau nhu co
the rghe duoc va am ket qua kho phan
 43
fro m s o me o f th e d ip h tho n g s an d lo n g
vo wels . To ad d to th e d ifficu lty, th es e is als o
th e p rob lem o f wh eth er a trip h th o n g is felt
•
to co n tain o n e, o r two s y llab les . Wo rd s s u ch
as ' fire' far o r ' h o ur' auo are p ro b h b y felt
b y mo s t Eng lis h s p eak ers (with B
p ronu n cition) to cons is t o f o n ly o n e s y llab le,
wh ereas ' p lay er' ple1a o r ' s lo wer' s lau a are
mo re lik ely to b e h eard as two s y llab les .
b i @t v o i mt s6 n h i t ru n g am v a n g u y en
am d ai. H o n n u a, co n co mo t v an d e v e
v i ec l i eu mo t t am t ru n g am co d u o c n gh e
la ch &a mo t h o ac h ai am t i et h ay k h on g .
Cac t i t n hu 'fir e' far h o ac ' h o u r' au3 co
t h e d u o c am n h an b o i h u h et n h u n g
n g u d i n o i ti en g A n h (v o i cach p h at am
ci a d ai BBC} l a ch l a ch i mo t am t i et ,
t ro n g k h i ' p l ay er' plera h o ac ' s l o w er' slova
rat c6 k h a n an g d u c n gh e l a h ai am
t i et.

We will n o t g o th roug h a d etailed Ch u n g t a s e k h o n g x em x et mi eu t a

d es crip tio n o f each trip h thon g . This is p artly
b ecau s e th ere is s o mu ch v ariation in th e
amo u n t o f v o wel mov emen t acco rd in g to
ho w s lo w an d careful th e p ron u n ciatio n is,
an d als o· b ecau s e th e "carefu l" p ron u n ciatio n
can b e fou n d by loo k in g at th e d es crip tion
o f th e co rresp o n d in g d ip h th o n g and ad d in g
a to th e en d . Ho wev er, to h elp id en tify th es e
trip h th o ngs, s o me ex amp le wo rd s are g iv en
b elo w:
ch i t i &t cd a m6 i n hi t ru n g am. D i eu n ay
mo t p h an l a v i co qu a n h i eu b i n t h e &
lu on g ct d on g cu a n g u y n am t h eo m(c
d 6 c h am v a s u can t h an cl a cach p h at
am, v a cun g v i s u p h at am " can t h an "
c6 t h e d u d c n h an ra b an g cach x em x et
p h an mi eu t a cu a n h i t ru n g am tuo n g u n g
v a t h em a v ao cu6i. T uy n h i en , d n h an
ra cac t am t ru n g am n ay , mo t s6 tu mau
d u d c ch o ad ay :

e1a ' lay er' , ' p lay er' aua ' lo wer' , ' mo wer'

a 1 a 'liar' , 'fire' aua ' p o wer' , 'h o ur'

Jia 'lo y al', ' roy al'

Not es on problems and further reading

Long v o wels an d d ip h thong s can b e s een as a g rou p o f vo wel s o u n d s th at are co n s is ten tly
lon g er in a given context th an th e s h o rt v o wels d es crib ed in th e p rev io u s ch ap ter. So me
writers g iv e th e lab el tense to J o n g v o wels an d d ip h th o n g s an d lax to th e s ho rt vo wels . Th is
is d on e (an d ex p lain ed ) in Jakob s o n an d Halle (1 9 6 4 ) an d in Ch o ms k y an d Halle (1 968 ).
As men tio n ed in th e n o tes on Ch ap ter 1 , th e ch o ice o f s y mb o ls h as in th e p as t ten d ed to
v ary fro m bo o k to b o o k , and this is p articu larly n o ticeab le in th e cas e o f len g th mark s for
lo n g v o wels (th is is s u e co mes u p ag ain in Sectio n 5 .2 o f Ch ap ter 5 ); y o u cou ld read
Crutten d en ( 1 9 9 4 : Section 8 .5 ).
Th e p ho n emes r and u: are u s u ally clas s ed as lon g v o wels; it is wo rth n o ting th at mos t
En g lis h s p eak ers p ron o u n ce th em with s o meth ing o f a d ip h th o ng al g lid e, s o th at a p o s s ib le
alternativ e tran s crip tio n cou ld b e ri an d uu resp ectiv ely . Th is is n o t n o rmally p rop os ed ,
h o wev er.
It s eems th at trip h thon g s in BBC p ron u n ciatio n are in a rath er u n s tab le s tate, res u lting in
th e los s o f s o me d is tin ctio ns: in th e cas e o f s o me s p eak ers , for ex amp le, it is n o t eas y to
d is tin g u is h b etween ' ty re' taro, 'to wer' taua an d 'tar' ta:. BBC n ews read ers o ften p ron o u n ce
'Ireland ' as a:land, p articu larly in th e co n tex t 'No rth ern Irelan d' . Gims o n (l 964 ) s ug g es ted
th at a ch ang e in th e p h on emic s y s tem o f RP is in p rog res s in th is area.
 44
No tes for teachers
I mention above that i: and u: are often pronounced as slightly diphthongal: although
this glide is often noticeable, I have never found it helpful to try to teach foreign learners to
pronounce i : and u: in this way. Foreign learners who wish to get close to the BBC model
should be careful not to pronounce the "r" that is often found in the spelling corresponding
to a:, 3: and 3: (Car' , 'or' , 'er' ).

Most of the essential pronunciation features of- the diphthongs are described in Chapter
3 . Two additional points are worth making. The diphthong oa is included, but this is not
used as much as the others many English speakers use or in words like 'moor' , 'mourn' ,
' tour'. However, I feel that it is important for foreign learners to be aware of this diphthong
because of the distinctiveness of words in pairs like 'moor' and 'more' , 'poor' and 'paw' for
many speakers. The other diphthong that requires comment is a o. English speakers seem to
be especially sensitive to the quality of this diphthong, particularly to the first part. It often
happens that foreign learners, having understood that the first part of the diphthong is not z
back vowel, exaggerate this by using a vowel that is too front, producing a diphthong like
[eu]; unfortunately, this gives the impression of a "posh" accent it sounds like someone
trying to copy an upper-class pronunciation, since [ a o] for a o is very noticeable in the
speech of the Royal Family.

Written exercises Bai tap viet

l. On the vowel diagram given below, 1. Tren so do nguyen am dugc cho duoi
indicate the glides for the diphthongs in day, hay chi ro cac hung trudt cl a
the following words:
cac nhi trung am trong cac tu sau day:

fl} fright c) clear

b) home d) cow

2. Write the symbols for the long vowels in

2. Viet k hi@u danh cho cac nguyen
the following words:
am dai trong cac tu sau day:
a) broad d) learn ) e rr
h) ward e) cool h) seal
c) calf f) team i ) curl
3. Write the symbols for the diphthongs in 3. Viet k hi@u danh cho cac nhi trmng
the following words:
am trong cac tu sau day:
a) tone d) way g) hair
b) style e) beer h) why
c) out .f) coil i ) they
 45

CHU ONG 4

A d am' s A pp l e / ,rep d amz ' rep V yet hdu

arti cu l at io n / a: ,t 1 kj o ' l e1 Jn / (n ) S I! p h d t a m
ary t eno id cartil ag e t reri ,t i : n:,rd 'k a: tih d y s u n ph eu
as p i rat ed / ' res p areTlT d / (adj ) ( ii m ) h 17t h r Ji

as p i ratio n / 'res p are1 J n / (n ) S I! b i)t h a i

cart il ag e / ' k a: t l rd 3 / (n) s un
cri c_oi d cartil ~g e / k n n k: n d ' k a: tTh d y s un n h a n
eg ressi v e / ' 1 g res 1 v / (adj) d ua ra, th o a t ra
fo rti s / ' fo : tTs / @m manh
freq u en cy / ' fn k w ans 1 / (n ) tdn s{/
fri cat i v e s oun d / fn ka t 1 v 's aon d/ a m xd t
g l o ttal p l o s i v e /'g l t l 'p l au s rv/ iim tcfc, a m n ri' th a nh h ciu
g l o t t a l / ' g l u t !/ (a d j ) ( ii n i ) than h h tiu

g l o ttal s t o p / ' g l n t l 'st u p / (ad j ) iim r ife ~h an h h d.u

g l o tti s / 'g l u u s / (n ) th a nh mon, kh e th a nh iim
i n t en s i t y / m't ens atT/ cumn g d
l e n i s / ' l i : m s / (a d j ) iim yeu
man n er o f articu l at i o n / mren ar av a: ,t 1 kj o ' l erJ n/ p h ua n g th t cau am
p l o s i o n / ' p l au 3n / (n) s/ti@ng no
p l o s i v e / ' p l a o s 1 v / (n ) am no, am tifc
p o st -rel eas e p h as e /'p au s t -r,li : s 'ferz/ g ia i doan s a u kh i xd kh i
p u l mo n i c ai rs t ream /pl ' mn k ' east ri: m/ g ia i do(,ln sau kh i xd khr
rel ax ed / rr' l rek s t / (ad j) ( ii m ) l a i , chung

res p i rati o n / ,res p a' rerJ n / (n ) st ho hap

resp i t o ry s y st em/ rr' s p ararat n ']s rs t am, n ' s prrat rr-/ he ho hap
s u b g l o t t al p res s ure t s A b ,g l u t l 'p reJa/ a p le d o i th a nh mon
t e n s e / t e n s / (a d j ) ( ii m ) ciin g

t h y ro id cart i l ag e / 8 a1 ( al r::n d ' k a: trh d y sun tuyen g iap

t rach ea/ t ra' k ra, t ra' k i: a/ (n ) kh i q u d n
v el ar/ ' v i:l a/ (ad j ) (a m ) n g a c m e m
v i b r a t i o n / v a r' b r e rJ n / (n ) S I,! r un g d i}n g
v o cal co rd s /'v ao k l ,k::i: d z/ = v o c al fol d s / - ,fao l d z/ d a y th an h am , th cmh drJi
v oi ced / v :)!St / (ad j ) ( ii m ) hrlu th an h , rung

v o i c e l e s s / ' v : n s l a s / (a d j ) ( il m ) vo th a n h , kh (} ng run g

v oi cin g / ' v ::ns 1 1JI (n ) tin h h iiu th a nh , tinh r u ng


4 Voicing and consonants
4 Am
"
huu thanh
4.1 The larynx
We begin this chapter by studying the
l a ry nx . The larynx has several very
important functions in speech, but before we
can look at these functions we must examine
its anatomy and physiology, that is, how it is
constructed and how it works.
The larynx is in the neck; it has several
parts. shown in Fig. 6. Its main structure is
made of ca rtil a g e, a material that is similar
to bone but less hard. If you press down on
your nose, the hard part that you can feel is
cartilage. The larynx' s structure is made of
two large cartilages. These are hollow and
are attached to the top of the tra chea ; when
we breathe, the air passes through the trachea
and the larynx. The front of the larynx comes
to a point and you can feel this point at the
front of your neck - particularly if you are a
man and/or slim. This point is commonly
called the A da m ' s A ppl e.
tr k-.:,1d umh,gc - - ---''cl-
tnchul rinR'
Fig.6 The larynx
Hlnh 6. Thanh quan
46
va cac phu am
4 .1 Thanh qua n
Chung ta bat dau chuong nay bang
each nghien cuu thanh quan. Thanh quan
c6 mot so chuc nang rat quan trong trong
ldi noi, nhung truck khi xem xet nhung
chac nang nay, chung ta phai xem xet
"thuat m6 x&" va "cht c nang sinh ly"
ca no, nghia la cach no duoc cau tao
va cach no hoat dong.
Thanh quan nam o co; n6 c6 m(>t so
bo phan, duoc minh hoa trong hlnh 6.
Ca'u true chinh ca no dudc tao ra tu
syn, m(>t ch.ft gicl'ng nhLI XLlong nhu'ng
khong cung bang. Neu ban an len mui
ci a minh, phan cung ma ban co the'
cam nhan dudc la sun. Cau truc cl a
thanh qua n dudc tao thanh IL/ hai sun
Ion. Nlll7ng sun nay r6ng va dinh vao
phan tren cda khi quan; khi chung ta
tho, kh6ng khf di qua khf quan va thanh
quan. Phia truoc cua thanh quan di den
mot diem va ban co the ca m nhan diem
nay o phia truoc co cua minh - dac biet
neu ban la nam gioi va/ hoac co dang
manh khanh. Diem nay thuong duoc goi
la tr .ii c6 .
-----,=:
 47
In s id e th e "b o x " mad e b y th es e two
cartilag es are th e vo ca l fo l ds , two thick flap s
o f mu s cle rath er lik e a p air o f lip s ; an o ld er
n ame for th es e is v o ca l co rds . Lo o kin g d o wn
th e th roat is d ifficu lt to d o , an d requ ires
s p ecial o p tical eq u ip men t, b u t Fig . 7 s h o ws
in d iag ram form th e mo s t imp o rtan t p arts . At
th e fro n t th e vo cal fold s are jo in ed to g eth er
an d fix ed to th e in s id e o f th e th y roid
cartilag e. At th e b ack th ey are attach ed to a
p air o f s mall cartilag es called th e a ry teno i d
ca rtila g es s o th at if th e ary ten o id cartilag es
mo v e, th e v o cal fold s will mov e to o .
Fig.7 Th e in s id e o f th e lary n x s eerr fro m abo v e
Hln h 7 . Ben trong th an h qu an n h in tu ph ia tren .
Th e ary ten o id cartilag es are attach ed to
th e top o f th e crico id cartilag e b u t th ey can
mo v e s o as to mo v e th e v o cal fold s ap art o r
to g eth er (Fig . 8 ). We u s e th e wo rd g l o tti s to
refer to th e o p en in g b etween th e v o cal fold s .
If th e v o cal fold s are ap art we s ay th at th e
g lo ttis is o p en ; if th ey are p res s ed to g eth er
we s ay th at th e g lo ttis is clo s ed . Th is s eems
q u ite s imp le, b u t in fact we can p rod u ce a
v ery co mp lex rang e o f ch an g es in th e v o cal
fold s and th eir p o s itio ns . Th es e ch ang es are
o ften imp o rtan t in s p eech . Let u s firs t lo o k
at fou r eas ily reco g n is ab le s tates o f th e v o cal
fold s; it wo u ld b e u s efu l to p ractis e mo v in g
y o u r v o cal fold s in to th es e d ifferen t
p o s itio n s .
Fig .8 Ary ten o id cartilag es cass ing clo s in g and o p en in g o f th e g lo tlis
Hln h 8 Su n p h eu k h ien ch o th an h mo n d o n g v a mo .
Ben tron g " h i)p " d ti(JC tc)O ra b o i h ai
n ay la n h u ng n ep ga'p th anh am, la
S l,l ll
h ai n ap co d a y g io n g n h u mo t d o i mo i;
mi)t ten cu h o n d e' ch l n h u n g n ep g a' p
n ay la d ay th an h am. 0 € n h ln x u o ng h o n g
th i rat k h 6 v a can p h ai co mo t th iet bi
qu an g d i;ic b i~t, n h u n g h ln h 7 min h ho a o
d an g s o d o n h u ng p h an q u an tro n g n h at.
ph ia tru o c cac d ay th an h am d u o c n o i
v o i n h au v a d u o c co d in h v ao b en tron g
tr ai khe. O p h ia s au ch u n g d u g c g an v ao
mo t cap s u n n h o g o i la s un pheu v i th e
n e' u s u n p h u d i ch u y en , d ay th an h am
cu n g d i ch u ye' n .
fr on t
Su n p h eu d in h v o i p h an tren cu a s u n
crico icl, n h u n g ch u n g c6 th e' d i ch uye' n
d e' d i chuy e' n d ay th an h am tach ra h o ac
d in h v ao n h au (h ln h 8 ). Chun g ta d u n g tu
th an h mon d e ch i k ho an g h o g ila cac
d ay th an h am. Neu cac d ay th an h am
tach ro i n h au, ta n 6 i din g th an h mo n mo ;
n eu ch u n g d u o c ep ch at v ao n h au , ta
n o i th an h mo n d o n g . Dieu n ay d uo n g n h u
k h a do n g ian , n hu n g tron g th u c te ch un g
ta c6 th e tao ra mo t lo at cac th ay d o i
p h tc tap o cac d ay th an h am v a vi tri
cd a ch un g . Cac th ay d 6 i n ay th u o n g
qu an tron g trong lo i n o i. Tru o c tien ch un g
ta h ay x em bon tran g th ai co th e d e d an g
n h an b iet cu a cac d ay th an h am; th at
h tu fch k h i tap dt d Qn g cac d ay th an h
am v ao n h an g v i tri k h ac n h au n ay .

i) Wide apart: The vocal folds are wide apart
for normal breathing and usually during
voiceless consonants like p, f, s (Fig. 9a).
Your vocal folds are probably apart now.
ii) Narrow glottis: If air is passed through the
glottis when it is narrowed as in Fig. 9b,
the result is a fricative sound forwhich
the symbol is h. The sound is not very
different from a whispered vowel. It is
called a voiceless glottal fricative.
(Fricatives are discussed in more detail
in Chapter 6.) Practise saying
ahahahahaha - alternating between
this state of the vocal folds and that
described in (iii) below.
iii) Position for vocal fold vibration: When
the edges of the vocal folds are touching
each other. or nearly touching, air passing
through the glottis will usually cause
vibration (Fig. 9c). Air is pressed up from
the lungs and this air pushes the vocal
folds apart so that a little air escapes. As
the air flows quickly past the edges of
the vocal folds, the folds are brought
together again. This opening and closing
happens very rapidly and is repeated
regularly, averaging roughly between
two and three hundred times per second
in a woman' s voice and about half that
rate in ad1Jlt men' s.
iv) Vocal folds tightly closed: The vocal
folds can be firmly pressed together so
that air cannot pass between them (Fig.
9d). When this happens in speech we call
it a glottal stop or glottal plosive, for
which we use the symbol ?. You can
practise this by coughing gently; then
practise the sequence a ?a ?a ?a?a ?a .
4.2 Respirat ion and voicing
Section 4.1 referred severa I times to air
passing between the vocal folds. The normal
way for this air flow to be produced is for
48
i) Cach xa: Cac day thanh am rc;ing ra
de th binh thuong va thuong thl trong
khi noi cac phu am VO thanh nhu p, f,
s (hinh 9a). Day thanh am cua b,:111 c6
le bay gict tach roi ra.
ii) Thanh mon hep: Neu khong khi di qua
thanh mon khi no bi thu hep nhtt trong
hlnh 9b, ket qui la am xat, voi ky
hi@u la h. Am nay khong khac lam
voi mot nguyen am thl tham. N6 dttqc
goi la a m x a t t ha nh ha u v6 t hanh.
(Cac am xat du@c thao luan chi tiet
hon trong chuong 6 .) Hay tap no i
a ha ha ha ha ha - thay d6i lua n phien
gila trang thai nay cia cac day thanh
am va trang thai du@c mi@u ta trong
phan (iii) duoi day.
iii) V i tri rung ca day thanh am: Khi cac
rnep cua day thanh am chc1111 vao
nhau, hoac gan cham vao nhau,
khong khi di qua thanh mon thuong
se gay ra rung dc;ing (hinh 9c). Khong
khi bi ep chat tr phoi va khong khi
nay day cac day thanh am tach rdi
ra de mc;it it kh6ng khi thoat ra. Khi
khong khi thoat nhanh qua cac mep
ca day thanh am, cac day thanh am
lai dinh vao nhau. Viec mo va dong
nay xay ra rt nhanh va dugc lap lai
deu din, trung binh la tu hai tram den
ba tram lan moi giay & giong noi cua
phu nu va khoang mot nta toc do d6
d giqng nam trudng thanh.
iv) Cac day thanh am dong chat: Cac
day thanh am co the bi ep chat lai
voi nhau vi the kh6ng khi khong the
di qua chung (hinh 9d). Khi dieu nay
xay rc1 luc n6i, chCrng ta goi no la a m
t a c t hanh ha u hay a m ba t t ha nh hau,
chung ta dung ky hieu danh cho no
la ?. B,:111 c6 the tap n6i am nay biing
cach ho nhe nhang; roi tap chuoi
a ?a?a ?a ?a ?a .
4 .2 Ho hap va am huu thanh
Phan 4.1 da d cp mot vai lan den
viec khong khi di qua gi(/a cac day th,rnh
am. Cach binh thuong de
luong khi nay
 49
s o me o f th e air in th e lun g s to b e p u s h ed
o u t; wh en air is mad e to mo v e o u t o f th e
lung s we s ay th at th ere is an eg res s iv e
p u lmon ic airs tream. All s p eech s o un d s are
mad e with s o me mo v emen t o f air, an d th e
eg res s iv e p u lmo n ic is b y far th e mo s t
co mmo n ly fou n d in th e langu ag es o f th e
wo rld . Th ere are o th er way s o f makin g air
mov e in th e v o cal tract, b u t th ey are n o t
u s u ally relev an t in th e s tud y o f En g lish
p ronu n ciatio n , s o we will n o t d is cu s s th em
h ere.
Fig .9 Fo u r d ifferen t s tates o f th e
g lo ttis
Hlnh 9. B6n trang thai khac
nhau cua thanh mon
C
Ho w is air mo v ed in to an d o u t o f th e
lun g s ? It is imp o rtan t to k no w s o meth in g
ab o u t th is, s in ce it 'will mak e it eas ier to
u nd ers tan d man y as p ects o f s p eech ,
p articu larly th e n atu re o f s tres s an d
in to n atio n . Th e lung s are lik e s p on g es th at
can fill with air, and th ey are co n tain ed
with in th e rib cag e (Fig . 10). If th e rib cag e is
lifted u p ward s and o u tward s th ere is mo re
s p ace in th e ch es t for th e lung s an d th ey
ex p an d , with th e res u lt th at th ey tak e in mo re
air. If we allo w th e rib cag e to retu rn to its
res t po s itio n q u ite s lo wly , s o me o f th e air is
exp elled an d can b e u s ed for p rodu cin g
s p eech s o u nd s . If we wis h to mak e th e
eg res s iv e p u lmon ic airs tream co n tin u e
dugc tao ra la de cho mot ft khong khi
trong phi duoc day ra; khi khong khi bi
defy ra khi phoi, chung ta n6i rang c6
lu6ng khf rut ra ngoai ph6i. Ta't ca cac
ngu am duoc tao ra voi su di chuyen cl a
khong khi va luong khf di ra ngoai ph6i
nay la su di chuye'n khong khf thuong
gap nhat trong cac ngon ngu tren the gioi.
C6 nhieu cach khac de lam cho khong
khi di chuyen trong duong dan thanh,
nhLtng ch(mg thuong khong c6 lien quan
den viec nghi@n c uu cach phat am tieng
Anh, vi vay chung ta se khong thao luan
chung i'J day.
Khong khi di chuyen ra/vao phoi nhu
the no? Dieu quan trong la ban phai
biet doi dieu ve su vi@c nay, vi no giup
ban de dang hieu duoc nhieu khia canb
ci a loi noi, dac biet la ban chat ci a
trqng am va nga di@u. P hi thi giong nhu
nhang mie'ng bqt bie'n c6 the' ch(a day
khng khi va chung nam trong long nguc
(hlnh 1 0 ) . Neu long nguc duoc nang cao
ve phia truck thl co nhieu cho hc:111 trong
nguc danh cho phoi va chung mo rong,
ket qua la chung hit vao nhieu khong
khf hon. Neu chung ta WW lam cho 16ng
nguc tr& ve vi tri nghi ngdi cda no, mot
it khong khi bi loai bo va co the duoc
dung de tao cac ngd am. Neu ta muon

wifoout breathing in again (for example when
saying a long sentence and not wanting to
be interrupted) we can make the rib cage
press down on the lungs so that more air is
exp_elled.
Fig. l O The lungs and the rib cage.
Hinh 10. Ph6i va Ing nguc
In talking about making air flow into and
out of the lungs, the process has been
described as though the air was free to pass
with no obstruction. But as we saw in Chapter
2. to make speech sounds we must obstruct
the airflow in some way - breathing by
itself makes very little sound. We obstruct
the airflow by making one or more
obstructions or strictures in tbe vocal tract,
and one place where we can make a stricture
is in the larynx. by bringing the vocal folds
close to each other as described in the
previous section. Remember that there will
be no vocal fold vibration unless the vocal
folds are in the correct position and the air
below the vocal folds is under enough
pressure to be forced through the glottis.
If the vocal folds vibrate we will hear the
sound that we call voicing or phonation.
There are many different sorts of voicing that
we can produce - think of the differences
in the quality of your voice between singing,
shouting and speaking quietly, or think of
the different voices you might use reading a
story to young children in which you have
to read out what is said by characters such as
giants, fairies, mice or ducks: many of the
differences are made with the larynx. We
can make changes in the vocal folds
themselves - they can, for example, be
made longer or shorter, more tense or more
relaxed or be more or less strongly pressed
together. The pressure of the air below the
50
lam cho lu6ng khi ra ngoai phi nay tie'p
tuc ma khng hit vao lai (chang han nhu
khi noi mot cau di va khong muon bi
gian doan), ta co the' lam cho long nguc
ep chat xuong phGi d nhiu khong khi
hon bi loai ra ngoai.
Khi noi ve viec lam cho kh6ng khf
ra/vao phoi, qua trlnh nay da duoc mieu
ta nhu la khong khi tu do di qua ma
kh6ng bi can trcL Nhung, nhu chung ta
thay trong chlldng 2, de' tao ra ngd am
chung ta phi can tro luong khi bang
cach tao ra mot hoc nhieu cho nghen
trong duong dn thanh, va mot noi chung
ta co the tao ra cho nghen I a trong
thanh qun, bang each lam cho cc day
thanh am gan nhau nhu duoc mieu ta
trong phan truoc. Hay nho rang se khong
co s u rung dong day thanh am neu cac
day thanh am kh6ng nam dung vj tri va
kh6ng khi phia duoi cac day thanh am
kh6ng c6 di ap luc d& bi day qua thanh
m 6 n.
Neu cac day thanh am rung dQng,
chung ta se nghe duoc a Ill ma ta go i la
am h u u thanh. Co nhieu loai phat am
ma chung ta c6 the' tao ra - hay nghi ve
nhang su khac nhau o chat luong ci a
giong hat, la va noi nhe nhang, hoac nghi
ve nhung giong noi khac nhau ma ban
c6 the' dung de' doc chuyen cho tre em,
trong trui ng hop do ban phai dqc Ion
nhung gi ma cac nhan vat noi ra, chang
han nhu nguoi khong lo, thien than, chuot
hoc vit; nhieu su khac biet duoc tao ra
bang cach dung thanh qui n. Chung ta
co the' tao ra cac thay doi trong chfnh
cac day thanh am - vi du, chung co the
duoc lam cho dai hon hoac ngan hon,
 51
vocal folds (the s ubg l o tta l press ure) can also
be varied. Three main differences are found:
i) Variations in i ntens i ty - we produce
voicing with high intensity for shouting,
for example, and with low intensity for
speaking quietly.
ii) Variations in freq u en cy - if the vocal
folds vibrate rapidly, the voicing is at high
frequency; if there are fewer vibrations
per second the frequency is lower.
iii) Variations in qua lity - we can produce
different-sounding voice qualities, such
as those we might call harsh, breathy,
murmured or creaky. We will consider
the ways in which we make use of these
variables in later chapters.
4.3 Plosives
A pl o s i v e is a consonant articulation with
the following characteristics:
• One articulator is moved against another,
or two articulators are moved against
each other, so as to form a stricture that
allows no air to escape from the vocal
tract. The stricture is, then, total.
• After this stricture has been formed and
air has been compressed behind it, it is
rel eas ed, that is, air is allowed to escape.
• If the air behind the stricture is still under
pressure when the plosive is released, it
is probable that the escape of air will
produce noise loud enough to be heard.
This noise is called pl o s i o n.
• There may be voicing during part or all
of the plosive articulation.
cang hon hoac chung hon hay duoc ep
chat voi nhau nhieu hay it. Ap su at khong
khi phia duoi c ac day thanh am Cling c6
the khac nhau. Ba su khac biet chinh
du@c phat hien la:
i) St! thay di o c u i n g do -
chung ta tao
ra am hllu thanh voi cllong do cao de'
la het, chang han, va voi cuong do
thap de' n6i nhe nhang.
ii) Su thay d6i o tan so - neu cac day
thanh am rung dong nhanh, am duoc
tao ra o tan so cao; neu co it rung
dong hon trong moi giay thi tan so
thap hon.
iii) St! thay d6i a ch.it lu c;n g - chung ta
c6 the' tao ra cac chat ILIQ'ng giong
n6i c6 am khac nhau, ch~ng han nhLI
cac chat ILIQ'ng ma chung ta c6 th€
goi la khan khan, tieng tho, ri rao hay
cot ket. Chung ta se xem xet nhung
each dung cac bien d6i nay a cac
chuong sau.
4. 3 Am b,%t
Am bat la su cau am phu am voi cac
dac diem sau:
• Mot bo phan cau am duoc di chuye'n
cham vao mot bo phan cau am khac,
ho,'ic hai bo phan cau am duoc di
chuye'n cham vao nhau, vi vay tao ra
mot ch6 nghen kh6ng cho kh6ng khf
thoat ra duong dan thanh. Khi d6 ch
nghen nay la tuyet d6i.
• Sau khi cho nghen nay du@c hinh
thanh va khong khi bi ep phia sau no
thl n6 dLl(Jc giai phong; nghTa la kh6ng
khi dLIQ'c phep thoat ra.
• Neu kh6ng khi phia sau ch6 nghen
nay van con bi ep khi am bat duoc
phat ra, c6 th& tinh trang thoat khong
khi se tao ra tieng n lon du de' nghe
tha'y. Tieng 6n nay goi la tieng n6.
• Co the' co am huu thanh trong su6t
hoac mot phan cl a qua trinh phat am
bat.

To g iv e a co mp lete d es crip tio n o f a
p lo s iv e co n s on an t we mu s t d es crib e wh at
h ap p en s at each o f th e follo wing fou r ph as es
in its p rod u ctio n :
i) Th e firs t p h as e is wh en th e articu lato r o r
articu lato rs llJOVe to form th e s tricture for
th e p lo s iv e. We call th is th e clo s in g
p h as e.
ii) Th e s eco nd p h as e is wh en th e co mp ress ed
air is s top p ed fro m es cap in g . We call th is
th e co mp ress io n p h as e.
iii) Th e th ird p h as e is wh en th e articu lato rs
u s ed to form th e s trictu re are mo v ed s o
as to allo w air to es cap e. Th is is th e
rel eas e phas e.
iv ) Th e fou rth p h as e is wh at h ap p en s
immed iately after (iii), s o we will call it
th e p o s t-releas e p h as e.
4.4 English plosives
Eng lis h h as s ix p lo s iv e co n s o n an ts , p , t ,
k, b, d, g. Th e g lo ttal p lo s iv e ? o ccu rs
frequ en tly b u t it is o f les s imp o rtan ce, s in ce
it is u s u ally jus t an alternativ e p ronu n cia•io n
o f p, t o r k in certain co n tex ts . Th e p lo s iv es
h av e d ifferen t p laces o f articu latio n . Th ere
p lo s iv es p and b are b ilab ial s in ce th e lip s
are p res s ed tog eth er (Fig. 11 ); t and d are
alv eo lar s in ce th e ton g u e b lad e is p res s ed
ag ain s t th e alv eo lar rid g e (Fig . 1 2 ). No rmally
th e to n g u e d o es n o t to u ch th e fro n t teeth as
Fig.11 Bilabial articulation
Hinh 11 Su phat am moi
52
De mi@u ta day di mot phu am bat,
chung ta phai mieu ta dieu gi xy ra o
rn6i trong bon giai doan sau trong· qua
trln h tao ra no:
i) Giai doant ht nhat la khi b phan cau
am hay cac b6 phan cau am di
chuye'n de' tao ra ch6 nghen de' co
am bat. Chung ta goi day la g i ai doan
khep dan.
ii) Giai doc)n thu hai la khi kh6ng khi
nen bi chan khong cho thoat ra ngoai.
Chung ta goi day la g i ai doan nen.
· iii) Giai doan tht ba la khi cac bo phan
cau am duoc dung de' lam cho ch6
nghen di chuye'n de' cho khong khf
thoat ra ngoai. Day la g i ai doan thoat.
iv) Giai doan tht ILi la SL! vi~c xay ra
ngay sau (iii), vi vay chung ta goi no
la giai doan hau thoat (post-release
phase).
4 .4 Ca c a m bat trong tin g Anh
Tieng Anh co nam phu am bat: p, t,
k, b, d, g . Am bat thanh hau ? xay ra
thuong xuyen nhung no kem quan trong,
vl 116 thuong chi la cach phat am khac
cda p, t hoac k trong mot so ngu canh
nhat dinh. Cac am bat co cac vi tri phat
am khac nhau. Cac am bat p va b la am
m6i vl hai moi nhap lai voi nhau (hlnh
11 ); tva d la am lc;ti vl song luoi dL(Q'C ep
vao nuou rang (hlnh 12). Thuong thi luoi
khong cham vao cac rang lrll6'c nlut trong
Fig.12 Alveolar articulation
Hinh 12 Su phat am loi
 53
it d o es in th e d en tal p lo s iv es fou nd in man y
lan g u ag es. Th e p los iv es k an d g are v elar;
th e b ack o f th e to n g u e is p ress ed ag ain s t th e
area wh ere th e h ard p alate end s an d th e s o ft
p alate b eg in s (Fig . 1 3 ).
Th e p lo s iv es p, t an d k are alway s
v o iceles s . b, d an d g are s o metimes fu lly
v o iced , s o metimes p artly v o iced an d
s o metimes v o iceless ; we will co n s id er wh at
b, g an d g s h o u ld b e called in Sectio n 4.5
b elo w.
Fig .1 3 Velar articu lation
Hlnh 13 Su phat am vom
All s ix p lo s iv es can o ccu r at th e
· b eg in n in g o f a wo rd (initia l po s itio n),
b etween o th er s o u nd s (media l po s itio n) an d
at th e en d o f a wo rd (fina l pos itio n). To b eg in
with we will lo o k at p lo s iv es p reced in g
v o wels (wh ich can b e ab b rev iated as CV,
wh ere C s tand s for a co n s on an t an d V s tand s
for a v o wel), b etween v o wels (VCV) 'an d
follo wing vo wels (VC). We will loo k at mo re
co mp lex en v iron men ts in later ch ap ters .
i) In itial po s ition (CV): Th e clo s in g p h as e
for p, t, k an d b, d, g tak es p lace s ilen tly .
Du rin g th e co mp ress io n p h as e th ere is
n o v o icin g in p, t, k; in b, d, g th ere is
n o,rmally v ery little v o icin g - it b eg in s
o n ly ju s t b efore th e releas e. If th e
s p eak er p ron o un ces an in itial b, d o r g
v ery s lo wly an d carefu lly th ere may b e
v o icin g d u rin g th e en tire co mp ress ion
ph as e (th e p lo s iv e is th en fu lly v o iced ),
h tle in rap id s p eech th ere may b e n o
' ' u icin g at all.
Th e releas e o f p, t, k is follo wed b y
au d ib le p lo s io n , th at is, a b u rs t o f n o is e.
cac am rang duoc tim thay trong nhieu
ngon ngd. C ac am bat k va g la am ngac
mem; phan phia sau luoi dudc ep vao
vung noi ket thuc ngac cdng va ngac
mem bat dau (hinh 13).
Cac am bat p, t va k luon la am v
thanh; b , d va g d6i khi la am ht u thanh
ton phan, doi khi la am huu thanh· mQt
phan va d6i khi la am vo thanh. C hung
ta s xem xet van de b, d va g nen duoc
goi la gl trong phj n 4.5 duoi day.
Tat ca sau am bat c6 the xay ra o
phan dau cua,mot t& (vi tri d u n g d au ),
giaa cac am khac (vj tri 11 giua) va d
cuoi tu (vi tri cu6i). De bat dau, chung
ta s xem xet cac am bat dung truoc
nguyen am (co th€ duc,c vie't tat la..CV,
trong do C vie't ti'it cua consonant (phLJ .·
am) va V vie't tat cua vowel (nguyen am),
giaa cac nguyen am (VCV) va theo sau
nguyen am (VC). C hung ta se xem xet
cac moi trui ng pht c tap hon trong cac
chi.Jong sau.
il Vi trf dung dau (CV): Giai doan khep
di n cua cac am p , t, k va b , d , g xay
ra mot cach im lang. Trong suot giai
doan nen, khiong co am trong p, t, k;
trong b, d, g thuong co am ht u thanh
rat nho -n6 chi bat dau ngay truoc khi
thoat ra. Neu nguoi noi phat am b, .d,
hoac g o vi tri du ti@n rat cham va
can than, co the co am trong toan giai
doan nen (khi do am bat la am hdu
thanh toan phan), trong khi trong loi
noi nhanh, c6 the khong co am gl ca.
St! phat am p, t, k co theo sau la
tieng bat nghe ro, nghia la co tien
 54
There is then, in the post-release phase,
a period during which air escapes through
the vocal folds, making a sound like h.
This is called aspiration. Then the vocal
folds come together and voicing begins.
The release of b, d, g is followed by weak
plosion, and this happens at about the
same time as, or shortly after, the
beginning of voicing. The most
noticeable and important difference,
then, between initial p, t, k and b, d, g is
the aspiration of the voiceless plosives
p , t, k . The different phases of the plosive
all happen very rapidly, of course, but
the ear distinguishes clearly between p,
t, k and b, d, g. If English speakers hear a
fully voiced initial plosive they will hear
it as one of b, d, g but will notice that it
does not sound quite natural. If they hear
a voiceless unaspirated plosive they will
also hear that as one of b, d, g, because it
is aspiration, not voicing which
distinguishes initial p, t, k from b, d, g.
Only when they hear a voiceless
aspirated plosive will they hear it as one
of p, t, k; experiments have shown that
we perceive aspiration when there is a
delay between the sound of plosion and
the beginni:i.g (or onset) of voicing.
In initial position b, d, g cannot be
preceded by any consonant, but p, t, k
may be preceded by s. When one of p, t,
k is preceded by s it is unaspirated. From
what was said above it should be clear
that the unaspirated p, t, k of the initial
combinations s p, s t, s k have the sound
quality that makes English speakers
perceive a plosive as one of b, d, g; and if
a tape rr::cording of a word beginning with
one of s p, s t, s k is heard with the s
removed, an initial b, d or g is heard by
English speakers.
bat hoi manh. Khi d6 a trong giai doan
hau thoat co mt thi k ma trong d6
khong khi thoat qua cac day thanh
am, tao ra am giong nhu h . Tinh trang
nay duoc goi la su b at h oi. Khi d6
cac day thanh am nhap vao nhau va
tao ra am huu thanh. Su phat ra am
b , d, g duoc theo sau bdi tiEfog bat
yeu, va dieu nay xay ra cung thoi
diem hoac ngay sau khi bat dau tao
ra am htu thanh. Su khac bi t quan
trong va de nhan thay nhat gila p, t ,
k va b , d , g dung vi tri dau la su bat
hoi cua cac am bat VO thanh p, t, k.
Di nhien, cac giai doan khac nhau
cua am bat ta' t ca deu xay ra ra' t
nhanh, nhLtng tai ta phan biet duoc
mot cach ro rang gila p, t, k va b , d,
g . Neu ngudi noi tieng Anh nghe am
bat hau thanh toan phan dung vi tr
dau, ho se nghe n6 nhu la mot trong
so b, d, g nhung se nhan thay rang no
c6 am khong tu nhien. Neu ho nghe
am vo thanh khong bat hoi, ho cung
se nghe thay am d6 nhLI la mot trong
so cac am b, d, g, vl n6 la SI/ bat ho'i,
vo thanh phan bi t p, t, k o vi trf dang
dfo voi b, d, g . Ch 1 kh i ho nghe mot
am bat VO thanh, ho moi nghe n6 nhLI
la mot trong so cac am p, t, k ; kinh
nghiem da chtng minh rang chung ta
nhan ra su bat hoi khi c6 khoang tre
gila tieng bat va su ba' t dau (o ns et)
cua am huu thanh.
d vi tri dau, b, d, g khong the
duoc dat truoc bdi bat ky phu am
nao, nhung p, t, k c6 the' dang sau s.
Khi mot trong so cac am p, t, k dung
sau s, no la am kh6ng bat hoi. Tu
nhmng gi da noi o tr@n, ro rang p, t, k
khong bat hoi trong cac kt hop vi tri
dau s p, s t, s k c6 chat ILtqng am lam
cho ngudi noi tieng Anh hi&u mot am
bat la mot trong so cac am b, d, g;
va neu am cia mot tu bat dau voi
mot trong so s p, s t, s k duqc nghe thay
la khng co s, b , d hoac go vi tri dau
duoc nhung nguoi noi ting Anh nghe
rc5.
 55
ii) Med ial p o s itio n (VCV): Th e
p ron u n ciatio n o f p, t, k an d b, d, g in
med ial p o s itio n d ep en d s to s o me ex ten t
o n wh eth er th e s y llab les p reced in g an d
follo win g th e p lo s iv e are s tress ed . In
g en eral we can s ay th at a med ial p lo s iv e
may h av e th e ch aracteris tics eith er o f
fin al o r o f in itial p lo s iv es.
iii) Fin al p os ition (VC) Fin al b, d, g n o rmally
h av e little v o icin g ; if th ere is v o icing, it
is at th e b eg in n in g o f th e co mp res s ion
p h as e; p, t, k are, o f co urs e, v o iceles s .
Th e p lo s io n follo win g th e releas e o f p, t,
k and b, d, g is v ery weak an d o ften n o t
aud ib le. Th e d ifferen ce b etween p, t, k
an d b, d, g is p rimarily th e fact th at v o wels
p reced in g p, t, 'k are mu ch s h o rter. Th e
s h o rten in g effect o f p, t, k is mo s t
n o ticeab le wh en th e v o wel is o n e· o f th e
-lon g v o wels o r d iph th o ng s .
4.5 Fortis and lenis
Are b, d, g v o iced p lo s iv es ? Th e
d es crip tion o f th em mak es it clear th at it is
no t v ery accurate to call th em "vo iced " ; in
in itial an d fin al p o s ition th ey are s carcely
v o iced at all, an d an y v o icing th ey may h av e
s eems to h av e n o p ercep tu al imp o rtan ce.
So me p h o n etician s s ay th at p, t, k are
p rodu ced with mo re force th an b, d, g , and
th at it wou ld th erefore b e b etter to g iv e th e
two s ets o f p lo s iv es (an d s o me o th er
co n s o n an ts ) n ames th at ind icate th at fact; s o
th e v o iceles s p lo s iv es p, t, k are s o metimes
called fo rti s (mean in g ' s tron g ' ) an d b, d, g
are th en called l eni s (mean in g 'weak ' ). It is
p rob ab ly tru e th at p, t, k are p rodu ced with
mo re force (tho ugh nob o d y h as really p rov ed
it-force o f articu latio n is v ery d ifficu lt to
d efin e an d meas u re). On th e o th er h an d , th e
terms fortis an d len is are d ifficu lt to
rememb er. Des p ite th is , we s h all follo w th e
p ractice o f man y b o o k s an d u s e th es e terms .
ii) Vl tri gil a (VC V): Su phat am cda p,
t, k va b , d , go vi tri gil a theo mc)t
muc de) nao do plw thuoc vao viec
cac am tie't dung tnJoc va dL'tng Sc1 U
am bat co duc nhan hay khong. Noi
chung, chung ta c6 the noi rang lllQt
am b~t d vi trf gilla co the c6 d;c)c
diem cda cac am bat o vi tri cui
ho;(lc vi trf · dJu.
iii) Vi tri cu6i (VC): b, d, go vi tri cuoi
thuong co am huu thanh nho; neu co
am huu thanh thi n6 nam & d~u giai
doan nen; di nhien, p , t, k la am VO
thanh. Tieng bat xay ra sau khi phat
am p, t, k va b , d, g la rat yeu va
thuong khong the nghe du@c. Su khac
nhau giua p, t, k va b , d, g chu yeu la
vi cac nguyen am dung truoc p, t, k
thi ngan hon nhieu. Ket qua rut ngan
cda p, t, k de nhan thay nhat khi
nguyen am la mot trong sc5' cac
nguyen am dai hay nhi trung am.
4.5 Am manh va am y eu
b, d, g co phai la am bat huu thanh
khong? Vi@c mi@u ta chung se giup ban
hi&u ro rang goi chung la am bat "h@u
thanh" la khong chinh xac lam; a vi trf
dJ u va cuo'i, cha'c chi n chu ng kho ng
phi la am hdu thanh gl ca va bat ky
am thanh no chung co the co deu duong
nhu khong co gi danh ke. Mot so nha
ngu am hoc cho ding p, t, k duoc tao ra
voi nhieu luc hon so voi b, d, g va vl the'
se tot hon khi dat ten hai tap hop cac
am bat (va mot so phu am khac) de chi
ro su that do; vi vay cac am bat vo thanh
p, t, k d6i khi duoc goi la am manh (fortis)
va cac am b , d , g duoc goi la am yeu
(lenis). C 6 the dung khi n6i ding p, t, k
du'Q'c tqo ra voi nhieu luc hon (mac du
khong c6 ai that st! chLing minh dieu do
xac dinh va do lung luc phat am thi rat
kho). Mat khac, thuat ngu am manh va
am yeu kho nho. Do do, chung ta se theo
thong le ci a nhieu quyen sach va sd
dung nhung thuat ngd nay.
 56
Th e p lo s iv e p h o n emes o f En g lis h can b e Cac am bat cua tieng Anh co the du@c
p res en ted in th e form o f a tab le as s h o wn trinh bay theo dang bang nhu duoc minh
b elo w: hoa duoi day:

Place of articulation (Vi t r i cau a m )

Bilabial (Mai) Alveolar (Li ) Velar (Ngac m em)
Fortis ("voiceless") p k
A m m a n h ("v6 t ha n h ")
Lenis ("voiced") b d g
Am yeu ("hau t ha nh ")

Tab les lik e th is can b e p rod u ced for all
th e d ifferen t con s o n an ts . Each majo r typ e o f
con s o n an t (s u ch as p lo s iv es lik e p, t and k,
fricativ es lik e s an d z an d n as als lik e m and
n) o b s tructs th e airflo w in a d ifferen t way ,
an d th es e are class ed as d ifferen t mann ers o f
articu lation .
C ac bang nhu the nay co the dudc
tao ra danh cho tat ca cac phu am khac
nhau. Mei loai phu am chinh (chang han
nhu cac am bat nhu p , t va k, cac am
xat nhu s va z va cac am mui nhu m va
n) can tr& lung khi theo mot cach khac,
va nhung loai nay dugc phan loai la cac
cach phat am khac nhau.

Notes on problems and further reading

4 .1 , 4 .2 If yo u n eed to k no w mo re abou t th e lary n x and abo u t res p iration in relatio n to
s p eech, s ee Bo rd en and Harris ( 1 9 9 4 : 5 8 -9 ); Lav er ( 1 9 9 4 ).

4.3 Th e o u tline o f th e s tag es in th e p rod u ction o f p lo s iv es is b as ed on Crutten d en (1 9 9 4 ),

an d is s ligh tly d ifferen t from th e earlier ed itio n s o f th is bo ok . In class ify ing co n s o n an ts it is
po s s ib le to g o to a v ery hig h lev el o f co mp lex ity if o n e wis h es to acco u n t for all th e poss ib ilities;
s ee, for ex amp le, Pik e (1 9 4 3 : 8 5 -1 5 6 ).

4 .4 It h as b een p o in ted o u t th at th e tran s crip tio n s h , s d , s g co u ld b e u s ed q u ite

app rop riately in s tead o f s p , s t, s k ; s ee Dav id s en -Niels en (1 9 69 ). Th e v o wel leng th d ifference
b efore fin al v o iceles s co n s o n an ts is app aren tly fou nd in man y (po s s ib ly all) langu ag es , b u t
in En g lis h th is d ifferen ce wh ich is v ery s lig h t in mo s t langu ag es h as b eco m e
ex agg erated s o th at it h as b eco me th e mo s t impo rtan t facto r in d is ting u is h in g b etween fin al
p, t , k and b, d , g : s ee Ch en ( 1 9 7 0 ). So me p hon etics b ook s wrong ly s tate th at b , d , g leng th en
p reced in g v o wels , rath er ti-an th at p, t, k s h o rten th em. Th e co n clu s iv e ev id en ce o n th is
p o in t is th at if we tak e th e p air ' rig h t' ra nt an d 'rid e' ra d, an d th en co mp are 'ry e' rm, th e
leng th o f th e at d ip h th o n g wh en n o co ns o n an t follo ws is p ractically th e s ame as in ' rid e'; th e
OJ in ' rig h t' is mu ch s ho rter th an th e DI in ' rid e' an d ' ry e'.

4 .5 Th e "fortis /len is " d is tin ctio n is a v ery co mp licated q u es tio n . It is n eces s ary to con s id er
h o w o n e cou ld measu re "force o f articu latio n " ; man y d ifferen t lab o rato ry tech n iq u es h av e
b een tried to s ee if th e articu lato rs are mo v ed mo re en erg etically for fortis co n s o n an ts ,, b u t ,
all h av e p rov ed in co n clu s iv e. Th e o n ly d ifferen ce th at s eems reas o n ab ly reliab le is th at
fortis co n s o n an ts h av e h ig h er air p res s u re in th e v o cal tract, b u t Lis k er (19 7 0 ) h as arg u ed
 57

co nv i n ci n g l y t h at t his i s n ot co n clu s i v e ev i d en ce fo r "fo rce o f art i cu l atio n " . It i s p o ss i b l e t o

as k p h o n et i cally u n t rai n ed s p eak ers w h et h er t h ey feel mo re en ergy i s u s ed i n p ro n o u n cing
p, t, k t h an i n b , d , g , b u t t h ere are man y d if fi cu l t i es i n d o i n g t his . A u s efu l rev i ew o f t h e
"fo rce o f art i cu l at i o n " q u es tion i s i n Cat fo rd (1 9 77: 1 9 9 -20 8 ). I feel t h e b es t co n clus i o n i s
t h at any t erm o n e u s es t o d eal w i t h t h i s d i s ti n ction (w h et h er " fo rt i s " /"l en i s" o r " voicel ess" /
" v o i ced " ) i s t o b e l o o k ed on as a co v er term a t erm w h i ch h as n o s i mpl e p hy s i cal
mean i ng b u t w h i ch may s t an d fo r a l arg e an d co mp l ex s et o f p hon eti c ch aract eri s t i cs .

Wr itt e n e xe r cise s Bai tap v i&t

l. T ry t o w rit e b ri ef d es cri p t i on s o f t h e
act i o n s o f t h e arti cu l at o rs an d t h e
res p i rat o ry s y s t em i n t h e w o rd s g iv en
b e l o w . H ere as an e x am p l e i s a
d es cri p tio n o f t h e p ro n un ci at i o n o f t h e
w o rd ' b e ' b i :
1 . C6 g an g v i et cac mi @u t a n g an g o n
v cac h an h d o n g cd a cac bo p h an
cau am v a h e h o h ap t ro n g cac t ut
d u q c ch o d u o i d ay . S au d ay l a v i
d u mi eu t a cach p h at am cl a tu
' b e' b i :

"St art i n g fro m t h e p o s i t i o n fo r n o rmal " Ba'.t d ~u tu v i t ri th & b l n h t h u ong , h ai

b reat h i ng , t h e lip s are cl o s ed an d the l ung s are
co mp res s ed t o creat e air p res s u re in the v o cal
tr act. T h e t o n g u e mo v es t o t h e po s i tio n fo r a
cl o s e fron t v o w el , w i t h the fro n t o f t h e t o n g u e
rai s ed cl o s e t o t h e p al at e. T h e v ocal fo l d s are
b rou g h t cl o s e t o g et h er and vo ic i n g b eg ins ; t h e
lip s t h en o p en , rel eas i ng t h e co mp res s ed ai r.
V o i ci n g con t i n u es fo r t h e du rat io n o f an i:
v o w el. T h en t h e l u n g p res s u re i s l o w ered ,
vo i ci n g ceas es an d t h e articu l ato rs ret u rn t o
t h e no rmal b reat hing p o s i tio n ."
mi k h ep l ai v a ph o i b i ep d e t ao ap
s u at k h o n g k h i t ro ng d u o n g d an t h anh .
L u o i d i ch u y en d en mo t vi t ri d an h ch o
n g u y en am d o n g h an g t ru ck , v o i p h fo
t ru o c lu oi n an g l en g an n h au v a v i ec ph at
am b at d au ; h ai mo i s au d o md, ch o
k h o n g k h i n en t h o at ra. Ph at am l i en t u c
t ro n g s u o t n g u y en am i:. Sau do ap lu c
p h o i h a x u o n g , v i ec p h at am n g d n g v a
cac bo p h an cu am t r& l ai vi t ri t h o
b i n h th u ong ."

W o rd s t o d es cri b e: (a) g o at (b) Cac tu can mi eu t a: (a) g o at ; (b ) ap e.

2. T ran s cri b e t h e fo llo w i n g w o rd s : 2. Ph i en am cac tu s au d ay :

a) b ak e d) b o ugh t g) b o red

b) go at e) ti ck h) g u ard

c) do u b t f) b o ug h i ) p ea k
 58

CHUONG 5

allo p hon e/ ' a: l ;ifau n / (n ) t h a a m , b i en t h€' a m vj , d r;m g

t h e hi @n a m vi
b ro ad p h o n eti c t ran s cri p ti o n / ' b ro : d fan en k t n en ' s k n pJ n / : ph i en. a m t h o ci n g l r (j n g t h eo
ng? am hoc
cen t ralis ati o n / ,s ent ral m' zerJ n / (n ) S lf h urJn g t run g
ch aract er/ ' k a: rak t a/ (n ) Icy t lf
cl as s i fi cato ry meth od /'k l a:s 1 f1 ,k ert n 'me&i d / p h u mn g p h a p p h a n l o a i
co mp l emen t ary d i st ri b u t io n / ,k o mp lr ' men t n ,d rst n ' bj u : J n / : s lf p h lin b/;' ha' su n g
di acri tic/ ,d ara' k ntrk / (n ) du khu b i et
i n fi n i t e/ ' mfrn at / (adj ) bli t d f n h
n arrow p ho n et i c t ran s cri p ti o n /'n a: rau -/ p hi en lim s d tlhf! p t h eo n g il a m
hqc
p ho n emi c s y s t em /fa' n i : mrk ' s 1 s t am/ h e t hong a m v i
p h o n emi c t ran s cri p t io n / fa' n i : mrk t ra: n ' s k n pJ 11J ph ie n a m t h eo a m v i h o c
p h o n emic/p h on eme s y mb o l / ' fa' n i: m1 k 'srmb l , ' faun i : m-/ : Icy hi i u a m vj
p h o n et i c s y mb o l / fa ' n et rk 's 1 mb l / Icy hi f u n g il a m
p h on et i c t ran s cri p t i on / fa' n et 1 k t ra: n ' s k n pJ n / p h ie n lim t h eo n g il a m h o c
p it ch / p rtJ / (n ) cao do , cumn g d o
p l ace o f art i cu l at i o n /'p i ers av a: ,t rkj u ' l erJn / vj t r [ cliu iim

q u ad ril at eral / ,k w o d n ' l a: t arn l / (n) flt g i ci c

real is at i o n / ,ri : al ar' zerJn , ,rm!-/ (n ) d c,m g t h l h i f n , d r;in g h i f n t h l/c

hda
s eg m en t / ' s e g m a n t / a m d o r;in , ch i e't d o r;in
s eq u en ce / ' s r: k w an s / (n ) trinh tt
s t ream/ s t ri : m/ (n ) ch u r5i
s u p ras eg men t al / ,s u : p ra' s eg men t l / (ad j ) s i eu d o a n t i n h
s u p ras eg men t al ph ono lo g y / ' s u : p ra,s eg ment l fa' n n l ad 3 r/ : a m v i h o c s i eu d o a n tnh
s y l l abl e / ' s rl ab l/ (n ) a m t i et , wi n ( ciia m i}t tit)
t ran s cri p t i o n / t ra: n ' s k n pJ n / (n ) s ;t p h i e n a m
 · 59
5 The phoneme
5. 1 T he p h on e m e
In Ch ap ters 2 -4 we h av e b een s tu d y in g
s o me o f th e s o u nd s o f En g lis h . It is n o w
n eces s ary to con s id er s o me fun d amen tal
th eo retical q u es tio ns . Wh at d o we m ea n wh en
we u s e th e wo rd " s o und "? Ho w d o we
es tab lis h wh at are th e s o u n d s o f En g lis h , and
h o w d o we d ecid e h o w man y th ere are o f
th em?
Wh en we s p eak , we p rod u ce a co n tin u o u s
s tream o f s o u n d s. In s tu dy in g s p eech we
d iv id e th is s tream in to s mall p ieces th at we
call segments. Th e wo rd ' man ' is p ron o un ced
with a firs t s eg men t m, a s econ d s eg men t re
an d a th ird s eg men t n. It is n o t alway s eas y to
d ecid e o n th e n u mb er o f s eg men ts . To g iv e
a s imp le ex amp le, in th e wo rd ' min e' th e firs t
s eg men t is m an d th e las t is n, as in th e wo rd
' man ' d is cus s ed ab ov e. Bu t s h ou ld we reg ard
th e 01 in th e mid d le as o n e_ s eg men t o r two?
We will retu rn to th is q u es tio n .
As well as th e q u es tio n o f ho w we d iv id e
s p eech u p in to s eg men ts , th ere is th e
q u es tio n o f ho w man y d ifferen t s o u nd s (o r
s eg men t ty p es ) th ere are in En g lis h . Ch ap ters
2 an d 3 in trodu ced th e s et o f v o wels fou nd
in En g lis h . Each o f th es e can b e p rono u n ced
in man y s ligh tly d ifferen t way s , s o th at th e
to tal ran g e o f s o u n d s actu ally p rod u ced by
s p eak ers is p ractically in fin ite. Yet we feel
q u ite co n fid en t in s ay in g th at th e n u mb er o f
En g lis h vo wels is n o t mo re th an twen ty . Wh y
is th is? Th e an s wer is th at if we p u t o n e o f
tho s e twen ty in th e p lace o f o n e o f th e o th ers ,
we can ch ang e th e mean in g o f a wo rd . Fo r
ex amp le, if we s u b s titu te re for e in th e wo rd
'b ed ' we g et a d ifferen t wo rd : 'b ad '. Bu t in
th e cas e· o f two s lig h tly d ifferen t way s o f
p ron o un cin g wh at we reg ard as "th e s ame
s o u n d " , we u s u ally fin d th at, if we s u b s titu te
,.. .
5 Am v i•
5. 1 Am vi
Trong cac chuong tu 2 den 6, chung
ta da nghien ct u mot so am trong tieng
Anh. Bay gio chung ta can phai xem xet
mot so cau ho i Cd ban mang tinh ly
thuyet. Chung ta co y noi gl khi dung tu
"am"? Lam the nao chung ta biet duoc
dieu gi la am tieng Anh va lam the nao
chung ta xac dinh c6 baa nhieu am trong
s6 chung?
Khi noi, chung ta tao ra mot dong am
lien tl _l C. Khi nghien cuu loi n6i, ta chia
dong m nay thanh nhung phan nho goi
la doan. Tu 'man' dugc phat am voi doan
dau ti@n m, doan th& hai a va doan tht
ban. Khong phai luc nao ta cang de dang
s
xac dinh dudc o doan. Lay vi du don
gian hon, trong tu 'mine', doan tht nhat
la m va doan cuoi cung la n, nhu trong
tu 'man' a tren. Nhung chung ta xem m
a giiJa la mot doan hay hai doan? Chung
ta se quay tr& lai cau hoi nay sau.
Cung nhu cau hdi ve vi@c lam the
nao chung ta chia loi noi thanh cac doan,
co cau hi la c6 bao nhieu am (hay loai
doan) khac nhau trong tieng Anh. Chuong
2 va 3 da gioi thieu tap hop cac nguyen
am duoc tim thay trong tieng Anh. Moi
nguyen am deu c6 the dudc phat am
theo nhi u cach khac nhau doi chut, vi
the toan bo day am thuc su dugc nguoi
noi tao ra tren thuc te la V O han. Tuy
nhien, chung ta cam thay tu tin khi n6i
s
rang o luong cac nguyen am trong tieng
Arih khong nhiu hon con s6 hai muoi.
Tai sao vay? Cau tra loi la neu chung ta
s
dat m t o trong so hai muoi nguyen am
d6 vao vi tri cl a mot trong s6 cac nguyen
am khac, chung ta c6 the lam thay d6i
y nghia cua mot tu. Chfog han, neu ta
thay the e bi ng a trong tu 'bed', chung

one for the other, a change in the meaning
of a word does not result. For example, if we
substitute a more open vowel (for example,
cardinal vowel no. 4 [a l) for the re in the word
'bad' , the word is still heard as 'bad'.
The principles involved here may be
easier to understand if we look at a similar
situation related to the letters of the alphabet
that we use in writing English. The letter of
the alphabet in writing is a unit which
corresponds fairly well to the unit of speech
we have been talking about earlier in this
chapter - the segment. In the alphabet we
have five letters that are called vowels: ' a ' ,
' e' , 'i', ' o ' , ' u' . If we choose the right context
we can show how substituting one letter for
another will change meaning. Thus with a
letter ' p' before and a letter ' t' after the vowel
letter, we get the five words spelt 'pat' , 'pet',
'pit', 'pot', 'put', each of which has a different
meaning. We can do the same with s ou n d s .
If we look at the short vowels 1, e, re, A, o, o,
for example, we can see how substituting
one for another i n between the plosives p
and t gives us six different words as follows
(given in spelling on the left):
' pit' pit ' pet' pet ' pat' pret
'putt'pAt* ' pot' pot ' put' pot
Let us return to the examp! of letters of
the alphabet. If people who knew nothing
about the alphabet saw these four characters:
A a a u
they would not kriow that to users of the
alphabet three of these characters all
represent the same letter, while the fourth is
a· different letter. Of course, they would
quickly discover, through noticing
differences in meaning, that ' µ ' is a different
60
ta c6 duc;1c mot tu khac: 'bad' . Nhung
trong tnJ(mg hqp phat am nhung gl ma
chung ta xem la "cmng mot am" theo hai
each hoi khac nhau, chung ta thuong thay
rang, neu ta thay th tt nay cho tu kia
thi se khong lam thay doi nghia. Vi
du, neu chung ta thay the mot nguyen
am m& hdn (vi du, nguyen am chua'n so
4 [al thay the cho re trong tu 'bad' thi tu
nay van nghe la 'bad') .
Cac nguyen tac duoc de cap o day co
the de hi&u hon neu chung ta xem xet mot
tinh huong tuong ti/ lien quan den cac cht
cai trong bang chu cai ma chung ta dung
d€ vie't tie'ng Anh. C hu cai cua .bang chu
cai trong van vie't la mot don vi tVdng u'ng
voi don vi loi noi ma chung ta da noi den
a phan trVoc trong chvang nay - do la doan.
Trong bang chu cai, chung ta co nam mau
tl/ duoc goi la nguyen am: 'a', 'e', 'i', 'o',
' u' . Neu chung ta chQn dung nga dnh,
chung ta co th€ chung minh each thay the
mot mau tu cho mot mau tu khac ma
khong lam thay doi / nghia. Nhu vay, v@i
mu tu 'p' truoc va mu tu 't' dung sau
m u tu nguyen am, chung ta co nam tu
dvc;,c danh van la 'pat', 'pet', 'pit', 'pot',
'put', mi ti c6 y nghia khac nhau. C hl'.mg
ta co the lam tuang tl/ voi cac am (sound).
Neu chung ta xem xet cac nguyen am ngan
1 e, a ,A D chang han, ta co the neu thay
U
rang thay the' m(>t am bang m(>t am khac
a giua cac am bat p vat thl ta se d11c;1c sau
tt khac nhau nhu sau (d11c;1c cho trong chu
a ben tra i):
' pit' pit ' pet' pet ' pat' pret
' putt' pt 'pot' pot ' put' pot
C hung ta hay quay lai vi du ve cac
mau tu cda bang cha cai. Neu nhang
nguoi khong biet gi ve bang cht cai gap
bon cha cai sau day:
A a a u
ho se khong bi&t rang doi voi nhmng nguoi
st dung bang chu cai ba trong so nhung ky
ti ! nay tatca deu tuong trllng cho cung
m(Jt cha, mac du ky ti/ thu tu la mot mau
tu khac. Di nhien, ho se nhanh chong phat
hien, bang cach luu y
<
su
khac nhau v °
 61
letter fro m th e firs t th ree. Wh at wo u ld o ur
illiterate o b s erv ers d is cov er abou t th es e
th ree? Th ey wo u ld p rob ab ly ev en tu ally
co me to th e co n clu s io n ab o u t th e written
ch aracters ' a' an d ' a' th at th e former o ccu rs
mo s t o ften in p rin ted and ty p ed writing wh ile
th e latter is mo re co mmo n in h and writin g ,
b u t th at if y o u s u b s titu te o n e for th e o th er it
wm n o t cau s e a d ifferen ce in mean in g . If o u r
o b s erv ers th en ex amin ed a lo t o f typ ed an d
p rin ted material th ey wou ld ev en tu ally
es tab lis h th at a wo rd th at b eg an with ' a' wh en
it o ccu rred in th e midd le o f a s en ten ce wo u ld
b eg in with ' A' , an d never with ' a' , at th e
b eg inn in g o f a s en ten ce. Th ey wou ld als o
fin d th at n ames cou ld b eg in with ' A' b u t
never with ' a' ; th ey wou ld con clud e th at ' A'
an d ' a' were d ifferen t way s o f writin g th e
s ame letter an d th at a co n tex t in wh ich o n e
o f th em co u ld o ccu r was alway s a con tex t in
wh ich th e o th er co u ld n o t. As will b e
ex p lain ed b elo w, we fin d s imilar s itu atio n s
in s p eech s o u n d s .
If y o u h av e n o t th ou g h t ab ou t s u ch th in g s
b efore, y o u may find s o me d ifficu lty in
u nd ers tan d ing th e id eas th at yo u h av e ju s t
read ab o u t. Th e p rin cip al d ifficu lty lies in
th e fact th at wh at is b ein g talk ed abo u t in
o ur ex amp le o f letters is at th e s ame time
s o meth in g abstract (th e alp h ab et, wh ich y ou
canno t s ee o r to u ch ) an d s o meth in g real an d
concrete (mark s o n p ap er). Th e alp h ab et is
s o meth in g th at its u s ers k no w; th ey als o k n o w
th at it h as twen ty -s ix letters . Bu t wh en th e
alp h ab et is u s ed to write with, th es e letters
ap p ear o n th e p ag e in a p ractically in fin ite
n u mb er o f d ifferen t s h ap es an d s izes .
No w we will leav e th e d is cu s s io n o f
letters an d th e alph ab et; th es e h av e o nly
b een in trod u ced in th is ch ap ter in o rd er to
h elp exp lain s o me imp o rtan t g en eral
p rin cip les . Let u s n o w g o b ack to th e s o u n d s
o f s p eech and s ee h o w th ,es e p rin cip les can
b e ex p lain ed . As was s aid earlier in th is
nghTa, rang 'u' la mot mau tu khac voi ba
mau tu dau tien. Nhung nguoi mu cht ci a
cht'.mg ta se phat hien ra dieu gi ve ba mau
tt! nay? C u6i cung thl ho se dLia ra ket- lu~n
ve cac cht cai da viet 'a' va ' a' rang chCt
'a' xuat hien thuong xuyen hon nhat trong
cha in hay go nhap va cha ' a' ph6 bien
hon trong chu viet tay, nhung neu ban thay
the chu nay bang chCt khac thi no se kh6ng
t,;10 ra su khac bi@t ve y nghia. Neu sau d6
nhung nguoi quan sat cua chung ta kiem
tra nhiu tai lieu go nhap va in an thi cuoi
cung ho se ket luan rang mot tt bat dau
bang 'a' khi no xuat hien o gil a mot cau
se bat dau voi 'A', va khong bao gio bat
dau voi 'a', o dau mot cau. Ho Cling se
thay rang cac ten c6 the bat dau bang cht
A' nhung khong bao gio bat dau bang cha
'a'; ho se ket luan rang 'A' va 'a' la nhCtng
each khac nhau de viet cuing mot mau tu
va mot ngt canh ma trong do mot mau tu
trong s6 chung xuat hien luon la mot ngt
canh ma mau tu khac khong the xuat hien.
C hung ta se thay nhmng tinh huong tuong
ti! trong nga am, nhu se duoc gi i thich
sau day.
Neu ban truoc day chLia bao gio nghi
ve nhung su viec nhu the, ban co the
gap kh6 khan trong viec hieu cac y ma
bc.1n vi:ta doc. Kho khan chinh nam o ch6
nhung dieu dang dugc noi den trong vi
du ve cac mau tu ci a chung ta d6ng
thdi la mot dieu gi d6 truu tLi(Jng (bang
cha ca i ma ban kh6 ng the thay hay so
vao) va mot dieu gi d6 co that va cu the
(cac dau tren giay). Bang cht cai la mot
dieu gi do ma nguwi st dung no biet, ho
cung biet 116 co hai muoi sau mau IL.I.
Nhung khi bang cha cai du<1c dung de'
viet, nhung mau tu nay xuat hien tren
trang o v6 so' hinh dang va kich co khac
nhau.
Bay gio chung ta se b qua phan khao
luan ve cac mau tu va bang chl cai;
chung ch] du(Jc gioi thieu trong chL/ong
nay d giai th ich mot so' nguye n t.:1 C
chung quan trong. C hung ta hay quay tro
lai cac am ca lei noi va xem nhung
nguyen tac nay co the' du(Jc gia i thich

chapter, we can divide speech up into
segments, and we can find great variety in
the way these segments are made. But just
as there is an abstract alphabet as the basis of
our writing, so there is an abstract set of units
as the basis of our speech. These units are
called pho nem es, and the complete set of
these units is called the pho nem i c s y s tem
of the language. The phonemes themselves
are abstract, but there are many slightly
different ways in which we make the sounds
that represent these phonemes. just as there
are many ways in which we may make a mark
on a piece of paper to represent a particular
(abstract) letter of the alphabet.
We find cases where it makes little
difference which of two possible ways we
choose to pronounce a sound. For example.
the b at the beginning of a word such as 'bad'
will usually be pronounced with practically
no voicing. Sometimes, though, a speaker
may produce the h with full voicing, perhaps
in speaking very emphatically. If this is clone,
the sound is still identified as the phoneme
b, even though we can hear that it is different
in some way. We have in this example two
different ways of making b - two different
realisations of the phoneme. One can be
substituted for the other without changing
the meaning.
We also find cases in speech similar to
the writing example of capital ' A' and little
a (where one can only occur where the other
cannot). For example, we find that the
realisation of t in the word ' tt::a' is aspirated
(as are all voiceless plosives when they occur
before stressed vowels at the beginning of
syllables). In the word 'eat' , the realisation of
t is unaspirated (as are all voiceless plosives
when they occur at the end of a syllable and
are not followed by a vowel). The aspirated
and unaspiratecl realisations are both
recognised as t by English speakers despite
their differences. But the aspirated
realisation will never be found in the place
62
nhu the nao. Nhu da noi o phan truoc
trong chlfang nay, chung ta c6 the' chia
ldi noi thanh cac doan, va chung ta c6
the thay cac doan nay duoc tao ra theo
nhi€u each. Nhung giong nhu co mot
bang chu cai lrLIU IL/(Jng lam Co' Sd cho
cht viet cua chung ta, nen co mot tap
hop cac don vi truu tuong lam Co' so cho
ldi noi ci a chi ng ta. Cac don vi nay
duoc goi la am vi va mot tap hop hoan
chinh cac don vi nay goi la h~ thong am
vj cua ngon ngu. Ban than cac am vi
mang tinh truu tu'Q'ng, nhLlng co nhi€u
cach khac nhau ddi chi t ma chung ta
c6 the tao ra cac am tLl(Jng trLlng cho
cac am vi nay, cung nhu co nhieu cach
ma chung ta dung de danh mot du tr@n
mot ta giay d€ trlnh bay mot mau II/ (trClu
tu@ng) dac bi@t ca bang chu cai.
Chung ta se thay nht ng tinh huong
ma trong d6 c o su khac biet doi chut o
each chCrng ta chon de phat am mQt am.
Vi du, b nam d vi tri dau cua mot tt
chang han nhu 'bad' thuong se duoc phat
am khong vo thanh. Mac du vay, doi
khi ngLloi n6i c6 the tao ra chCI b c6 am
thanh rd rang, co le khi n6i de nhan
manh. Neu vay, am van du@c xac dinh
la am vi b, m~c du chung ta c6 the' nghe
thay no khac o mot khia canh nao d6.
Trong vi du nay, chung ta c6 hai each
khac nhau de tao ra clu7 b - hai dang
the hi@n khac nhau cua mot am vi. Dang
nay c6 the' thay the cho dang kia ma
khong lam thay d6i y nghia.
Chung ta cung gap nht ng trui ng hop
trong loi noi tuong tu nhu vi du ve cht
' A' va 'a' ( & dau c o chL7 nay xua't hien
thl i'J d6 chL7 kia khong the xuat hi@n). Vi
du, ta thy rang dang the hi@n ci a t trong
ILi 'tea' duoc phat am bat hai (tat ca cac
am bat vo thanh cung vay khi chung xuat
hi()n truoc cac nguyen am dLIQC nha'n a
dau cac am tie't). Trong W 'eat', d<)ng
the hien ct'1a t khong bat hai (ta't ca cac
am VO thanh cuing vay khi chung nam &
cuoi mot tam tiet va khong co mot
nguyen am theo sau). Cac d,;1ng the' hil)n
bat hoi va khong bat hoi ca hai deu du; c
ngudi noi tieng Anh nhan ra la t mas du
 63
where the unaspirated realisation is
appropriate, and vice versa. When we find
this strict separation of places where
particular realisations can occur, we say that
the realisations are in co m pl em enta ry
di s tri buti o n. One more technical term needs
to be introduced: when we ,talk about
different realisations of pho·nemes, we
sometimes call these realisations
allophones. In the last example. we were
studying the aspirated and unaspirated
a llo pho nes of the phoneme t. Usually we do
not indicate different allophones when we
write symbols to represent sounds.
5. 2 S ym b ols an d tra n scr ip tion
You have now seen a number of symbols
of several different sorts. Basically the
symbols are for one of two purposes: either
they are symbols for phonemes (pho nem i c
or pho nem e symbols) or they are pho neti c
s y m bo l s (which is what the symbols were first
introduced as).
We will look first at phonemic symbols.
The most important point to remember is the
rather obvious-seeming fact that the number
of phonemic symbols must be exactly the
same as the number of phonemes we decide
exist in the language. It is rather like writing
with a typewriter - there is a fixed number
of keys that you can press. However, some
of our phoneme symbols consist of two
characters; for example, we usually treat tJ
(as in 'chip' tJrp) as one phoneme, so tf is a
phoneme symbol consisting of two
characters (t and J).
One o f the traditional exercises in
pronunciation teaching by phonetic methods
is that of pho nem i c tra ns cri pti o n, where
every speech sound must be identified as
one of the phonemes and written with the
appropriate symbol. (There are two different
kinds of transcription exercise: in one,
tra ns cri ptio n fro m dic ta ti o n, the student
must listen to a person - or a tape-recording
- and write down what they hear; in the
c hung k hac nhau. Nhung dang the hien
bat hoi s e k hong bao gio duoc tim thay
noi dang the hien k hong bat hoi phu
hc;ip, v a nguoc lai. Khi ta thay dang the
hien nghiem ngat nay c da nhung vi tri
ma & do c ac dang the hi@n dac biet c o
the x yra, ta noi rang c ac dang the hi@n
dang p h an bo bi> sun g. C6 mqt thu~t ngu
k y thuat na c an phai duoc gioi thieu:
k hi ch ung ta noi v e cac dang the hien
k hac nhau c ua c ac m v i, di k hi chung
ta gqi nhung dang the hien nay la tha
am vj. Trong v i du v ia roi, c hung ta dang
nghien c uu ca c tha am v i bat hdi v a
k h6ng b~t hoi c ua am v i t. Thuong c hung
ta k h6ng c hi ro c ac tha am v i k hac nhau
k hi c hung ta v iet c ac k y hi@u de trinh
bay ca c am.
5 . 2 Ca c k hi@u v a sy phi@n a m
Gio thi ban da thay mot s6 k y hi@u
c la nhieu loai k hac nhau. Ve co ban,
nhCtng k y hi~u la dung c ho mot trong hai
muc dich: c hung la k y hi@u de c hi c ac
am vi hoac c hung la c ac k y h i@u n g@
am (la- nhmng k y hi@u da duoc giii thich
ban dc1 u).
Truoc tien c hung ta s e x em x et ca c
k y hi@u am v i. Diem quan trong nhat c an
nh6 la v an de duong nhu k ha ro rang la
s6 luong k y hieu am v i phi giong c hinh
x ac nhu s o luong c ac am v i c hung ta c 6
trong ngon ngu. N6 gi6ng nhu v iec go
nh~p tren ban phim - c 6 mot s 6 phim c 6
dinh ma ban c 6 the nhan. Tuy nhien, mot
s 6 k y hieu nga am CLla c h(111g ta g6m c 6
hai k y tu; v i du, c hung ta thuong x em tf
(nhLI trong 'c hip' ~f1 p) la m q t am v i, v l
v ay tf la k y hieu am v i gem c o hai k tu
(t v a.n.
Mot trong nhtng bai tap thong thuong
k hi day phat am theo phLldng phap ngu
am la bai tap p hien am th eo am vi h oc,
trong d6 moi ngu am deu phi duoc x ac
d!nh la mot trong s o c ac am v j va duoc
v iet bang k y hieu phu hop. (Co hai loai
bai tap phien am k hac nhau: r1 mot loai,
p h ien am k h i n gh e d oc ch in h ta, hoc v ien
phi lang nghe mot nguoi - hoac bang -
v a gh i ra n hung gl ho nghe dLlc;1c; d lo ;:_i i

other, tra ns cri pti on from a w ri tten tex t,
the student is given a passage of dialogue
written in orthography and must use
phonemic symbols to represent how he or
she thinks it would be pronounced by a
speaker of a particular accent). In a phonemic
transcription, then. only the phonemic
symbols may be used; this has the advantage
that it is comparatively quick and easy to
learn to use it. The disadvantage is that as
you continue to learn more about phonetics
you become able to hear a lot of sound
differences that you were not aware of
before, and students at this stage find it
frustrating not to be able to write down more
detailed inform a lion.
The phonemic system described for BBC
contains forty-four phonemes. We can
display the complete set of these phonemes
by the usual classificatory methods used by
most phoneticians; the vowels and
diphthongs can be located in the vowel
quadrilateral - as was done in Chapters 2
and 3 - and the consonants can be placed in
a chart or table according to place of
articulation, manner of articulation and
voicing. Obviously, human beings can make
many more sounds than these, and
phoneticians use a much larger set of symbols
when they are trying to represent sounds
more accurately. The best-known set of
symbols is that of the International Phonetic
Association' s alphabet (the letters IPA are
used to refer to the Association and also to
its alphabet). The vowel symbols of the
cardinal vowel system (plus a few others) are
usually included on the chart of this
alphabet, which is reproduced at the
beginning of the book (p.xi). It is important
to note that in addition to the many symbols
on the chart there are a lot of di a cri ti cs, marks
which modify the symbol in some way; for
example, the symbol for cardinal vowel no.
4 [a ] may be modified by putting two dots
above it. This centra lis a ti o n diacritic then
gives us the symbol [a ] for a vowel which is
nearer to central than [a ] . It would not be
possible in this course to teach you to use all
these symbols and diacritics, but someone
who did know them all could write a
64
con lai, p h ie n am tu b ai van , hoc Vien
duoc cho mot doan hoi thoai dudc vi@t
chinh ta va phai dung cac ky hi@u am
vi de trlnh bay y nghia ma ho nghi se
dli(JC pha t am bi mot nguoi noi gio ng
dac bi@t.) Theo cach phi@n am theo am
vi hoc, chi co cac ky hieu am vi c6 the
dttc;ic dung; each nay c6 Liu diem la viec
hoc each dung no tuong doi nhanh va
de dang. Khuyet diem la khi ban tiep
tvc hoc them v ~ nga am hoc ban co the
nghe nhieu su khac nhau ve am ma truoc
do ban khong biet, va cac hoc vin o
giai doan nay tha'y kho chiu khi kh6ng
the viet ra thong tin chi tiet hon.
He thong am vi duoc mieu ti o day
voi giong di BBC) c6 b6n muoi b6n am
vi. Chung ta c6 the trlnh bay tap h(Jp
hon chinh cac am vi nay theo phliong
phap phan loai binh thuong cua cac nha
ngCI am hoc; cac nguyen am va nhi trung
am c6 the dtt(jc d~ I trong So' d6 nguye 11
am hlnh W giac - nhli trong chLlo'ng 2va
3 - cac cac phu am c6 the' dtt(Jc dc'jt
trong m9t bie' u d6 hay bang theo vi trf
phat am, cach phat am va am htu thanh.
Ro rang, con ngudi co the tao ra nhieu
am thanh hon nhang am nay, va cac nha
nga am hoc dung mQI tap h(Jp cac ky
hieu lon hon nhieu khi ho co gang trinl
bay cac am mot cach chinh xac hon.
Tap hap cac ky hi@u n6i tieng la bing
cha cai cua Hiep hoi Ngt am Quoc te
(International Phonetic Association' s
alphabet - IPA) (cac mau tu IPA duoc
dung de chi hi@p hi nay va cung d& chi
bang cht cai cia Hi@p hi nay). Cac ky
hi@u nguyen am cia he thc5'ng nguyen
am chuan (cong voi mot vai ky hi@u
khac) thuOng du@c dua vao bang chc, ca i
nay, tuc la bang da duoc gioi thi@u o
dau sach (trang xi). Dieu quan trong la
can phai luu y rang bn canh nhieu ky
hi@u tr@n bang cha cai, con c o nhieu
da u k hu bi@t , cac dau sta doi k hi@u
theo mQt cach nao do; vi dL_t, ky hieu
danh cho nguyen am chua'n so 4 [al c6
the du@c sta d6i bang cach dt dau fia i
cham & phia tren no. Du khu bit huong
 65
tran s crip tio n th at was mu ch mo re accu rate in
p h o n etic d etail - an d co n tain ed mu ch mo re
in formatio n - th an a p h o n emic tran s crip tion .
Su ch a tran s crip tio n wou ld b e called a
p ho n etic tran s crip tio n ; a pho neti c
tra ns cri ptio n c ont aining a lot of info rm at ion
abo u t th e ex act q u ality o f th e s o u n d s wo u ld
b e called a na rro w p ho n etic trans crip tio n,
wh ile o n e wh ich o n ly in clu d ed a little mo re
in formatio n th an a p h o n emic tran s crip tio n
wo u ld b e called a bro a d p ho n etic
tran s crip tion . In th is co urs e, p h o n etic s y mb o ls
are u s ed o ccas io n ally wh en it is n ecess ary
to g iv e an accu rate lab el to an allo p h on e o f
s o me En g lis h p hon eme, b u t we d o n o t do
an y p h o n etic tran s crip tio n o f co n tin u o u s
s p eech . Th at is a rath er s p ecialis ed ex ercis e.
Wh en s y mb o ls are u s ed to rep res en t p recis e
p h o n etic v alu es , n o t ju s t to rep res en t
p h o n emes , we en clo s e th em in s q u are
b rack ets [ ], as we h av e d o n e alread y with
card in al v o wels . In man y p ho n etics b oo k s ,
p h o n eme s y mb o ls are en clos ed within s lan t
b rack ets / / , b u t th is s eems u n n eces s ary for
o u r p urpos es .
It s h ou ld n o w b e clear th at th ere is a
d ifferen ce b etween p ho n emic s y mbo ls an d
p h o n etic s y mbo ls . Sin ce th e p h o n emic
s y mbo ls d o n o t h av e to in d icate p recis e
p h o n etic q u ality , it is p o ss ib le to cho o s e
amon g s ev eral p o s s ib le s y mbo ls to rep res en t
a p articu lar p h on eme; th is h as h ad th e
u n fortun ate res u lt th at d ifferen t b o o k s on
En g lish p ronun ciatio n h av e u s ed d ifferen t
s y mb o ls , cau s in g q u ite a lo t o f co n fu s io n to
s tu d en ts . In th is co urs e we are u s in g th e
s y mb o ls n o w mo s t freq u en tly u s ed in
En g lis h p u b lis h in g . It wou ld b e to o lon g a
tas k to ex amin e o th er writers ' s y mb o ls in
d etail, b u t it is wo rth co n s id erin g s o me o f
th e reason s for th e d ifferen ces . On e facto r is
th e co mp licatio n an d exp en s e o f u s in g
t rung nay c ho t a k y hieu [ a] danh c ho
m ot nguy en am gan c hinh giua hon [a].
Giao t rinh nay k hong t h€ day ban eac h
s t dung ht t at ca c ac k hieu v a dau
bi@t k hu nay , nhung m ot ngudi da biet
het t at ca c hung s e c6 t he v iet phien
am c hinh x ac hon nhieu theo c hi t iet ngd
am - v a co nhieu t hong t in - hon phuong
phap phien am theo am vi hqc. Su phien
am nhu t he duoc goi la phien am theo
n gu am h oc; phien am t heo n gCt am hqc
c ht a nhieu t hong t in v e c hat luong c hinh
x ac c ia c ac am thi du@c goi la phien
am t heo ngu am hoc hep, t rong k hi phien
am t heo ngu am hqc c hi c o m ot t hong
t in f t hon phien am t heo am vi hqc t hl
dudc goi la phien am theo ngd am hqc
r an g. T rong t ai lieu nay , cac k y hieu ng@
am di k hi dugc dung lac c an phai dt
m ot t en c hinh x ac c ho t ha am v i c t.la
m ot am v i nao do c la t ieng Anh, nhLt ng
c hung t a k hong phien am t heo n g Ct am
h o c c a c lo i n o i l i e n t u c . D 6 la m o t b i
t ap m ang tfnh c huy en nganh. Khi c a
k y hieu duoc dung cl€ t rlnh bay c ac gii\
t ri ngu am c hf nh x ac, k hong c hi d€ t rlnh
bay c ac am v i, c hung t a d;[lt c hung t rong
dau ngoac v uong [ ], nhu c hung t J da dung
c ho ca c nguy en am c huan. T rong nhieu
s a ch ngd am hqc , ca c k y hieu c:m vi
dt l<;/C di[l t t rong da'u gac h XO//, nhu·ng dieu
nay duong nhu k h6ng c an t hiet doi v oi
ca c Jn l) C dfch d, a c hung t a.
Bay gio, ro rang c 6 s t! k hac nhau giet a
c ac k y hi@u am v i v a cac k ; hieu ngt
am . Vi c ac k y hieu am vi k hong phii
c hi ra c hat luqng ngt7 am c hf nh x ac , nen
ban c o t he c hon lua git a m ot s o k y hieu
c 6 t he c6 de t rinh bay mot am v i dac
biet ; dang t ic la m ot s o s ac h ve c ac h
phat am t ieng Anh k hac da dung c ac k y
hieu k hac , k hien c ho nhieu hoc v ien boi
r6i. T rong t ai lieu nay , c hung t a dung
c ac k y hi@u du@c dung t huong x uy en
nha't t rong ca c t ai lieu x ua' t bin bang
t ie'ng Anh hien nay . Xem x et mot c ac h
c hi t ie' t ca c k hieu c la nht ng t ac gi
k hac la m ot nhiem vu lau dai nhung t hat
dang de x em x et nhung s u k hac biet v i
mot so ly do. Mt y eu t o la su pht c tap

special symbols which create problems in
typing and printing; it could, for example,
be argued that a is a symbol that is found in
practically all type-faces whereas re is
unusual, and that the a symbol should be
used for the vowel in 'cat' instead of re . Some
writers have concentrated on producing a set
of phoneme symbols that need the minimum
number of special or non-standard symbols.
Other writers have thought it important that
the symbols should be as close as possible
to the symbols that a phonetician would
choose to give a precise indication of sound
quality. To use the same example again,
referring to the vowel in ' cat', it would be
argued that if the vowel is noticeably closer
than cardinal vowel no. 4 [a], it is more
suitable to use the symbol re, which is usually
used to represent a vowel between open­
mid and open. There can be disagreements
about the most important characteristics of a
sound that symbol should indicate; one
example is tl'le vowels of the words 'bit' and
'beat' . Some writers have claimed that the
most important difference between them is
that the former is short and the latter long,
and tran&cribed the former with i and the
latter with i: (the difference being entirely
in the length mark); other writers have said
that the length (or quantity) difference is less
important than the quality difference, and
transcribe the vowel of 'bit' with the symbol
t and that of ' beat' with i. Yet another point
of view is that quality and quantity are both
important and should both be indicated; this
point of view results in a transcription using
, for 'bit' and i :, a symbol different from 1
both in shape of symbol (suggesting quality
difference) and in length mark (indicating
quantity difference), for 'beat' . This is the
approach taken in this course.
5. 3 Ph on ology
Chapters 2, 3 and 4 were mainly
concerned with matters of pho neti cs -the
comparatively straightforward business of
66
va chi phi s& dung cac ky hie@u dac' bi@t
gay ra nhieu van de trong viec danh cht
va in an; chang han, ngui ta cho rang a
la ky hi@u duoc tim thay trong tat ca
cac mat chu tren thuc te trong khi re la
ky hi@u la, va ky hi@u a nn duoc dung
cho nguyen am trong W 'cat' thay cho a-.
Mot so tac gia chuyen tam vao viec tao
ra mot tap hop cac ky hieu am vi can
mot s luong t i thieu cac ky hieu dac
bi@t (khong chuan). Cac tac gia khac
nghi rang dieu quan trong la cac ky lieu
nen gan voi cac kj hieu ma mot nha
ngu am hqc chqn IL/a de' chl chat luc;tng
am chinh xac thi cang tot. S t't dLrng lc_1 i
vi du ve nguyen am trong tu 'cat' , ngLIOi
ta tranh luan rang neu nguy@n am gan
hon dang ke' so voi nguyen am chua' n so
4 [a l, se thich hc;tp hon khi st'I dL1ng ky
hieu a von thuong duoc dung de' trlnh
bay nguye n am gida vi tri nta mo va
md. C6 the' co nhieu y kien bat dong ve
cac d<')c die'm quan trqng nhat cua m9t
am ma mot ky hieu co the chi ro; mot
vi du la cac nguyen am cla cac tr ' bit'
va ' beat' . M o t so tac gia cho rang su
khac biet quan trong nhat gila chCrng la
tu 'bit' ngan va tCI 'beat' dai, va di phi@n
am W 'bit' voi i va phi@n am W 'beat'
vdi i: (su khac nhau la hoan toan Ci cla'u
do dai); cac tac gi khac lai cho (a 11g
su khac biet ve d6 dai (hay so' ILlc;tng)
kh6ng quan trqng bang su khac biet v
chat ILIQ'ng, va phien am nguyen am n'1a
'bit' voi ky hieu 1 phien am cda ' beat'
v6i i. Tuy nhien, mot quan die'm khac
cho rang chat ILlc;tng va so ILIQ'ng ca hai
deu quan trqng va ca hai deu nen duoc
chi ro; quan diem nay dan den vi@c phi@n
am bang each dung T cho ' bit' va i:, lllQt
ky hieu khac vdi 1 o ca hinh dang ky
hieu (am chi su khac biet ve chat luong)
lan dau do dai (chi su khac biet v so
ILIQ"ng) cho 'beat' . Day la phLlong pha p
dLIQ'c dCrng trong giao trinh nay.
5. 3 Am v j hQc
Cac chuong tu 2 den 4 chi yeu de
cap den cac van de ve n gu am h oc ­
cong viec tuong di de dang de mi@u ta
 67
describing the sounds that we use in
speaking. When we talk about how
phonemes function in language, and the
relationships among the different phonemes
- when, in other words, we study the
abstract side of the sounds of language -
we are studying a related but different
subject that we call pho no l o g y . Only by
studying both the phonetics and the
phonology of English is it possible to acquire
a full understanding of the use of sounds in
English speech. Let us look briefly at some
areas that come within the subj.ect of
phonology; all these areas of study will be
met frequently in the rest of the course.
Study o f the pho nemic sy stem
It is sometimes helpful to think of the
phonemic system as similar to the set of cards
used in a card game, or the set of pieces used
in a game of chess. In chess, for example, the
exact shape and colour of the pieces are not
important to the game as long as they can be
reliably distinguished. But the number of
pieces, the moves they can make and their
relationship to all the other pieces are very
important; we would say that if any of these
were to be changed, the game would no
longer be what we call chess. Similarly,
playing-cards can be printed in many
different styles and sizes; but while changing
these things does not affect the game played
with them, if we were to remove one card
from the pack or add one card to it before the
start of a game, nobody would accept that
we were playing the game correctly. In a
similar way, we have a more or less fixed set
of "pieces" (phonemes) with which to play
the game of speaking English. There may
be many slightly different realisations of the
various phonemes, but the most important
thing for communication is that we should
be able to make use of the full set of
phonemes.
cac am ma chung ta dung trong van 1101.
Khi chung ta noi ve cht c nang ci a cac
am vi trong ngon, va moi quan he giua
cac am vi khac nhau - n6i cach khac,
khi chung ta nghien cuu khia canh trt u
tuong cda cac am trong ngon ngt , chung
ta dang nghien cuu mot chi de khac
nhling c6 lien quan ma chung ta goi la
am vi hoc. Chi bang each nghien CULi
ca ngCI am hoc va am vi hoc cua ting
Anh ta moi co the' hie'u het each dt:1ng
cac am trong tieng Anh. Chung ta hay
xem qua mot so linh vuc co trong chi de
am vi hoc nay; cac linh vuc nghien ct u
nay se duoc trinh bay chi tiet hon o phan
sau trong giao trinh nay.
Nghien cu u he thong am vi
06i khi nghi he thong am vi g,ong
nhu mot bo bai dung trong tro chi danh
bai, hay mot be qun co duoc dung trong
tro choi co vua cung c6 ich. Chang han,
trong co vua, hlnh dang va mu sac chfnh
xac cua cac quan co kh6ng quan trong
mien la chung co the de dang duoc phan
biet. Nhung so luong quan co, cac nuoc
di va moi quan he cl a chung voi tat ca
nhCtng qua n co khac deu ra't quan tro ng;
ta n6i rang neu nhu tat ca nhung tht'.t nay
bi thay d6i thi tro choi nay se khong con
dtJQc goi la ca vua m7a. TL/o'ng IL!, cac
la bi co the duoc in voi nhieu kieu dang
va kich co khac nhau; tuy nhien khi thay
d6i nhmng th& nay khong lam anh hung
den tr choi, nu chung ta lay mot lai
bai ra khoi bo bai hay them mot la bi
vao bo bai truoc kh i bat dau tro choi th 1
khong ai chap nhan rang chung ta dang
choi tro choi nay dung each. Tt1ang tlf,
chung ta it nhieu co mot tap hop cac
am vi co dinh cl€ "choi" tro choi noi tieng
Anh. C6 the' co nhieu dang the hi@n khac
nhau di chut cda cac am vi khac nhau,
nhung dieu quan trong nhat de giao tiep
la chung ta phi co kha nang s& dung
toan bo tap hop cac am vi.
 68
Phoneme sequences and syllable
st ruct ure
In every language we find that there are
restrictions on the sequences of phonemes
that are used. For example, no English word
begins with the consonant sequen;;e zbf and
no words end with the sequence reh. In
phonology we must try to analyse what _the
restrictions and regularities are in a
particular language, and it is usually found
helpful to do this by studying the syllables
of the language.
Cac chuoi am vi va cu truc am tiet
Trong moi ngon ng@, ta deu thay rang
co cac han che o chuoi am vi duoc st dung.
Vi du, khong co tt nao trong tieng Anh bat
dau bang chuoi phu am zb f va khong co tu
nao tan cing bang chu6i reh. Trang am vi
hoc, chung ta co gang phan tich xem cac
gioi h,;111 va quy cu la gl trong mot ng6n ngCI
dac bi@t va nguoi ta thuong thay htu ich
khi thuc hien cong viec ny bang cach
nghien ctu cac am ti &t cda ngon ngd.

Suprasegmental phonology Am vi hoc sieu doan tinh

Many significant sound contrasts are not C6 nhieu su trai nguoc quan trong ve
the result of differences between phonemes. am khng phai la do su khac nhau g i Ct a
For example, stress is important: when the cac am vi. Chang han, tr o n g am (stress)
word ' import' is pronounced with the first quan tr<;>ng: khi tu ' import' duoc phat am
syllable sounding stronger than the second, voi am tiet dau tien nghe co ve manh hon
English speakers hear it as a noun, whereas am tiet tht hai, ngu' i noi tieng Anh nghe
when the second syllable is stronger the word no la danh tu, nhung nguoc lai khi am ti&t
is heard as a verb. Intonation is also th@ hai manh hon thi IL/ nay dLIQC nghe la
important: if the word 'right' is said with the dong tt. Ngu di @e u (intonation) cung quan
pitch of the voice rising, it is likely to be trong: neu tu ' right' duoc noi bang mot
heard as a question or as an invitation to a giong nang cao, co the no duoc nghe nhu
speaker to continue, while falling pitch is la cau hoi hoac nhu la mot ldi mii, trai lai
more likely to be heard as confirmation or giong ha thap rat co the duoc nghe nhu la
agreement. These examples show sound loi khang dinh hay dong y. Cac vi du nay
contrasts that extend over several segments cho thay s u trai nguoc ve am keo dai qua
(phonemes). and such contrasts are called mot so am doan (am vi), va nhmng su trai
suprasegmental. We will look at many other nguoc nhu the du@c goi la am v i h o c si eu
aspects of suprasegmental phonology later doa n ti nh. Chung ta hay xem mot so kh fa
in the course. · canh khac cda am vi hoc sieu doan tinh &
phan sau trong sach nay.
Notes on problems and further reading
This chapter is theoretical rather than practical. There is no shortage of material to read
on the subject of the phoneme, but much of it is rather difficult and assumes a lot of background
knowledge. For basic reading I would suggest Katamba (1989: Chapter 2), Cruttenden
(1994: Chapter 5, Section 3) or Giegerich (1992: 29-33). There are many classic works:
Jones (1976; first published 1950) is widely regarded as such, although it is often criticised
nowadays for being superficial or even naive. Another classic is Pike' s Phonemics ( 1947).
subtitled "A Technique for Reducing Languages to Writing" : this is essentially a practical
handbook for people who need to analyse the phonemes of unknown languages, and contains
many examples and exercises.

The subject of symbols is a large one: there is a good survey in Abercrombie ( 1967:
Chapter 7). The IPA has tried as far as possible to keep to Roman-style symbols, although it
is inevitable that these symbols have to be supplemented with diacritics. The IPA' s present
 69

p ract i ce o n s y mb o lis at i on i s s et o u t i n t h e H an d boo k o f t h e IPA (IPA , 1.9 9 9 ).T h ere i s a l o t o f

i n fo rmat i o n ab ou t s y mbo l d es i gn an d ch o i ce i n Pu llu m an d L ad u s aw ( 1 9 96). Tho s e i n t eres t ed
i n t h e h i st o ry o f t h e IPA' s w ay o f cl as s i fy i n g s o u n d s s h o u l d read A lb ri g h t (1 9 5 8 ). So me
p hon et i ci an s wo rk i n g at t h e en d o f t h e n i n et een t h cen t u ry t ri ed t o d ev el op n o n -alph ab eti c
s et s o f s y mb o l s w ho s e s h ap e w o u l d i nd ic at e all es s en t i al p hon et ic ch aract eri s ti cs ; t h es e are
d es cri b ed i n A b ercro mb i e (1 967 : Ch ap t er 7 ).

It i s o bv i o u s t h at o n e mu s t cho o s e b et w een , o n t h e o n e h and , s y mb o l s t h at are v ery

in fo rmat i v e b u t s l o w t o w ri t e and , on t h e o t h er, s y mb o l s t h at are no t v ery p reci s e b u t are
q u i ck and co n v en i en t t o u s e. Pi k e (1 94 3 ) p res en t s at t h e en d o f h i s b oo k an "an al p h ab et i c
n o t atio n " d es i g n ed t o p ermi t t h e co d i ng o f s ound s w i t h g reat p reci s i on o n t h e b as i s o f t h ei r
articul ati o n; an i nd i cat i on o f t h e co mp l ex i t y o f t h e s y s t em i s t h e fact t h at t h e fu ll s p eci fi cat i o n
o f t h e vo w el [o ] req u i res eig h ty -ei g h t ch aract ers ! On t h e o p p o s ite s i d e, man y A meri can
w ri t ers h av e avoid ed t h e I PA s y mbo l s as b ei ng t oo co mpl ex an d h av e t ri ed t o u s e as far as
p os s i bl e s y mbo l s an d d i acrit ic s w hich are al read y i n ex i s t en ce fo r v ari o u s s p eci al al p h ab et i c
req u i rement s o f E u ro p ean l an g u ag es. an d w h i ch are av ai l abl e o n s t an d ard k ey b o ards . Fo r
ex amp l e w h ere t h e I PA h as J an d 3 , s y mb o l s n o t u s u ally fo u n d o u t s id e p h o n et ic s , Am eri can s
u s e ·c and f , t h e mark abov e t h e s y mb o l s b ein g w i d el y u s ed fo r Sl avon i c l an gu ag es t h at d o
n o t u s e t h e Cy rill i c al p h ab et. Th e w i d es p read u s e o f co mp u t er p ri n t ers an d w o rd- p ro cess i ng
h as rev o lut i on i s ed t h e u s e o f s y mbo l s, an d s et s o f p h on et ic fo n t s are w i d el y av ailabl e v i a
· t h e i n t ern et. W e are s t ill s o me w ay , h o w ev er, fro m h av i ng a u n i v ers ally ag reed s et o f IPA
s y mbo l cod es, an d fo r mu ch co mp u t er-b as ed - p h o n et i c res earch i t i s n eces s ary t o mak e d o
w i t h conv en tio n s w h i ch u s e ex i s tin g k ey b o ard ch aract ers . Mo s t E u ro p ean res earch ers h av e
ad o p t ed t h e SA MPA al p h ab et ; d et ai l s can b e s een o n t h e SA MPA w eb s i t e at h ttp : / /
w w w .p h o n .u cl.u k / ho me/ s amp a/ h o me.h t m

Note for teachers

It s h o u l d b e mad e cl ear t o s t ud en t s t h at t h e t reat men t o f t h e p h o n eme i n t h i s ch ap t er i s
o n l y an i n t ro d u ct i o n . It i s d i ffi cu l t t o go i n t o d et ail ed ex amp l es s i n ce n ot man y s y mb o l s
h av e b een i nt ro d u ced at t h i s s t ag e, s o fu rt h er co n s i d erat i on o f p h o nolo g ic al i s s u es i s l eft
u ntil l at er ch ap t ers .
.
Written exercises Bai tap viet
T h e· w o rd s i n t h e fo llo w in g lis t s h o u l d b e Cac tu trong danh sach sau day nen
t ran s cri b ed fi rs t p h o n emi cally , 't h en (i n dugc phien am truoc tien theo am vi hoc,
s q u are b rack et s ) p h o n et i cally . In y o u r r6i (trong dau ngoac vung) theo ngu am
p h o n et i c t ran s cri p t i on y o u can u s e t h e hoc. Khi phien am theo ngt am hoc, ban
fo llo w i n g d i acrit i cs : c6 the dung cac dau khu biet sau day:
b, d, g p ro n o un ced w i tho u t v oi ci n g are • b, d, g duoc phat am vo thanh thi duoc
t rans cri b ed [b , d. g]
0 • •
phi@n am [b0 , d.
.. •
.
g]
•••

p, t, k p ro no u n ced w i th as p i rat ion are

t ran s cri b ed [p ' , t, k' ]'
•
duoc phien am [p, t, ]
p,t, k duoc phat am co bat hoi thi
 70
• i: , a1, 01, 3: u: wh en s h o rten ed b y a • i:, a:, J:, a: u: khi du@c gian lugc con
follo win g fortis co n s o n an t s h o u ld b e mot phu am manh nen d uo c phi@n
tran s crib ed i·, a•, :, •, 3 ', u· am i, a, 3, 3, u
• ,, e, re, A, n, a wh en s h o rten ed b y a • 1, e,ae , 4, D, a khi duc gian lugc con mot
follo win g fortis co n s o n an t s hou ld b e phu am manh theo sau nen duoc phien
tran s crib ed i , e, re, X, u, u , a. Us e th e am i, e, re, X, u, u , a. H ay dung dau
s ame mark for d iph th o ng s . tlidng ti,( cho cac nhi trung am.
Exa mp le s p ellin g : ' p eat'; p hon emic: pi:t Vi du: tu 'peat'; phien am theo am vi
p h o n etic: [p"i ·t] hoc: pi:t, phien am theo ngft am hoc: [p''H J
Wo rd s for tras crip tion P hi@n am cac tr:
a) s p eed c) b o o k e) ca r g) ap p eared i ) s talk
h) p artak e d) g o at .f) b ad h) to as t
 71

CHUONG 6

affri cat e/ ' a: fn k at / (n ) a m tile xd t

articu l at e / a: ' t u kj u l ert / ( v) cau a m , t ao a m

b reat h y v o i ce /'b ri : o i ' v 'Jrs / gi <,m g Mn Mn
co mp o n en t / ka m ' p au'n an t / ( a dj -n ) a m t hon g

d evo i ced / ,d i : V 'JJ st / (adj) vo t h a nh h 6 a

d ev o i cing / ,d i : ' v 1 s 1 / (n ) SI/ vo t h a n h h 6 a

fo rt i s / ' h t rs / (adj) am mgnh

fri cat i v e / ' frk atrv / (n ) a m xd t ·

g l o ttal cl o s ure / ' g l u t ! ' k hm3 a/ st do n g t h an h m o n/kh e t h an h

@mi

g l o ttal i s at i on , / ,g l u t al ar' ze1 Jn/ su t h a n h h iiu h 6 a

g l o ttal i s ed /. ' g l u t al a1 zd / (ad j ) (a m ) th a n h h iiu h 6 a

g ro o v e/ g ru : v / (n ) h tiJ i l i5m (h i nh o ng m a n g )

h i s sing s oun d /'h 1 s 1 1J ' s aun cV a m xi

h o mo rg an i c / ,h u m'J: ' g remk / (adj ) cng bo ph @n cau am

i n t h a t / m o a t / (i d i o m ) iJchJ, Mi vi
i n t en s e / m' t ens / (ad j ) m q.n h

l en i s / ' l i : ms / (ad j ) a m y@u

marg i n al / ' ma: d 3 ml / (adj ) b en l e, t h t yea, ph u

mi sl ead i n g / ,ms ' l i : d r/ (adj ) ga y hi l u l iim '

p al at al / ' p a: l at l/ (ad j ) n iim ' iJ n g r;ic clin g

p ass ag e / ' p as 1 d 3 / (n ) d um n g d i , l o t d i , lo'i t h o d t kh i

p h o n etically / fa' n etTk h / (ad v ) ve m a t n g ii a m

p h o n o lo g i cally / ,fau n a' l u d 3 rk h , ,fu n -/ (ad v ) v e m a t a m vj

f

p o st -al v eo l ar/ ,p au s t ,a: l v 1 ' au la , ,p : mst a: l ' v ral a/ (adj) t r @ n n uu r a ng

s l i t / s h t / (n ) k h e d et
t o ngu e b l ad e / ' IA IJ ,b l e1 d/ m a t lui, so n g luai
-. u n d erg o / ,A n d a' g au / ( v) trdi qua

6 Fricatives and affricates
Chuong 6:
6.1 Producti on of f ricat ives and
af fricates
F ri ca ti v es are co n s on an ts with th e
ch aracteris tic th at. wh en th ey are p rodu ced,
air es cap es th rou gh a s mall p ass ag e an d
mak es a h is s in g s oun d . Mos t lan g u ag es h av e
fricativ es , th e mos t co mmon ly fou nd b ein g
s o meth in g lik e s . Fricativ es are co n tinu an t
co n s o n an ts , wh ich mean s th at y o u can
co n tin u e mak in g th em witho u t in terrup tion
as lon g as yo u h av e en o u g h air in y ou r lun g s .
Plo s iv es, wh ich were d es crib ed in Ch ap ter
4 , are n o t con tin u an ts . Yo u can d emo n s trate
th e imp o rtan ce o f th e n arro w p ass ag e for th e
air in th e follo win g ways:
i) Mak e a lon g , h is s in g s s ou n d an d
g radu ally lo wer y o u r ton g u e s o th at it is
n o lon g er clo s e to th e roo f o f th e mo u th .
Th e h is s in g s o u n d will s to p as th e air
p as s ag e g ets larg er.
ii) Mak e a lo n g f s ound, an d wh ile you are
p rod u cin g this s o un d u s e y o u r fing ers to
p u ll th e lo wer lip away fro m th e u p p er
teeth . No tice h o w th e h iss in g s o u n d o f
th e air es cap in g b etween teeth an d lip
s u dd en ly s to p s .
A ffri ca tes are rath er co mp lex
co n s o n an ts . Th ey b eg in as p lo s iv es an d en d
as fricativ es . A familiar ex amp le is th e
affricate h eard at th e b eg inn in g an d end o f
th e wo rd ' ch u rch '. It b eg in s with an
articu latio n p ractically th e s ame as th at for t,
b u t ins tead o f a rap id releas e with p lo s io n
an d as p iratio n , as we wo u ld fin d in th e wo rd
'tip ' , th e to ng u e mov es to th e p o s itio n for
th e fricativ e J th at we fin d at th e b eg inn in g
o f th e wo rd 'sh ip '. So th e p lo s iv e is follo wed
immed iately b y fricativ e n o is e. Sin ce
.Ph @n eticatly th is affricate is co mp o s ed o f t
ad f we rep res en t it as tf, s o th at th e wo rd
'c:!'11.:11.:ch' i,t; tran s crib ed as tJa :tJ
72
Am xat va am tac xat
6.1 Sg hinh thanh cua am xat va am
ta c xat
A m xat la nhang phi) am co dac diem
la, khi chung duoc tao ra, khong khi thoat
qua m o t I6i nh6 va tao ra am xi. Hau
het cac ngon ng! deu co am xat, thuong
duoc tim thay nhat la nhung am giong
nhu s. Am xat la nhung phu am thong,
nghia la ban co the lien tuc tao ra chung
ma khong gian doan mien la ban co d
kh6ng khf trong phoi. C ac am bat, da
dugc mieu ta trong chuong 4, khong phai
la phi) am thong. Ban co the chung minh
tam quan trong cha loi thoat khi hep theo
cac cach sau day:
i) Tao m o t am s xi lau va dan dan ha
thap luoi de n6 khong con gan vdi
vom mi@ng. Am xi se ngung khi l6i
thoat khi ngay cang lon hon.
ii) Tao am f lau, va trong khi ban dang
tao am nay, hay dung ng6n tay keo
m6i ducti ra xa ham rang tren. Luu y
xem am xl cua kh6ng khf dang thoat
ra gida rang va moi ngung m(>t each
dot ngot nhu the nao.
A m ta c x a t la cac phu am kha ph(c
tap. C hung bat dau la cac am bat va
ket thuc la am xat. M o t vi du quen thuoc
la am tac xat nghe d def u va cuoi tt
'church' . N6 bat dau bang su phat am
gi6ng nhll St/ phat am cua t, nhllng thay
vi phatam nhanh co tieng bat hoi, nhu
chung ta thay trong tu 'tip', luoi di chuye'n
den vi tri danh cho am xat f ma chung ta
thay d dJu tu 'ship'. Vi vay theo ngay
sau am bat nay la am xat. Vi theo nga
am, am tac xat nay duoc tao thanh tt t
va f nen ta trlnh bay n6 la tJ , cho nen W
'church' dLl(Jc ph ie 11 am la tJ a :t.f.
 73
H o w ev er, t h e d efi nit i o n o f an affri cat e
mu s t b e a l it tle mo re res tri ct ed t h an wh at h as
b een s ai d s o far. W e w ou l d n o t cl as s all
s eq u en ces o f p l o s i v e p l u s fri cat i v e as
-. affri cat es ; fo r ex amp l e, w e fin d i n t h e mi d dl e
o f t h e w o rd 'b reak fas t ' t h e p l o s i v e k fo llo w ed
by t h e fric at i v e f . Eng lis h s p eak ers w ould
g en erally n o t accep t t h at kf fo rms a
co n s on an t al un i t i n t h e w ay t h at tJ s eems t o .
It i s us u ally s aid t h at t h e p l o s i v e an d t h e
fo llo w i n g fri cati v e mu s t b e mad e w i t h t h e
s ame art i cu l at o rs - t o u s e a t echni cal t erm,
t h e p l o s i v e an d fri cat i v e mu s t b e
hom o rg a ni c. T h e s o u n d s k an d f are n o t
h o mo rg an i c, b u t t an d J, b o t h b eing mad e
w i t h t h e t o n g u e bl ad e ag ai n s t t h e alv eol ar
ri d g e, are ho mo rg an i c. T h i s s till l eav es t h e
p o ss i b ili t y o f q u i t e a l arg e n u mb er o f
affri cat es, s ince, fo r ex ampl e, t i s ho mo rg an i c
n ot o nl y w i t h J b u t al s o wi t h s , s o ts w o u l d
al so cou n t as an a ffric a te. A ltho u g h t h e
affri cat es can b e s ai d t o b e co mp o s ed o f a
p lo s i v e an d a fri cat i v e, i t i s u s u al t o reg ard
t h em as b ei n g s i ng l e, i n d ep en d en t .
p h o n emes o f E n g lis h . In t hi s w ay , t i s o n e
p hon eme, J i s an o t h er an d tJ y et an oth er.
W e w ou ld s ay t h at t h e p ro n u n ci at i o n o f t h e
w o rd ' chu rch ' tJ3:tJ i s co mp o s ed o f t h ree
p ho n emes, tf, s: an d tJ. We will l o o k at t h i s
q u es t i o n o f "t w o s ound s = o n e p h on eme"
fro m t h e t h eo retical p o in t o f v i ew i n a l at er
ch ap t er.
6 .2 The fricativ es o f Eng lish
En g lis h h as q u it e a co mp l ex s y st em o f
fri cat i v e p h o n emes . T h ey can b e s een in t h e
t a b l e b el o w :
PLACE OF ARTICULATION (VI TR[ CAU AM )
Labiodental Dental
(M 6i) ( R a n g)
Fortis ("voiceless")
Am m ;;m h ("v6 f II
thanh")
Lenis ("voiced")
Am y e'u ("/u7µ V iJ
thanh")
Tuy nhien, dinh nghia ve am tac xat
ph:.1 i nghiem khac hon mot chut so vdi
nhung gi d dugc neu cho den bay gia.
C hung ta khong xep loai tat ca cac chuoi
am bat cong am xat la am tac xat; vi
du, ta thay o git a tu 'breakfast' am bat
k c6 am xat theo sau f. Nhung ngucri n6i
tieng Anh thuong khong chap nhan rang
kf thanh lap mot don vi phu am theo each
thanh lap ca tf. Nguoi ta thuong noi
rang am bat va am xat theo sau phai
du@c tao ra bang nhIng bo phan cau am
tuong tu - d e dung thuat ngu ky thuat,
am bat va am xat phai co cmng b } p h an
ca'u am. C ac am k va f khong cung be
phan cau am, nhung t va f, ca hai du
du; c tao ra bang song luoi t vao nuou
rang, la cung bo phan cau am. Dieu nay
van de lai kha nang la mot ludng kha
lon cac am tac xat, vi, chng han, t cung
bo phn cau am khong chi voi f ma con
vois, vi vay ts cung se du; c xem la am
til e xat. Mac du cac am tac xat c6 the
duc cho la duc cau tao tu mot am bat
va mot am xat, nhung ngudi ta thuong
xem chung la am vi don, doc lap trong
tieng Anh. Theo each nay, t la mot am
vi, f la mot am vi khac va tf van la mt
am vi khac. C hung ta n6i rang cach phat
am ca tu 'church' tf3:tf dugc tao ra tu
ba am vi, tf, s : va tf. C hung ta se xem
xet thac mac "hai am = mc;,t am vi" nay
tu quan diem ly thuyet & chuong sau.
6 .2 Ca c a m x a t tro ng tie'ng Anh
Tie'ng Anh co mot he thong cac am
xat kha pht c tap. C hung c6 the dugc
xem trong bang duoi day:
P ost-
Alveolar Glottal
alveolar
( Lqi) ( H au )
( Sa u /q i )
s J
h
z 3

With the exception of glottal, each place
of articulation has a pair of phonemes, one
fortis and one lenis. This is similar to what
was seen with the plosives. The fortis
Fig 14. a. Labiodental
fricative
Hinh 14. a. Am xat
moi rang
fricatives are said to be articulated with
greater force than the lenis, and their friction
noise is louder. The lenis fricatives have very
little or no voicing in initial and final
positions, but may be voiced when they occur
between voiced sounds. The fortis fricatives
have the effect of shortening a preceding
vowel, as do fortis plosives. Thus in a pair of
words like ' ice' m s and 'eyes' a rz, the 01
diphthong in the first word is considerably
shorter than in the second. Since there is only
one fricative with glottal place of.
articulation, it would be rather misleading
to call it fortis or lenis (which is why there is
a line on the chart above dividing h from the
other fricatives).
o AU6, Exs 1-3
We will now look at the fricatives separately,
according to their place of articulation.
f, v (example words: 'fan' , 'van' ; 'safer',
'saver' ; ' half, 'halve' ),
These are l a bi o denta l , that is, the lower
lip is in contact with the upper teeth as
shown in -Fig. 14a.-The fricative noise is
never very strong and is scarcely audible
in the case of v.
It, ll (example words: ' thumb', ' thus' ;
' ether', 'father' ; 'breath' , 'breathe' )
The dental fricatives have sometimes
been described as if the tongue was actually
placed between the teeth, and it is common
for teachers to make their students do this
when they are trying to teach them to make
74
Ngoai tru truong hop cua vi tri hau,
moi vi tri cau am deu co mot cap am vi,
mot am manh va mot am yeu. Tuong tu
voi cac am bat. Ngudi ta cho rang cac
b. Dental fricative
b. Am xat rang
am xat manh duoc cau lc)O bJing mqt
luc Ion hon am xat yeu, va vi the tieng
xat Ion hon. Cac am xat yeu co thanh
nho ho4c vo thanh o vi tri dau va cuoi,
nhung co tl1€ huu thanh khi chung xuat
hi@n gila cac am hlu thanh. Cac am
xat ma nh co tac dung lam gian luoc
nguyen am dung truoc, cac am bat lllc)llh
cung vay. Do do, trong mot cap tu nhu
' ice' a s va ' eyes' m z, nhi trung am m
trong tu dau ti@n ngan hon dang ke so
vai tu thu hai. Vi chi co mot am xat vdi
vi tri hau nen nguoi ta hi&u lam no la
am manh hay am yeu (do la ly do tai
sao co mot duong tr@n bieu do a tren
chia h vdi cac am xat khac).
Bay gio chung ta se xem xet cac am
xat rieng, theo vi tri cau tao am cla chung.
f, v (cac tu mau: ' fan' , ' safer', ' saver';
' half' , ' halve' )
Day la nhung am mi rang, nghia la
moi duo@i tiep xuc voi rang tren nhu minh
hoa trong hinh 14a. Tie' ng xat kho ng
manh lam va chi vla co the nghe duoc
trong truong hi:,p cua V.
It, (cac tt mJu: ' thumb' , ' thus' ,
' ether', ' father' , ' father' , ' breath' , ' breathe' ).
Cac am xat rang doi khi duoc miu
ta nhu the luoi duoc dat giua hai ham
rang, va cac giao vien thuong day hoc
vien cua ho lam dieu nay de tao ra am
nay. Tuy nhien, tren thuc te, luoi huong

th is s o u n d . In fact, h o wev er,
th e to n g u e is n o rmally p laced
behind th e teeth, as s h o wn in
Fig . 1 4 b, with th e tip tou ch in g
th e in s id e o f th e lo wer fro n t
teeth an d th e b lad e tou ch in g
th e in s id e o f th e u p p er teeth .
Th e air es cap es th roug h th e
g ap s b etween th e to n gu e and
th e teeth . As with f an d v , th e
fricativ e n o is e is weak .
75
duc,c d~t phfa sau rang, nhu
duqc minh hoa trong hlnh 146,
vdi dau ludi cham vao ben
trong rang ham du6'i phia tru6'c
va song ludi cham vao ben
trong rang ham tren. Khong khi
thoat qua cac khe nam gida
lucJi va rang. Nhu v6'i f va v,
tieng xat yeu.
Fig 1 4 . c. Po s t-alv eo lar fricativ e
Hinh 14. c. Am xat sau lqi

s , z (ex amp le wo rd s : 's ip' , ' zip ' ; ' facin g ',
'p h as ing'; ' rice' , 'ris e' )
Th es e are alv eo lar fricativ es , with th e
s ame p lace o f articu latio n as t an d d. Th e air
es cap es th rou g h a n arro w p as s ag e alon g th e
cen tre o f th e ton g u e, an d th e s o u n d p rod u ced
is co mp arativ ely in ten s e. Th e to n g u e
p o s ition is s h o wn in Fig . 1 2 in Ch ap ter 4 .
f, 3 (ex amp le wo rd s : 's hip ' (in itial 3 is v ery
rare in En g lis h ); 'Russ ia', ' meas u re'; ' Iris h',
' g a rag e ' )
Th es e fricativ es are called p o s t-alv eo lar,
which can b e tak en to mean th at th e to n gu e
is in con tact with an area s lig h tly fu rth er b ack
th an th at for s, z (s ee Fig . 1 4 c). If y o u mak es ,
th en J you s h o u ld b e ab le to feel y o u r ton gu e
mo v e b ack wards .
·Th e air es cap es th rough a p as s ag e alo n g
.,th e cen tre o f the to ng u e, as in s an d J, b u t th e
p as s ag e is a little wid er. Mo s t B B C s p eak ers
h av e round ed lip s for J an d l, an d this is an
imp o rtan t d ifferen ce b etween th es e
con s on an ts an d s an d z. J is a co mmo n an d
wid ely -d is trib u ted p h o n eme, b u t 3 is not. All
th e fricativ es d es crib ed s o far_(f, v, II, iJ, s, z,.D
can b e fou n d in i_n itial, med ial an d fin al
p os ition s , as s h o wn in th e ex amp le wo rd s . In
th e cas e o f J, ho wev er, th e d istrib u tio n is
mu c;h mo re limited . Very few. Eng lis h wo rd s
b eg in with J (mos t_ o f th em h av e co me in to
th e langu ag e co mp arativ ely recen tly fro m
Fren ch ) an d n o t man y en d with th is
s , z (cac tu m~u: 'sip', 'zip'; 'facing',
'phasing'; 'rice', 'rise')
Day la nhang am xat loi, voi vi trf
cau am giong nhut va d. Khong khi thoat
qua mt khe hep doc theo chinh gil a
luoi, va am tao ra tuong doi manh. Vi trf
ludi dudc minh hoa trong hinh 1 2 d
chuong 4.
f, 3 (cac tu mau: 'ship' (3 o vi tri dau
rat hiem gap trong tieng Anh); 'Russia',
'measure'; 'Irish', 'garage')
Nhang am xat nay duoc goi la am
sau lc,i, nghTa la luoi tiep xuc voi vung
nam sau hon mot chut so voi vmng danh
cho s , z (xem hlnh 14c). Neu ban tao ra
s, roi f ban se co the cam thay ludi ci a
mlnh di chuyen vao phia trong.
Khong khi thoat qua mt loi doc theo
chinh giaa lu6'i, nhli trong s va f, nhung
I6i nay rong hon mot chi t. Hau het cac
phat thanh vien dai BBC deu doc tron
moi cha f va 3, va day la su khac biet
quan trong giaa cac phi) am nay va s va
z. J la am vi duoc phan b6 ph6 bien va
rong rai, nhung 3 th] khong phai vay. Tat
ca nhang am xat da duc mieu ta cho
den bay gio (f, v , 0, 0, s , z, D deu c6 the
duoc tim thy & vi tri dau, gil a va cu6i,
nhu dudc minh hoa trong cac tt mc1u.
Tuy nhien, a truong hop cl a 3, su phan
b6 bi gioi han nhieu hon. Rat it cac tt
tieng Anh bat du v6i s (hau het chung

con s o n an t. On ly med ially, in wo rd s s u ch as
'meas u re', 'u s u al' (mc3a, ju:3ual) is it fou n d at
all co mmo n ly .
h (ex amp le wo rd s: ' h ead ' , 'ah ead ' ,
'p lay ho u s e')
Th e p lace o f articu latio n o f th is
con s o n an t is g lo ttal. Th is mean s th at th e
n arrowin g th at p rod u ces th e frictio n n o is e is
b etween th e v o cal fold s , as d es crib ed in
Ch ap ter 4 . If y o u b reath e o u t s ilen tly , th en
p rod u ce h, yo u are mo v in g y ou r v o cal fold s
fro m wid e ap art to clo s e to g eth er. Ho wev er,
th is is n o t p rod u cin g s p eech . Wh en we
p rod u ce h in s p eak in g En g lis h , man y
d ifferen t th in g s h app en in d ifferen t
co n tex ts. In th e wo rd ' h at', th e h mu s t b e
follo wed by an re v o wel. Th e to n g u e, jaw
an d lip p o s ition s for th e v o wel are all
p rodu ced s imu ltan eou s ly with th e h
co n s o n an t, s o th at th e g lo ttal fricativ e h as an
re q u ality . Th e s ame is fou n d for all vo wels
follo win g h; it alway s h as th e q u ality o f th e
v o wel it p reced es, s o th at in th eo ry if y ou
co u ld lis ten to a tap e-reco rd in g o f h -s o u n d s
cu t o ff fro m th e b eg inn in g s o f d ifferen t
vo wels in wo rd s lik e 'h it' , 'h at' , 'h o t', ' h u t' , ·etc.,
y o u s h ou ld b e ab le to id entify wh ich v o wel
wo u ld h av e follo wed th e h. On e way o f
s tatin g th e ab o v e facts is to s ay th at
phonetically h is a vo iceles s vo wel with th e
q u ality _o f th e v o iced v o wel th at follo ws it. ·
Pho n o log ically , h is a co n s o n an t. It is
u s u ally (o un d b efore vo wels . As well as
b ein g fou nd in in itial p o s itio n it is foun d
med ially ,in wo rd s s u ch as : ' ah ead ' a be d,
'g reen h o u s e' gri: nha os , 'bo athoo k,' ba ot hok.
-It is n o ticeab le th at wh en h o ccu rs b etween
vo iced s oun d s (as in th e wo rd s ' ah ead ' an d
' g reenho u s e' ), it is p ron o u n ced with v o icin g
- n o t th e n o rmal v o icing o f v o wels b u t a
weak, s lig h tly fricativ e s ou n d called bre a t hy
v o ic e. It is n o t n eces s ary for .fo reign learners
to attemp t to copy th is v o iciny , thou g h it is
impo rtan t to p rono u n ce h w' ere it s h o u ld
o ccu r in BBC p ron un citio n . ,vfan y Eng lis h
s p eak ers are s urp ris in g ly s en s itiv e al> ou t th is
- co n s on an t; th ey ten d to ju dg e as s u b ­
76
deu bat nguon tu tieng Phap) va khong
nhieu tu tan cung bang phu am nay. Am
nay ph6 bin & vi tri gil a trong cac tu
nhtJ 'measure', 'usual' (me:p, ju:3ual) .
h (cac tu mciu: 'head' , 'ahead' ,
'playhouse')
.
Vi tri cau am ca phu am nay la o
hu. Nghia la khoang hep tao ra tieng
xat nam o gil a cac day thanh am, nhu
dudc mieu ta trong chuong 4. Neu ban
tho ra nhe nhang, sau do tao ra h, ban
dang di chuyen cac day thanh am tu vi
tri den gan nhau hdn. Tuy nhien, dieu
nay khong tao ra loi noi. Khi chung ta
tao ra h trong khi noi tieng Anh thi nhieu
th& khac nhau xy ra trong cac ngu canh
khac nhau. Trang tu 'hat', theo sau h la
nguyen am re. Vi trf luoi, ham va m6i
danh cho nguyen am nay tat ca deu dt1qc
tao ra dong thoi voi phu am h, vi tri am
xat thanh hau co chat lugng a. Doi vdi
ca C nguye n am theo sau h cu ng giong
nhu vay; no luon co chat ludng cda
nguyen am dung sau d6, vl the theo gia
thuyet neu ban nghe bang ghi am cl.la
cac am h bi cat bot khoi phan dau cua
cac nguyen am khac trong cac tu nhu
'hit', 'hat', 'hot', 'hut', v.v., ban se co
the nhan ra nguyen am nao theo sau h .
M o t cach d phat bi&u van de & tr@n la
n6i theo nga am hoc h la nguyen am v6
thanh co chat luang cl a nguyen am ht u
thanh dang theo sau n6.
Theo am vi hoc, h la mot phu am.
Ngui ta thay no thuOng dung truoc cac
nguyen am. Ngoai vi tri dau, ngudi ta
cung thay no nam o vi tri gil a trong cac
tu nhlf 'ahead' ahed, 'greenhouse'
gri: nha os , 'boathook' ba ot hok . Ta c6 the
thay rang khi h xuat hien gil a cac am
hau thanh (nhu trong tu 'ahead' va
'greenhouse'), no duoc phat am co am
thanh - khong phai am thanh btnh thuong
cl.la cac rtguyen am ma la am hoi xat
va yeu goi la giong th& hon hen. Nguoi
hoc ngoai nga khong can ghai bat chuoc
am hau thanh nay, m.:_ic du dieu quan
trong la ho phai plat am h o tinlr hi 6ng
ma no nen xuat hi@n theo cach phat am
 77
standard a pronunc1at1on in which h is
missing. In reality, however, practically all
English speakers, however carefully they
speak, omit the h in unstressed pronunciations
of the words 'her', ' he' , 'him' , ' his' and the
auxiliary ' have', ' has'. 'had', though few are
aware that they do this.
There are two rather uncommon sounds
that need to be introduced; since they are
said to have some association with h, they
will be mentioned here. The first is the sound
produced by some speakers in words which
begin orthographically (that is, in their
spelling form) with 'wh' ; most BBC speakers
pronounce the initial sound in such words (e.g.
'which' , 'why', 'whip', 'whale' ) as w, but there
are some (particularly when they are speaking
clearly or emphatically) who pronounce the
sound used by most American and Scottish
speakers. a voiceless fricative with the same
lip. tongue and jaw position as w. The phonetic
symbol for this voiceless fricative is A\. We
can find pairs of words showing the difference
between this sound and the voiced sound w
(which is introduced in chapter?):
' witch' w 1tf
' wail' wed
' Wye' wa1
' wear' wea
The obvious conclusion to draw from this
is that, since substituting one sound for the
other causes a difference in meaning, the
two sounds are two different phonemes. It is
therefore rather surprising to find that
practically all writers on the subject of the
phonemes of English decide that this answer
is not correct, and that the sound A\ in 'which' ,
'why' , etc., is not a phoneme of English but is
a realisation of a sequence of two phonemes,
hand w. Fortunately we do not need to worry
much about this problem in descrising the
BBC accent. However. it should be noted
thar in the analysis of the many accents of
English that do have a "voiceless w" there is
not much more theoretical justification in
c la dai BBC. Nhieu nguoi noi tieng Anh
nhay ca m v e phu am nay ; ho thLtong hay
c ho rang phat am k h6ng c6 h la k h6ng
dat tieu c huan. Tuy nhien, trong thuc te,
tat ca nhtng ngudi noi tieng Anh, du ho
n6i c an than nhu the no di c hang llli'a
deu b h trong truong ho p phat am k h6ng
nhan c la c ac tt 'her', 'he' , ' him' , 'his ' v a
tr<;1 d9ng W 'hav e' , 'has ' , 'had' , mac du it
ngudi nao nhan thay minh lam nhu the.
C6 hai am k hong pho bien c an phi
duoc gioi thieu; v i nguoi ta n6i c hung
c6 quan he v 6' i h, nen c hung s e duoc de
c ap o day . Am dau ti@n la am do mot s o
nguoi n6i tc;10 ra o c ac tu ma v iet dung
c ac h bat du bang 'wh' ; hau het ca c
phat thanh v ien c la dai BBC deu doc
am dau tien trong c ac tu nhu the (v i du:
'whic h' , 'why ' , 'whip' , 'whale' ) nhll w ,
nhllng c6 mQt s o ngLtoi (dac biet k hi ho
dang no
i r6 rang hay nhan manh) doc
am duoc ngudi M y hay Xc otlen s t dung,
mi)t m xat vo thanh v 6' i v j trf noi, ILtoi
va ham giong nhu w. Ky hieu ngu am
danh c ho am x at vo thanh nay la A\ . Ta
c6 the thay c ac c ap tt bieu thi s u k hac
nhau giua am nay va am hCru thanh w
(dll<;lc gioi thieu trong c hlldng 7):
' which' A\Jtf
' whale' t\\.CtJ
' why' A\31
' where' A\C .l
Ket luan ro rang rut ra tt dieu nay la,
v i v iec thay the mot am bang mot am
k hac tao ra s u k hac biet ve y nghia, hai
am nay la hai am v i k hac nhau. Do d6
that ngac nhien k hi thay tren thtc te tat
ca c ac tac gia v i&t v& c hi de am v i trong
ting Anh c ho rang c au tra loi nay k h6ng
dung, v a c ho rang am t\\. trong 'which' ,
'why ' . v .v . k hong phai la am v i c ua tieng
Anh ma la dang th& hi@n c a mot c huoi
hai am v i, h v a w . Rat may la c hung ta
k hong c an phai lo lang nhieu ve v an de
nay k hi mieu ta giong BBC. Tuy nhien,
dn luu y rang k hi phan tic h nhieu giong
tieng Anh k h6ng c6 "w V O thanh", k h6ng
c o nhieu ly le x em am nay la h c ong

tr ea ting the sound a s h plus w than the r e is
fo r tr e a ting p a s h plus b. W he the r the
que stion of this sound is a ppro a c he d
phone tic a ll y or phonologic a ll y, ther e is no
h sound in the "voic e less w".
A ve r y simila r c a se is the sound fo und a t
the be ginning of w or ds suc h a s 'huge '.
'huma n', 'hue '. P hone tica ll y this sound is a
voic e le ss pa la ta l fr ic a tive ( fo r w hich the
phone tic symbol is c;); the r e is no glotta l
fr ic a tive a t the beginning of 'huge ', e tc .
H ow eve r , it is usua l to tr ea t this sound a s h
plus j ( the la tt e r is a nothe r c onsonant tha t is
to be intro duc e d in c hapte r 7 - it is the
sound a t the beginning of 'ye s', 'ye t') . Aga in
we c a n se c tha t a phone mic a na lysis doe s
not ne c e ssa r ily ha ve to be e xa c tly in line
w ith phone tic fac ts. If w e w er e to sa y tha t
these tw o sounds Al. a nd c; we r e phone me s of
Engli sh. we would ha ve tw o e xtra phone me s
that do not occ ur ver y fr eque ntly. We w ill
fo ll ow the usua l prac tic e of tr a nsc r ibing the
sound a l the beginning of 'huge ', e tc ., a s hj
just bec a use it is c onvenient a nd c ommon
prac tic e .
6. 3 T he affricate s '- AU. Exs 4 & 5
tf. d3 a r e the only two a f fr ica te phoneme s
in Engli sh. As w ith the plosive s a nd most of
the fr ic a tive s. we have a fo r tis/le nis pa ir , a nd
the voic ing c ha rac teristic s a r e the sa me a s
fo r the se othe r c onsona nts. tJ is sli ghtly
a spir a te d in the positions whe r e p, t, k a r e
a spirated. but not stro ngly e nough fo r it to
be ne c e ssa r y fo r fo r e ign le arn e r s to give
muc h a ll e ntion to it. The pla c e of a rtic ula tion
is the sa me a s fo r J, 3; tha t is, pa la to- a lveola r.
This me a ns tha t the t c ompone nt of tJ ha s a
pla c e of a r ticula tion rathe r f urthe r bac k in
the mouth tha n the t plosive usua ll y ha s.
W he n tJ is fina l in the syll a ble it ha s the
e ff e c t of shorte ning a pr e c eding vowel, a s
do othe r fo r tis c onsona nts. tJ a nd d3 of te n
ha ve ro unde d lips.
6. 4 For tis c on son an ts
All the c onsona nts desc r ibed so far , with
the e xc e ption of h. be long to pa ir s
distinguishe d by the diff e r ence be tw ee n
fo r tis a nd le nis. S inc e the r e ma ining
78
vo i w hon so voi ly le xem p la h cc)ng
vo i b . Cho du tha'c mac ve am nay duoc
gia i quye't theo ngL7 a ITI' hoc hay am vi
hoc, khong c6 am h trong "w V O thanh".
Mot truing hop tuong tu la am nam
a
d5u cac tu nhli 'huge' , ' human' , 'hue' .
Ve mat ngd am hoc, am nay la am xat
nam o ngac cung (ky hi@u ngd am la g);
kh6ng co am xat thanh hau o dau cht
'huge' , v.v. Tuy nhien, nguoi ta thuong
xern am nay la h cqng vo i j (j la mc)t
phu am khac duoc gioi thieu trong chL/o'ng
7 - no la am nam o dau cht 'yes' 'yet' ).
Mot lan nda, ta c6 the thay rang viec
phan tich am vj khong nhat thiet phai
giong voi cac yeu to ngu am. Neu chung
ta noi rang hai am nay A v a g la cac am
vi cua tieng Anh, chung ta se co them
hai am vi von khong xuat hi@n thuong
xuyen lam. Chung ta se tuan theo qui
tac thong thuong de phi&n am am nay o
dau tt 'huge' , v.v. la hj vi no la qui tac
thong di) ng Va theo qui uoc.
6.3 Am tac xat
tf, d3 la hai am vi tac xat duy nhat
trong tie'ng Anh. Giong nhu voi cac am
bat v a hau het cac am xat, chung ta c6
cap am manh/am yeu, v a dc diem htu
thanh thi giong nhu doi v6 i cac phu am
khac. tf bat hoi d6i chut rJ cac vj trf ma
rJ do p, t, k duoc bat hoi, nluing kh6ng
di manh de nguoi hoc ngoai ng@ de y
nhieu den n6. Vi tri cau tao am thi giong
nhu doi vdi f , s; nghia la no la am sau
loi. Nghia la thanh phan t cia tf c6 vj trf
cau tao am sau trong mi@ng hon am bat
t th Liang c6. Kh i tf nam o vi tri cuoi trong
am tiet, no co tac dung gian luoc nguyen
am dung truoc, cac phu am manh khac
co ng vay. tJ va d3 thudng duoc doc tron
m6i.
6.4 Cac phy am· m;;tnh
Tat ca cac ph am d.:i dLiQ'C m,eu ta
cho de'n bay gio, ngo;:i i tn'.i h , deu thuoc
ve cac cap duoc·phan bit do su khac
nhau gida am manh va am ye'u. VJ cac
 79
consonants to be described are not paired in
this way, a few points that still have to be
made about fortis consonants are included
in this chapter.
The first point concerns the shortening
of a preceding vowel by a syllable-final fortis
consonant. As was said in Chapter 4, the
effect is most noticeable in the case of Jong
vowels and diphthongs, though it does also
affect short vowels.
What happens if something other than a
vowel precedes a fortis consonant? This
arises in syllables ending with I, m, n or •
followed by a fortis consonant such as p, t, k ,
as in 'belt' belt, 'bump' bAmp. 'bent' bent,
'bank' be nk . The effect on those continuant
consonants is the same as on a vowel : they
are considerably shortened.
A similar question arises with initial fortis
consonants. When p, t, k come at the
beginning of a syllable and are foJlowed by
a vowel, they are aspirated, as was explained
in Chapter 4. This means that the beginning
of a vowel is, 'Voiceless in this context.
However, p, t, k may be followed not by a
vowel but by one of 1, r, j, w. These voiced
continuant consonants undergo a similar
process: they lose their voicing. So words
like 'play' pie,, ' tray' trc1, 'quick' kw1k contain
devoiced I, r, w, whereas 'lay', ' ray' , 'wick'
contain voiced I , r, w. Consequently, if for
example ' tray' were to be pronounced
without devoicing of the r (i.e. with fully
voiced r) English speakers would be likely
to hear the word 'dray' .
Voiceless consonants are usually
articulated with open glottis, i.e. with the
vocal folds separated. This is always the case
with fricatives, where airflow is essential for
successful production. However, with
plosives an alternative possibility is to
produce the consonant with completely
closed glottis. This type of articulation is
found quite widely in English pronunciation,
phu am con lai can phi duoc mi eu ta
khong duoc ket cap theo each nay, nen
trong chuong nay van phi neu mot vai
diem ve cac phu am manh.
Dim dau ti@n lien quan den vi&c
gian luoc nguyen am dung truoc con mot
phu am manh o am tiet cu6i. Nhu da
noi o chuong 4, ke't qua nay de nhan
tha'y nha't trong trl/ang hQ'p CLla.cac
nguyen am dai va nhi trung am, mac du
no cung anh huong cac nguyen am ngan.
Di&u gi xi y ra neu khong phai mot
nguyen am dung truoc mot phi) am
manh? Dieu nay phat sinh trong cac am
tiet ta 11 cu ng bang I, m, n, o, theo sau la
mot phu am manh nhu p, t, k nhu trong
'belt' belt, 'bump' hAmp, 'bent' bent,
'bank' baenk . Su tac dong len nhung phu
am xat do giong nhu su tac dong len
mQt nguyen am: chung bi gin luoc dang
ke'.
Mot thac mac tuong tu nay sinh voi
cac phu am manh o vi tri dau. Khi p, t , k
dung dau mot am tiet va theo sau la mot
nguyen am thl chung bat hoi, nhLI da
duc giai thich trong chuong 4. NghTa la
phan dau cl a mot nguyen am la vo thanh
trong ngu canh nay. Tuy nhien, p, t, k co
the' dLIQ'C theo sau khong chl boi mot
nguyen am ma con bi mot trong so cac
phu am I, r, j, w. Nhung phu am xat ht u
thanh nay trai qua mot qua trlnh lllong
tV: chung mat di am hCtu thanh. Vi vay,
cac tt nhu 'play' plc1, 'tray' tre1, 'quick'
kw1k c6 ch((a I, r, w v6 thanh h6a, trong
khi 'lay' , 'ray', 'wick' cht'.ta I, r, w huu
thanh. Do d6, ne'u vi du nhu 'tray' duoc
phat am ma kh6ng v6 thanh h6a r (nghTa
la voi r h@u thanh hoan toan), nguoi noi
tieng Anh rat co the' nghe tu 'dray'.
Cac nguyen am hau thanh tht ong
duoc cu tao voi thanh mon mo, nghia
la voi cac day thanh am tach ri nhau.
Truong hop nay luon dung vdi cac am
xat, o d6 luong khi can thiet cho viec
(c) O am thanh c6ng. Tuy nhi en, voi cac
am bat, mot kha nang khac la tao phu
am voi thanh men hoan toan dong. Loai
cau tao am nay dLIQ'C tim thay kha rong

es p eci ally t h at o f yo u n g er s p eak ers . T h i s
glottalised p ro nun ci at i o n , in w h i ch a g l o ttal
s t o p o ccu rs j u s t b efo re p, t, k o r tJ , i s o n l y
fo un d i n cert ai n con t ex t s , an d fo rei g n
l earn ers u su ally fi n d t h e ru l es t o o d i ffi cu lt
Lo l earn . fro m t h e p ract i cal p o i n t o f v i ew ; i t
i s t h erefo re s i mp l er t o k eep t o t h e mo re
con s erv at i v e p ro nun ci at i o n an d n o t t ry t o u s e
g l ottal i sa t i on . H o w ev er. i t i s w o rt h p o i n t i n g
o u t t h e fact t h at t h i s o ccu rs , s i n ce man y
l earn ers n o t i ce t h e g l o ttal s t o p s an d w an t t o
k no w w h at i t i s th at t h ey are h eari ng . A few
ex amp l es are g i v en b elo w .
T h e mo s t w i d es p read g l o ttalis at i o n i s t h at
o f tJ at t h e en d o f a s t res s ed s yllabl e (I l eav e
d efi n i n g w h at "st ress ed s y llab l e" mean s u nt il
Ch ap t er 8) . If w e u s e t h e s y mb o l 'l t o
rep res en t a g l o t t al cl o s u re, t h e p h o n et ic
t ran s cri pt i o n fo r v ari ou s wo rd s co n t ai n i ng tJ
can b e g i v en as fo llows :
With glottali.rntion
C6 s v t h a n h h § u h 6 a
'n at ur e' n e1?tf»
'cat ch in g ' k ae?t['i
' ri ch e s ' r ? t['r z
Th ere i s s i mil ar g l o ttalis at i o n o f p, t, k,
alth oug h t hi s i s n o t fo un d s o reg ul arl y . It
n o rmally h app en s w h en t h e p l o s i v e i s
fo llo w ed b y an o t h er co nso n an t o r a p au s e;
fo r ex amp l e:
With g/ot1a/i,rntio11
C6 s v t ha n h h Ju h 6 a
' a ct o r' rc'lkta
'p et ro l ' pe'ltral
'n,at ' ,m c ? t
' fo otb all' fu'ltb;>:I
Fo rei g n l earn ers do n o t n eed t o l earn t h i s
t y p e o f p ro n u n ci at i o n , b u t man y s eem t o
acq u i re i t u n i n t en t i o n ally t h ro u g h s p eak i ng
t o E ng lis h p eo p le . It i s u n dou b t ed l y b eco mi ng
mo re w i d el y u s ed BBC p ro n u n ci t i o n .
80
rai t ro n g p h at am t i en g A n h , d ac b i @ t la
k i eu p h at am cu a n g u d i n o i t re h o n . Su
p h at am t h an h h au h o a n ay , t rong d6 am
t ac t h an h h au xut h i en n g ay t ru o c p, t, k
h o ac tf, ch i g c)p t ro n g mQ t s o n gu d n h
n h at d i n h , v a tt qu an d i em t h u c t i en n g u o i
h o c n go ai n g u t h u o ng t h ay cac q u i t ac n ay
q u a k h 6 h o c; d o d 6 v i /;!c g i u la i each p h at
am b ao t o an h o n v a co g an g k h o n g d un g
k ieu t h an h h au h o a s e d o n g i an h o n . T uy
n h i en , t h at h Ct u fch k h i ch i ra ran g t rL/ o'n g
h o p n a y x i y ra , v i n h i e u n g u o i h o c n h a n
ra cac am t ac t h an h h au v a mu on b i et no
la g i . Mo t v ai v f d u d u o c ch o d u o i d ay .
S u t h an h h u h 6 a p h o b i en n h t l a
ci a tf o cu o i am t i et d u o c n h a' n (d j n h
n g h ia v @ " am t i et d u o c n h an " s e d ud c
trl n h b ay t ro n g ch Lt dn g 8). N eu ch u n g t a
d i"111 g k y h i i;!u 'l de' t rl n h b ay t l n h t ran g
d on g k h e t h an h man t h i p h i en am t h eo
n g Ct am h o c cd a cac tu k h ac n h au ch lf a
tf co t h e du o c ch o n h u s au :
Without glottalisatirm
Kh o n g c6 sv t h a n h h a u h o a
nertJ a
k aetfi
ntJTZ
C6 S~( t h an h h au h 6 a t lidn g t L_( ct'ia p,
t, k, mc)c d i"1 t ru an g h q p n ay k h on g g ap
t h L/ an g x uy en lam. N 6 t h lio n g x ay ra k h i
t h eo s au am b at l a m o t p h u am k h ac
h ay mo t k h o an g d u ng ; v i d u :
Without glottalisation
Kh o n g co st.f t ha n h h a u h o a
:-rkta
pctral
mret
futb;>:I
N guoi h o c n g o ai n g t k h o n g can p h i
h o c l o ai p h at a m n ay , n h u n g n h i eu n g u d i
d Lt an g n h L( VO t l n h h o c d u o c n o k h i n o i
v o i n gu o i A n h . Ch i c ch an ran g k i eu p h at
am n ay d u o c d u n g ro n g rai h o n t ro ng each
p h.at 5111 ct1 a d ai BBC.
 81
Not es on problems and f urther reading
The description of fricatives is in general quite straightforward. However; something
that is mentioned only briefly in Section 6.2 is the difference between fricatives in terms of
the width and depth of the air passage. The terms slit and groove are sometimes used: the
air passage in s and z is said to be grooved and that in f and 3 slit. Laver ( 1994: Section 9.5)
uses the terms "grooved" and "flat" .
The dental fricative a is something of a problem: although there are not many English
words in which this sound appears, those words are ones which occur very frequently
words like ' the' , ' this', ' there', ' that' , and so on. This consonant often shows so little friction
noise that on purely phonetic grounds it seems incorrect to class it as a fricative. It is more
like. a weak (lenis) dental plosive. This matter is discussed again in Chapter I4, Section
14.2.
On the phonological side, I have brought in a discussion of the phonemic analysis of two
"marginal" fricatives which present a problem (though not a particularly important or
fundamental one): I feel that this is worth discussing in that it gives a good idea of the sort
of problem that can arise in analysing the phonemic system of a language. The other problem
area is the glottalisation described at the end of the chapter. There is, I think, now a growing
awareness of how frequently this is to be found in the speech of younger speakers; however,
it not at all easy to formulate rules stating the contexts in which this occurs. There is
discussion in Brown (1990: 28-30). in Cruttenden (1994: Section 9.2.8) and in Wells (1982:
Section 3.4.5).
Not es for teachers
Although it is important to be aware of the ways in which fricatives differ from each
other, I have never found it helpful to teach learners to aim consciously at slit and groove
articulations it is not something that most people feel they have control over, so simple
imitation works better. Although I do not recommend explicitly teaching learners to produce
glottalisation of p, t, k, tf, I have sometimes found advanced learners have been able to pick
up this pronunciation, and I find the increase in naturalness in their accent very striking.

Written exercises B a i ta p v iet

1. Transcribe the following words 1. Phien am cac t ! sau theo am vi hoc:
phonemically:

a) fishes e) achieves
h) shaver f) others
c) sixth g) measure

d) these h) ahead

2. Following the style introduced in
Exercise 1 for Chapter 4, describe the
movements of the articulators in the first
word of the above list.
2. Theo kieu da duoc gioi thieu trong
Bai tap 1 o chuong 4, hay mieu ta
cac ct dong cda cac bo phan cau
am trong tu dau tien cia danh sach o
tr@en.
 82

CHUONG 7

ap p ro x i man t / ;;i ' p ru ks 1 m;:mt / (n) a m can

b ou n d ary / ' b aU n d o r/ (n ) r a nh g id i
cl ear 1 / ' k h ;;i ' ' el / a m l kh o n g ma c h oa , a m I
trong
cu rl / b :1/ (v) u on cong (luiii)
d ark 1 /' d a: k 'el / a m l ma c h o a , a m l du e
i n d i v i s i b l e/ ,1 d 1 ' v 1 w b l / (ad j ) kh6n g th l p han ch ia /ch ia n h ii
l at eral / ' lcet ;;ir;;il / (a dj-n ) ( phu a m) b en
mo rph eme / ' m:,: fi:m/ (n ) h in h vj
mo rpho l og y / mo : ' fl d 3 1 / (n ) h inh vi h o c
n on -rh o t i c / ,n un ' rw tJk / (ad j ) ph i r-t(n h . kh on g n h an ma n h r ,
kh o n g do c r <I cu o 'i vd n
p al at o -al v eo l ar / p al t au ,l v r' 3 u l a, -al ' v ro l a/ (ad j ) ( a 111) rJ nll<IU - n g qic cUn g
p eculi arit y / p 1 ,kj u : h ' a: r;;i t 1 / (n ) d (fc d ilrn, n et d <;ic tr un g
realis e/ ' ri : ;;i l a1 z, 'n ;;i l -/ ( v) thi h iin , h ifn th lfc h r5a
res embl e/ n ' zemb l/ ( v) g irS'n g
ret ro l ex / ' ret r;;ifl ek s / (n ) a m q u <;it lu r7 i, u o ,z lur7i
rh o t i c / ' rn u t 1 k / (ad j ) r -tin h , n han ma n h r , d o c r rJ
cu r'ti vei n
s emi v o w el / ' s em1 ,v au al / (n ) b a n n g u yen o.m
t ermi no l og y / ,t 3 : m1 ' nu l ad 3 1 / (n ) h e th o ng thu a t n g it
u nd ers i d e / ' A n d as ard / (n ) ma t d ua i
 83
7 · Nasals and other consonants
A
7 Am mui va cac phu am khac
So far we have studied two major groups
of consonants - the plosives and fricatives -
and also the affricates tf and d3, this is a total
of seventeen. There remain the nasals - m,
n, o - and four others 1, r, j and w - these four
are not easy to fit into groups. All of these
seven consonants are continuants and
usually have no friction noise, but in other
ways they are very different from each other.
7.1 Nasals
The basic characteristic of a nasal
consonant is that the air escapes through the
nose. For this to happen, the soft palate must
be lowered; in the case of all the other
consonants and vowels, the soft palate is
raised and air cannot pass through the nose.
In nasal consonants, however, the air does
not pass through the mouth; it is prevented
by a complete closure in the mouth at some
point. If you produce a long sequence
dndndndndndndn without moving your
tongue from the position for alveolar closure,
you will feel your soft palate moving up and
down. The three types of closure are: bilabial
(lips), alveolar (tongue blade against alveolar
ridge) and velar (back of tongue against the
soft palate). This set of places produces three
nasal consonants - m, n, o - which correspond
to the three places of articulation for the pairs
of plosives p b, t d, k g.
The consonants m and n are simple
straightforward with distributions like those
of the plosives. There i s in fact little to
describe. However, u is a different matter. It
is a sound that gives considerable problems
to foreign learners, and one that is so unusual
in its phonological aspect that some people
argue that it is not one of the phonemes of
English at all. The place of articulation of u
is the same as that of k, g; it is a useful
C ho den bay gio c hu ng t a da nghien
c uu hai nhom plw am c hinh - am bat v a
am x at - va c ung d nghien c &u am t ac
x at - tf v a d3; t ong c ng la m uoi bay phu
am . C on lai la c ac am m ui - m, n, u - Va
bon phu m k hac I , r, jv a w; bon am nay
k hong de dang de x ep t hanh nhom . T at ca
bay phu am nay la c ac phu am x at v a
t huong k hong c o t ieng x at , nhung a nhi1ng
k hia c anh k hac, c h(m g rat k hac nhau.
7 .1 Ca c a m mui
D jc diem c o ban c ua mot phu am
m t1i la k h6ng k hi thoat qua m ui. 0€ di~u
nay x ay ra, ngac m em phai ha t hap; o
t ruing hdp c da cac phu am k hac v a
nguy en am , ngac m em nang len v a
k hong k hi k h6ng t he' di qua m u i. T uy
nhien, o cac phu am m ui, k hong k hi
k hong di qua m i@ng; no bi c han lai do
m ieng k hep k in hoan t oan v ao mqt t hoi
diem nao do. N eu ban t ao ra m ot c huoi
dai dndndndndndndn m a k hong di c huy e'n
luoi tu v j t ri rang k hep k in, ban ban s e
ca m t hay ngac m em dang di c huy en len
x uong. Ba loai k hep k in la: m oi, loi (s ong
luoi t v ao nuou rang) v a v om m ieng
(phan t rong c ung c ua ludi t v ao ngac ).
T ap hop c ac v j t ri nay l <)O ra ba phi) am
m t1i - m, n, u - tu e1ng (:ng v oi ba v j t ri
cu t ao am danh c ho c ac c ap am bat p
b, t d, k g.
C ac phu am m va n t hl don gian v oi
c ac phan bo giong nhu c la c ac am bat.
T hat ra k hong c o nhieu dieu de m ieu t a
cac phu am nay . T uy nhien, la i la m o t
v a'n dJ k hac . N 6 la am c o nhieu v an de
m a ngua i hoc ngoai ngd c an phai x em
x et , va la am 19 a k hia qnh am v i hoc
c da no den noi m ot s o ngudi t ranh luan
rang no k hong phai la mot am v j gl ca
t rong t ing Anh. Vj t ri c au am c ua 11 t hl
 84
exercise to practise making a continuous o
sound. If you do this', it is yery important not
to produce a k or g at the end - pronounce
the u just like m or n. · ban khong tao am k ho,1c g (J cuo'i -
gAU7, Exs 1 & 2
We will now look at some ways in which
the distribution of u is unusual.
i) In initial position we find m and n
occurring freely, but u never occurs in
this position. With the possible
exception of 3 , this makes u the only
English consonant that cannot occur
initially.
ii) Medially, u occurs quite frequently, but
there is in the BBC accent a rather
complex and quite interesting rule
concerning the question of when u may
be pronounced without a following
plosive. When we find the letters ' nk' in
the middle of a word in its orthographic
form, a k will always be pronounced;
however, some words with orthographic
' ng' in the middle will have a
pronunciation containing !!9 and others
will have u without g. For example, in
B BC we find the following:
A . B , .
' finger' f1go
' anger' aengo
In the words of column A the u is followed
by 9 , while the words of column B have
no g. What is the difference between A
and B? The important difference is in the
way the words are constructed - their
morphology. The words of column B can
be divided into two grammatical pieces:
'sing' +' -er' , 'hang' + '-er'. These pieces are
called morphemes, and we say that
column B words are morphologically
different from column A words. since
these can n o t be divided into two
morphemes. ' Finger' and 'anger' consist
of just one morpheme each.
giong nhu cua k, g; luyen tap phat am
lien tuc la mot bai tap ht u ich. Neu ban
luyen tap am nay, dieu rat quan trong la
phat am p giong nhu m va n.
gAU7, Exs 1 & 2
Bay giw chung ta se xem xet mot so each
ma qua d6 su phan bo ca n bat thuong.
i) } vi tri du, ta thay m va n xuat hi@n
tu do, nhung u kh6ng bao gio xuat
hien o vi tri nay. Ngoai tru trui ng hop
co the co cda 3 , dieu nay lam cho n
tr& thanh phu am tieng Anh duy nhat
khong the xuat hien o vi tri dau.
ii ) 6 vi tri giua, p xuat hi@n kha thuong
xuyen, nhl.lng theo giong cua dai BBC,
co mot qui tac kha thu vi nhung phCtc
tap lien quan den thac mac la khi
no n co the duoc phat am ma kh6ng
co am bat d phia sau. Khi ta thay cac
mau tu 'nk' nam o gil a mot tu theo
dung dang chinh ta cua no, k se lu6n
du@c phat am; tuy nhien, mot so tu
co 'ng' viet dung chinh ta nam o vi
tri gil a se co cach phat am kh6ng
cht.'ta pg va cac tu khac se co u ma
kh6ng co g. Vi du, theo cach phat
am cua dai BBC, ta se tha'y cach phat
am sau:·
' singer' s m o
' hanger' hrega
Trang cac tu a cc'it A, o co 9 d phia
sau, trong khi cac tu <1 CQt B kh6ng
co g. Vay co su khac bit gi gil a A
va B? St! khac biet quan trong nam o
cha cac tu duoc cau tao - tLfc la hlnh
th.i i hoc cda chung. Cac tu & c6t B
c6 th€ duqc chia thanh hai phan theo
qui tac ngu phap: 'sing' + '-er', 'hang'
+ '-er'. Nhung ph~n nay dL(Q'c goi la
am vi va ta n6i rang cac W <1 CQt B
ve mat hinh thai hoc khac voi cac tt
<1 cc'it A, vl nhung W nay kh6ng the'
duoc chia thanh hai am vi. 'Finger'
va 'anger' moi tt chi co mQI am vi.
 85
We can s u mmaris e th e p o s itio n s o far b y
s ay in g th at (with in a wo rd con tain in g th e
letters ' n g ' in th e s p ellin g) o ccu rs with o u t
a follo win g g if it o ccu rs at th e en d o f a
mo rp h eme; if it o ccurs in th e mid d le o f a
mo rp h eme it h as a follo win g g.
Let u s n o w loo k at th e end s o f wo rd s
ending o rthog raph ically with ' n g ' . We find
th at th es e alway s en d with u; th is o is n ev er
follo wed by a g. Th u s we fin d th at th e wo rd s
's ing ' an d 'h ang ' are p rono u n ced as SI!) and
hreg; to g iv e a few mo re ex amp les, ' s o n g ' is
sno, 'b ang ' is breo and 'lo n g ' is ln!J. We d o n o t
n eed a s ep arate ex p lan ation for th is : th e rule
g iv en a,bov e, th e g is n o t p ron o u n ced after n
at th e en d o f a mo rp h eme, wo rk s in th es e
cas es to o , s ince th e en d o f a wo rd mu s t als o
b e th e en d o f a mo rp h eme. ( If th is p o in t
s eems d ifficu lt, th ink o f th e co mp arab le cas e
o f wo rd s an d s en ten ces : a s o u n d th at co mes
at th e en d o f a s en ten ce mu s t n eces s arily
als o co me at th e en d o f a wo rd, s o th at th e
fin al k o f ' This is a bo o ls:' is als o th e fin al k o f
th e wo rd 'boo k ' .)
Un fortu n ately , rules ten d to h av e
ex cep tio n s . Th e main ex cep tion to th e ab o v e
mo rp h eme-b as ed rule co n cerns th e
co mp arativ e arid s u p erlativ e s u ffix es ' -er' an d
'-es t'. Acco rd in g to th e rule g iv en abov e, th e
ad jectiv e ' lo n g ' will b e p ron o un ced l o o ,
wh ich is co rrect. It wo u ld als o p red ict
co rrectly th at if we ad d an o th er morp h eme
to ' lo n g ' , s u ch as th e s u ffix ' -is h ', th e
p ron u n ciatio n o f !) wo u ld ag ain b e witho u t a
follo win g g. Ho wev er, it wou ld add ition ally
p red ict th at th e co mp arativ e an d s up erlativ e
forms ' lo n g er' an d ' lo n g es t' wou ld b e
p ron o u n ced with no g follo win g th e !), wh ile
in fact th e co rrect p ron u n ciation o f th e wo rd s
1s:
' long er' lnoga
As a res u lt o f th is , th e rule mu s t b e
mo d ified ; it mu s t s tate th at co mp arativ e an d
s u p erlativ e forms o f ad jectiv es are to b e
Den lac nay chung ta c6 the tom tat
vi tri bang each n6i rang (trong mot tu
co cac mau tu 'ng' theo cach viet chinh
ta) o xuat hien ma khong c6 g a phia sau
neu no xuat hien & cu6i mot am vi; neu
no xuat hien o gil a mot am vi thi no co
g cJ phia sau.
Bay gio chung ta hay xem xet phan
cu6i ca cac tu, viet dung cach, tan
cung bang 'ng'. Ta thay rang nhung tu
nay luon tan cung bang n; p nay khong
bao gici c6 g a phia sau. Vi v~y, ta thay
rang cac tu 'sing' va 'hang' dudc phat
am la s va hen; them mot s6 vi du nda
la: 'song' la SD!) , 'bang' la 'breo' va 'long'
la loo. C hung ta khong can loi giai thich
rieng cho dieu nay: qui tac da duoc neu
o tren, cho rang g khong duqc phat am
sau n o cuoi mot am vi, cung ap dung
trong nhung trui ng hop nay, vi pn cuoi
cha mot tu cung la phan cuoi 'cl a mot
am vi. (Neu quan die'm nay kh6 hieu,
hay nghT v~ trlfong hqp c6 the' so sanh
cua cac tu va cau: mot am dung a cuo'i ·
cau cling can phai dung o cu6i mot tu,
vl the k vi tri cu6i cua cau 'This is a book'
cung la k o vi tri cu6i cua W 'book' .)
Khong may la cac qui tac thuong hay
c6 cac truong h<;Jp ngoc,1 i le. Truong h<;Jp
ngoai le chinh cda qui tac dua vao am
vi & tren de cap den cac hau to so sanh
hon va so sanh cuc cap 'er' va '-est'. Theo
qui tac da cho o tren, tinh tu 'long' se
duqc phat am dung la l o o . N6 cung dl/
bao dung rang neu chung ta them mot
am vi khac vao 'long', chang han nhu
hau t6 '-ish', cach phat am cda p mot
l~n nua se khong co g i'J phfa sau. Tuy
nhien, ta cung du bao rang cac dang so
sanh hon va so sanh cuc cap 'longer' va
'longest' se duqc phat am khong co g
dCtng sau n, mac du trong thuc te cach
phat am dung cua cac tu nay la:
' lon g es t' loogast
Do d6, qui tac nay dn phai du<;Jc sua
d6i; no phi phat bieu rang dang so sanh
hon va so sanh cuc cap cl a cac tinh tt

treated as s in g le-mo rp h eme wo rd s for th e
p u rpos es o f th is rule. Th e res u ltin g rule is , o f
cou rs e, d ifficu lt to u n d ers tan d . It is impo rtan t
to rememb er th at Eng lis h s p eak ers in g en eral
(ap art from th os e train ed in p h o n etics) are
q u ite ig n o ran t o f th is rule, an d y et if a
foreigo er u s es th e wron g p ron u n ciatio n (th at
is , p ron o u n ces 09 wh ere o s h o u ld o ccu r, o r o
wh ere 09 s h o u ld b e u s ed ), th ey n o tice th at a
mis p ron u n ciatio n h as o ccu rred .
iii) A third way in wh ich th e d is trib u tio n o f o
is un u s u al is th e s mall n u mb er o f vo wels
it is fou n d to follo w. It n ev er o ccu rs after a
d ip h th o n g o r lon g v o wel, an d in fact .there
are o n ly fiv e vo wels ev er fou n d p reced ing
this co n s on an t: r, e, re, A an d n.
Th e v elar n as al co n s o n an t p is , in
s u mmary , p hon etically s imp le (it is no mo re
d ifficu lt to p rodu ce th an m or n) b u t
p h o no lo g ically co mp lex (it is , as we h av e
s h o wn , n o t eas y to d es crib e th e con tex ts in
wh ich it o ccu rs ).
7.2 The consonant I g A U 7, EX 3
A lateral con s o n an t is o n e in wh ich th e
p as s ag e o f air th rou gh th e mo u th d o es n o t
g o in th e u s u al way alon g th e cen tre o f th e
to ng u e; in s tead , th ere is co mp lete clo s u re
b etween th e cen tre o f th e ton g u e an d th e
p art o f th e roo f o f th e mo u th wh ere co n tact is
to b e mad e (th e alv eo lar rid g e in th e cas e o f
I) . Becau s e o f th is co mp lete closu re alon g
th e cen tre, th e o n ly way for th e air to es cap e
is alo n g th e s id es o f th e ton g u e. If yo u mak e
a lo n g I s o u n d y o u may - b e ab le to feel th at
th e s id es o f y o u r to ng u e are p u lled in an d
d o wn wh ile th e cen tre is rais ed, b u t it is n o t
eas y to b eco me con s cio u s ly aware o f th is ;
wh at is mo re rev ealin g (if y o u can do it) is to
p rod u ce a lo n g s equ en ce o f alternation s
b etween d an d I .witho u t an y in terv en in g
v o wel. If y o u p rod u ce dldldldldldldldl
witho u t mo v in g th e midd le o f th e tong u e,
y o u will b e ab le to feel th e mov emen t o f th e
s id es o f th e· to n g u e th at is n ecess ary for th e
p ro d u ctio n o f a lateral. It is als o p o ss ib le to
s ee th is mov emen t in a mirror if y o u o p en
86
phai dt1c;1c xem nhtJ la cac tu m9t am vi
danh cho cac muc dich cda qui ti'\c nay.
Di nhien, qui tac ket qua kh6 hie'u. EJieu
quan trong can phai nho la nhung ngudi
noi tieng Anh n6i chung (ngoai tru nhung
ngt1<1i da duqc dao tc)o ngu am hoc)
khong ch y den qui tac nay, va nu
mot ngudi nuoc ngoai phat am sai (nghia
la, phat am ng o vi tri n nen xuat hi@n,
hay phat am o & vi tri 09 nen dt1c;1c dung),
ho nhan thay la phat am sai.
iii) Cach tht ba ma theo do su phan bo
cl a n bat thuong la nguoi ta tha'y c6
mot so luong nho cac nguyen am dang
truoc n. No khng bao gio xuat hi@n
sau mot nhi trung am hay nguyen am
dai, va thuc te ngudi ta tha'y ch] co
nam nguyen am dung trlioc plw am
nay: r, e, a::, A vii n.
Noi tom lai, phu am mui vo m mem n
ve mat ngd am thi don gian (viec tao ra
am nay khong kho so voi m hay n) nht1ng
ve mat am vi thi phuc tap (nhu chung ta
da chCtng minh, mieu ta cac nga canh no
xuat hi@n thi khong de dang).
7.2 Phi} am 1 O AU7, EX 3
Phu am ben cam canh luoi la phu
am ma trong d6 I6i thoat khi qua mieng
khong di theo each binh thuong doc theo
chinh gil a ludi; thay vi va y, co su khep
kin hoan toan gil a phan chinh gil a cl a
luoi va phan vo m mieng o do tao ra cho
tiep xuc (trong truong hop cl a I la nuou
rang). Vi c6 su khep kin hoan ton doc
theo phan chinh gil a ludi, nen cach duy
nhat de' khong khi thoat la di doc theo
cac ben ci a luoi. Neu ban tao am I da i,
ban co the' cam thay hai phia luoi bi keo
vao va xuong trong khi phan chinh gila
luoi nang len, nhung nhan ra dieu nay
khong phai de; su vi@c de nhan thay hon
( nu ban lam duoc) la tao ra mot chuoi
xen ke nhau gida d va I ma khong c6
nguyen am nao xen vao. Neu ban l c) O
d ldl d l dldld l ma kh6ng di chuye'n phfo
chinh giua lt1oi, b.;1.n se co the' cam nhan
St/ di chuyen cl a hai ben ludi va chinh
St/ chuye'n dong nay can thiet de tao ra
am ben. Ban cung c6 the' thay St/ chuye'n
 87
p rod u ced with o u t th e v o icin g fou n d in mo s t
realis atio n s o f th is p h o n eme. Th e s itu atio n
is (as ex p lain ed in Ch ap ter 4 ) s imilar to
as p iration wh en a v o wel follo ws p, t o r k in a
s tres s ed s y llab le; th e firs t p art o f th e vo wel
is d ev o iced .
7 .3 The co nso na nt r
Th is co n s o n an t is impo rtan t in th at
co n s id erab le d ifferen ces in its articu lation
an d . its d is trib u tion are fou n d in d ifferen t
accen ts o f En g lis h . As far as th e articu lation
o f th e s oun d is co n cerned , th ere is really o n ly
o n e p ronu n ciation th at can b e teco mmend ed
to th e foreig n learner an d th at is wh at is
called a p o s t-alv eo lar app rox iman t. An
approximant, as a ty p e o f con s o n an t, is rath er
d ifficu lt to d es crib e; informally , we can s ay
th at it is an articu latio n in wh ich th e
articu lato rs app roach each o th er b u t d o n o t
g ee s u fficien tly clo s e to each o th er to
p rodu ce a "co mp lete" co n s o n an t s u ch as a
p lo s iv e, n as al o r fricativ e. Th e d ifficu lty with
th is is th at articu lato rs are alway s in s o me
p o s itio n al relatio n s h ip with each o th er, an d
an y vo wel articu latio n co u ld als o b e clas s ed
as an ap p rox iman t - b u t th e term
"ap p rox iman t" is u s u ally u s ed o n ly for
con s o n an ts.
Th e imp o rtan t th in g ab o u t th e
articu latio n o f r is th at th e tip o f th e to n g u e
ap p roach es th e alv eo lar area in
ap p rox imately th e way it wou ld for a t o r d,
b u t n ev er actu ally mak es con tact with an y
p art o f th e roo f o f th e mo u th . You s h o u ld b e
ab le to mak e a lo n g r s ound an d feel th at n o
p art o f th e to n g u e is in co n tact with th e roo f
o f th e mo u th at any time. This is , o f co urs e,
v ery d ifferen t fro m th e "r-s o u n d s " o f man y
o th er lang u ag es wh ere s o me k in d o f
ton g u e-p alate co n tact is mad e. Th e to n g u e
is in fact u s u ally s lig h tly curled b ack ward s
with th e tip rais ed ; co n s o n an ts with th is
to ng u e s h ap e are u su ally called retroflex.
If y o u · p ron o u n ce an alternatin g s equ en ce o f
d an d r (drdrdrdrdrdr) wh ile lo o king in a
mirror you s h o u ld b e ab le to s ee mo re o f th e
u n d ers id e o f th e to n g u e in th e r th an in th e
d , wh ere th e to n g u e tip is n o t rais ed an d th e
h6a, nghia la duQ'c tao ra ma khong c6
tieng trong hau het cac dang the hi@n
cua am vl nay. Tlnh huOng nay (nhu dlfQ'c
giai thfch trong chlidng 4) giong voi su
b<).t hdi khi mqt nguyen am dung sau p, t
hoac k trong mot am tiet duoc nhan; phan
dau cua nguyen am nay bi VO thanh hoa.
7 .3 P ht.r am r
Phu am nay quan trong i:J ch6 c6 st!
khac biet dang ke' o cau tao am cda no
va su phan b6 cl a no o cac.giong n6i
tieng Anh khac nhau. } mot chung muc
no do lien quan den ca'u t<).O am Clia
am nay, thlfc te chl mot cach phat am
c6 the dudc gioi thieu cho nguoi hoc
ngoai n gd va no duoc goi la am can sau
loi. Am c ;j.n, la mot loai phu am, rat kh6
mieu ta; theo each than mat, ta c6 the'
noi no la SI/ cau tao am ma trong do
cac bo phan cau am toi gan nhau nhung
khong du gan sat nhau de tao ra mot phu
am 'hoan chinh' nhu am bat, am m i
hay am xat. Kho khan voi am nay la
cac bo phan cau am luon co mot moi
quan he nao d6 ve mat vi tri voi nhau -
nhung thu~t nga 'am C<).n' thuong chl
dugc dung cho cac phu am.
Dieu quan trong ve su cau tao am r
la dau luoi den gan vung loi o trong
khoang danh cho t hoac d, nhung kh6ng
bao gio tiep xuc voi bat cu phan no
cl a vom mieng. Ban co the tao ra mot
am r dai va cam thay rang khong co
phan nao cda ludi tiep xuc voi vom
mieng. Di nhien, dieu nay hoan toan
khac voi cac "am r" cua nhieu ngon ngd
khac, trong do co su tiep xuc ludi - ngac.
Trang thuc t , ludi thuong hoi co vao
trong voi dau luoi nho cao; cac phu am
voi hinh dang luoi nay thuong duoc goi
la am dau lu@i, vom cung. Neu ban phat
am mot chuoi d va r luan phien nhau
( drdrdrddrdr) trong kl: i dang nhin vao
glidng, bcJ.n se c6 the' tha'y dliQ'c ph~n
nhieu phia duoi luoi o am r hon so voi
am d, o do nay dau lu@i khong nho cao
va luoi khong co ve phia sau. Qua trlnh
 88
your lips wide as you produce it. Finally, it is dong nay trong guong neu ban ha mieng
also helpful to see if you can feel the rqng k hi bi;ln ti;IO ra 116. Cuoi c ung, c ung
movement of air past the sides of the tongue; s e huu (c h neu ban x em th& minh c6 ca m
this is not really possible in a voiced sound nha n dudc s u di c huy en c ua k hong k hi
(the obstruction ca used by the vibrating qua hai ben luoi hay k hong; thuc te ban
vocal folds reduces the airflow), but if you_ s e k hong th ca m nhan duoc mot am
try to make a very loud whispered I, you huu thanh (s t! c an tr& do ca c day thanh
should be able to feel the air rushing along am rung dong lam giam luong k hf), nhung
the sides of your tongue. neu ban tht li;IO c ha I thi tham rat Ion,
ban s e c 6 th€ ca m nhan k hong k hi dang
d6 d6n doc theo hai ben luoi.
We find I initially, medially and finally, Ta thay I o vi tri dau, gila hoac u oi,
and its distribution is therefore not v a do do s u phan b6 c da no dac bi@t
particularly limited. In BBC, the consonant k h6ng bi han c he. Theo c ac h phat am
has one unusual characteristic: the c la dai BBC, phu am nay co mot dac
realisation of I found before vowels sounds diem k hac la: dang th& hi@n c ua l dtng
quite different from that found in other truoc c ac nguy en am nghe c6 ve k hac
contexts. For example, the realisation of I in hoan toan v oi dang the hi@n duoc thay
the word 'lea' h: is quite different from that trong c a c ngu ca n h k hac . Vi du, dang
in 'eel' i:l. The sound in i:l is what we call a th€ hien c ua I trong ti:{' lea' h: hoan toan
"dark I" ; it has a quality rather similar to an k hac v oi dang the hi@n c la no trong tu
[u] vowel, with the back of the tongue raised. 'eel' i:1. Am trong i:l duoc goi la "I dvc ";
The sound in Ii: is what is called a "clear I" ; it n6 c6 c hat luong k ha giong v oi nguy en
resembles an [i] vowel, with the front of the am [u], v oi phan trong c ung c ua lu@i nang
tongue raised. The "dark I" is also found when ln. Am trong Ii: dli(JC goi la "I trong";
it precedes a consc,nant, as in ' eels' i:lz. We no giong v oi nguy @n am [i], voi phan
can therefore preoict which realisation of I phia trudc c ia luoi nang ln. "I duc "
(clear or dark) will occur in a particular c ung duoc tim thay k hi n6 dung truoc
context: clear I will never occur before mot phu am, nhu trong 'eels ' i:lz . Do d6,
consonants or before a pause, but only before ch ung ta co the du doan dang the hi@n
vowels; dark I never occurs before vowels. nao c ua I (trong hay dvc ) s e x uat hien
We can say, using terminology introduced trong mot ngd ca nh CL.I th€: I trong s e
in Chapter 5, that clear I and dark e are k h6ng bao gio x uat hien truoc eac phv
allophones of the phoneme I in am hay truoc mot k hoang dung, ma c hl
complementary distribution. Most English dung truoc c ac nguy en am; I duc k hong
speakers do not consciously know about the bao gio x ut hi@n truoc c ac nguyen am.
difference between clear and dark 1, yet they Bang c ac h dung thuat ngd da duoc gioi
are quick to detect the difference when they thieu o c huong 5, c hung ta c6 th€ n6i
hear English speakers with different accents rang Itrong va l dv c la tha am vi c ua am
or when they hear foreign learners who have vi I theo s t! pha n b6 b6 s ung. Hau het
not learned the correct pronunciation. nhang nguoi noi tieng Anh k hong biet
SLj k hac nhau giu~ I trong Va dv c, 11 l1Ltng
ho nhanh c hong nhan ra SL./ k hac nhau
nay kh i ho nghe nhtng nguoi noi tieng
Anh co c ac giong n6i k hac, hoac k hi ho
nghe nhtng nguoi hoc ngoai ngt von da
k h6ng hoc c ac h phat am dung.
Another allophone of I is found when it Mot tha am vi k hac n1a I dLt(Jc: tlm
follows p or k at the beginning of a stressed thy k hi no dung s au p hoic k 8 dau mot
syllable. The I is then devoiced, i. e. am tiet duoc nhan Khi d6 I bi vo thanh

to ngu e is n o t curled b ack . Th e "cu rlin g -b ack "
p roces s u s u ally carries th e tip o f th e to ng u e
to a p o s itio n s ligh tly furth er b ack :in th e
mo u th th an th at for alv eo lar conson an ts s u ch
as t an d d, wh ich is wh y this app rox iman t is
called "p o s t-aiv eo lar" . A rath er d ifferen t r
s ound is foun d at th e b eg in n in g o f a s y llab le
if it is p reced ed b y p, t o r k; it is th en v o iceles s
an d s lig h tly fricativ e. Th is p ronu n ciatio n is
fo un d in wo rd s s u ch as 'p ress ', 'tres s ' , 'cress ' .
On e fin al ch aracteris tic o f th e articu latio n
o f r is th at it is u s u al for th e lip s to b e s lig h tly
roun d ed ; foreig n learners s h o u ld d o th is b u t
s hou ld h e careful n o t to ex ag g erate it. If th e
lip -rou nd in g .is to o s tron g th e con s o n an t will
s o u nd too mu ch lik e w, wh ich is th e s ound
th at mo s t En g lis h child ren p rod u ce u n til th ey
h av e learned to p ron ou n ce r in th e adu lt way:
Th e d is trib u tion al p ecu liarity o f r in th e
BBC accen t is v ery eas y to s tate: th is
p h o n eme o n ly o ccu rs b efore vo wels . No o n e
h as an y d ifficu lty in rememb erin g this rule,
b u t foreign learners (mo s t o f wh o m, q u ite
reas o n ab ly , ex p ect th at if th ere is a letter ' r'
in th e s p ellin g th en an . r s h o u ld b e
p ronoun ced ) fin d it d ifficu lt to app ly th e rule
to th eir o wn p ron u n ciatio n . Th ere is no
p rob lem with wo rd s lik e th e follo win g :
i) ' re d ' red ' arriv e' ararv
In th es e wo rd s r is follo wed b y a vo wel.
Bu t in th e follo win g wo rd s th ere is n o r in
th e p ronun ciation :
ii) ' car' ko: ' ev er' eva
iii) ' h ard' ho:d ' v ers e' va:s
Man y accen ts o f En g lis h d o p rono u nce r
in wo rd s lik e th o s e o f (ii) an d (iii) (for
ex amp le, mos t American, Sco ts an d Wes t o f
En g land accen ts ); accen ts wh ich h av e r in
fin al p os itio n (b efore a p au s e) and b efore a
_co n s o n an t are called rhotic accen ts, wh ile
accen ts in which r on ly o ccurs b efore v o wels
(s u ch as BBC) are called non-rhotic.
89
'co luoi ve phia sau' thuong dua dau luoi
den mot vi tri hoi sau trong mieng hon so
voi vi tri danh cho cac phu am lqi nhu t
va d va d6 la ly do tai sao am can nay
duoc goi la "am sau lqi". Mot am r hoan
toan khac duoc tim thay & dau ca mot
am ti&t nu dung truoc no la p, t, hoac
k; khi d6 n6 la am vo thanh va hoi xat.
C ach phat am nay dudc tim tha'y trong
cac tu nhll 'press', 'tress', 'cress'.
Mot dac diem sau cung cl a cau tao
am r la moi thuUng hoi tron; nguoi hoc
ngoai ngt nen lam nhu vay nhung can
than khong duoc doc qua tron moi. Neu
doc qua tron moi, phu am nay se nghe
c6 ve giong nhu w, day la am ma hau
ht tr¢ em ngudi Anh tao ra cho den khi
chung hoc du@c cach phat am r theo
each cua nguoi Ion.
N6i ve dac diem phan bo cl a r trong
giong BBC thi rat d : am vi nay chi xuat
hien truoc cac nguyen am. Khong ai gap
kh6 khan khi nho qui tic nay, nhung
ngudi hoc ngoai ngt (hau het nhung nguoi
mong mu6n rang neu c6 mau tu 'r' trong
cach danh van thl r nen duoc phat am)
thay kho ap dung qui tac nay vao vie¢c
,phat am cua rieng ho. Khong c6 van de
gl voi cac tu nhll:
'h earin g ' h1anu
Trong cac tt nay r co mqt nguyen
am theo sau. Nhung trong cac tu sau day,
khong co r trong cach phat am:
' h ere' ha
' cares' keaz
Nhiu giong tieng Anh phat am r trong
cac tu nhu cac tu cl a (ii) va (iii) (vi du,
hau het cac giong My, Xcot len va mien
Tay nLIOC Anh); cac giong c6 r a vi trf
cuoi cung (truoc mot khoang dung) va
truoc mot phu am thi duoc goi la giong
r-tinh, trong khi cac giong ma trong d6 r
chi xuat hien truoc cac nguyen am
(chang han nhu BB C ) thi du@c go i la
giong p h i r-Hn h .

7 .4 The co ns o na nts j a nd w " AU7, EX 5
Th es e are th e co n s o n an ts foun d at th e
b eg in n ing o f wo rd s s u ch as 'y et' an d 'wet'.
Th ey are k no wn as " ap p rox iman t"
(in trod u ced in s ectio n 7 .3 abov e). Th e mos t
' impo rtan ts ' th ing to rememb er ab o u t th es e
p ho n emes is th at th ey are ph o n etically lik e
v o wels b u t p h o n o lo g ically lik e co n s o n an ts .
(in earlier wo rk s on p hon o lo g y th ey were
kno wn as " Semivo wels " ) From th e p h o n etic
p o in t o f v iew th e articu latio n o f j is p ractically
th e s ame as th at o f a fro n t clo s e vo wel s u ch
as i:, b u t is v ery s h o rt. In th e s ame way w is
clo s ely s imilar to u: . If y o u mak e th e in itial
s ou n d o f 'wet' o r 'y et' v ery lon g , y ou will b e
ab le to h ear th is . Bu t d es p ite th is v o wel-lik e
ch aracter, we u s e th em lik e con s on an ts . Fo r
ex amp le, th ey o n ly o ccu r b efore v o wel
p h o n emes ; th is is a typ ically co n s o n an tal
d is trib u tio n . We can s h o w th at a wo rd
b eg inn in g with w o r j is reg ard ed as
b eg in n ing with a con s o n an t in th e follo win g
way : th e in d efin ite article is ' a' b efore a
co n s on an t (as in 'a cat', 'a d o g ' ), an d ' an ' b efore
a v o wel (as in ' an ap p le', ' an o ran g e' ). If a
wo rd b eg in n in g with w o r j is p reced ed b y
th e ind efin ite article, it is th e 'a' form th at is
found (as in 'a way' , 'a y ear' ). An o th er ex amp le
is th at o f th e d efin ite article. Here th e rule is
th at ' th e' is p ronou n ced as Oa b efore
con s on an ts (as in ' th e d o g ' Oa dng 'th e cat' d
kret) an d as 01 b efore v o wels (as in ' th e app le'
01 repl, ' th e o ran g e' 01 nrind3). This ev id en ce
illu s trates wh y it is s aid th at j an d w are
p h o no lo g ically con s o n an ts . Ho wev er, it is
imp o rtan t to rememb er th at to p ronou n ce
. th em as fricativ es (as man y foreig n learners
d o ), o r ev en affricates , is a mis p ron u n ciatio n .
On ly in s p ecial co n tex ts d o we h ear frictio n
n o is e in j o r w; th is is wh en th ey are
p reced ed b y p, t o r k at th e b eg inn ing o f a
s y llab le, as in th es e wo rd s:
' p u re' pjua (n o wo rd s J-t::g in with pw)
' tu n e' tju:n ' twin' twm
' q u eu e' kju: ' q u in' kw,t
90
7.4 Cc phu am j va w O AU7, E X 5
Day la nhung phu am du@c tim thay &
dau cac tu nhu 'yet' va 'wet'. C hung duoc
goi la am can (da du@c gioi thieu trong
111l)C 7.3 rJ tren). Dieu quan trong dn nho
ve nht ng am vi nay la ve mat ngd am
chung giong nhu cac nguyen am nhung ve
mat am vi chung giong nhu cac phu am
(trong cac tai lieu truoc day noi ve am vi
hoc, chung duqc goi la "ban nguyen am").
Tu quan di€m ngu am, cau tao am cda j
tren thuc te giong voi cau tao cl a mot
nguyen am dong hang truoc nhu i:, nhung
rat ngan. Tuong ttJ, w rat giong voi u: . Neu
ban lam cho am r1 vi tri dau cua 'wet' hoi)c
'yet' rat dai, ban se co th€ nghe dLt(jc dieu
nay. Tuy nhien, du co ky tu giong nhu
nguyen am nay, nhung chung ta dung
chung giong nhu cac plw am. Vi du, chung
chi xuat hi@n truoc cac am vi la nguyen
am; day la su phan b phu am di&n hinh.
Chung ta c6 th€ cho thay rang m<;>t tu bat
dau bang w hoac j du@c xem la bat dau
bang mot phu am theo cach sau: mao tt
bat dinh la 'a' dung truoc mot phu am (nhu
trong 'a cat', 'a dog'), va 'an' dung truoc
mot nguyen am (nhu trong 'an apple', 'an
oragnge'). Neu mot tu bat dau bang w hoac
j dung sau mc10 tu bat dinh, thi dang 'a'
duqc tlm thay (nhu trong 'a way', 'a year').
M(>t vi du khac la ve mao tu xac dinh. o
day qui tac la 'the' du@c phat am la d o
truoc cac phu am (nhu trong 'the dog' Oa
dng, 'the cat' 0a kaet) va la di trudc ca C
nguyen am (nhu trong 'the apple' Oi repl,
'the oragnge' Oi nrmd3). C hung co nay
chung minh ly do tai sao ngudi ta noi rang
j va wve mat am vi la cac phu am. Tuy
nhien, dieu quan trong la phai nho rang
phat am chung la cac am xat (nhu nhi u
nguoi hoc ngoai ngd phat am), hoc tham
chf la am tac xat, la su phat am sai. C hi
trong nhung ngd canh dac bi@t, chung ta
moi nghe ting xat trong j hoac w; day la
khi chung du@c dat sau p, t, hoac k & dau
m(>t am tiet, nhu trong cac tu sau day:
' p ure' pja (k ho n g co tt n o b at d au
b an g pw)
' tu n e' tju:n ' twin ' twm
' qu eu e' kju: ' q u in ' kw,t
 91
Th e j an d w s o u nd s are d ev o iced (th at is ,
b eco me v o iceles s ) an d are s lig h tly fricativ e
in th es e co n tex ts . Fo r p lace o f articu latio n ,
we reg ard j as p alatal an d w as b ilab ial.
Th is co mp letes ou r ex amin ation o f th e
con s o n an t p h o n emes o f En g lis h . It is u s efu l
to p lace th em o n a con s o n an t ch art, an d th is
is d o n e in Tab le 1. On th is ch art, th e d ifferen t
p laces o f articu latio n are arrang ed fro m left
to rig h t an d th e man n ers o f articu latio n are
arran g ed fro m top to b o tto m. Wh en th ere is a
p air o f p h on emes with th e s ame p lace an d
man n er o f articu latio n b u t d ifferin g in
wh eth er th ey are fortis o r len is (v o iceles s o r
v o iced ), th e s y mbo l for th e fortis co n s o n an t
is p laced to th e left o f th e s y mbo l for th e
len is con s on an t.
Cac am j va w bi v6 thanh h6a (nghTa
la tro thanh am v6 thanh) va la am hoi
xat trong nhung ngu canh nay. Con ve
vi tri cau tao am, chung ta xem j nhu la
am vom va w la am moi.
0e'n day chung ta da xem xet xong
cac am vi phu am trong tieng Anh. That
ht u (ch khi dat chung len bang phu am
va viec nay duoc thuc hien trong bang
1. Tren bang nay, cac vi tri cau tao am
khac nhau duc;tc sap xep tu trai sang phai
va cac each cau tao am duc;tc sap xep
tu tren xuo'ng duoi. Khi c6 mot cap am
vi co cung vi tri va cach ca'u t;:10 am
nhung khac nhau vi chung la am m;;tnh
hay am ye'u (v6 thanh hay hau thanh),
ky hieu danh cho phu am manh duoc
dat phia ben trai cl a ky hieu danh cho
phu am yeu.

PLAC E OF AR TIC ULATION (Vf T R I CAU AM )

3
««
~
ro #
0 C
:.0 QJ
C
j
ro > iii
co z ro
CL
CJ

Plosive
pb tel kg
(Am bJtJ
Fricative
fv sz fa h
(Am xatJ
Affr icate
tf ds
(Am tJc xat)
Nasal
m n u
(Am m Lii )
Lateral
(Am ben )
Approximant
... w j
(Am cJn)
 92
No tes o n pro blems a nd f urther rea ding
The notes for this chapter are devoted to giving further detail on a particularly difficult
theoretical problem. The argument that n is an allophone of n, not a phoneme in its own
right, is so widt",ly accepted by contemporary phonological theorists that few seem to feel it
worthwhile to explain it fully. Since the velar nasal is introduced in' this chapter, I have
chosen to attempt this here. However, it is a rather complex theoretical matter, and you may
prefer to leave consideration of it until after the discussion of problems of phonemic analysis
in Chapter 13.

There are brief discussions of the phonemic status of !J in Chomsky and Halle (1968:85,
Hyman (1975:74-6) and Ladefoged (1993:64); for a fuller treatment see Wells (1982:60-4)
or Giegerich (1992:297-301). Everyone agrees that English has at least two contrasting
nasal phonemes, m and n. However, there is disagreement about whether there is a third
nasal phoneme. In favour of accepting !J as a phoneme is the fact that traditional phoneme
theory more or less demands its acceptance despite the general tendency to make phoneme
inventories as small as possible. Consider minimal pairs (pairs of words in which a difference
in meaning depends on the difference of one phoneme) like these: 'sin' sm - ' sing' s10) ;
'sinner' sma - 'singer' s1po.

There are three main arguments against accepting !) as a phoneme:

i) In some English accents it can easily be shown that n is an allophone of n, which suggests
that something similar might be true of BBC pronuncition too.

ii) If n is a phoneme, its distribution is very different from that of m and n, being restricted
to syllable-final position (phonologically) and to morpheme-final position
(morphologically) unless it is followed by k or g.

iii) English speakers with no phonetic training are said to feel that ·o is not a 'single sound' ·
like m and n. Sapir (1925) said that " no native speaker of English could be made to feel
in his bones" that n formed part of a series with m and n. This is, of course, very hard to
establish, although that does not mean that Sapir was wrong.

We need to look at point (i) in more detail and go on to see how this leads to the
argument against having as a phoneme. Please note that I am not trying to argue that this
proposal is correct; my aim is just to explain the argument. The whole question may seem of
little or no practical consequence, but we ought to be interested in any phonological problem
if it appears that convention. honeme theory is not able to deal satisfactorily with it.
In some English accents, particularly those of the Midlands, p is only found in front of k
and g. For example:
' sink' s mk ' singer' s m g a
' sing' s I g ' singing' s 1 g i g
(This was my own pronunciation as a boy, living in the West Midlands, but I now usually
have BBC pronunciation s nk, sm, sno, sIm). In the case of an accent like this, it can be
shown that within the morpheme the only nasal that occurs before k and g is n. Neither m nor
n can occur in this environment. Thus within the morpheme ny is in complementary
distribution with m and n. Since m and n are already established as distinct English phonemes
.
in other contexts (mrep,nrep, etc.), it is clear that for such non-BBC accents !J must be an
 93
allo p h o n e o f o n e o f th e o th er n as al co n s on an t p h o n emes. We ch oo s e n b ecau s e wh en a
mo rp h eme-fin al n is follo wed by a mo rp h eme-in itial k o r g it is u s u al for th at n to ch ang e to
n; h o wev er, a mo rp h eme-fin al m follo wed b y a mo rp h eme-in itial k o r g u s u ally d o es n ' t
ch ang e to g) . Th u s:
' rain -co at' rerkeut BUT 'tram-car' trae m ka :
So in an an aly s is wh ich co n tain s n o p h on eme, we wou ld tran s crib e ' rain -co at'
p h o n emically as s emka t and ' s ing ', ' s in g er' , 's ing in g ' as s mng , s mng o , s m gmng . Th e p h o n etic
realis atio n o f th e n p h o n eme as a v elar n as al will b e acco u n ted for b y a g en eral rule th at we
will call Ru le 1 .

Rule J: n is realis ed as u wh en it o ccurs in an en v iron men t in wh ich it p reced es eith er k o r g .

Let u s n o w loo k at BBC p ronun ciatio n . As exp lain ed in Sectio n 7 . I abov e, th e cru cial
d ifferen ce b etween ' s in g ' so an d ' fin g er' frg o is th at ' fin g er' is a s in g le, in d iv is ib le
mo rp h eme wh ereas ' s ing er' is co mp os ed o f two mo rp h emes , ' s in g ' an d ' -er' . Wh en u
o ccurs with o u t a follo wing k o r g i t is alway s immed iately b efore a mo rp h eme b o u n d ary .
Con s eq u en tly , th e s o u nd n an d th e s eq u en ce 0 9 are in co mp lemen tary d is trib u tion . Bu t
within th e mo rp h eme th ere is n o co n tras t b etween th e s eq u en ce ng and th e s eq u en ce 0 9 ,
wh ich mak es it p o ss ib le to s ay th at is also in co mp lemen tary d is trib u tio n with th e
s eq u en ce 9.
After es tab lis h in g th es e 'b ack g rou nd facts ', we can g o o n to s tate th e arg u men t as follo ws :
i) En g lis h h as o n ly m and n as n as al p hon emes .
ii) Th e s o u n d o is an allopho n e o f th e p ho n eme n.
iii) Th e wo rd s 'fin g er' , ' s ing ' , ' s ing er' , ' s in g ing ' s h o u ld b e rep res en ted p h on emically as fm g a ,
s m ng , s m g o , s m g m g .
iv ) Ru le l (ab o v e) app lies to all th es e p h o n emic rep res en tation s to g iv e th es e p h o n etic
forms : [frg o , s rg , s m g o , s rgr g .]
v ) A furth er rule (Ru le 2 ) mu s t n o w b e in trod u ced :

Rule 2 : g is d eleted wh en it o ccu rs after n an d b efore a mo rp h eme b o u n d ary .

It s h o u ld b e clear th at Ru le 2 will n o t ap p ly to 'fin g er' b ecau s e th e n is n o t immed iately
follo wed b y a mo rp h eme b o un d ary . Hav ev er, th e rule d o es ap p ly to all th e o th ers , h en ce
th e fin al p hon etic forms : fg a , s I , s no , s m .
v i) Fin ally , it is n ecess ary to rememb er th e ex cep tio n we h av e s een in th e cas e o f:
co mp arativ es an d s up erlativ es .
Th e arg u men t ag ain s t treatin g as a p h o n eme may n o t ap p eal to y o u v ery mu ch . Th e
impo rtan t p o in t, h o wev er, is th at if o n e is p rep ared to u s e th e k in d o f co mp lex ity an d
ab s tractn es s illu s trated ab o v e, o n e can p rodu ce q u ite far-reach in g ch ang es in th e p h on emic
an alys is o f a langu ag e.
Th e o th er co n s o n an ts - l, r, wand j - d o n o t, I th in k , n eed furth er ex p lan atio n , ex cep t to
men tio n th at th e q u es tion o f wh eth er j, w are co n s o n an ts o r v o wels is ex amin ed o n
d is trib u tion al g run d s in O' Co nno r an d Trim (1 9 5 3 ).
 94
Written ex ercises Bai tap vi&et
1 . List all the consonant phonemes of BBC
1. Liet ke tat ca cac am vi phu am cia
accent, grouped according to manner of
giong B B C, dugc nhom theo cach cau
articulation.
tao am.
2. Transcribe the following words 2. Phi@n am cac tu sau day theo am vi
phonemically:
ho c:
a) sofa e) square a) sofa e) square
h) verse .f) anger b) verse t) anger
c) steering g) bought c) steer i ng g) bought
d) breadcrumb h) nineteen d) br eadcr um b h) ni neteen

3 . When the vocal tract is in its resting

3. Khi duUng dan thanh nam o vi tri nghi
position for normal breathing, the soft
palate is usually lowered. Describe what
ca
no de
th& binh thuong, ngac mem
thuong bi ha thap. Hy miu ta cac
movements are carried out by the soft
ct dong duoc thuc hien boi ngac mem
palate in the pronunciation of the
khi phat am cac tu sau day:
following items:
a) banner h) mid c) angle a) banner b) m i d c) angl e
 95

CHUONG 8

amb i s y llab i c / ,emb rs r' l eb 1 k / (adj) l u r7 n g t h u ()c, t h u (Jc cii h a i a m

ti e't (t r urJc va s a u ) .
ass i g n / a' s am/ ( v) p h a n ch i a
cl u st er/ ' k l A s t a/ (n ) chu Ji , cM m , p hrlc ca u , p hrlc
hqp
co d a / ' k aud a/ (n ) ke't a m , vi a m (p h 1;t a m khrl i
dduJ
fi n al con s o n an t / ' faml ' k o n s an an t/ ph u a m cu r'ti
g ov ern / ' g v an / ( v ) quan l, ki em so ci t
i n i ti al co ns on an t /J' m.n ' k o ns an an t/ ph u a m d a u
mi n im u m s y llab l e / ' mm1 mam ' s rl ab l / a m ti etl vd n t lJ 1 t h i l u
o n s et / ' u ns et / (n ) khdi a m (ph u a m kh d i dd u )
p eak / p i: k / (n ) d { n h , ca o d i l m

p h o no l og is t / fa' nu l a3 rst / (n ) n ha a m vi h o c
p h o n o l acti cs / ,fau n a' t rektJk s / (n ) ket a m h o c (n gh i en cu s t ket
h g p @ m vi )
p o st -fi n al co n s o n an t / ' p au s t ,farn l ' k ons an an t/ p hu a m sau cuo i

p o st -in i ti al con s o n an t /'p au s n ,nr _n ' k on s an an t / p hu @ m s a u d a u

p re-fi n al co ns on an t / ' p ri : ,faml ' k uns an an t / p h ;, a m t r urJ c cu lfi

p re-i n i ti al con s o n an t /'p ri : r,m_n ' k on s an ;:,n t/ p h u a m tr u de d a u

rh y me/ ra1 m/ (n ) vd n
s ig n i fy / ' s 1 g mfa1 / ( v) r a d a u , ra h i i u
s y llab i c co ns o n an t /s r' l reb 1 k ' k uns an an t/ ph u a m co a m t i e't t f 11h/ca 1,
th a n h a m ti @t

8 The syllable
The syllable is a very important unit.
Most people seem to believe that, even if
they cannot define what a syllable is. _they
can count how many sylJables there are in a
given word or sentence. If they are asked to
do this they often tap their finger as they
count, which illustrates the syllable' s
importance in the rhythm of speech. As a
matter of fact, if one tries the experiment of
asking English speakers to count the
syllables in, say, a tape-recorded sentence,
there is often a considerable amount of
disagreement.
8.1 The nature of the syllable
Whn We looked at the nature of vowels
and consonants in Chapter 1 it was shown
that one could decide whether a particular
sound was a vowel or a consonant on
phonetic grounds (in relation to how much
they obstructed the airflow) or on
phonological grounds (vowels and
consonants having different distributions).
We find a similar situation with the syllable,
in that it may be defined both phonetically
and phonologically. Phonetically (that is, in
relation to the way we produce them and the
way they sound), syllables are usually
described as consisting of a centre which has
little or no obstruction to airflow and which
sounds comparatively loud; before and after
this centre (that is. at the beginning and end
of the syllable). there will be greater
obstruction to airnow and/or less loud sound.
We will now look at some examples:
i) What we might call a minimum syllable
would be a single vowel in isolation. e.g.
the words ' are' a:. 'or' ;, :, 'err' a:. These are
preceded and followed by silence.
Isolated sounds such as m, which we
96
A • K
8 Am tlet
Am tiet la mot don vi rat quan trong.
Hau het moi ngudi duong nhu deu tin
rang, tham chi neu ho khong the dinh
nghTa am tiet la gl, ho c6 the dem s6
ludng am tiet co trong mot tut hoac cau
da cho. Neu ho duoc yeu cau lam viec
nay, ho thuong go go ngoi tay khi dem,
dieu nay cho thay tam quan trong cia
am tiet trong nhip loi noi. Su that la neu
mt nguoi tht yeu cau ngudi noi tieng
Anh dem cac am tiet chang han nhu trong
mot cau dLl(JC ghi am lai, thuong co nhieu
y kien bat dng.
8 .1 Ba n chat cua a m tie't
Khi chung ta xem ban cha't CLla cac
nguyen am va phu am trong chtlong 1 ,
chung ta thay rang mot ngudi c6 the
quyet dinh xem mot am dac biet la
nguyen am hay phu am tren nen tang
ngL7 am (lien quan den mtc do chung
can tr& luong khi) hoac tren nen tang
am vi (cac nguyen am va phu am co st
phan b6 khac nhau). Chung ta thay mot
tinh huong tuong tu voi am tiet, vi no co
the' dLl(Jc dinh nghTa theo ca nga am hoc
Ian am vi hoc. Theo nga am hoc (nghTa
la, lien quan den each chung ta tao ra
chung va cach chung phat am), cac am
tiet thuong duoc mieu ta la co mot tam
ma ta 111 d6 can tr& it hay khong can trd
ludng khi va phat ra am tllong doi 16'11;
truoc va sau tam nay (nghia la, dau va
cuoi am tiet), se co SL_/ can Ira Ion hon
doi v6'i lu6ng khi va/hoac phat am nho
hon. Bay gio chung ta se xem xet mot
so vi du:
i) 0ieu ma chung ta co the' goi la am
tie't nho nha't se la nguye n am don
khi dung mot minh, vi du: cac tt 'are'
a:, 'or' ;,:, 'err' 3:. NhCtng ILi nay dLIQ'c
dat truoc va sau boi mot am cam.

s o metimes p rod u ce to in d icate
ag reemen t, o r J, to as k for s ilen ce, mu s t
als o b e reg ard ed as s y llab les .
ii) So me s y llab les h av e an o ns et (th at is,
th ey h av e mo re th an ju s t s ilen ce
p reced in g th e cen tre o f th e s y llab le):
' b a r' h o : ' k ey ' ki : ' mo re' m:
iii) Sy llab les may h av e n o o n s et b u t h av e a
coda :
' am' rem ' o u g h t' J :t ' e a s e ' i :z
iv) So me s y llab les h av e o n s et an d cod a:
' run' rAn ' s at' s ret ' fill' fII
Th is is o n e way o f lo o k in g at s y llab les .
Lo o k in g at th em fro m th e p h o n o lo g ical p o in t
o f v iew is q u ite d ifferen t. Wh at this in v o lv es
is lo o k ing at th e p o ss ib le co mb in atio n s o f
Eng lis h p hon emes ; th e s tu d y o f th e p o ss ib le
p h o n eme co mb in atio n s o f a langu ag e is
called pho no ta ctics . It is s imp les t to s tart b y
loo kin g at wh at can o ccu r in in itial p o s itio n
- in o th er wo rd s , wh at can o ccu r at th e
b eg in n in g o f th e firs t wo rd wh en we b eg in
to s p eak after a p au s e. We find th at th e wo rd
can b eg in with a v o wel, o r with on e, two o r
th ree co n s o n an ts . No wo rd b eg in s with mo re
th an th ree con s on an ts . In th e s ame way , we
can lo o k at h o w a wo rd en d s wh en it is th e
las t wo rd s p o k en b efore a p au s e; it can en d
with a v o wel, o r with o n e, two , th ree o r (in a
s mall n u mb er o f cas es ) four con s o n an ts . No
wo rd end s with mo re th an fou r co n s o n an ts.
8. 2 T h e str u c tu re of th e E n gli sh
syll ab le
Let u s n o w lo ok in mo re d etail at s y llab le
o n s ets . If th e firs t s y llab le o f th e wo rd in
q u es tio n b eg in s with a v o wel (an y v o wel
may o ccu r, th ou g h u is rare) we s ay th at th is
in itial s y llab le h as a zero o ns et. If th e
s y llab le b eg in s with o n e con s on an t, th at
in itial co n s o n an t may b e an y co n s on an t
p h o n eme ex cep t n; 3 is rare. We n o w lo ok at
97
C ac am dung mot minh nhu m, do i
khi chung ta tao ra de chi ro su dong
y, hoac f, d yeu cau im ling, c@ng
phi i duoc xem la am tiet.
ii) Mt so am tiet c6 k hi am (onset)
(nghia la chung co nhieu hon ca am
cam dung truoc tam cda am tiet):
' b a r' b o : ' k ey ' ki : ' mo re' m:
iii) C ac am tiet co the khong co khdi
am nhung c6 ke't am (coda):
' am' rem ' o ugh t' :t ' eas e' i:z
iv}Mot so am tiet co khdi am va ket
am:
'run' rAn 's at' s re t 'fill' fTI
D ay la mot each de' xem xet cac am
tiet. Xem xet chung tt quan die'rn am vi
hoc thl hon toan khac. Van de nay lien
quan den viec xem xet cac ket hop co
the' co cl a cac am vi ting Anh; su nghien
cuu cac ket hop am vi c6 the' co cua mot
ng6n ngd d u o c goi la ket am hoc. Cach
don gian nhat la bat dau xem xet dieu gi
c6 the xuat hien o vi tri dau - n6i each
khac, dieu co the xuat hien o tu dau tien
khi chCmg ta bat dau noi sau mot khoang
dung. C hung ta tha'y ding tu c6 the' bi t
dau bang mot nguyen am, hoac voi mot,
hai hoac ba phu am. Khong co tu nao bat
dau voi hon ba phu am. Tuong tu, chi ng
ta c6 the' xem mot tu ket thuc nhu the
nao khi no la tu cuoi cung du o c noi truoc
mot khoa ng dung; no c6 the tan cung
bang mot nguyen am, hoc bang mot, hai,
ba hoac (mot so lugng nho cac trui ng hop)
bon phu am. Khong co tu nao tan cung
voi hon bon phu am.
8.2 Cfo truc cua am tiet trong tieng
Anh
Bay gio chung ta hay xem xet chi tiet
hon cac khdi am Cl.la am titft. Neu am
ti&t dau ti n cda mot tu dang duoc ban
den bat dau bang mot nguyen am (bat
cu nguyen am nao cung du co the xay
ra, mac du u hiem gap) chung ta noi rang
am tiet dau nay kh 6n g co kh o i am (zero
onset). Neu am tiet nay bat dau bang
 g<
('1) =- -
- -
Table 2 Two -consonant clusters with pre-initial s gs0 &
""'I ~~

(Bang 2 Ck cvm hai phv am vai s trtlac dJu.) ::E ;;; "'
o
n ::r O
"' "'
1--- ......
< trc,
Pre-initial (Tru6'c c!a'u ) Initial (D a'u) - 0 ::,
::r ..... ::,
- i,,.,..
0 ::E ::,
8 0 trc,
s pl us p t k b d g f II s J h V /) z 8 m n u "' 0 ::E
n ""'I ~-

spm stTk skm- sf,a smel snau § 8 ::r

"'
0 0
.., -
::E
::S O 0
(N ote: Two-consonant clusters of s plus I, w , j are also possible (e.g., shp, sw,u, sju:), and even perhaps sr in § n n
'syringe' srmdJ for some speakers. These clusters can be analysed either as pre-initial s plus initial I, w , j, r or - 0
0 ::,
::,
initial s plus post-initial I, w , j, r. There is no clear answer to the question of which analysis is better; here they are ,.., "' "'
- 0 0
I;; ::, ::,
treated in the latter way, and appear in Table 3.) ::, ::,
(Luu y : C ac cum hai phv am la s cong vi l, w, j cung c6 the c6 (vi dv, slrp, SWIU, sj u:), thJm chi c6 s r trong
-.., "'"'
i ; 7
IO
'syringe' srmdy doi voi mot so ngudi noi. N hung Cl)m nay c6 the duqc phan tich la s trudc du cong vi l, w, 00
.+ »o
j, r dJu hoJc s dJu c9ng vai I, w, j, r truac dJu. K hong c6 cau tra Joi r6 rang cha cau hoi ve vi@c phan tich nao CJ o, 3 -- CJ \
D»- .O
tot hon; a day chung duqc xem xet theo each sau, va xuat hien trong bang 3.J 3
== e5.3
,,g
g.. ~ =- » CT
ge3
::s n .CJ , < 3
C)Q 0. -c ·-- -
- ::, CJ>,.
·.
nCT
eg g
(ti >, Q.h ·C:: · C:
·r. e<
3 ::S OQ Ill> Ill>
-g_ C)Q q_; 3 3
=E ::s a.
• C: OJ> - · 2 E
, c::
CJ> 3 -c- c::
::s ::s
3 c.. -c C)Q C)Q a.
-· - 0 o,
< CJ > w -~- n
Q, 3 X O,
-.·
-
:::i-:::l" 5
m,,
· =~.
#E
 99
In itial two -co n s o n an t clu s ters are o f two
s o rts in En g lis h . On e s o rt is co mp o s ed o f s
follo wed by o n e o f a s mall s et o f co n s on an ts ;
ex amp les o f s u ch clu s ters are fou n d in wo rd s
s u ch as ' s ting ' sbg, 's way ' swe1, 's mok e' smaok.
Th e s in th es e clu s ters is called th e pre­
initial co n s o n an t an d th e o th er con s on an t
(t, w, m in . th e abov e ex amp les) th e initial
co n s o n an t. Th es e clu s ters are s h o wn in Tab le
2.
Th e o th er s o rt b eg in s with o n e o f a s et o f
abo u t fifteen con s on an ts , follo wed b y o n e
o f th e s et I, r, w, j as in, for ex amp le, 'p lay '
ple1, ' try ' tra1, 'q u ick ' kw1k, 'few' fju:. We call
th e firs t co n s o n an t o f th es e: clu s ters th e
in itial co n s on an t an d th e s econ d th e post­
initial. Th ere are s o me res triction s o n wh ich
co n s on an ts can o ccu r to g eth er. Th is can b es t
b e s h o wn in tab le form, as s h o wn in Tab le 3 .
Wh en we lo ok at th ree-co n so n an t clu s ters
we can reco g n is e a clear relatio n s h ip
b etween th em an d th e two s o rts o f two ­
co n s on an t clu s ter d es crib ed ab ov e;
ex amp les o f th ree-con s o n an t in itial clu s ters
are: ' s p lit' spht, ' s tream' stri:m, 's qu are' skwea.
Th e s is th e p re-in itial co n s on an t, th e p, t
an d k th at follo w s in th e th ree ex amp le
wo rd s are th e in itial conso n an t an d th e l , r
and w are p o s t-in itial. In fact, th e nu mb er o f
p o s s ib le in itial th ree-co n s o n an t clu s ters is
q u ite s mall and th ey can b e s et o u t in full
(wo rd s g iv en _ in s p ellin g form):
Post-initial (Sau d.iu)
r w
p 'splay' 'spray'
s plus initial t 'string'
(s CQng d5u) k 'sclerosis' 'screen'
We n o w h av e a s imilar tas k to d o in
s tu dy in g fin al co n s on an t clu s ters . Here we
fin d th e p oss ib ility o f u p to fou r con s o n an ts
at th e en d o f a wo rd . If th ere is no fin al
co n s o n an t we s ay th at th ere is a zero coda.
Wh en th ere is o n e co n s o n an t o n ly , th is is
C ac cum hai phu am dau tbuoc mot
trong hai loai trong tieng Anh. Mot loai
du@c cau thanh tu s va sau do la mot
tap hop nho cac phu am; vi du ve cac
cum nhu the dl.fQc tlm thay trong cac tu
nhll 'sting' st, 'sway' swe1, 'smoke'
smaok. s trong nhung cum nay duoc goi
la p h i} am truoc d au (pre-in itia I consonant)
va phu am khac (t, w , m trong cac vi du
tren) la p h u am d au . Cac cum nay du@c
minh hoa trong bang 2.
Loqi con lqi belt dc1u bang mot phu
am trong mot tap hop khong muoi lam
phu am, theo sau la mot phu am trong
t~p hQp I, r, w , j nhu trong, vi du nhu
'play' pler, 'try' tra1, 'quick' kw1k, 'few'
fju:. C hung ta goi phu am dau ti n trong
s6 cac cvm nay la p h i} am d au va phu
am th@ hai la p h g am sau d au . C o mot
s6 hqn che a each ma cac phu am co
the xuat hien cung voi nhau. Tinh huong
nay c6 the duoc minh hoa tot nhat 8 dang
bang, nhu trong bang 3. Khi chung ta xem
cac cum ba phu am, chung ta co the'
nhan ra moi quan he ro rang gil a chung
va hai loai cum hai phu am d duoc mieu
ta & tren; vi du ve cac cum dau ba phu
am la: 'split' spht, 'stream' stri:m, 'square'
skwea. s la phu am truoc dau, p, t va k
theo sau s trong ba W m~u la phv am
dau, va l, r va w la phu am sau dau.
That ra, so luong cac cum ba phu am
d.1u co the' c6 kha nho va chung co the
bat du o dang day du (cac tu du@c cho
o dang chinh ta):
'spew'
'stew'
'squeak' 'skewer'
Bay gio chung ta co mot cong viec
tuong tu can lam de nghien cuu cac cum
phu am cu6i. O day ta thay kha nang c6
len den bon phu am & cuoi mot tu. Neu
khong co phu am cu6i, ta noi rang k h on g
co ket am (zero coda). Khi chl co mot
 Table 3 Two-consonant clusters with post-initial I, r, w, j .
(Bang 3 C ac cum hai phu am v&i l, r, w, j sau d!iu.)

p k b d g f ff s I h v ] 0] z ] 3 m n g r I w I j

-
......
crj ::s
-
r
pl e1

I pre1 tre1
k1 e1

krai
blrek

bnIJ dnp
glu: fla

I gnn frn1 I 8r;}o I

shp

?1 I fru:

#f if s, list j pp : tju:n kju: bju:ti dju: ?4 fj u : 1' sju: hju:d3 vju: mju:z / nju:z , - lju:d
LI
N otes on doubtful cases: y ve cac truong hap nghi ng: el
Luu s
1 . Some people pronounce the word 'syringe' as sr mnd s; there 1. Mot s6 ngui phat am tu 'syringe' la sr in d s; khong co nhang
are no other of sr , unless one counts foreign place names trui ng hop khac cua s r, tr& khi mot nguoi dem cac ten dia
(e.g. Sri Lanka). danh nuoc ngoai (vi du Sri Lanka).
2. Many Welsh names (including some well-known outside 2. Nhi@u ten o xd Wales (ke ca mot vai ndi ni tieng o ben
Wales) - such as girls' names like Gwen and place names ngoai XU Wales) nhu' ten cua con gai nhu Gwen va ten dia
like the county of Gwent - have initial gw and English danh nhu hat Gwent - c6 gw dau va nhung ngudi noi tieng
speakers seem to find them perfectly easy to pronounce. Anh duong nhu thay chung d phat am.
3. Two cases make Jw seem familiar: the vowel name 'schwa', 3. Hai truong hQp lam cha fw duong nhu' quen thuoc: ten nguyen
and the name of the soft drinks brand Schweppes. This is, am 'schwa' va ten cua cac th&c uong ngot nhan hi@u Schweooes.
however, a very infrequent consonant cluster for English. Tuy nhien, day la mot cum phu am hiem gap trong tieng Anh.
4. The only possible occurrence of gj would be in the archaic 4. Truong h@p duy nhat co the xay ra cua g j la o trong tu co
(heraldic) word 'gules', which is in very few people's 'gules'.
vocabulary.
5. ffj occurs in the archic word 'thew' only. 5. ffj chi xuat hien trong tu c6 'thew'.
 101
called th e final con so n an t. Any con so n an t
may b e a fin al con s o n an t ex cept h r, w, j.
There are two sorts of two-consonant final
clu s ter, o n e b ein g a fin al co n s on an t
p reced ed b y a pre-final co n so n ant an d th e
o th er a fin al co n s o n an t follo wed by post­
final co n s on an t. Th e p re-fin al co n s o o an ts
form a s mall s et: m , n, u, l , s . We can s ee
th es e in ' bu mp ' bAmp, 'b en t' bent, 'b ank '
ba:uk, ' b elt' belt, ' as k ' a:sk. Th e p o s t-final
co n s on an ts als o form a s mall s et: s , z, t, d, II;
ex amp le wo rd s are: ' b ets ' bets, 'b ed s ' bedz,
'b ack ed ' b a:k t, 'b agg ed ' b a:g d , ' eig h th ' e itll .
Th es e post-final con s o n an ts can o ften b e
id en tified as s ep arate mo rp h emes (alth o u g h
n o t alway s, e.g . ' ax e' a:ks is a s in g le
mo rp h eme an d its fin al s h as no s ep arate
mean ing ). A p o in t o f p ronu n ciatio n can b e
p o in ted o u t h ere: th e releas e o f th e firs t
p lo s iv e o f a p lo s iv e-p lu s -p lo s iv e clu s ter s uch
as th e g (o f gd) in ba:gd o r th e k (o f kt) in
ba:kt is u s u ally with o u t p lo s ion an d is
th erefore p ractically in au d ib le.
Th ere are two ty p es o f fin al th ree-co n s on an t
clu s ter; th e firs t is p reftn al p lu s fin al p lu s p o s t­
fin al, as s et o u t in th e follo win g tab le:
Pre-final
(Truac cue/;)
'helped' he
'banks' bre D k
'bonds' bu n d
'twelfth' twe
Th e s eco n d typ e s h o ws th at mo re th an
o n e p o s t-fin al co n s o n an t can o ccu r in a fin al
clu s ter: fin al p lu s p o s t-final 1 p lu s p o s t-fin al
2 . Po s t-fin al 2 is ag ain o n e o f s , z, t, d, II.
Pre-final Final
(Trudc cu6i) (Cui )
'fifths' fr
'next' ne
'lapsed' Ire
phu am thi no dugc goi la phg am cu oi. Bat
ct phu am nao cung deu c6 the co mot phu
am cu6i ngoc,¼i tru h, r, w , j. C 6 hai loai cum
hai phu am cuoi, mot loai la phu am cuoi
co mot phu am truoc cu oi (pre-final) dung
truoc va loai con lai la phu am cuoi theo
sau ph1,1 am sau cu o'i (post final). Cac phu
am truoc cuoi hinh thanh mt tap hop nho:
m, n, D , 1, s. C h(mg ta c6 the thay nhmng phu
am nay trong cac tu 'bump' bAmp, 'bent'
bent, 'bank' bank, 'belt' belt, 'ask' a:sk. C ac
phu am sau cuoi cung hinh thanh mot tap
hop nho: s , z, t, d, 11; cac tu m~u la: 'bets'
bets, 'beds' bedz, backed' ba:kt, 'bagged',
ba:gd, 'eighth' e t. C ac phu am sau cuoi
nay thuong co the dtac xac dinh la cac am
vi rieng (mac du khong phai luc nao, vi du
nhL/ 'axe' a:ks la mi;,t am vi don va s cuoi
ci:la n6 khong co nghia rieng). Mot diem ve
cach phat am c6 the duoc chi ra day: su
phat' am bat dau tien trong cum am bat cong
am bat nhu g (cl a g d ) rong bagd hoac k
(cua k t ) trong bekt thuong khong co tieng
bat va do do thuc te khong the nghe du@c.
C 6 hai loai cum ba phu am cuoi; loai dau
tien la phu am "truck cu6i cong sau cu6i", nhu
dllc;IC trinh bay trong bang sau clay:
Final Post-final
(Cucfi) (Sau cu<'fiJ
p
s
z
f II
Loai tht hai cho thay rang nhieu ho
mot phu am sau cuoi co the xuat hi@n trong
cum cuoi: phu am cuoi cong sau cuoi 1
cong sau cu6i 2. Phu am sau cuoi'2 co the
la mot phu am trong sos, z, t, d, II.
Post-final 1 Post-final 2
(Sau cu6'i 1) (Sau cu6i 2)
f ' II s
k. s t
-p s t
 102
Most four-consonant clusters can be
analysed as consisting of a final consonant
preceded by a pre-final and followed by
post-final 1 and post-final 2, as shown below:
Hau h et cac cu m b o n p h u am c6 th e
d u o c p h an tich la co mo t p h u am cu o i
d u n g s au mo t p h u am tru o c cu o i v a co
p h u am s au cu o i 1 Va s au cu o'i 2 d u n g
s au , n h u min h h o a d uo i d ay :

Pre-fin al Fin al Pos t-fin al Pos t-fi n a I 2

( TrtJcJc cuo'i) (Cu 6 i) (Sau cuo'i 1) (Sau cu6 i 2)
' twelfth s ' tw e f II s
' p o mp s ' pro m p t s

A small number of cases seem to require

different analysis, as consisting of a final
consonant with no pre-final but three post-.
finals:
C6 mo t so n h 6 cac tru on g h o p d u n g
n h u d i h i ph an tich k h ac, v i co mo t
p h i) am cu o i ma k h o n g co p h i) am tru ck
cu o i n h u ng la i co b a ph i) am s au cu o i:

Pre-fin al Fin al Po s t-fin al 1 Po s t-fin al 2 Pos t-fi n a I 3

(Tntac cuo'i) (Cu6'i) (Sau cuo'i 1) (Sau cuo'i 2) (Sau cuo'i 3)
' s ix th s' SI k s II s
' tex ts ' te k s t s

To sum up, we may describe the English T6 m lai, chun g ta co th e' mieu ta am
syllable as having the following maximum tiet tin g An h la co cu tru c am vi t6 i
phonological structure: d a s a u d ay :
p re - p o s t- p re - p o s t- p o s t- po s t-
in itial in itial in itial VOWEL in itial in itial 1 in itial 2
in itial in itial 3
(Trudc (NGYEN (Trudc
(f) !w ) (Sau (Dau) (Sau (Sau (Sau
dau)
ad#» A M)
d3u) dau 1) d$.u 2) dau 3)
I
On s et Co da
(Khai am) (Ket am)

It will be noticed that there must be a Ch u n g ta s e n h an th ay ran g p h ai co

vowel in the centre of the syllable. There is
a special case, that of syllabic consonants
(which are introduced in Chapter 9); we do
not, for example, analyse the word 'students'
s tju:dnts as consisting of one syllable with
the three-consonant cluster stj for its onset
and ending with a four-consonant cluster
dnts. To fit in with what English speakers
feel, we say that the word contains two
syllables, with the consonant d dividing them
and the second syllable ending with the
cluster nts ; in other words, we treat the word
as though there was a vowel between d and
n , although a vowel only occurs here in very
mo t n guy en am & g ila am ti t. C6 m o t
tru d n g h g p d ac b i@t, do la cac ph u am
co am tie't ti nh (d UC/C g io i th ieu tro n g
ch u o n g 9); chu n g ta k h n g p h an tich , v i
d u n hu tu ' s tu d en t' s tju:dnts la co m o t
am tiet v o i cu m b a pill) am s tj cho k h &i
am cla n o v a tan cu n g b an g cu m b 6 n
p h u am dnts . De h ;p vo i d ieu ma n h an g
n gu d i n oi tin g An h cam n h an , ta n 6 i
ran g tu n ay co h ai am tiet, v o i p h u am d
ch ia ch un g v a am ti t th @ h ai tan cun g
b an g cu m nts ; n 6 i cach k h ac, ta x em tu
n ay n hu th e co mo t n g u y en am a giC!a d
v a n, mac d u mo t n g u y en am ch i x u at
 103
slow, careful pronunciation. This
phonological problem will be discussed in
Chapter 13.
Recent work in phonology makes use of
a rather more refined analysis of the syllable
in which the vowel and the coda (if there is
one) are known as the rhyme; if you think of
rhyming Eng!ish verse you will see that this
works by matching just that part of the last
syllable of a line. The rhyme is divided into
the peak (normally the vowel) and the coda
(but note that this is optional: the rhyme may
have no coda, as in a word like ' me' ). As we
have seen, the syllable may also have an
onset, but this is not obligatory. The structure
is thus the following:
syllable
onset
8.3 Syllable division
­
peak
There. are still problems with this
phonetic description of the syllable: an
unanswered question is how we decide on
the division between syllables when we find
a connected sequence of them as we usually
do in normal speech. We will look at two
words that are good examples of this
difficulty. Most English speakers feel that
the word ' going' g o n consists of two
syllables; we could decide on phonetic
grounds that the- o in the middle is the
dividing point between the two syllables,
since the articulation is slightly closer to
obstructing airflow than the vowels next to
it. This would not answer the question of
whether the o belongs to the first or to the
second syllable; of course, we know that the
o is part of the a u diphthong phoneme, but
this is a fact of phonology, not of the phonetic
structure of the syllable. Another difficult
case is the word ' extra' ekstra. One problem
is that by some definitions the s in the
hi@n o day trong cach phat am rat cham
va can than. Van de ve am vi nay se
dugc thao luan o chuong 13.
Cac sach ve am vi hoc gan day SU
dung phep phan Heh am tiet theo each
tinh te hon trong d6 nguyen am va khe1i
am (neu co) dugc goi la van (rhyme); neu
ban nghi ve vi@c lam tho tieng Anh ban
se thay rang viec nay thuc hi@n bang cach
ket hop chi phan do cla am tiet sau cIng
tren mi)t dong. Vjn duoc chia thanh dinh
(peak) (thuong la nguyen am) va ket am
(coda) (nhung luu y rang viec nay la tuy
y: van c6 the khong co ket am, nhu trong
tu ' me' ). Nhli chung ta thay, am tiet cung
c6 the co khe1i am, nhung dieu nay khong
bat buoc. Do d6, co cau truc nhu sau:
8 .3 Slj chia
coda
am tie't
Vie@c mi@u ta am ti&t theo ngft am hoc
nay van con c6 nhieu van de: mot cau
hi chua c6 cau tr loi la lam the nao
chung ta chia gifta cac am tiet khi chung
ta thay mot chuoi lien tuc nhu chung ta
thuong thay trong loi n6i b1nh thuong.
Chung ta se xe,m hai tu la vi du hay ve
van de kh6 khan nay. Hau het nh@ng
ngudi n6i tieng Anh deu cam thay rang
tu ' going' ga m o g6m c6 hai am tiet; theo
nn ngd am chung ta c6 the quyet dinh
rang o d giua la di€m chia giua hai am
tiet, vi cach phat am nay hoi gan voi
lu6ng khi dang can tr& hon so voi cac
nguyen am nam ke bn no. Dieu nay
khong tra li cho cu hoi la u thuoc ve
am tiet th& nhat hay tht hai; di nhien,
chung ta biet rang ou la mot phan cda am
vi nhi trung am au , nhung day la su that
ve am vi hqc, khng phai ve cau truc
ngu am cua am tiet. Mot truing hop kho
khac la tu ' extra' ekstra. Mqt van d~ la,

middle, between k and t, would be counted
as a syllable, which most English speakers
would reject. They feel that the word has
two syllables. However, the most
controversial issue relates to where the two
syllables are to be divided; the possibilities
are (using the symbol . to signify a syllable
boundary):
i) e.kstra iv) ekst.ra
ii) ek.stra v) ekstr.a
iii ) eks. tra
How can we decide on the division? No
single rule will tell us what to do without
Tbringing up problems.
One of the most widely accepted
guidelines is what is known as the maximum
onsets principle. This principle states that
where two syllables are to be divided, any
consonants between them should be
attached to the right-hand syllable, not the
left, as far as possible. If we just followed
this rule. we would have to divide 'extra' as
(i) e.kstra, but we know that an English
syllable cannot begin kstr. Our rule must
therefore state that consonants are assigned
to the right-hand syllable as far as possible
within the restrictions governing syllable
onsets and codas. This means that we must
reject (i) e.kstra _because of its impossible
onset, and (v) e.kstra because of its
impossible coda. We then have to choose
between (ii), (iii) and (iv). The maximurr.
onsets rule makes us choose (ii). However,
there are many problems still remaining. For
example, in looking at isolated syllables, we
never find one ending with one of the vowels
,, e, a:, A, n or u, so we must conclude that
syllables with a short vowel and no coda do
not occur in English (unless the vowel is a,
as will be explained in Chapter 9).
104
t heo m 9t s o dinh nghia, s n~m & v i t ri giua,
gila k v a t , s e dugc x em la m (>t am t iet ,
day la dieu m a hau het nhung ngudi noi
t ieng Anh s e phan d6i . H o ca m tha' y tu
nay co hai am t iet. T uy nhien, v an de
gay t ranh c ai nhieu nhat lien quan den
v an de hai am t iet phai dugc c hia o dau;
c ac k ha nang la (bang c ac h dung k y hi@u
. de danh dau ranh gioi c la am t i6t ):
i) e.kstra iv) ekst.ra
ii) ek.stra v) ekstr.a
iii) eks. tra
C hung t a quy et dinh c hon eac h c hia
nhu t he nao? Khong m ot qui t ac no noi
c ho c hung t a biet phai lam gl m a k hong
phat s inh ca c v an de.
Mqt t rong nhiJ ng nguy en t ac duqc
c hap nhan rong rai nhat la ng uy en ta c
cac kh o i am to'i d a. N guyen t a'.c nay phat
bieu rang o dau hai am t it c an phai
dudc c hia t hl bat k y phu am nao nam
gila c hung deu s e du@c gan v e phia am
t iet ben t ay phi, k hong phai ben t rai,
c ang xa c ang t ot . N eu ch ung t a lam t heo
. nguy en t a'.c nay , c hung t a s e phai c hia
'ex tra' la (i) e.kstra, nhung c hung t a biet
rang mot am t iet t ieng Anh k hong t he
bat du la kstr . D o do, nguy en t a'.c c t.la
c hung t a phai phat bieu rang c ac phu
am duoc gan v ao am t iet phia ben t ay
phi ca ng x a ca ng t ot be&n trong cac gioi
han dang chi phoi khdi am va ket am
ci a am tiet. N ghia la c hung t a k hong
c hap nhan (i) e.kstra v i k hi'Ji am k hong
t he' c o c t.la no, va (v ) ekstr.a v i k et am
k hong t he c 6 c la no. Vay thi c hung t a
phai c hon I I.f a giiJ a (ii), (iii) v a (iv ). Qui
t ac ca c k hoi am t oi da lam c ho c hung
t a c hon (ii). T uy nhien, v an c on c o nhieu
v an de. Vi du, k hi x em c ac am tiet nam
: ieng, c hung t a k h6 ng bao gio t hay am
t iet t an c ung bang m <;lt t rong c ac nguyen
am I, e, a:, A, D hay u, v iv ay c hung t a phai
k et luan rang c ac am t iet c6 mot nguy en
am ngan v a k hong co k et am t hi k hong
x uat hi@n t rong t ieng Anh (t ru k hi nguy en
am do la a, nhu s e dugc gii tbi ch t rong
c hlf ong 9 ) .
 105
Ho w, th en , s h o u ld we d iv id e wo rd s lik e
' b etter' befa? Th e max imal o n s ets p rin cip le
tells u s to p u t th e to n th e rig h t-h an d s y llab le,
g iv in g be. b, b u t th at mean s th at th e firs t
s y llab le is an aly s ed as be, wh ich we h av e
ju s t s een is n o t allo wed . Th e max imal o n s ets
p rin cip le mu s t th erefore als o b e mo d ified to
allo w a co n s o n an t to b e as s ig n ed to th e left
s y llab le if th at p rev en ts a s h o rt v o wel fro m
o ccu rrin g at th e en d o f a s y llab le. We can
th en an aly s e th e wo rd as bet.a, which s eems
mo re s atis facto ry .
Th ere are wo rd s lik e 'carry' kreri, ho wev er,
which s till g iv e u s p rob lems : if we d iv id e th e
wo rd kre.ri , we g et a s y llab le-fin al re, b u t if
we d iv id e it krer.i we h av e a s yllab le-fin al r,
and b o th o f th es e are n on -o ccu rrin g in BBC
Eng lis h . We h av e to d ecid e o n th e less er o f
two ev ils h ere, and th e p referab le s o lu tio n is
to d iv id e th e wo rd as kre.ri o n th e g rou n d s
th at in th e man y rh o tic accen ts o f En g lis h (s ee
Section 7 .3 ) this d iv is ion wou ld b e th e n atu ral
o n e to mak e.
On e furth er p o s s ib ility s h o u ld b e
men tion ed : wh en o n e co n s on an t s tand s
b etween vo wels an d it is d ifficu lt to as s ig n
th e con s o n an t to on e s y llab le o r th e o th er
- as in 'b etter' an d 'carry ' - we cou ld s ay
th at th e cons o n an t b elo n g s to both s y llab les .
Th e term u s ed by p h o n o log is ts for a
wns o n an ; in th is s itu ation is a mbisy lla bic.
8.4 P• actical {'O nclusio ns
An aty s in g s y llab le s tru c• u re, as we h av e
boo n do in g in tins ch ap lm-, can b e u s efu l to
foreig n learners o f En g lis h . Ob v io u s ly th ere
are man y mo re limitatio n s on p o s s ib le
co mb in atio n s o f v o wels and con s on an ts , b u t
an u nd ers tan d in g o f th e b as ic s tructu res
d es crib ed ab o v e will h elp learners to
b eco me aware o f p recis ely wh at ty p e o f
co n s o n an t clu s ter p res en ts p ronu n ciation
p rob lems - mo s t learners fin d s o me En g lis h
clu s ters d ifficu lt, b u t few fin d all o f th em
d ifficu lt.
Vay thi lam the no chung ta chia cac
tu nhu 'better' beta? Nguyen tac cac khdi
am toi da bao chung ta dat t len am ti&t &
phia tay phi , tao ra be.to, nhung dieu do
co nghia la am ti&t dau ti@n dugc phan
tich la be, day la dieu ma chung ta vua
tha'y la kh6ng duqc phep. Nguyen tac cac
khdi am toi da do d6 ding phai duqc sua
d6i de cho phep mot phi) am dli<;IC gan
vi:. phia am tiet ben trai neu no ngan kh6ng
cho mot nguyen am ngan xuat hien o cuoi
mt)t am tiet. Vay ta c6 the phan tic;h tu
nay la bet.a , truong hop nay duong nhu
thoa dang hdn.
Tuy nhien, c6 cac tu nhu 'carry' ka: ri
van phat sinh cac van de: neu ta chia tu
nay la kre.ri , ta c6 re cuoi am tiet, nhung
neu ta chia n6 la kre.ri , ta c6 r cuoi am
tiet, ca hai- tinh huong nay du khong xay
ra trong tieng Anh BBC. } day chung ta
phi chon truong hc;1p do t~ hdn trong hai
truong hop, va giai phap du@c ua thich hon
la chia tu nay la kre.ri tren C d sd ma theo
nhieu giong tieng Anh r-tinh (xem muc 7.3)
sl)' phan chia nay co ve tu nhien hon.
Mot kha nang nda can phi du; c de
C<).p: khi mot phu am dung giaa cac
nguyen am va thc1-t kh6 d€ gan plw am
do vao am tiet nay hay am tit kia -
nhu trong tu 'better' va 'carry' - chung
ta co the noi rang phu am nay thuoc ve
ca h a i am tiet. Thuat nga du;c cac nha
am vi hoc dung cho mt)t phi) am trong
tinh huong nay la phu am luong thuoc
(ambisyllabic).
8 .4 Ket luan thgc te
Viec phan tich cau truc am tiet, nhu
chung ta da va dang lam trong chuong
nay, c6 the hu ich doi voi ngudi hoc
ngoai nga la ting Anh. Ro rang c6
nhieu han che hon o cac ket hap co
the co gil a cac nguyen am va phu am,
nhung hieu duoc cau truc C d ban da neu
& tren se giup ngudi hoc biet duoc loai
cum phu am gi cho thay van de ve phat
am - hau het nhmng nguoi hoc thay cac
cum tieng Anh kh6, nhung it ai thay ta t
ca chung deu kh6. '
 106
Notes on problems and further reading
Th e s tu dy o f s y llab le s tructu re is a s u bject o f co ns id erab le in teres t to phorio log is ts . If
y o u wan t to read furth er in th is area, I wou ld reco mmen d Gieg erich (19 92 : Ch ap ter 6 ),
Katamb a (1 9 8 9 : Ch ap ter 9 ), Ho gg an d McCu lly ('19 8 7 : Ch ap ter 2 ) an d Go ld s mith (19 9 0 :
Ch ap ter 3). So me writers b eliev e th at it is p o ss ib le to d es crib e th e p o s s ib le co mb in atio n s o f
p h on emes with little referen ce to th e s y llab le as an in d ep end en t u n it in th eo retical
p h ono lo gy ; s ee, for ex amp le, Harris (19 9 4 : Sectio n 2 .3 ). Cruttend en (19 9 4 : Ch ap ter 10) ,
Section 9 , an d Kreid ler (19 8 9 : 1 1 7 -38) d es crib e th e ph o no tactics o f En g lis h in mo re d etail.
A p ap er th at h as h ad a lo t o f in flu en ce o n mo re recen t wo rk is Fu d g e (1 9 6 9 ). Th is p ap er
b ring s up two id eas firs t d is cu s s ed b y earlier writers : Th e firs t is th at s p, s t, s k co u ld b e treated
as ind iv idu al p h o n emes , remov in g th e p re-in itial p o s itio n fro m th e s yllab le o n s et alto g eth er
an d remo v ing s fro m th e p re-fin al s et o f co n s on an ts ; th e s econ d is th at s in ce p os t-initial j o n ly
o ccu rs b efore u, u: an d ua (which in his an aly s is all b eg in with th e s ame v o wel), o n e co u ld
p os tu late a d iph th on g ju an d remo v e j fro m p o s t-initial p o s itio n . Th es e are in teres ting p ropo s als ,
b u t th ere is n o t en oug h s p ace h ere to ex amin e th e argu men ts in full.

Th ey are man y d ifferen t way s o f d ecid in g h o w to d iv id e s y llab les . To s ee d ifferen t

ap p ro ach es, s ee th e In trodu ction s to th e Long man Pronunciation Dictionary (Wells, 200 0)
an d th e English Pronouncing Dictionary (J 5 th ed ition, ed s . Jon es, Ro ach an d Hartman ,
1 9 9 7 : xiii)

Note for teachers

Th e las t p arg rap h o f Ch ap ter 8 exp lain s wh y th e s tu d y o f s y llab le s tu ctu re is relev an t th e
learner o f Eng lis h . En g lis h h as a more co mp lex s tructu re th an mos t lan g u ag es, an d it follo ws
fro m wh at is s aid in th is ch ap ter th at it is adv is ab le to d is co v er ex actly wh ich ty p es o f
co n s on an t clu s ter are d ifficu lt for learners o f a p articu lar n ativ e-lan gu ag e b ack g rou nd an d
co n s truct ex ercis es to g iv e p ractice in th em. Th ere is d is cu s s ion o f th is p rob lem in
CelceMu rcia et al. ( 1 9 96: 8 0 -9) an d Dalton an d Seid lh o fer (1 9 9 4 : 3 4 -8 ).

Written exercises ' Bai tap viet

Us in g th e an aly s is o f th e wo rd 'cramp ed ' S t d u n g p h a n p h a n t i c h t t ' c ra m p e d '
g iv en b elo w as a mod el, an aly s e th e du o c ch o d uo i d ay l am mau , h ay p h an
s tru ctu re o f th e follo win g o n e-s y llab le ti ch cau t rac cl a cac tu t i en g A n h m o t
En g lis h wo rds : am t i et s au d ay :

Pos t­ Pre­ Po s t­
Initial In itial fin al Fin al fin al
' cramp ed ' [ r ae [m p
On s et Peak Co d a

a) s q u ealed
b ) eigh th s
c) s p las h
d ) tex ts
 107

CHUONG 9

arbi t rary / ' a: b itrarr/ (adj ) vo d o dn , khon g g i d i thich

duqc
as s im il at i o n / a,s 1 ma' l e1J n / (n ) S I/ d6 ng h6a am

ch aract eri s e / ' k rerrek t ara1 z/ ( v) di;ic td

ket am, vi m (phu am ket
thi c)
con cern ed w i th / k an ' s 3 : n d w 1 3/ lien quan den
el is i o n / r' l r3n / (n ) S I/ luqc am

i n t elli g ibi l i t y / m,t eh d 3 a' b d at1/ (n ) tinh dl hi€u

i n t ellig i b l e / m' t el 1 d 3 b l / (ad j) dl hilu
l at eral rel eas e / ' l a: t aral n ' l i : s/ S I/ nha hai ben (xd khi if m(it
ben luoi)
l ax / Irek s / (ad j ) (am) lai, chung
min im al p ai r /'mm1 ml ' p ea/ ci;ip tit sai bif t CI/ C tilu (ch(
khac nhau ml}t am)
n eu t rali s e / ' nj u : t ral a1 z/ ( v) trung tinh h6a
p ro mi n en ce/ ' p mmmans / (n ) tinh/st noi bat
p ro s o d i c/ p ra' s n d 1 k / (adj ) ngon di@u
s cep t i cal / ' s k ep tik l/ (adj ) nghi ngiJ
s u b st an t i al n u mb er / s ab ' s ta: njl ' n 1>.mb a/ so' luqng lr1n
s y llab i c / s 1 ' l reb 1 k / (adj ) c6 am ti@et tinh/cau am thanh
am tiet
t ran s crib e/ t ran ' s k rarb / ( v) phi@n am
 108

9 Strong and weak syllables

9 Cac am tiet manh va yeu
9.1 Strong and weak 9 .1 M anh va yeu
One of the most noticeable features of M ot t rong nhung dac diem de nhan
English is that some of its syllables are s tro ng t hay nhat c ua t ieng Anh la m (lt s o am
while many others are w ea k; this is also true t iet c ha no man h t rong k hi nhieu am t iet
of many other languages, but it is necessary k hac yeu; dieu nay c ung dung a nhieu
to study how these weak syllables are ng6n ngu k hac, nhung c hung t a c an phi
pronounced and where they occur in English. hoc d& biet nhung am t iet y eu nay dudc
The distribution of strong and weak syllables phat am nhu t h nao v a c hung x uat hi@n
is a subject that will be met in several later o dau t rong t ieng Anh. Su phan b6 c ac
chapters. For example, we will look later at am t iet m anh v a yu la c ha de s e duoc
s tres s , which is very important in deciding de c ap o m ot s o c huong s au. Vi du, s au
whether a syllable is strong or weak. Elis i o n do c hung t a s e x em x et tron g am, m ot
is a closely related subject, and in y eu t o ra"t quan t rong de' quy et di nh x em
considering i nto na ti o n the difference m ot am t iet m anh hay y eu. Sy lugc am
between strong and weak syllables is also (elis ion) la m ot c hi de t ong doi gan g@i,
important. Finally, words with "strong" and v a k hi x em x et n g@ d i@u , s u k hac biet
"weak" forms are clearly a related matter. In gida c ac am t iet m anh v a y eu c ung quan
this chapter we look at the general nature of t rong. C uoi c ung, ca c tu c o dang "m anh"
weak syllables. v a "y eu" ro rang la m (lt v a"n de c6 lien
quan. T rong c huong nay , c hung t a s e x em
x et ban c ha"t c hung c ua c ac am t i&t y eu.
What do we mean by "strong" and "weak" ? C hung t a hie' u gl qua c ha "m ci nh" v a
To begin with, we can look at how we use "y eu"? T ruck t ien, c hung t a c6 t he' x em
these terms to refer to phonetic x em c hung t a dung nhung t hu~t ngu nay
characteristics of syllables. When we nhu t he nao de c hi ca c dac diem ngu
compare weak syllables with strong am c ua ca c am t i&t . Khi s o s anh c ac am
syllables; we find the vowel in a weak t iet y eu v oi am t iet m anh, c hung t a t hay
syllable tends to be shorter, of lower nguy en am t rong am tiet y eu c o k huynh
intensity and different in quality. For huong ngan hon, v oi c uong do thap lw n
example, in the word 'father' fa:cla the second v a co c hat luong k hac. Vi du, t rong tu
syllable, which is weak, is shorter than the 'fa t her' fa:cla am t iet t ht hai y eu, ngan
first, is less loud and has a vowel that cannot hon am tie' t t hC/ nha"t , k hong Ion b~ng v a
occur in strong syllables. In a word like c 6 m (lt nguy en am v 6n k hong x uat hien
' bottle' bt l the weak second syllable t rong c ac am t iet m anh. T rong m ot t t
contains no vowel at all, but consists entirely nhu ' bottle' bnfl, am t iet t h& hai y eu
of the consonant l. We call this a syllabic k hong c 6 c hC/a nguy en am gl ca , nhung
consonant. c hC/a t oan la phw am i- T a goi n6 la p h u
am co am tie"t tin h .
There are other ways of characterising C 6 nhieu c ac h k hac de m i@u t a dac
strong and weak syllables. We could describe die' m cu a ca C am t iet m a nh v a y eu.
them partly in terms of stress_ (by saying, for C hung t a c6 t he m ieu t a c hung m (lt phfo
 109
example, that strong syllables are stressed
and weak syllables unstressed) but, until we
describe what "stress" m ean s , such a
description would not be very useful. The
most important thing to note at present is
that any strong syllable will have as its peak
one of the vowel phonemes (or possibly a
triphthong) listed in Chapter 3, but not a, i or
u. If the vowel is short, then the strong
syllable will always have a coda as well.
Weak syllables, on the other hand, as they
are defined here, can only have one of a very
small number of possible peaks. At the end
of a word, we may have a weak syllable··,
ending with a vowel (i.e. with no coda):
i) the vowel a (" schwa" );
ii) a close front unrounded vowel in the
general area of i: and I (symbolised i);
iii) a close back rounded vowel in the
general area of u: and u (symbolised u) .
Examples would be:
i) 'better' beta ii) 'happy' hrepi
We also find weak syllables in word-final
position with a coda if the vowel is a. For
example:
i) 'open' aupan ii) 'sharpen' .fo:pan
Inside a word, we can find the above
vowels acting as peaks without codas in weak
syllables; for example, look at the second
syllable in each of these words:
i) 'photograph' fautagro:f ii ) ' radio' re,diau
In addition, the vowel T can act as a peak
without coda if the following syllable begins
with a consonant:
iv) 'architect' o :k,tekt
duoi dang t rong am (c hang han, noi rang
ca c am t iet m anh dugc nhan v a c ac am
t iet y eu k hong du@c nhan) nhung, den
k hi c hung t a m ieu t a y nghia c la "t rong
am ", m 9t m ieu t a nhu the' s e k h6ng huu
ic h lam . D ieu quan t rong nhat c an luu y
luc nay la bat k y am t iet manh no c ung
deu s e c o m (>t t rong s o c ac am v i nguy en
am (ho;'.ic c 6 t he la t am t ruing am ) o dang
dinh c la no da duoc liet k e o c huong 3,
nhung k hong phai a, i ho;'.ic u. N eu nguyen
am ngan t hi am tiet m anh c ung s e luon
c o m ot k et am . M at k hac , ca c am t i@t
y eu, nhu c hung dugc dinh nghia o day ,
c h 1 c 6 the c o m Qt t rong m ot s o ILl<;lng ra' t
nho c ac dinh c 6 t he c 6. } c u6i m ot W ,
c hung t a c 6 t he co m ot am t iet c uoi t an
C llllg bc'ing m qt nguy en am (nghia la
k h6ng c6 k et am ):
i) nguyen am a ("s c hw a");
ii) nguy en am k hong t ron m oi, dong, a
hang t ruck t rong v ung c hung c ua i :
v a 1 (bieu di@n bang k y hieu ); •
iii) nguy en am I ron m 6i, dong, a hang
s au t rong v ung chung c da u: v a u (bi€u
dien bang k y hieu u)
Vi du:
iii) ' thank you' 11~-eukju
C hung t a c ung t im t hay cac am t iet
y e u o v i t ri c uoi tu v di m ot k et am neu
n gu y en am la a. Vi du:
Ben t rong m ot tt, c hung t a c 6 t he t im
t hay c ac nguy en am o t r@n hanh dong
nhu la cac dinh m a k h6ng c o k et am
t rong ca c am t iet y eu; v i du, hay x em
am tiet t ht hai o m oi t rong s o ca c t t s au
d ay :
iii) 'influence' 1nfluans
N goai ra, nguy en am , c 6 t he' hanh
dong nhu la m o t dinh m a k hong c o k et
am ne'u am t iet s au day bat dau bang
m ot phu am :

In the rest of this chapter we will look at
the different types of weak syllable in more
detail.
9.2 The a vowel ("schwa")
The most frequently occurring vowel in
English is a , which is always associated with
weak syllables. In quality it is mid (that is,
half-way between close and open) and
central (that is, half-way between front and
back) It is generally described as lax, that is,
not articulated with much energy. Of course,
the quality of this vowel is not always the
same, but the variation is not important.
Not all weak syllables contain a, though
many do. Learners of English need to learn
where a i s appropriate and where it i s not. To
do this we often have to use information that
traditional phonemic theory would not
accept as relevant - we must consider
spelling. The question to ask is: if the
speaker were to pronounce a particular weak
syllable as strong instead; which vowel
would it be most likely to have, according to
the usual rules of English spelling? Knowing
this will not tell us which syllables in a word
or utterance should be weak - that is
something we look at in later chapters - but
it will give us a rough guide to the correct
pronunciation of weak syllables. Let us look
at some examples:
i) Spelt with 'a' ; strong pronunciation would
have re
' attend' atend
'character' krerakta
' barracks' breraks
ii) Spelt with ' ar' ; strong pronunciation
would have a :
' particular' pahkjala
'molar' maula
' monarchy' mnnaki
110
phan sau cda chuong nay, chung
ta se xem xet cac loai am tiet yeu khac
nhau theo each chi tit hon.
9.2 Nguyen am a ("schwa")
Nguyen am thvcrng xua"t hien nha' t
trong tieng Anh la a, la am luon ket hop
voi cac am tiet yeu. Ve mat chat luong,
no la nguyen am gila (nghia la, nta
doan nam gila dong va mo) va chinh
trung (nghTa la, nta doan nam gila phan
trl16'c Va sau). No thttcrng dt(Q'c mieu ta
la am chung (lax), nghTa la duqc tc:10 am
khong ton nhieu nang lugng. Di nhien,
cha' t luc;1ng cua nguyen am nay khong
phai luc no cung giong nhau, nhung su
bien d6i nay khong quan trong.
Khong phai ta"t ca cac am ti@t yeu
deu co ch(a a, mac du phan nhieu co
am nay. Ngudi hoc tieng Anh can phi
hoc de biet thich hop o ch6 nao va
khong thich hop & ch nao. De lm du@c
viec nay, chung ta thuong phi st dung
thong tin ma thuyet am vi truy€n thong
kho ng chap nhan la co lien quan -
chung ta phi xem xet cach vit chinh
ta. Cau hi dat ra la: neu ngudi noi phii
phat am mot am tiet yeu nao do manh,
theo cac qui t.i c thong thuong cua each
viet chinh ta tieng Anh thi rat co kha
nang no se Co nguyen am nao? Biet duoc
van de nay se khong cho chung ta bit
am tiet nao trong mot tt hay trong loi
n6i la yeu - day la van de ma chung ta
se xem xet o cac chuong sau - nhttng
no se huong dan so bo ve cach phat am
dung ca cac am ti&t yeu. Chung ta hay
xem mot so vi du:
i) Viet ' a' ; cach phat am manh se co ae
' attend' atend
'character' krerakta
' barracks' breraks
ii) Viet ' ar' ; cach phat am manh se co
a:
' particular' pahkjala
'molar' maula
' monarchy' mnnaki
 111
i i i ) A d j ecti v al en d i ng s s p el t ' at e' ; s t ro n g i i i) Cac d u o i tin h t i v i et ' at e' ; cach ph at
p ro n un ci at i o n wou l d h av e eI am man h s e co eI
' i n t i mat e' mtJmat ' i n t i mat e' rntrmat
' accu rat e' rekjarat ' accu rat e' rekjarat
' d es o l at e' desalat ' d es o l at e' desalat
(a It h ou g h t h ere are ex cep t i o n s t o t h is : (mac d u c6 n h et n g t n .fon g h q p n g o a i
' pri v at e' i s u s u all y prarvrt) le: ' p ri v at e' t h u n g l a prarvrt)

i v ) Sp el t w i t h 'o' ; s t ro n g p ro n un ci ati on w o u l d i v ) V i et ' o ' ; c ach p h at a m m an h s e co D

h av e o o r au h o i'.ic au
'to mo rro w ' tamorau ' to mo rro w ' tamnrau
'p ot at o ' pata,tau 'po t ato ' pat;ntau
' carro t' krerat ' carro t ' krerat

v ) Sp el t w i t h ' o r' ; s t ro n g p ro n un ci at i o n v ) V i et ' o r' ; cach ph at am man h s e co

w ou l d h av e 3: 3:
' fo rg et' faget ' fo rg et ' faget
'amb as s ado r' rembresada ' amb ass ad o r' rembresada
' opp o rt u n i t y ' npatju:nati ' o p po rt u nity ' npatju:nati

v i ) Sp el t w i t h ' e' ; s t ro n g p ro n u n ciat i o n v i ) V i et ' e' ; cach p h at am man h s e co e

w o u l d h av e e ' s et tl emen t ' seqmant
' s ett l emen t ' setlI mant ' v i o l et ' va,alat
'v i o l et ' varalat ' p o s t men ' paustman
' p os t men ' paustman

vi i ) Sp elt w it h 'er' ; s t ro n g p ro n u n ci at i on v i i) V i et ' er' ; cach p h at am man h s e c6

w o u l d h av e 3: 3:
' p erh ap s ' pahreps ' p erh ap s ' pahreps
'st ro ng er' strnuga 's t ro n g er' strnuga
'sup erman ' su:pamren ' su p erman ' su:pamren

v ii i ) Sp elt w it h ' u ' ; s t ro n g p ro n un ci at i o n v i i i) V i et ' u ' ; cach p h at am man h s e c6

w o u l d h av e A A

A u t u mn ' a:tam ' A ut u mn ' a:tam

's u pp o rt ' sap:t 'supp o rt' sap;,:t
' h alibut ' hrehbat ' h al i b u t ' hrehbat

i x) Sp elt w it h 'o u g h ' (t h ere are man y p ro n u n ­ i x ) V i et ' o u gh ' (co n h i eu cach p h at am
ci at i on s fo r t h e l ett er-s eq u en ce ' ou g h ' ) d an h cho chu oi mau t u ' oug h ' )
' th o rou g h ' 0Aro ' th o rou g h ' IIAra
'borough' bAra 'borough' bAro

x) Sp el t w i t h ' o u ' ; s t ro n g p ro n u n ci at i o n x ) V i et ' ou ' ; cach ph at am man h co t h e

mi g h t h av e au c6 au
'g raci o us ' gre,Jas 'g raci o us ' gre,Jas
' callou s ' krelas ' callo u s ' k e ls

9.3 Close front and close back vowels
Two other vowels are commonly found
in weak syllables, one close front (in the
general region of i: and 1) and the other close
back rounded (in the general region of u:
and u) . In strong syllables it is comparatively
easy to distinguish i: from 1, u: from u, but in
weak syllables the difference is not so clear.
For example, although it is easy enough to
decide which vowel one hears in 'beat' or
'bit'. it is much less easy to decide which
vowel one hears in the second syllable of
words such as, for example, 'easy' or 'busy' .
There are accents of English (for example
Welsh accents) in which the second syllable
sounds most like the i: in the first syllable of
'easy' . and others (for example Yorkshire
accents) in which it sounds more like the I in
the first syllable of 'busy' . In present-day
BBC pronuncition, however, the matter is
not so clear. There is uncertainty. too, about
the corresponding close back rounded
vowels. If we look at the words 'good to eat'
and 'food to eat', we must ask if the word 'to'
is pronounced with the o vowel phoneme of
'good' or the u: phoneme of 'food' . Again,
which vowel comes in 'to' in 'I want to' ?
One common feature is that the vowels
in question are more like i: or u: when they
precede another vowel, less so when they
precede a consonant or pause. You should
notice one further thing: with the exception
of one or two very artificial examples, there
is really no possibility in these contexts
aphonemic of contrast between i: and 1, or
between u: and u. Effectively, then, the two
distinctions, which undoubtedly exist within
strong syllables. are neutralised in weak
syllables of BBC pronunciation. How should
we transcribe the words 'easy' and 'busy'? We
will use the close front unrounded case as an
example, since it is more straightforward. The
possibilities, using our phoneme symbols,
are the following:
'easy' 'busy'
i) i:zi: brzi:
ii) i:z1 b1z1
112
9.3 Cac nguyen am dong hang truoc
va hang sau
Hai nguyen am khac thuong duoc tim thay
trong cac am tiet yeu, mot nguyen am dong a
hang trU'6'c (trong vung chung cua i: va 1 va
nguyen am tron moi, dong, a hang sau (trong
vIng chung cua u: va u). Trong cac am ti&t
m;;tnh, phan bieti: v6'i I, u: v6'i O thl tU'dng doi de
dang, nhung trong cac am ti&t yu, su khac
nhau khong ro rang nhu vay. Vi du, mac du
nguoi ta de dang xac dinh nguyn am nao khi
nghe 'beat' hoc 'bit, nhung ho khong de dang
xac dinh nguyen am nao khi nghe a am tie't thu
hai cl a cac tu vi du nhu 'easy' hoac 'busy. C6
cac giong tieng Anh vi du nhu giong x( Wales)
trong d6 am tiet thu hai nghe co ve rat giongi:
trong am tiet dau cua ti.I 'easy', con nhClng giong
khac (vi du giong cl a xt Yorkshire) trong d6
cac am nghe co v giongr nbieu hon trong am
tiet dau cua tt 'busy'. Tuy nhien, theo each
phat am cl a di BBC ngay nay, van de nay
khong ro rang lam. Khong co st chac chan ve
cac nguyen am tron moi, dong a hang sau ILldng
ung. Neu ch(mg ta xem cac ILi 'good to eat' Va
'foot to eat', chung ta phai hi xem ILi 'to' duoc
phat am v6'i am vj nguyen amo ci'1a 'good' hay
am vj u: Cl'ia 'food'. Ngoai ra, nguyen am nao
c6 trong 'to' trong 'I want to'?
Mot dac diem thong thung la cac
nguyen am dang de cap thi giong nhu i: hoc
u: nhieu hon khi chung dung truoc mot nguyen
am khac, it giong hon khi chung dung truoc
mot phu am hay mot khoang dung. Ban se
nhan thy them mot di u: ngoai trt mot hay
hai vi du rat gia tao, that su khong co kha
na ng CO Sl/ Ira i ngt/Q'c a Ill Vj giC/a i: Va I,
hoac gil a u: va u trong nhClng ngCI dnh nay.
Thuc te, hai su phan bi@t nay, chan chan to n
tai trong cac am tiet manh, bi mat tac dung
trong nhung am tiet yeu theo each phat am
cl a dai BBC. Vay chung ta nen phien am
cac tt 'easy' va 'busy' nhu the nao? Ch(mg
ta se st dung trui ng hop khong Iron m6i,
dong o hang trU'6'c lam vi du, vi no de hon.
Bang cach dung cac ky hi@u am vi, cac kha
nang co th& c6 la:
' easy' 'busy'
i) i:zi: brzi:
ii) i:z1 bTZT

Few s p eak ers w i t h a BBC accen t s eem t o
feel s at i s fi ed w i t h an y o f t h es e t ran s cri p tio ns .
Th ere i s a p os s i bl e s o l u tio n t o t h i s p ro bl em,
b u t it g o es ag ain s t s t an d ard p h o n eme t h eo ry .
W e can s y mb o l i s e t his w eak vo w el as i, t h at
i s , u s in g t h e s y mb o l fo r t h e v o w el i n ' b eat '
b u t with o u t t h e l en gt h mark . T h us :
i:zi b rz i
Th e i vo w el i s n eit h er t h e i: o f 'b eat ' n o r
t h e I o f 'b i t ' , an d i s no t i n co n t ras t w i t h t h em.
W e can s et u p a co rres p o n d i n g vo w el u t h at
i s n ei t h er t h e u: o f ' s h o e' n o r t h e o o f 'bo o k '
b u t a w e ak v o w el t h at s h ares t h e
ch aract eri s ti cs o f b o t h . If w e u s e i an d u i n
o u r t ran s cri p tio n as w ell as i:, 1, u: and o, i t i s
n o l o n g er a t ru e p ho n emi c t ran s criptio n i n
th e t radi t i on al s en s e. H o w ev er, t h i s n eed n o t
b e t o o s eri o u s an o bj ection , and t h e fact t h at
n at i v e s p eak ers s eem t o t h i n k t h at t h i s
t ran s cri p t i o n fit s b etter w i th t h ei r feelin g s
ab o u t t h e l angu ag e i s a g ood arg u men t i n i t s
fav ou r.
O AU7, EX
L et u s n o w l o o k at w h ere t h es e v o w el s
are fou nd , b eg i nn i n g w it h cl o s e fro n t
u n ro un d ed on es . W e fi nd i o ccu rri n g:
i) In w o rd -fin al p o s i t i o n i n w o rd s s p el t w it h
fi n a l ' y ' o r ' e y ' (a f t e r o n e o r m o re
co n s on an t l etters ), e.g . ' h appy ' hrepi,
' v alley ' vreli, an d i n mo rp h eme-fi n al
p o s i t i o n w h en s u ch w o rd s h av e s u ffi x es
b eg i n n i n g w i t h v o w el s , e.g . ' h app i er'
hrepia, ' eas i est' i:zfast, 'h ur ryi n g ' huiig.
i i) In a p refi x s u ch as t h o s e s p elt 're', 'p re' ,
' d e' i f i t p reced es a v o w e l a n d i s
u n s t ress ed , fo r ex ampl e i n 'react ' rirekt,
'p reo ccu p i ed ' priokjapa1d, 'd eact i v at e'
direkhve1t.
i ii) In t h e s u ffi x es s p el t 'i at e' , ' i ous ' w h en t h ey
h av e t w o s y llab l es , fo r ex amp l e i n
' app reci at e' apri:fie1t, ' h il ari ou s '
h1learias.
113
f t nguoi n6i v oi giong BBC cam t ha' y
hai long v oi c ac phien am nay . C6 m (>t
giai phap k ha t hi de
giii quy et v an de
nay , nhung no k h6ng t heo t huy et am v i
c hu.fn. C hung t a c6 t h€ bi€u di@n nguy en
am y eu nay la i, nghia la s t dung k y
hieu nay c ho nguy en am t rong tu 'beat '
m a k hong c o dau c hi do di. Vi v ay :
i:zi b rz i
N guy en am i k hong phai la i: c ia
'beat ' c ung k hong phai la 1 c la 'bit ' , v a
k hong t rai nguoc v oi c hung. C hung t a
c6 t he t ao nguy en am u t Llo'ng ung k h6ng
phai la u: c ua 's hoe' c ung k hong phi la
u c la ' book ' m a la m ot nguy en am y eu
c o ch urig d~c die' m c ua ca hai. N e' u
c hung t a dung i va u t rong phan phien
am c ung nhu i:, 1, u: v a u thi no k hong
c on la c ac h phien am dung t heo y nghia
t ruy en t hong. T uy nhien, day t hat ra
k h6ng phai la phan d6i qua gay gat , v a
v an de hinh nhu c ho rang nguoi ban ngt
nghi rang c ac h phien am nay phu hop
hon v oi cam nhan c la ho v e ngon ngd
lai la mot lap luan nghe hop l .
3 gA U7 , EX 3
Bay gio c hung t a hay x em nhCt ng nguyen
am ny duoc t im t hay o dau, bat dau v di
ca c nguy en am k hong t ron m oi, dong i'J
hang t ru@c . C hung t a t hay i x uat hien:
i) O v i t ri c uoi tu tr ong c ac tu du@c v iet
v oi 'y ' ho;\ic 'ey ' i'J v i t ri cuoi (s au m ot
hoac nhieu phu am ), v f du: ' happy '
hrepi, 'valley ' vaeli, v a o v i t ri c u6i
am v i k hi c ac tu nhu' t he c o c ac hau
t 6 bat du bang c ac nguyen am , v i
du: ' happier' hrepia, 'eas ies t ' i:ziast,
' hurry ing' huhg.
ii) T rong m ot t in t o nhu ca c t ien t o duoc
v iet la 're' , 'pre' , 'de' neu no dung truoc
m ot nguyen am v a k hong dugc nhan,
v i du: t rong ' reac t ' rirekt, 'preoc cupied'
priokjapa1d, 'deac t ivat e' direktJve1t.
iii) T rong c ac hau t o du'(f c Viet la ' iat e' ,
' ious ' k hi c6 hai am t iet , v i du: t rong
' apprec iat e' apri:Jie,t, ' hi lario' us '
hJlearias.
 114
iv ) In th e follo win g wo rd s wh en u ns tres s ed :
'h e', 's h e', 'we' , 'me' , 'b e' an d th e wo rd ' th e'
wh en it p reced es a v o wel.
In mo s t o th er cas es o f weak s y llab les
co n tain in g a clo s e fro n t u nrou n d ed v o wel
we _can as s ig n th e v o wel to th e I p hon eme,
as in th e firs t s y llab le o f 'res is t' rrsrst, 'in an e'
m e,m , 'eno u g h ' m A f, th e midd le s y llab le o f
' in cid en t' ms1dant, ' o rch es tra' a:krstra,
'artich o k e' a:ti t.fa o k, an d th e fin al s y llab le
o f 's wimming ' sw1m1g), 'liq u id ' hkw1d, 'o p tic'
opt1k. It can b e s een th at this v o wel is mos t
o ften rep res en ted in s p ellin g b y th e letters
' i ' and 'e' .
Weak s yllab les with clo s e b ack rou nd ed
v o wels are n o t s o co mmon ly foun d . We fin d
u mo s t frequ en tly in th e wo rd s 'y o u ' , ' to ' , ' in to ' ,
'd o ' , wh en th ey are u ns tress ed an d are n o t
immed iately p reced in g a con s on an t, an d
' th roug h ' an d 'wh o ' in all p os itio n s wh en th ey
are u n s tress ed . Th is v o wel is als o fou n d
b efore ano th er v o wel with in a wo rd , as in
' ev acu ation ' 1vrekjue1JJ?-, ' in flu en za'
i nfl uenza .
9. 4 S yll ab ic c on son an ts
In th e abov e s ectio n s we h av e lo o k ed at
v o wels in weak s y llab les . We mu s t als o
co n s id er s y llab les in wh ich n o v o wel is
found. In th is cas e, a co n s o n an t, eith er 1, r o r
a n as al, s tan d s as th e p eak o f th e s y llab le
in s tead o f th e v o wel, an d we co u n t th es e as
weak s y llab les lik e th e v o wel ex amp les
g iv en earlier in th is ch ap ter. It is u s u al to
ind icate th at a conson an t is s y llab ic by mean s
o f a s mall v ertical mark (,) for ex amp le 'cattle'
kretl.I
S yll ab ic I
Sy llab ic I is p erh ap s th e mo s t no ticeab le
ex amp le o f th e Eng lis h s y llab ic con s o n an t,
th o ugh it wou ld b e wron g to exp ect to fin d it
in all accen ts . It o ccu rs after an o th er
co n s o n an t, an d th e way it is p rod u ced
d ep en d s to s o me ex ten t o n th e n atu re o f th at
con s o n an t. If th e p reced in g co n s o n an t is
iv) Trong cac tu sau day khi khong duoc
nhan: 'he', 'she', 'we', 'me', 'be' va tu
'the' khi 116 dung truoc mot nguyen am.
Trong hau het cac trui ng hop khac cl a
cac am tiet yeu ch(a mot nguyen am
khong tron moi, hang truoc, dong va nga'n,
chung ta c6 the gan nguyen am nay vao
am vi 1, nhu trong am tiet dau tien cua tt
'resist' rrs1st, 'inane' , memm, 'enough'
m Af , am tiet giCta CLla 'incident' m s ,da nt,
'orchestra' a:krstro, 'artichoke' a:ttfauk va
am tiet cuoi cl a 'swimming' swmm,
'liquid' hkw,d, 'optic' nptJk. Ta c6 the thy
rang nguyen am nay thuong duoc viet
chinh ta voi cac mau tu 'i' va 'e'.
Cac am tiet yeu voi cac nguyen am
tron m i, dong, a hang sau thLtong kh6ng
ph6 bien lam. Chung ta thay u thuong
xuyen nht trong cac tt 'you', 'to', 'into',
'do', khi chung khong dugc nhan va khong
dung ngay phfa truoc mot phu am, va
'through' va 'who' a ta't ca cac vi tri khi
chung khong duqc nha'n. Nguyen am nay
cung duoc tim tha'y truoc mot nguyen am
khac trong m{>t W, nhLI trong 'evacuation'
v a kjuerfn, 'influenza' m fl uenza .
9.4 Cac phu am co am tit tinh
Trong cac phan o tren, chung ta da
xem xet nguyen am trong cac am tiet
yeu. Chung ta cung phai xem xet cac
am tiet m trong do khong tim tha'y
nguyen am. Trong true1ng hop nay, m{>t
phu am, I, r hoi'_ic am mu i, dung I~ ill ( la
dlnh cua am tiet thay cho nguyen am,
va chung ta xem day la nhCtng am tie't
yeu giong nhu cac vi du ve nguyen am
da cho o phan truoc cl a chuong nay.
Thong thuong ta phai chi r rang mot phu
am co am ti&t tinh bang cach dung mot
dau thang nho ,), vi du: 'cattle' kaet].
I c 6 am tiet tinh
Phu am c6 am tiet tinh I c6 Iii la vi
du de nhan thay nhat ve cac phu am co
am tiet tinh trong tieng Anh, mac du that
sai lam khi mong mu6n tim thy no trong
tat ca cac giong. No xuat hien sau mot
phu am khac, va cach no dudc t ao ra, e1
mot mt c do nao do, phu thuoc va o ban
 115
alv eo lar, as in 'b o ttle' biltl , 'mudd le' m A dl ,
' tunn el' tA nl , th e articu lato ry mo v emen t fro m
th e p reced in g con s o n an t to th e s y llab ic I is
q u ite s imp le. Th e s id es o f th e to n gu e, wh ich
are rais ed for th e p reced in g co n s o n an t, are
lo wered to allo w air to es cap e o v er th em (th is
is called l a tera l rel ea s e). Th e tip an d b lad e
o f th e tong u e d o n o t mo v e u n til th e
articu lato ry con tact for th e l is releas ed . Th e
l is a "d ark l " (as ex p lained in Ch ap ter 7 ). In
s o me accen ts - p articu larly Lo n d o n o n es,
an d " Es tu ary En giis h " -we o ften fin d a
clo s e b ack round ed v o wel in s tead (for
ex amp le ' b o ttle' butu). Wh ere d o we fin d
s y llab ic l in th e BBC accen t? It is u s eful to
look at th e s p ellin g as a g u id e. Th e mo s t
o bv iou s cas e is wh ere we h av e a wo rd en d ing
with o n e o r mo re con s on an t letters follo wed
b y ' le' (o r, in th e cas e o f n oun p lu rals o r th ird
p ers o n s in gu lar v erb forms , 'les ' ). Ex amp les
are:
i) with alv eo lar con s on an t p reced in g
' cattle' kretlI 'bo ttle' but'!I ·
' wres tle' res lI ' mu dd le' m A dlI
ii) with n o n -alv eo lar co n s on an t p reced ing
'co u p le' kA p} ' troub le' trx blI
s trugg le' s tug } 'k n u ck le' DA klI
Su ch wo rd s u s u ally lo s e th eir final letter
'e' wh en a s u ffix b eg in nin g with a vo wel is
attach ed, b u t th e I u s u ally remain s s y llab ic.
Th u s :
' b o ttle' - 'b o ttlin g ' b u t} - bu tfiu
' mud d le' - 'mu d d lin g ' ma d] - m A d]
' s trugg le' - 's trug g ling ' s tra g l - s trA g l
' •.
Similar wo rd s n o t d eriv ed in th is way d o
no t h av e th e s y llab ic ! - it h as b een p o in ted
o u t th at th e two wo rd s ' codd ling ' (d eriv ed
fro m th e v erb ' cod d le' ) an d ' co d ling '
(mean in g "s mall co d " . d eriv ed b y add ing th e
d imin u tiv e s u ffix ' -lin g ' to ' co d ' ) s h o w a
con tras t b etween s y llab ic an d n on -s y llab ic
ch at cu a p h u am do . Neu p h u am d u n g
tru o c la am lq i, n h u tron g ' b o ttle' bo tl ,
' mu d d le' m A dl , 'tun n el' tA nl , SI/ cu' d 9 n g
tao am tu ph u am d u n g truo c d en I co
am ti&t tin h k h a do n g ian. Hai b en lu o i,
von d u ;c n an g len d 6 i v o i p h u am d Ctn g
tru o c, du q c h ,;1 th ap x u o'n g cl€ ch o k h o n g
k h i th o .i t q u a ch un g (d ieu n ay du o c g o i
la stj th oat k h i & ben). Dau lu o i va s o n g
lu o i k h o n g d i ch uy en ch o d en k h i ch o tiep
x u c cau am d an h ch o I d L(Q'c p h at ra: I la
' I dv c' (nh u d a g iai th ich a ch Lid ng 7 ). 0
mo t s o g ion g - d ac b iet la g io n g Lu an
8 6 n , v a g io n g "Es tu ary Eng lis h " - ch u n g
ta th u on g tim th ay n guy en am trn mo i
h an g s au , d o n g (vi du: ' b o ttle' bt u) . Ch u n g
l
ta tim th y co am tiet & d au tron g g io n g
BBC? Th ~t h u u ich k hi x em cach v iet ch in h
ta n h u la h u o n g d an . T ruong h o p ro ran g
n h at la k h i ch un g ta co mo t tu tan cun g
b an g mo t h o ac n h ieu mau tu
p h u am th eo
s au la ' le' (ho ac tron g tru ing h o p ca cac
d an h tu s 6 n h ieu va d an g d on g tu & n goi
th t b a s o' it, ' les ' ). Vi d u :
i) v o i p h u am lo i d u n g tru o c
' cattle' kretlI 'bo ttle' bullI
' wres tle' res lI 'mu d d le' m x dl
'
ii) v o i p h u am k h o n g p h i la am lq i d Ctn g
tru o c
'co up le' kA pl ' troub le' tublI
s trugg le' s tugl 'k n u ck le' nA k}
Cac tu n hu th e thu ii' n g mat m fo tl/
'e' cu 6 i k h i mo t h au t6 b at d au v o i mo t
n g u y en am d uo c g an v ao , n h u n g l th u n g
v an c6 am tiet tin h . Do d 6 :
'b o ttle' - 'bo ttlin g ' b ofl - b u fl10
'mu d d le' - ' mu d d ling ' m A d l - m a d ]m
's trug g le' - 's trug g lin g ' s trag ] - s trA g ]
Cac tu tuo n g tu k h o n g p h ai s in h th eo
each n ay th i co ]co am tiet tin h - ro ran g
h ai tu ' cod d ling ' (p h ai s in h tu d 6 n g tu
' co d d le' ) va ' co d lin g ' (ng h ia la "s mall co d " ,
p h ai s in h b an g cach th em h au to g iam n h e
' -lin g ' v ao ' co d ' ) ch o th ay s u trai n g LIQ'c
g ila I co am tiet tin h v a p h i am tiet tin h :

1: 'coddling' kodf10 and ' codling' koho). In
the case of words such as ' bottle', 'muddle',
'struggle' , which are quite common, it would
be a mispronunciation to insert a vowel
between the I and the preceding consonant.
There are many accents of English which
may do this, so that. for example, 'cattle' is
pronounced kretal, but this is not the case in
BBC pronuncition.
We also find syllabic I in words spelt, at
the ·end, with one or more consonant letters
followed by 'al' or ' el' , for example:
' panel' paenl 'papal' pemp]
'petal' peq 'parcel' pa:s!
'kernel' ka:nl 'Babel' be1blI
'
' pedal' pedJ 'ducal' dju:k}
In some less common or more technical
words. it is not obligatory to pronounce
syllabic I and the sequence al may be used
instead, though it is less likely: 'missal' m rs l
or mtsal; 'acquittal' akw1tlI or akw1tal.
S yll ab ic n
Of the syllabic nasals, the most
frequently found and the most important is
T/-· When should it be pronounced? A general
rule could be made that weak syllables which
are phono!J:>gically composed of a plosive
or fricative consonant plus an are uncommon
except in initial position in the words. So we
can find words like ' tonight' tanart, 'canary'
kaneari with an a before n, but medially and
finally - as in words like ' threaten',
'threatening' - we find much more commonly
a syllabic n: flretf/-, flrehp!J. To pronounce a
vowel before the nasal consonant would
sound strange (or at best overcareful) in BBC.
Syllabic n is most common after alveolar
plosives and fricatives; in the case oft and d
followed by n the plosive is nasally released
by lowering the soft palate, so that in the
word ' eaten' i:tn, for example, the tongue
does not move in the tn sequence but the
soft palate is lowered at the end of t so that
compressed air escapes through the nose. We
116
'coddling' kndlr va 'codling' kl . Trong
truong hdp cda cac tu nhl.l' 'bottle',
'muddle', 'struggle' (kha thong di,mgl , each
phat phat am bi sai khi chen mot nguyen
am vao gil a l va phu am dung truoc theo
gi<;>ng du@c mieu ta o dy. Co nhieu giong
tieng Anh c6 the phat am nhu vay, vi the,
vi du nhu, 'cattle' duoc phat am la kretal,
nhung trui ng hop nay khong xuat hien trong
cach phat am cl a dai BBC.
Chung ta cung thay I co am tit tinh
trong cac tut dudc viet 8 cu6i voi mot
hoac nhieu mau tu phu am, theo sau la
'al' hoac 'el'. Vi du:
' panel' pren! 'papal' pe1pJ
'petal' peti 'parcel' pa:sJ
'kernel' ka:nlI ' Babel' berbl
' pedal' ped} 'ducal' dju:kl
} mot so tu it thong dung hay mang
tinh ky thuat nhieu hon, khong bat bu)c
phai phat am I co am ti&t tinh va chuoi al
c6 the' dl.l'Qc dung thay the, m;;c du 116 it
' co kh nang dlf(1c dCmg hon: 'missal' m i s }
hoac 'acquittal' akwtl hoac akw1tal.
n co am tie't tinh
Trong so cac am mui co am tiet tinh,
ph6 bien nhat va quan tr<;>ng nha't la I/-·
Khi nao no nen duoc phat am? M<')t qui
tac thong thuong c6 the duoc tao ra de'
cac am tiet yeu von duoc cau thanh tt
mot am bat hoac phu am xat cong voi an
theo am vi h<;>c trd ne n kh6ng ph6 bien
ngoai tru o vi tri du trong cac tt. Vi vay
ta c6 the' tlm tha'y cac tu nhU' 'tonight'
tanart, 'canary' kaneari voi mot a dung
truoc n, nhung i'J vi tri gili'a va cui - nlul
trong cac W 'threaten' , 'threatening' - ta
thay n co am tiet tinh pho bi&n hon nhieu:
0retn, 0retnmn. Phat am mot nguyen am
dung tntoc phl) am mu i nay se nghe c6
ve la (hoac it ra la qua d'n than) i'J BBC.
n co am tiet tinh pho bien nhat sau am
bat ldi va am xat; trong trllong hQp cua t
va d co n theo sau, am bat nay phat bang
giong mui bang cach ha thap ngac mem,
vl the, vi du nhu trong ILi 'eaten' i:t11-, ILIOi
kh6ng di chuye'n trong chuoi tn nhung
 117
d o n o t fi n d n aft er l o r tf , d3, s o t h at fo r
ex amp l e 's u llen ' mu s t b e p ro n o u n ced sAlan,
' Ch ri s tian ' as kns(fan (t ho u gh t h i s w o rd may
b e p ro n o u n ced w i th t p l u s i o r j i n s t ead o f tj)
an d ' p i g eo n ' as p1d3an.
Sy llab i c 11- aft er n on -alv eol ar co n s o n an t s
i s n o t s o wi d es p read . In w o rd s w h ere t h e
s y llabl e fo llo w i n g a v el ar con s o n an t i s s p elt
' an ' -o r 'o n ' (fo r ex amp l e, ' t obo g g an ' , 'w agon ' )
it i s rarel y h eard , t h e mo re u s u al
p ro nun ci at i o n b ei n g tabogan, wregan. Af t er
bi l ab i al co n s o n an t s , i n wo rd s lik e 'h ap p en ' ,
' h ap p en i n g ', ' ri b bo n ' w e can co n s i d er it
eq u ally accep t ab l e t o p ro n o un ce t h em w i t h
s y llabic 17- (hrep17-, hrepa17-10, nb17-) o r w i t h an
(haepan, haepan, nb;m). A s w e w ill s ee,
s y llab ic m i s al s o p os s i b l e i n t h i s cont ex t. In
a s i mil ar w ay , aft er v el ar co n s o n an t s i n w o rd s
lik e· ' t hick en ' , 'w ak en', s y llab ic 11- i s p o ss i b l e
b ut an i s al s o accept abl e. Sy llabic v el ar n as al
i s al s o p os s i b l e i n t his co n t ex t .
Af t er fo r v , s y llab i c n
i s mo re co mmo n
t h an an (ex cep t , as w it h t h e o t h er cas es
d es cri b ed , i n w o rd -i n iti al s y llab l es ). Thu s
's ev en ' , ' h eav en ', ' o ft en ' are mo re us u ally
sev17-, hev17-, ofJ?- t h an sevan, hevan, ovan.
In all t h e ex amp l es g i v en s o far t h e
s y llab i c 1?- h as b een fo llo w i n g an o t h er
co n s o n an t ; s o met i mes it i s p o s s i b l e fo r
an o t h er co n s o n an t t o p reced e t h at co n s o n an t ,
b u t i n t h i s cas e a s y llab i c co n s on ant i s le s s
lik el y t o o ccur . If I i s p reced ed b y n an d a
p l o s i v e, as i n ' W ilt on ' , t h e p ro n u n ci at i o n
wilt17- i s p o ssib le , b u t wdtan i s als o fo u nd
reg u l arl y . Ifs p reced es , as i n 'Bo s t on ' , a fi n al
s y llab i c n as al i s l es s freq u en t . w hil e cl u s t ers
fo rmed b y n as al + p l o s iv e + s y llab i c n as al
are v ery u nu s u al : t h u s ' Mi n t o n ', 'l an t ern ' ,
'L on d o n ' , ' ab an d o n ' w ill n o rmally h av e a i n
t h e l as t s y llabl e an d b e p ro n o u n ced mmtan,
IAntan, landan, abrendan. O th er n as al s al s o
d i s co u rag e a fo llo w in g p lo s i v e p l u s s y llabic
n g ac mem du @c h a t h p o cu o i t s ao ch o
k h on g k h i n en t ho at q u a mu i . Ch u n g t a
k h on g tlm t h ay 17- s au l h o i;i c tf, d3, v t h e
v i d u n h u tu ' s u l l en ' p h ai d u Q'c p h at am
l a sAlon, ' Ch ri s t i an ' p h at am l a knstJan
(mi;i c d u tu n ay c6 t h e' d u <;ic p h at am v 6"i
t cc)n g v 6"i i h o i;i c j t h ay ch o tJ) v a ' p i g eon '
p h at am la prd3an.
n co am t i @e t tin h s au cac p h u am p h i
lo i k h on g ph 6 b i en. T ro ng cac t t ma t ron g
d 6 am t i et n ay t h eo s au mot p h u am v o m
m e m d u d c v i e t l a ' a n ' h o a c ' o n ' (v i d u :
' t o bo gg an ' , ' w ag o n ' ), hi em k h i n o d u o c
n g h e, cach p h at am t h o n g t h u o n g h d n la
tabogan, wregan. Sau cac p h u am mo i ,
t ro n g cac tu n hu ' h ap p en ', ' h app en i ng ',
' ri b bo n ' , ch u n g t a c6 t h e' x em n h u c6 t h e'
ch ap n h an d u g c k hi p h at am ch u n g v o i n
co am t i &t tin h (hpn, hapon, rrbn) ho ac
v 6"i an (hrepan, hrepamo, nban). N h u ch u n g
t a s e t h ay , m co am t i e't tin h cun g co t h e'
ch ap n h an tro n g n g ! can h n ay . T u o n g t u ,
s au cac p h u am v o m mem t ro n g cac tu
n h u ' t h i ck en ' , ' w ak en ' , co t he' co n c6
am t i et tin h n h u ng clin g c6 t h e' c6 an.' A m
mu i v o m mem co am t i et t i n h IJ, cling c6
t h e ch ap n h an t ro n g n g u can h n ay .
S au f h o ac v , nc6 am t i et tin h p h o
b i &n h o n an (ng o ai t ru , n h u v o i cac t ru i ng
h o p k h ac d a mi eu t a, t ro ng cac am t i e' t
o d~u tu ). D o d 6 , 's ev en ' 'h eav en ' , 'o ft en '
l a sevn, , hevnI , ofnI p h 6 b i en h o n sevan,
hevan, ovan.
T ro n g t a' t ca cac v i du d a n eu ch o
de n b ay g i d , n co am t it t i n h d eu t h eo
s au m o t p h u am k h ac; d o i k h i m o t p h v
am k h ac co th e' d u n g t ruo c ph u am d o ,
n hu n g tr ong tr u ong h <;ip n ay mo t p h u am
co am t i et tin h i t co k h a n an g x u at h i en .
N eu n d u n g s au I v a m o t am b at , n h u
t ro n g ' W i lto n ' , cach p h at am c6 t h e' l a
wltn, n h u n g wdtan cun g c6 t h e t h u o n g
g i;i p . N eu s d Ct ng t ru ck , n hu tron g ' Bo s t o n ' ,
mo t am mu i co am t i et tin h d v i t ri cu o i
it g ap h o n , mac d u cac cu m d u o c t h an h
l ap b i a m m u i + am b at + a m t i et m u i
rat h i em g ap : d o d6 , ' Mi n t on ', ' l an t ern ' ,
' L o ndon ', ' ab an d o n ' t h u o n g s e c6 a t ro ng
am t i e' t cui v a d u d c p h at am mmtan,

n as al, s o th at for ex amp le ' Camd en ' is
n o rmally p ron ou n ced kremdan.
Syllabics m, o Ca c phg a m c6 a m tie't tinh m, u
We will n o t s p en d mu ch time o n th e
s y llab ic p ronu n ciatio n o f th es e con s on an ts .
Bo th can o ccu r as s y llab ic, b u t o n ly as a res u lt
o f p roces s es s u ch as ass imilation an d elis io n
th at I h av e n o t y et d es crib ed . We fin d th em
s o metimes in wo rd s lik e 'h app en' , which can
b e p ron o u n ced hae pm , thou g h hepn an d
hrepan are eq u ally accep tab le, an d
' up p ermo s t' , wh ich co u ld b e p ron o u n ced as
Apll}aost th o u gh Apamaost wo u ld b e mo re
u s u al. Ex amp les o f p o ss ib le s y llab ic v elar
n as als wou ld b e ' th ick en ' lhkIJ (wh ere lhkan
and lhkI/- are als o p o ss ib le), an d 'b rok en k ey '
kraokl)I ki:, wh ere th e n as al con s on an t o ccu rs
b etween v elar con so n an ts (ag ain , 11- o r an
cou ld b e s ub s titu ted for IJ) .
I
A n o te abo u t s y mb o ls: th e u s u al
co nv en tion for th e s y llab ic mark is th at it
s h ou ld b e p laced b elo w s y mb o ls th at d o n o t
co me b elo w th e lin e, for ex amp le m , n b u t
abo v e a s y mbo l th at d o es co me b elo w th e
lin e, for ex amp le i, . In th is cou rs e, ho wev er,
it is felt p referab le to p u t th e mark u nd erneath
th e s y mbo l in all cas es o f s y llab ic co n s on an ts.
Syllabic r
In man y accen ts o f th e typ e called
"rho tic" (as exp lain ed in Ch ap ter 7 ), s u ch as
mo s t American accen ts , s y llab ic r is v ery
co mmo n . Th e wo rd 'p articu lar', for ex amp le,
wou ld p rob ab ly b e p ronoun ced PrtJkalr in.
cafefu l s p eech b y mo s t American s , wh ile
BBC s p eak ers wou ld p rono u n ce th is wo rd
patikjala. Sy llab ic r is les s co mmo n in BBC,
and in mo s t cas es wh ere it o ccu rs th ere are
p erfectly accep tab le alternativ e p ron un cia­
tio n s with o u t th e s y llab ic con s o n an t. · ·
118
lAntan, landon, abandon. Cac am mui khac
cIng can tr& am bet; theo sau cong voi
am tiet mui, vl the, vi du nhu 'Camden'
thu'ong du'c;lc phat am la kremdan.
Chung ta se khong da nh nhieu thoi
gian de phan tich cach phat am co am
tiet tinh cua hai phu am nay. Ca hai deu
c6 the la phu am c6 am tit tinh, nhLtng
chl la ke't qua cua de qua trinh nhu'
d6ng h6a va lu'Q"c am ma to i chu'a mieu
ta. 06i khi chung ta thay cac tu nhu'
'happen', von c6 the duoc phat am la
hepm, mac du hpn va hapan deu c6
the' dLJqc chap nhc1 n nhu' nhau, va
'uppermost', von co the dudc phat am
la Apmaust mac du Apamoust ph6 bi6n
hon. Cac vi du ve cac am mui vom m m
co a m tiet tinh co the co la 'thicken'
lhkl) (trong do lhkan va lhkn cung c6 the
duoc chap nhan), va 'broken key' kr50kn
ki:, trong do phu am mui xuat hien gil a
cac phu am vom mem (ngoai ra, n ho3c
an c6 the thay the IJ ).
I
Luu y ve cac ky hi@u: d6i voi dau ky
hieu, qui Li ck thong thuong la no nen
dudc dat duoi cac ky hi&u von khong
ha thap phia du'6i dong, vi du m, I/- nhu'ng
tren mot ky hi@u ha thap phia duoi dong,
v i dv o.
Tuy nhien, trong giao trinh nay,
dijt da'u ph1a du6i ky hieu trong ta't ca
cac trui ng hop cua cac phu am c6 am
tiet tinh co v thich hc;1p lldn.
r c6 am tie't tinh
o nhi@u giong thuoc loai 'r-tinl ' (nhu -
da giai thfch trong chu'dng 7), nhu hu
ht cac giong My, r c6 am tiet tinh ra't
pho bien. Tl 'particular' chang han, c6
le se dudc phat am la prtrkolr trong loi
n6 i can than cda hau het n hang ngtt6' i
My, mac du cac phat thanh vien di BBC
se phat am tC/ nay la patikjala. r c6 am
tiet tinh ft ph6 bien o BBC, va trong h5u
het moi trui ng hop, o du no xuat hi@n
thi & d6 co cac cach - phat am khac co
the chap nhan du'c;tc ma khong dung phu
am co am tiet tinh nay.
 119
There are a few pairs of words (minimal
pairs) in which a difference in meaning
appears to depend on whether a particular r
is syllabic or not, for example:
' Hungary' hAngri
' hungry' hpgri
C 6 mot vai cap tu (cac cap t6i thieu)
trong do su khac bit ve y nghia phu
thu<)c vao tn.tong hqp mot r cu the co
am tie't tinh hay khong, vi du:
Hungary' hA ng ri
'b:ngry' hApgri

But we find no case of syllabic; where it
would not be possible to substitute eithet
non-syllabic r or a r; in the examples above,
'Hungary' could equally well be pronounced
hA g g a ri.
Nhung ch(mg ta khong thay truong hc;1p
no cua am tiet r co am tiet tinh ma & do
khong the thv the bang r phi am tiet tinh
hay a r; trong vi dlJ o tre 11., 'Hungary' c6
the dug phat am la ha pgori.

Combinat ions of syllabic consonants
It is not unusual to find two syllabic
consonants together. Examples are: ' national'
n ae[n l 'literal' htr! 'visionary' vi3n ri 'veteran'
v etrn. It is important to remember that it is
often not possible to say with certainty
whether a speaker has pronounced a syllabic
consonant, a non-syllabic consonant or a non­
syllabic consonant plus a. For example, the
word ' veteran' given above could be
pronounced in other ways than v etrn. An
BBC speaker might instead say v etran,
v eta rn or v etaran. The transcription makes
it look as if the difference between these
words was clear; it is not. In examining
colloquial English it is often more or less a
matter of arbitrary choice how one transcribes
such a word. Transcription has the unfortunate
tendency to make things seem simpler and
more clear-cut than they really are.
Slf ke't hqp cua cac ph!J am c6 am
tie't tinh
Khong c6 gi la khi thay hai phL1 am c6
am tiet tinh di cmng nhau. Vi du: 'national'
n ae [fn 'literal' htrl 'visionary' 13n r i
'veteran' ve t;n. B ieu quan trong l a can
phai nho rang thumng thi ta khong th€ siet
chi c chi n mot nguoi noi phat am mot
phu am c6 am tiet tinh, m(>t phu am phi
am tiet tinh hay mot phu am phi am tiJt
tfnh c(>ng a. Vf du, tu 'veteran' dugc cho
& tr@n c6 the duoc phat am theo each
khac voi v etrn. Phat thanh vien dai BBC
c6 the n6i v etron, v eta rn hay v eto rn. Co
ve nhu su phien am nay cho thay ro su
khac biet giua hai tu nay; that ra khong
phai nhu vay. Khi xem xet ting Anh thong
tuc, thuong thi cach nguoi ta phien am
mot tu nhu the hau nhu la van de lua
chon try y. Su phien am co khuynh huong
khong thfch hc;1p khi lam cho moi thu tra
nen don gian hon va ro rang hon thuc te.

Notes on problems and furt her reading

9 .1 I have at this point tried to bring in some preliminary notions of stress and prominence
without giving a full explanation By tl 1is st2:.: e in the c our s.c it is important· to be getting
familiar with the diffrcnce bctween stressed and unsteced syllables, and the nature of
"schwa" . However, the subject of stress is such a large one that I have felt it best to leave its
main treatment until later. On the subject of schwa, see Jones (1975: Sections 355-7.!);
Cruttenden (1994: Section 8.9.12)
9 .2 The introduction of i and u is a relatively recent idea but it is now·wideI:: acceptet1
as a convention in int1uential dictionaries such as the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary
English (Summers, 1987), the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (Wells, 2000), the
Cambridge International Dictionary of English (Procter, 1995) and the Daniel Jones English
Pronouncing Dictionary (15th edition; eds. R" .ich and Hartman, 1997; seep. xiv of the
 1 20
In t rod u ct i on t o t h at d i ction ary ). Si n ce I men ti o n n ati v e s p eak ers ' feel i ng s i n t h i s con n ect i o n ,
and s i n ce I am el s ew h ere rat h er s cep t i cal abo u t app eal s t o n ati v e s p eak ers ' feeli n gs ; I h ad
b etter ex pl ai n t h at i n th i s cas e my ev i d en ce co mes fro m t h e n at i v e s p eak ers o f Engl i s h I
h av e t au g h t i n p ract i cal cl ass es o n t ran s crip ti o n o v er many y ears . A s u bs t an ti al n u mb er o f
t h es e s t u d en t s h av e eit h er b een s p eak ers w it h BBC p ro n u n ci at io n o r h ad accen t s o n l y
s ligh tl y d i fferen t fro m i t , an d t h ei r u s u al react i on t o b ein g t o l d t o u s e I fo r t h e vo w el at t h e
en d o f 'eas y ' , 'b u s y ' h as b een o n e o f p u zzl emen t an d fru s t rat i o n; l ik e t h em, I can no t eq u at e
t hi s - v o w el w it h t h e v o w el o f, 'b it' . I am, h o w ev er, rel u ct an t t o u s e i:, whi ch s ug g est s a
s t ro ng er vo w el t h an s h o ul d b e p ro no u n ced (l i k e t h e fin al v ow el i n 'ev acu ee', 'Ten n es s ee' ).
I mus t emph as i s e t h at t h e v o w el s i an d u are n o t i ncl u d ed i n t h e s et o f E n gl i s h p h o n emes b jf
are s i mpl y addi t i o n al s y mb ol s t o mak e t h e w ri t i n g an d read i n g o f t ran s cri pt i o n eas i er. T h e
In t rodu ct i o n t o t h e D a n i el Jo n es E n g lis h P ron o un ci n g D i ct i on ary (eds , Ro ach an d H art man ,
1 9 9 7 ) d i s cu ss es s o me o f t h e i s s u es i n v o l v ed i n s y llab i c con s on an t s and w eak s y llab l es : s ee
p p . x iv -x v .

Notes for teachers

In t ro d u ctio n o f t h e "s ch w a" v o w el h as b een d el ib erat ely d el ay ed u n t il t h i s ch ap t er,
s in ce I w an t ed it t o b e p res en t ed i n t h e con t ex t o f w eak s y llabl es i n g en eral. Si n ce s t ud en t s
s h o u l d b y n o w b e co mp arat i v el y w ell-i n fo rmed ab o u t b as i c s eg men t al p h o n et i cs, i t i s v ery
i mpo rt an t t h at t h ei r p ro d u cti o n an d recogn i t i on o f t h i s v ow el s h o ul d b e g oo d b efo re mov i n g
o n t o t h e fo llowi n g ch ap t ers .

T his ch apt er i s i n a s en s e a cruci al p o int i n t h e cou rs e: al t hough t h e s eg men t al mat eri al o f t h e

p reced i n g ch ap t ers i s i mpo rt an t as a fo u n d at i o n , t h e rel at i o n s h i p b et w een s t ro ng an d w eak
s y llab l es an d t h e o v erall p ro s od i c ch aract eri s ti cs o f w o rd s an d s en t en ces are es s en t i al t o
int elli g i b ili ty, and mo s t o f t h e remaining ch ap t ers o f t h e co ur s e are co ncern ed w i t h s u ch matters .

Wr itten exer cises Bai tap viet

T h e fo llo w i n g s en t en ces h av e b een
p art i ally t ran s cri b ed , b u t t h e v o w el s h av e
b een l eft b l ank . Fill i n t h e v o w el s , t ak i ng
care t o i d en t i fy w hich vo w el s are w eak ; p u t
n o v o w el at all i f y o u t h i nk a s y llab i c
co nso n an t i s ap p ro p ri at e, b u t p u t a s y llabic
mark b en eat h t h e s y llabic conso n an t.
A pa rtic ula r proble m of the boa t w a s a le a k
p t kj l pr blmvd b t wz l k
C ac c au s au day da duoc phi@ n am
m ot phan, nhung ca c nguy en am da bi
de t r6ng. H ay dien v ao cac nguy en am
do, c an t han k hi x ac dinh nguyen am
nao la am y eu; k hong dat nguy en am
neu ban nghi m ot phu am c o am t iet
t inh phu hop, nhung dat dau am t it ben
du@ i phu am c o am t iet ti nh d6.

2 O pe ning the bottle pre se nte d no diffic ulty

pn:g a b t lprzntdn df kit
3 The re is no a lte rn a tive to the G ove rn me nt's proposa l
a r z n It n tv t a g v nm nt spr p zl
4 W e ought to ma ke a c oll e c tion to c ove r the e xpe nse s
w tt mk kl kJnt kv 0 ksp nsz
5 F ina ll y the y a rri ve d a t a ha rbour ;i.t the sdge of the mounta ins
fnI a r V d t h b r to d3 vd m nt nz
 1 21

CHU'dNG 10

account /;:i' kaunt/ (n) Slf m i e u t d , g i d i t h i ch

acknowledge / ak'nohd3/ (v) cO n g n h g n

affix/ 'refTks/ (n) p hu to

code / kaud/ (v) ma luJa

connected speech /b' nekt1d ' spi:tf/ ch u Ji n g il Luu , l i1 i n <>i lii n m g ch

crude / kru:d/ (v) t h 6 t h i en

experimental study /1k' spen,mentl ' stAd1/ cu @c n g h i en ct u d t a t r en t h i
n gh i t?m
function word /' fAJJkfn ,w3:d/ h u tit
generative phonology / ' d3eanrat1v fa' nnlad31/ a m vi h p c t g o s i n h

high-pitched / ,ha1p1tft/ (adj) (a m ) b o n g

lexical word / ' leks1kl ' w3:d/ tht c tt

literature / ' htratfa/ t ai li eu , s d ch , hai vie't

Joan word /' laun ,W3:d/ tu va y mug n ( ca n u o c n god i )

morphologically / ,m:,:fa' Jod31kh/ (adv) vi m (i t h i n h vi h p c

notion /' naufn/ (n) kh d i n i t?m

low-pitched / ,!au ' pitft/ (adj) (a m ) t r a m

peak /pi:k/ (n) d ln h , ca o d i em

penultimate /p1' nAlt1mat/ (adj) ke cu o i

phonological structure / ' funa,lud31kh ' stuktfa/ ca u t r u e v e ma t a m vi

polysyllabic / ,pnhs1' lreb1k/ (adj) d a va n , da a m t i e't

primary stress /' prammnr ' stres/ t r q n g a m ch i n h lc a p 1

prominent / ' pmmmant/ (adj) n a' i h {jt
reference frefr6ns/ (n) t a i li t?u t h a m kh d o
regularity / ,regju' lreratr/ (n) ti n h p h 6 b i en , t h u m n g xu yen

rhyme / rarm/ (n) vd n

secondary stress /' scbndarr ' stres/ t r o n g a m p h u / ca p 2
substantial residue / sab' strenfl ' rezrdju:/ s o' l ll(Jn g l <i n
tertiary stress / ' t3:farr ' stres/ t r qng a m ca p 3
unintelligible I ,Anm' teiJd3abl/ (adj) kh o n g t h e h i eu d ud e
 122

10 S tr e s s in s imp le w o rd s
10 T ro n g am tro n g cac tu don gian
gA U lO , EX 1
10.1 Th e n atu r e o f str ess 1 0 .1 Ba n ch.it cua tr<_>ng a m
Stress has been mentioned several times Trong am da du@c de cap mot vi
already in this course without any attempt to I~ n r6 i trong giao trinh nay nhu'ng khong
define what the word means. The nature of dinh nghia tu nay c6 nghia la gl. Ban
stress is simple enough - practically chat cua trong am thi don gian: tren thuc
everyone would agree that the first syllable te moi ngudi deu dong y rang am tiet
of words like ' father' , 'open' , 'camera' is dau tien cda cac tt nhu' 'father', 'open',
stressed, that the middle syllable is stressed 'camera' duoc nhan, va am tiet o gil a
in 'potato' , ' apartment' , 'relation' and that the duoc nhan trong 'potato', 'apartment',
final syllable is stressed in 'about', 'receive' , 'relation' va am tit cuoi dugc nhan trong
'perhaps' . Also, most people feel they have 'about', 'receive', 'perhaps'. Hdn nua,'· h~u
some sort of idea of what the difference is het moi nguoi deu cam th,fy ho mot y
between stressed and unstressed syllables, niem nao do v su khac bi@t la gi giua
although they might explain it in many cac am tiet du'c;lc nha'n Va kh6ng du'c;IC
different ways. nhan, mac du ho co the giai .thich di@u
do theo nhieu cach khac nhau.
We will mark a stressed syllable in Chung ta se danh dau am tiet duoc
transcription by placing a small vertical ' line nhan trong phan phien am bang cach dat
(') high up, just before the syllable it relates mot Vc)ch 1hj ng dung (') tren cao, ngay
to; the words quoted above will thus be ph fa truoc am tiet ma no co lien quan;
transcribed as follows: cac tu dudc trich dan & tren do do se
duoc phien am nhu sau:
' fo :cl a p a ' te1 ta o a ' ba o t
' s 0 pa n a ' po: tm a nt n' s i: v
' k e m ra r ' l e 1 fn pa ' hreps
What are the characteristics of stressed Dac diem gi cl a cac am tiet du@c
syllables that enable us to identify them? It nha'n giup chung ta co the xac dinh
is important to understand that there are two chung? Dieu quan trong la phai hieu rang
different ways of approaching this question. co hai cach khac nhau de giai quyet cau
One is to consider what the speaker does in hoi nay. Mot each la xem ngLto'i noi lam
producing stressed syllables and the other is gi khi tao ra cac am tiet dugc nhan va
to consider what characteristics of sound cach con lai la xem dac diem gi ci a
make a syllable seem to a listener to be am lam cho ngudi nghe cam thay mot
stressed. In other words we can study stress am tit duong nhu duoc nhan. Noi each
from the point of view of pro ducti o n and of - khac, chu ng ta co the ngh ie n cuu tro ng
p cr c e p t fo n ; the two are ob riously closely am tu quan diem "tao" va "ti ep n h an "; ro
related, but are not identicai. The production rang hai cach nay co moi quan he mat
or stress is generally believed to depend on th iet voi nhau, nhung khc3 ng giong n hau.
the speaker using more muscular energy than NgLfo'i ta thuong cho ding vi~c tqo -ra
 123
i s u s ed fo r u ns t res s ed s y llab l es. Meas u ri ng
mu s cu l ar effo rt i s d i ffi cu l t , b u t i t s eems
p o s s ibl e, acco rd i n g t o ex p eri men t al s t u d i es,
t h at w h en w e p ro d u ce s t ress ed s y llab l es , t h e
mu s cl es t h at w e us e t o ex p el ai r fro m t h e
l un g s are o ft en mo re act i v e, p ro du ci n g
h i gh er s ubg l o ttal p res s u re. It s eems p ro b ab l e
t h at s i mil ar t h i ng s h ap p en w i th mu s cl es i n
o th er p art s o f o u r s p eech ap p aratu s .
Man y exp eri men t s h av e b een carri ed o u t
o n t h e p ercep t i on o f s t res s , and i t i s cl ear
t h at man y d i fferen t s ou n d ch aract eri s t i cs are
i mpo rt an t i n mak i n g a s y llabl e recog n i s ab l y
s t res s ed . Fro m t h e p ercep t u al p oin t o f v i ew ,
all s t ress ed s y llabl es h av e o n e ch aract eri s t i c
i n co mmo n , an d t h at i s pro m i nence; s t res s ed
s y llab l es are recog n i s ed as s t res s ed b ecau s e
t h ey are mo re p ro mi n en t t h an u n s t res s ed
s y llabl es . W h at mak es a s y llabl e p ro mi n ent ?
A t l eas t fou r d i fferen t fact o rs are i mp o rt ant.
i ) Mo s t p eo p l e s eem t o feel t h at s t res s ed
s y llab l es are l o uder t h an u n s t res s ed ; i n
o t h er w o rd s, l o u d n es s i s a co mpo n en t o f
p ro mi n en ce. In a s equ en ce o f i d en tical
s y llab l es (e.g . ba :ba :ba :ba :), i f o n e
s y llab l e i s mad e l oud er t h an t h e o t h ers ,
i t w ill b e h eard as s t res s ed . H o w ev er, it i s
i mp o rt an t t o realis e t h at i t i s v ery d i ffi cu lt
fo r a s p eak er t o mak e a s y llab l e l o ud er
w ith o u t ch an g in g o t h er ch aract eri s ti cs o f
t h e s y llab l e s u ch as t h o s e ex p lai n ed
b elow (i i -i v ); i f o n e lit erally ch ang es
only t h e l o udn ess, t h e p ercep tu al effect
i s n o t v ery s t ro ng .
i i) T h e l eng th o f s y llab l es h as an i mp o rt an t
p art t o p l ay i n p ro min en ce. If o n e o f t h e
s y llab l es i n o u r " no n s en s e w o rd "
bo :ba :ba :ba : i s mad e l on g er t h an th e
o th ers , t h ere i s q ui t e a s t ro n g t end en cy
fo r t h at s y ll:i.b l e t o b e h eard as s t res s ed .
t rong am phu t huoc vao v i@c ngudi noi
dung nhieu s uc hJ c C d ba"p hdn s o v oi
s t c luc dung de t ao ca c am t iet k hong
duoc nhan. Vi@c do luong s t c luc co bap
t hl- k h6, nhung duang nhu c6 t he. lam
duqc, t heo ca c nghien c uu t hll' nghiem ,
k hi c hung t a t ao ra c ac am t iet dugc nhan,
c ac C d m a c hung t a dung M diy k hong
k hf di ra tu ph6i t huong tfc h c t!c hon, t ao
ra ap luc duoi thanh m n c ao hdn. R at
co t he nhung dieu t uong t u x ay ra v oi
c ac coo nhung bo phan k hac c ia bo
m ay phat am C l.l a c hung t a.
N hieu c uoc t hi nghiem v e s u nhan
t huc t rong am da duoc t huc hien, v a
c hac c han rang nhieu dac diem am k hac
nhau quan trong t rong v iec tao lam c ho
m ot am nhan c 6 t h nhan biet dugc. T r
quan diem t iep nhan, t at ca c ac am t iet
duoc nhan deu co c hung m ot dac diem ,
v a do c hf nh la slJ no'i b.jt. C ac am t iet
co t rong am dugc nhan ra la du@c nhan
v l c hung n6i bat hon nhung am t it k hong
du; c nhan. D ieu gi lam cho m ot am t iet
t rc1 nen n6i bat ? C o it nha't b6n y eu t6
quan t rong.
i) D vong nhll hfo he't m o i nguoi deu
ca m t hay c ac am t iet nhan v ang to
hdn c ac am t iet k hong nhan; noi eac h
k hac , de) v ang t o la t hanh ph,fo n6i
bat. T rang m <')t c hui c ac am t iet giong
nhau (v i du: ba :ba :ba :ba :), neu mot
am t iet duoc lam c ho v ang t o hon
n hung am t it k hac t h l nguo i t a s e
nghe n6i la duoc nhan. T uy nhien, dieu
quan t rong la phai nhan ra rang nguoi
no i ra't k h6 lam c ho m (> t am t iet v ang
t o hon m a k hong t hay d6i cac dac
diem k hac c ua am t i&t do c hang han
nhu c ac dac diem du@c giai t hic h t rong
m uc (ii-iv ) duoi day ; t hat v ay , nu
m ot nguii c hi t hay d6i d6 Ion t hi k et
qua tiep nhan k hong m anh lam .
ii ) Do dai c ua c ac am t iet dong m (> t vai
t ro quan t rong o s u noi bat. N eu m ot
t rong s6 c ac am t iet t rong "tu V O ngh"ia "
ba :ba :ba :ba : C Ll3 ch ung t a dLl<;lc lam
c ho di hon ca c am t iet k hac t hl co
m (> t x u huong k ha m anh de ngudi t a
nghe am t iet do la duoc nhan.
 1 24
iii) Ev ery v o iced s y llab le is s aid o n s o me
pitch; p itch in s p eech is clo s ely related
to th e freq u en cy o f v ib ration o f th e v o cal
fold s an d to th e mu s ical n o tion o f lo w­
an d h igh -p itch ed n o tes . It is es s en tially
a p ercep tu a l ch aracteris tic o f s p eech . If
o n e s y llab le o f o u r "n o n s en s e wo rd " is
s aid with a p itch th at is n o ticeab ly
d ifferen t fro m th at o f th e o th ers , th is will
h av e a s tron g ten d en cy to p rodu ce th e
effect o f p romin en ce. Fo r ex amp le, if all
s y llab les are s aid with lo w p itch ex cep t
for o n e s aid with h ig h p itch , th en th e
h ig h -p itch ed s y llab le will b e h eard as
s tress ed and th e o th ers as u n s tres s ed . To
p lace s o me m o v em ent o f p itch (e.g .
ris in g o r fallin g ) on a s y llab le is ev en
mo re effectiv e.
iv ) A s y llab le will ten d to b e p romin en t if it
con tain s a v o wel th at is d ifferen t in
qua lity fro m n eigh b ou rin g v o wels . If we
ch an g e o n e o f th e v o wels in o u r
"n o ns en s e wo rd " (e.g . ba:bi:bo :bo :) th e
"o d d " s y llab le bi: will tend to b e h eard
as s tres s ed . Th is effect is n o t v ery
p o werfu l n o r v ery imp o rtan t, b u t th ere is
o n e p articu lar way in wh ich it is relev an t
in Eng lis h : th e p rev io u s ch ap ter
exp lain ed ho w th e mo s t frequ en tly
en co un tered v o wels in weak s y llab les
are i , u , , an d a (s y llab ic co n s on an ts are
also q u ite co mmon ). We can lo o k o n
s tres s ed s y llab les as o ccu rrin g ag ain s t a
"b ackg rou nd " o f th es e weak s y llab les , s o
th at th eir p romin en ce is in creas ed b y
co n tras t with th es e b ack g ro n d q u alities .
Promin en ce, th en , is p rodu ced b y fou r
main facto rs : (i) loudn es s, (ii) len g th , (iii)
p itch and (iv ) q u ality . Gen erally th es e fou r
facto rs wo rk to g eth er in co mb in atio n , th o ugh
s y llab les may s o metimes b e mad e
p romin en t b y mean s o f o n ly o n e o r two o f
th em. Exp erimen tal wo rk h as s ho wn th at
th es e facto rs are n o t eq u ally imp o rtan t; th e
iii) M oi am t iet ht u t hanh deu dudc noi
d mot am vuc do nao do; am vu c
t rong ldi noi c6 moi quan he m at t hiet
voi t an s o' rung dong c ia c ac day
t hanh am v a v oi k hai niem not c ao
v a t hp t rong am nhac . Ve co ban n6
la dac diem nhan t h&c c ia loi noi.
N eu mot am t iet t rong "ta v6 nghia"
c da c hung t a duoc noi v oi mot am
v uc rat k hac v di am vl.fc c ua c ac; am
t i&t k hac t hl di&u nay s& c6 XU hu6'ng
m anh t ao ra k et qua n6i bat . Vi du,
neu t at ca ca c am t iet duoc noi voi
am vu c t hap ngoai t rd mot am t iet
duoc noi v oi am v ljc c ao t hl am t iet
c o am Vljc c ao s e nghe la dLl(J C nhan
va nhung am t iet c on lai k hong duoc
nhan. Eat m ot d on g th ai nao do c la
am v uc (v i du len c ao hay x uong t hap)
len m ot am t iet t ham c hi s e hieu qua
h dn .
iv ) M i?t am t iet c o k huy nh huong n6i bat
neu no c o c h?a m ot nguy en am m a
v m at c hat luong k hac v di cac
nguy en am lan c an. N eu ch ung t a
t hay d6i m i?t t rong s o c ac nguy en am
t rong "loi noi v o nghia" c da c hung t a
(v i du: ba :bi:ba :ba :) t hi nguoi t a c o
k huynh huong nghe am t ie't "k y 19"
bi: la dLIQc n han. Ke't qua nay k hong
m anh lam c ung k hong quan t rong lam ,
nhung c o m ot c ac h dac bit c o lien
quan t rong t ing Anh: c hlldng t rlldc
da giai t hic h ca c nguy en am t huong
gap nhat i, u, 1 v a a t rong c ac am tiet
y eu la nhu t he nao (cac ph1,1 am c o
am t ie' t ti nh c u ng k ha pho' bie' n).
C hung t a c o th€ x em k y c ac am t iet
duoc nhan x uat hi@n t rai v oi "nen" c la
c ac am t iet y eu nay , v l t he' Sl/ no' i
bat c da c hung gia t ang t rai nguoc v oi
nhung c hat lung nen nay .
Vay SI/ no'i bat duc;t c t ao ra bO'i bon
y eu t o c hinh: (i) di? Ion, (ii) d dai, (iii)
c uong dq va (iv ) c hat luc;, ng. N hln ch ung
b6n y eu t 6 nay c ung k et hp v oi nhau,
m ac du c ac am t iet d6i k hi duoc lam
n6i bat c hi do mt hoac hai t rong s o b6n
y eu t o d6. C ong c uoc t hi nghiem da c ha
t hay rang nhung y eu t o nay k hong quan
 1 25
s t ro n g es t effect i s p ro d u ced b y p it ch , an d •trong nhll nhau; ke't qua manh nhat duoc
l en g t h i s al s o a p o w erfu l fact o r. L o u d n es s tao ra boi cui ng do, va do dai cung la
an d q u alit y h av e mu ch l es s effect. yeu t6 manh. Do lon va chat luang co
ket qua kem hon nhieu hon.

10.2 Levels of stress 10.2 Cic cap d(> cua trQng am

U p t o t h i s p o i n t w e h av e t al k ed abou t
s t res s as t hou g h t h ere w as a s i mp l e
d i s t i n ct i o n b e t w e e n " s t re s s e d " an d
"u nst ress ed " s y llab l es w i t h no int ermed i at e
l ev els ; s u ch a t reat men t w o u l d b e a tw o -l ev el
an al y s i s o f s t res s . U s u ally , ho w ev er, w e h av e
t o recogn i s e on e o r mo re i n t ermed i at e l ev el s .
It s h o u l d b e rememb ered t h at i n t h i s ch ap t er
w e are d ealin g o n l y w ith s t res s wi t hin t h e
word; t h i s mean s t h at w e are l o o king at w o rd s
as t h ey are s ai d i n i s o l at i on , w h ic h i s a rat h er
art i fi ci al s i t u at i o n : w e d o no t o ft en s ay w o rd s
i n i sol at i o n, ex cep t fo r a few s u ch as 'y es ' ,
'n o ' . 'p o ss i b l y ', 'p l eas e' an d i n t erro g ati v e w o rd s
s u ch as 'w h at ' , ' w h o ', et c., How ev er l o ok i ng
at w o rd s i n i s o l a t i o n d o e s h e l p u s t o s e e s t re s s
p l acemen t an d s t res s l ev el s mo re cl earl y
t h an s t ud y i n g t h em i n t h e co n t ex t o f
con t i nuo u s s p eech .
L et u s b eg i n by l o o k i n g at t h e w o rd
'aro un d ' a 'ra ond, w h ere t h e s t res s alw ay s falls
cl early o n t h e l as t s y llab l e an d t h e fi rst
s y llabl e i s w eak . From the p o i n t o f v i ew o f
s t ress , t h e mo s t i mpo rt an t fact about t h e w ay
w e p ro n o u n ce t h i s w o rd i s t h at o n t h e s econd
s y llab l e t h e p i t ch o f t h e v o i ce d o es n o t
remai n l ev el , b u t u s u ally falls fro m a h i g h er
t o a l o w er p i t ch . W e mi g h t d i ag ram t h e p i t ch
mo v emen t as s h o w n b elo w , w h ere t h e t w o
p arallel l i n es rep res en t t h e s p eak er' s h i g h
an d l ow p i t ch l ev el :
C ho de'n thoi diem nay chung ta da
noi ve trong am nhu the co su phan biet
don gian gil a cac am tiet "duoc nhn"
va "kh6ng duc;,c nhan" ma kh6ng co cac
cap trung gian; slj nghien CULi nhl.f the'
goi la phan tich h ai cap trong am. Tuy
nhien, thuong thi chung ta phai nh3 ra
mot hoc nhieu cap trung gian. C an nho
rang trong chuong nay chung ta chl dang
de cap den trong am ben trong tt ; nghia
la chung ta dang xem xet cac tu khi
chung duoc noi rieng biet ma day la tlnh
huong gia tao: chung ta thuong kh6ng
noi cac tu rieng biet, ngoai trt doi voi
mqt so' tu nhll 'yes', 'no', 'possibly',
'please' va cac tu nghi van nhu 'what',
'who', v.v ... Tuy nhi n, viec xem xet cac
tu rieng biet se giup ta thay duoc cach
dat trong am va cap do trong am m<)t
each r6 rang hon so voi vi@c nghien cdu
chung trong tinh huong noi lien tuc.
C hung ta hay bat dau bang cach xem
W 'around' a 'ra ond, trong do r6 rang trong
am lu6n rdi vao am tiet cuoi va am tiet
du yeu. Tu quan diem ve trong am, su
that quan trong ve cach chung ta phat
am tt:I nay la o am tiet th& hai, cuong
d(> cua giong noi kh6ng con giL7 l,;1i cap
do ma thuong giam tut cuong do cao
xuong cui ng do thap hdn. C hung ta co
the ve s d d6 minh hoa dong thai cua
cLlong d6 nhu minh ho a duoi day, trong
do ha i duong song song tLlc;1ng trung cho
cap do cao va thap cua ngudi noi:

The prominence that results from this
pitch movement. or tone, gives the strongest
type of stress; this is called pri m a ry s tress .
In some words, we can observe a type of
stress that is weaker than primary stress but
stronger than that of the first syllable of
' around' ; for example, in the first syllables
of the words ' photographic' fa uta g rrefi k,
' anthropology' a n0 ra pl a3 i. The stress in
these words is called s eco nda ry s tress. It is
sometimes represented in transcription with
a low mark (,) so that the examples could be
transcribed as ,fa uta ' g rref1 k, ,ren8 ra ' pnlad3 i .
This convention will only be used where
necessary in this course.
We have now identified two levels of
stress: primary and secondary; this also
implies a third level which can be called
uns tres s ed and is regarded as being the
absence of any recognisable amount of
prominence. These are the three levels that
we will use in describing English stress.
However, it is worth noting that unstressed
syllables containing a, 1, i or u or a syllabic
consonant will sound less prominent than an
unstressed syllable containing some other
vowel. For example, the first syllable of
' poetic' pa u' ertk is more prominent than
the first syllable of ' pathetic' pa ' 8 ehk. This
could be used as a basis for a further division
of stress levels, giving us a third (" tertiary" )
and fourth level. It is also possible to suggest
a tertiary level of stress in some polysyllabic
words. To take an example, it has been
suggested that the word ' indivisibility'
shows four different levels: the syllable bTI
is strongest (carrying primary stress). the
initial syllable m has secondary stress, while
the third syllable v i z has a level of stress
which is weaker than those two but stronger
than the second. fourth, sixth and seventh
(which are all unstressed). Using the symbol
. to mark this tertiary stress. the word could
be represented like this: , m d1 . v 1 z1 bila ti .
While this may be a phonetically correct
account of some pronunciations, the
introduction of tertiary stress seems to
introduce an unnecessary degree of
complexity.
126
Su n6i bat la do dong thai cua cuong
do hay giong, tao ra loai trong am manh
nha't; diJu nay duqc g qi la trqng am
c h fn h .
d mot s6 tu , chung ta c6 the quan sat
mot loai trong am ye'u hon trqng am
chinh nhung manh hon trqng am cua am
tiet dj u tien trong tu 'around'; vi du, trong
am ti&t dau tien ci a tu 'photographic'
fa uta g rref1 k, 'anthropology' ren8 ra pnla3 i .
Trqng am trong cac W nay duoc goi la
trong am phu. Di khi n6 dudc phi @n
am voi mot du thap (,), vi the cac vi du
c6 the' dLiqc phien am la, ,fa uta ' g rref1 k,
,ren8 ra ' pnla d3 i. Qui Lide nay ch) dLl<;/c
dung o ch can thiet trong giao trinh nay.
Bay giu chung ta da xac dinh duoc
hai cap trqng am: chfnh va phu; dieu nay
cung ngu y rang cap do th@ ba c6 the
duoc goi la khong nhan va duqc xem la
thieu mot luong noi bat co the nhan biet.
Day la ba cap ma chung ta se dung de
mieu ta trong am nla tieng Anh. Tuy
nhien, dn luu y rang cac am khong
dLiqc nhan chua a, I, i ho;:_ic u, hoac mot
phu am co am tiet tinh se nghe co ve it
n6i bat hon mot am ti&t khong duoc nhan
c6 chua mqt nguyen am khac nao do.
Vi du, am tiet dau ti@n cl a 'poetic'
pa u' ertrk noi bat hon am tiet dau ti@n
cua 'pathetic' pa ' 8 ehk. Hien tliqng nay
c6 the duoc dung lam co so de phan chia
them cac cap dq trong am, cho chung ta
cap tht ba va th@ tu. Cung c6 the dJ
xuat cap tht ba cua trong am o m o t so
tt da am tiet. Lay vi du, nguoi ta nghi
rang tu 'indivisibility' cho thay bon ca'p
do khac nhau: am tiet bl manh nhat
(mang trqng am chinh), am tiet dau m
c6 trong am phu, trong khi am tiet thu
ba VIZ co mot cap trqng am yu hon hai
am tit d6 nhung manh hon am ti&t th@
hai, thu tLI, th(/ sau va th(t bay (ta't ca
deu khong duoc nhan). Bang each dCrng
ky hieu . de danh dau trong am thu ba
nay, W nay c6 the duoc trinh bay nhu
the nay: ,m dr.v zbl ti . Mac du day co
the la su mieu ta dung ve mat ngu am
cl a mot so cach phat am, nhung vi@c
gioi thieu trong am cap thu ba duang
 127
nhu gioi t hieu mot m dc do phdc t ap
k hong c an t hiet.

10.3 Placement of st ress within the 1 0 .3 Ca ch d~t trqng am trong m9t

word tu
We n o w co me to a q u es tio n th at cau s es a Bay gio c hung t a den v di mot c au
g reat d eal o f d ifficu lty , p articu larly to foreig n h o i v on gay nhieu k h6 k han, dac biet la
learners (wh o can n o t s imp ly d is mis s it as an v i ngudi hoc ngoai ngd (nhung ngudi
acad emic q u es tio n ): ho w can o n e s elect th e k h 6n g the don gian ban luan qua loa no
co rrect s y llab le o r s y llab les to s tres s in an nhu m ot c au hi s uong): Lam t he nao
Eng lis h wo rd? As is well k no wn , En g lis h is mqt nguoi c 6 t he' c hqn mqt hay nhiJ u
n o t o n e o f tho s e lan g u ag es wh ere wo rd s tres s am t it dung de nhan t rong m ot tu t ieng
can b e d ecid ed s imp ly in relatio n to th e Anh? N hu c hung t a da biet , t ieng Anh
s y llab les o f th e wo rd , as can b e do n e in k hong phai la m (>t t rong s o' c ac ng6n ng[t
Fren ch (wh ere th e las t s y llab le is u s u ally m a t rong am tu c6 t he duoc quy et dinh
s tress ed ), Po lis h (wh ere th e s y llab le b efore lien quan den c ac am t iet c ia tu , nhll
th e las t - th e p en u ltimate s y llab le - is t rong t ieng Phap (t rong d6 am t iet c uoi
u s u ally s tres s ed ) o r Czech (wh ere th e firs t t huong du@c nhan), t ieng Ba Lan (am t iet
s y llab le is u s u ally s tress ed ). Many writers dung t ruoc am t iet c uoi dugc nhan), Sec
h av e s aid th at En g lis h wo rd s tres s is s o (am t i&t dau duoc nhan). N hieu t ac gia
d ifficu lt to p red ict th at it is b es t to treat s tres s c lo rang trong am c a tu t ieng Anh qua
p lacemen t as a p rop erty o f th e ind iv id u al k h6 k hong t he doan t ruoc dugc c ho nen
wo rd , to b e learned wh en th e wo rd its elf is t ot nha' t la nen x em c ac h dat t rong am
learned . Certain ly an y on e wh o tries to nhu la mot ti nh c hat c ia tung tu , nen
an aly s e Eng lis h s tres s p lacemen t h as to hoc k hi hoc tu d6. C hae c han bat cCI ai
recog n is e th at it is a h igh ly co mp lex matter. c o gang phan ti c h c ac h dat t rong am
Ho wev er, it mus t als o b e reco g n is ed th at in t ieng Anh deu phai c ong nhan rang do
mos t cas es (th o u g h t certain ly no t all) wh en la v an de rat phCl c t ,;t p. T uy nhien, c ung
Eng lis h s p eak ers co me acros s an u n familiar phai c ong nhan rang o hau het ca c t ruing
wo rd , th ey can p ron o un ce it with th e co rrect hop (m ac du c hac c han k hong phai la
s tres s ; in p rin cip le, it s h o u ld b e p o s s ib le to t at ca), k hi ngudi noi t ieng Anh t lnh c o
d is co v er wh at it is th at th e Eng lis h s p eak er gap m ot t t la, ho c6 t he phat am n6 v oi
kn o ws an d to write in th e form o f rules . Th e t rqng am dung; t heo nguy en t ac , t a c o
follo win g s u mmary o f id eas o n s tres s t he k ham pha ra rang nhung nglloi 116 i
p lacemen t in n ou n s , v erb s an d ad jectiv es is t ieng Anh biet no la gi v a v iet no t heo
an attemp t to p res en t a few rules in th e dang ca c qui t ac. Phan t om I LI Q'c ca c
s imp les t p o s s ib le form. Nev erth eless, niem v e c ac h dat t rong am s au day o
p ractically all th e rules h av e ex cep tio n s an d c ac danh tu , dong t d v a ti nh tu la mot
read ers may feel th at th e rules are s o no luc de t rlnh bay m qt s o qui t ac t heo
co mp lex th at it wo u ld b e eas ier to g o b ack d ang t heo dang don gian nhat c 6 t he' .
to th e id ea o f learnin g th e s tres s for each T uy nhien, t r@n t huc t e t at ca ca c qui
wo rd in d iv idu ally . t ac du co nhdng t ruing hop ngoai le
v a ngLloi doc c6 the' ca m t hay rang ca c
qui ta c nay qua phCtc t c.lp c ha nen quay
lai y nghi la hoc t rqng am c ha m 6i tt'.t
rieng bi@t s e de dang hon.
In o rd er to d ecid e o n s tres s p lacemen t, it De quy et dinh c hon eac h dijt t rong
is n eces s ary to mak e u s e o f s o me o r all o f th e am , can phai s & dung mot s o hoac t at
follo win g in formation : ca t hong t in sau day :
 128
i) Whether the word is morphologically
simple, or whether it is complex as a result
either of containing one or more affixes
(that is, prefixes or suffixes) or of being a
compound word.
ii) What the grammatical category of the
word is (noun, verb, adjective, etc.).
iii) How many syllables the word has.
iv) What the phonological structure of those
syllables is.
It is sometimes difficult to make the
decision referred to in (i). The rules for
complex words are different from those for
simple words and these will be dealt with in
Chapter 11. Obviously, single-syllable words
present no problems - if they are
pronounced in isolation they are said with
primary stress.
Point (iv) above is something that should
be dealt with right away, since it affects many
of the other rules that we will look at later. It
is possible to divide syllables into two basic
categories: strong and weak. We saw in
Chapter 8 that one component of a syllable
is the rhyme. which contains the syllable
peak and the coda. A strong syllable has a
rhyme which either has a syllable peak which
is a long vowel o r diphthong, or a vowel
followed by a coda (that is, one o more
consonants). Weak syllables have a syllable
peak which is short vowel, and no coda unless
the syllable peak is the schwa vowel a or (in
some circumstances) ,. Examples of strong
syllables are:
'die' da, 'heart' ha:t
Examples of weak syllables (with
syllable divisions shown) are:
' re' trong ' reduce' n.dju:s ' bi' trong ' herbicide' h3:.h1.sa1d
' pen' trong ' open' au.pan
The important point to remember is that,
although we do find unstressed strong
syllables (as in the last syllable of 'dialect'
'darnlckt), only strong syllables can be
stressed. Weak syllables are always
unstressed. This piece of knowledge does
not by any means solve all the problems of
i) Ve mat hinh thai, xem tu la don gian
hay phtc tap vi ch (a mot hoac nhi&u
phu t6 (nghTa la tien t6 hay hau t6)
hay vl la rnc)t tu ghep.
ii) Pham tru ngd phap cda tu la gi (danh
tu, dong tCt, tinh tu, v.v.).
iii) Tu c6 bao nhieu am tiet.
iv) Cfo true am vi ci.ia nhO'ng am tiet d6
la gi.
86i khi th~t kh6 de dua ra quyet dinh
da duoc de cap & di&m (i). D6i vdi cac
W phCtc tc,1p, nhCtng qui tile nay khac voi
qui tac danh cho nhung tu don gian va
nhung qui tac nay se dudc de cap den d
chuong 11. Ro rang, cac tu don am ti&t
khong cho tha'y van d gi: neu chung
du;c phat am rieng biet thi chung duoc
n6i vdi trong am chinh.
8ie'rn (iv) o trn la mot dieu gi do
nen dli<Jc d~ cap ngay, vl 116 anh hu&ng
den nhieu qui tac khac ma chung ta se
xem xet sau. Ta c6 the chia cac arn tiet
thanh hai loai c o ban: manh va y eu. d
chuong 8 chung ta da thay rang mot thanh
phan cda mot am ti t la v a n. Van gm
co dinh am tiet va ket am. Mot am ti6t
manh co van ch(a dinh am ti@t la nguyen
am di hay nhi trung am, hoac m6t
nguyen am theo sau la ket am (nghTa la
mot hojc nhieu phu am). Cac am ti6t
yeu la mot nguyen am ngan va khong
co ket am tri:t khi dlnh arn tiet la nguyen
am schwa a hay (o mot so truing hop) 1.
Vi du ve cac am tiet manh la:
'bat' hret
Vi du ve cac am tiet yeu (vdi cac
each chia am tiet duoc minh hoa) la:
8iem quan trong can nho la, mac du
chung ta khong tlrn thay cac am tiet
manh khong dL!(Jc nhan (nhu trong am
tiet cuoi ci.ia W ' dialect' 'da,alekt), chl
nhung am tiet manh moi c6 the duoc
nhan. Cac am ti&t yeu luon luon khong
d uo c nhan. Tat nhien, ming kien thtc
 12 9
ho w t o p l ace E n gl i s h s tr ess, b u t i t d o es h el p
i n s o m e ca s es .
Two -sy lla ble wo rds
H ere t h e ch o i ce i s s t i ll s i mpl e: ei t h er t h e
fir s t o r t h e s eco nd s y llabl e w ill b e s t res s ed
- n o t b oth . W e w ill l o ok fir s t at v erb s . T h e
b as ic ru l e i s t h at i f t h e s eco n d s y llab l e o f t h e
v erb co n t ai n s a l on g v ow el o r d i phth o n g , i s
a s t ro n g s y llabl e, t h en t h at s eco n d s y llab l e
i s s t ress ed . Thus :
'ap ply ' ;,'pla1
'arri v e' ;,'raIV
If t h e fi n al s y llabl e i s w eek t h en t h e fi rs t
s y llab l e i s s t res s ed . T h u s :
'en t er' 'enfa
'env y ' 'envi
A fin al s y llab l e i s also u n st res s ed i f i t
con t ai n s ;,u (e.g . ' fo llo w ' 'fofau, ' b o rro w '
'bor;,u).
T w o -s y llab l e s i mp l e ad j ect i v es are
s t ress ed acco rd i n g t o t h e s ame, rul e, g iv i n g :
'l ov el y ' 'IAvli
'ev en ' 'i:vnI
'h o llow ' 'hol;,u
A s w i t h mo s t s t res s ru l es, t h ere are
ex cep ti o n s ; fo r ex amp l e ' h o n es t ' 'on1st
'p erfect ' 'p3:f1kt o r 'p3:fekt, b ot h o f w h i ch en d
w i t h s t ro n g s y llabl es b u t are s t res s ed o n t h e
fir s t s y llab l e.
N o un s requ i re a d i fferen t ru le : i f t h e
s eco nd s y llab l e co n t ai n s a s h o rt v o w el , t h en
t h e s t res s w ill u s u ally co me o n t h e fi rs t
s y llab l e. O t h erwi s e it w ill b e on t h e s econ d
s y llab l e.
'mon ey ' 'mani
'p ro du ct ' 'prodAkt
'l arynx ' 'lren!Jks
n ay k h on g g i ai qu y e't mo i v an d e v e cach
d at tron g m t i en g A nh , n h u n g n 6 h t u
ic h t ro n g mot s o truon g h c;1p .
gAU10, EX 3
Ca c tu hai a m tie't
d d ay s u lu a cho n v an co n do n g i an :
h o ac am t i et t h & n h at h o ac am t it tht
h ai s e d uo c n h an - k h on g p h i ca h ai.
T ru o c t i en chu n g t a s e x em x et cac d o n g
tu' . Q u y t ac Cd b an l a n u am t i et t h t
h ai cu a d on g tu la am t i et man h , th i am
t i et d o d u o c n h an . D o d o :
' attract' ;,'trrekt
' as s i st ' ;,'s1st
N eu am t i et cu o i y eu th i am t i &t d au
d u o c n h an . D o d o :
'op en ' ';,up;,n
'eq u al' 'i:kw;,J
A m t i et cu o i cuin g k h o n g d ug c n h an
n eu n o g m co au (v i d u : ' fo llo w ' 'fofau,
' b o rro w ' 'bor;,u).
Cac tin h tu d o n g i an c6 h ai am t i et
d u c;1c n h an t h eo q ui t fr t u on g t t! , v i d u :
'd ivin e' dr'vam
'co rrect ' k;,'rekt
'aliv e' ;,'laTV
G i o ng n h u v o i h u h et cac q u i t ac
t ro n g am, c6 n h an g t ru o n g h c;1p n g o ;;i i le;
v i d u : ' h o n es t ' 'omst, ' p erfect ' 'p3:f1kt
(ho ac 'ps:fekt), ca h ai tu n ay d eu k et t h i c
v 6'i cac am t i et man h n hu n g d uo c n h an
o am t it d au .
Cac d an h tu d o i h i mo t q u i t ac k h ac:
nu am t i et t h t h ai co mo t n g uy en am
n g an th i t ro n g am t h u n g s e ro i v ao am
t i et t h @ n h at. N g u g c l ai n o s e n am & am
t i et t h u h ai .
'es t at e' r'stert
'b allo o n ' b;,'lu:n
'd es i g n ' dr'zam

Other two-syllable words such as adverbs
and prepositions seem to behave like verbs
and adjectives.
Three-syllable words,
Here we find a more complicated picture.
In verbs, if the final syllable is strong, then it
will be stressed. Thus:
' entertain' enta'tem
If the last syllable is weak, then it will be
unstressed, and stress will be placed on the
preceding (penultimate) syllable if that
syllable is strong. Thus:
'encounter' •o'kaonta
If both the second and third syllable are
weak. then the stress falls on the initial
syllable:
'parody' 'preradi
Nouns require a slightly different rule.
Here. if the final syllable is weak, or ends
with ao, then it is unstressed; if the syllable
preceding this final syllable is strong, then
that middle syllable will be stressed. Thus:
'mimosa' m1'maoza
'potato' pa'te,teo
If the second and third syllables are both
weak. then the first syllable is stressed:
'quantity' 'kwnntati
' cinema' 's1nama
Most of the above rules show stress
tending to go on strong syllables. However,
three-syllable simple nouns are different.
Even if the final syllable is strong, the stress
will usually be placed on the first syllable.
The last syllable is usually quite prominent,
so that in some cases it could be said to have
secondary stress.
' intellect' 'mtalekt
'alkali' 'relkala,
130
C ac W hai am t iet k hac nhu c ac t rang
W va gioi tu duong nhu c ung giong nhu
d9ng tu v a tfnh tu.
Ca c tu ba am tie't
day c hung t a t hy mot hinh anh
phdc t ap hon. O c ac dong tu, neu am
t iet c uoi m anh thi no s e dudc nhan. D o
d 6:
'resurrect' reza'rekt
N eu am t it c uoi y eu thi n6 s e k h6ng
d u g c nhan, v a t rong am s e du o c dat len
am t iet dung t ruoc (ap c hot ) neu am t iet
d o m anh. D o do:
'determine' dr'ta:mmn
N eu ca am t iet t ht hai va t ht ba deu
y eu thl t r<;rng am roi v ao am t ie' t dJ u:
C ac danh tu doi hi m ot qui t ic k hac
mot c hit . } day , neu am t iet c u6i y eu
hoac t an c ung bang au, t hi n6 k hong
duqc nhan; neu am t ie't dung t rLtcrc am
t iet c u6i nay m anh, t hi am t iet git a do
s e duoc nhan. Vay :
'disaster' d1'zasta
' synopsis' s1'nops1s
N eu am t iet tht hai v a t ht ba ca hai
deu y eu t hi am t it dau duoc nhan:
'emperor' 'empara
' custody' 'kAstadi
H au het cac qui t ac & t ren deu c ho
t hay trong am c6 k huynh huong roi v ao
c ac am t iet m anh. T uy nhien, c ac danh
tu don gian b a am t iet t h] k hac . T ham
c hi neu am t iet c uoi m anh, t rong am
t huong s e duqc d;) t d am t ie't dJ u. Am
t iet c uoi t huong k ha n6i bat , v l t he t rong
mqt s o t ruc'lng hc;1p nguc'li t a noi no c o
t rong am phu.
' marigold' 'm::cngaold
'stalactite' 'strefokta,t
 131
Ad jectiv es s eem to n eed th e s ame rule,
to p rod u ce s tres s p atterns s u ch as :
'o p p o rtu n e ' upa tju:n
C ac tinh tu duong nhu dn mot qui
t.lc tlidng tu, tao ra cac mau trong am
chang han nhu:
' in s o len t' ' 1 ns a l a nt

' d erelict' ' dera hkt ' an th rop o id ' ' renllra p;nd

Th e abov e rules d o no t, o f cou rs e, co v er Di nhien, cac qui tac o tr@n khong

all Eng lis h wo rd s . Th ey ap p ly o n ly to majo r
categ o ries o f lex ical wo rd s (nou n s , v erb s an d
ad jectiv es in th is ch ap ter), no t to fun ctio n
wo rd s s u ch as articles and p rep o s itio n s . Th ere
is n o t eno u g h s p ace in th is co urs e to d eal
with s imp le wo rd s o f mo re th an th ree
s y llab les, n o r with s p ecial cas es o f lo an wo rd s
(wo rd s b rou g h t in to th e lang u ag e fro m o th er
lang u ag es co mp arativ ely recen tly ).
Co mp lex an d co mp o u n d wo rd s are d ealt with
in Ch ap ter 1 1 . On e p rob lem th at we mus t
als o leav e u n til Ch ap ter 1 1 is th e fact th at
th ere are man y cas es o f En g lis h wo rd s with
alternativ e p o ss ib le s tres s p atterns (e.g .
' con trov ers y ' as ~ith er ' k11ntra v 3 :s i o r
ka n' truv a s i ). Oth er wo rd s - which we will
lo o k at in s tud y in g co nn ected s p eech -
ch an g e th eir s tres s p attern acco rd ing to th e
con tex t th ey o ccur in . Ab o v e all, th ere is n o t
s p ace to d is cu s s th e many ex cep tion s to th e
ab o v e rules . Des p ite the ex cep tions, it s eems
b etter in man y way s to attemp t to p rodu ce
s o me s tres s rules (ev en if th ey are rath er
crud e an d in accurate) th an to claim th at th ere
is n o rule o r regu larity in Eng lis h wo rd s tress .
ap dung vao tat ca cac tu ting Anh.
C hung chi ap dung vao cac pham tru
chfnh cua cac tu mang nghia tu vung
(danh tu, d(ing tu va t/i,h tu trong chuong
nay), khong ap dung vao cac tu cht c
nang nhu mao tu va gioi tu. Trong giao
trlnh nay, khng co du ch6 cl€ ban ve
cac tu don gin co nhiu hon ba am tiet,
cung khong ban ve cac trui ng hop dac
biet cua nhang tu vay mLiQ'n (cac tu dLiQ'C
dua vao tieng Anh tu nhang ngon nga
khac trong thoi gian tuong doi gan day).
C ac tu phdc va ghep duac de cap o
chuong 11. M(it van de ma chung ta cling
phai de lai cho den chuong 11 la trong
nhi€u truong hQ'p cac tu tie'ng Anh c6
the co cac mo hlnh trong am khac (vi
du: 'controversy' la 'ko ntra v 3 :s i ho,1 c
ka n' trv a s i ). C ac tu khac - chung ta se
xem xet khi nghien ct u noi am
(connected speech) - thay do'i mo hlnh
trong am cl a chung theo ngt canh chung
xuat hi@n. Tren het , khong c6 ch6 de
ban ve nhieu truong hop ngoai le cda
nhang qui tac o tren. M,1c du co cac
trui ng hop ngoai le, phuong dien theo
nhieu cach viec tao ra m o t so qui tac
trong am (tham chi neu chung khong bin
cach va khong chinh xac) tot hon la phan
nan rang khong co quy tac hay quy cu
no o trong am cua tt tie'ng Anh.

Notes on problems and f urther reading

Th e s ub ject o f En g lis h s tres s h as receiv ed a larg e amo un t o f atten tio n , an d th e referen ces
g iv en h ere are o n ly a s mall s electio n fro m an eno rmo u s n u mb er. As I imp lied in th e n o tes o n
th e p rev io u s ch ap ter, in co rrect s tres s p lacemen t is th e majo r cau s e o f in tellig ib ility p rob lems
for foreig n learners , and is th erefore a s u bject th at n eed s to b e treated v ery s erio us ly .
10. 1 I h av e d elib erately av o id ed u s ing th e term accent, wh ich is found wid ely in th e
literatu re o n s tress . Th is is for th ree main reas o n s :
(i) It in creas es th e co mp lex ity o f th e d es crip tio n withou t, in my v iew, co n trib u ting mu ch to
its v alu e.
 132
(ii) Different writers do not agree with each other about the way the term should be used.
(iii) The word 'accent' is used elsewhere to refer to different varieties of pronunciation (e.g.
"a foreign accent"); it is confusing to use it for a quite different purpose to a lesser
extent we also have this problem with the word 'stress', which can be used to refer to
psychological tension.

There is a good discussion of the confusing nature of the terms 'stress' and ' accent' in
Clark and Yallop (1995: 41-2). Their Section 9.6 on stress in English (pp. 348-57) is a useful
summary. For a review of the production and perception of stress, see Laver (1994: 512-17).
10.2 On the question of the number of levels of stress, in addition to Laver (1994: 516).
see also Wells (2000).

10.3 It is said in this chapter that one may take one of two positions. One is that stress is
not predictable by rule and must be learned word by word (see, for example, Jones 1975:
Sections 920-1 ). The second (which I prefer) is to say that, difficult though the task is, one
must try to find a way of writing rules that express what native speakers naturally tend to do
in placing stress (while acknowledging that there will always be a substantial residue of
cases which appear to follow no regular rules). A very thorough treatment is given by Fudge
(1984). More recently, Giegerich (1992) has presented a clear analysis of English word
stress (including a useful explanation of strong and weak syllables) that is well worth reading;
see p. 146 and Chapter 7.

There is another approach to English stress rules which is radically different. This is
based on generative phonology, an analysis which was first presented in Chomsky and
Halle ( 1968) and has been followed by a large number of works exploring the same field. To
anyone not familiar with this type of treatment, the presentation will seem difficult or even
unintelligible: within the generative approach, many different theories, all with different
names. tend to come go with changes in fashion. The following paragraph is an attempt to,
summarise the main characteristics of basic generative phonology, and recommends some
further reading for those interested in learning about it in detail.
The level of phonology is very abstract in this theory. An old-fashioned view of speech
communication would be that what the speaker intends to say is coded or represented
as a string of phonemes just like a phonemic transcription. and what a hearer hears is also
converted by the brain from sound waves into a similar string of phonemes. A generative
phonologist, however, would say that this phonemic representation is not accurate; the
representation in the brain of the speaker or hearer is much more abstract and is often quite
different from the ' real' sounds recognisable in the sound wave. You may hear the word
'football' pronounced as fUpb:l, but your brain recognises the word as made up of ' foot' and
'ball' and interprets it phonologically as fotb:l. You may hear a in the first syllable of
'photography' , in the second syllable of 'photograph' and in the third syllable of 'photographer' ,
but the brain recognises links between these a vowels and an, and a respectively, and
supplies the underlying vowels. In speaking. underlying segments may be realised as different
sounds as the stress pattern changes. These vowel changes are brought about by rules - not
the sort of rules that one might teach to language learners, but more like the instructions
that one might build into a machine or write into a computer program. According to Chomsky
and Halle, at the abstract phonological level words do not possess stress; stress (of many
different levels) is the result of the application of phonological rules, which are simple
enough in theory but highly complex in practice. The principles of these rules are explained
first on pp. 15-43 of Chomsky and Halle (1968), and in greater detail on pp. 69-162.
 133
T h ere i s a cl ear an d t h o ro u gh i n t ro d u cto ry acco un t o f g en erat i v e p h o no log y i n Cl ark
an d Y allo p ( 1 9 95 : Ch ap t er 5 ), an d t h ey p res en t a b ri ef accoun t o f t h e g en erat i v e t reat men t
o f s t res s o n p p . 3 5 5 -7 . A b ri efer rev i ew i s g i v en i n K at amb a (1 9 8 9: Ch ap t er 1 1 , Sect i o n l ).
No t es for tea chers
It s h o u l d b e cl ear fro m w h at i s s ai d ab ov e t h at fro m t h e p u rel y p ract i cal cl as s ro o m p o i n t
o f v i ew , expl ai n i n g E n g lis h w o rd s t res s in t erms o f g en erat i v e p h o n o log y co u l d w ell creat e
con fu s i o n fo r l earn ers . Fi n d i n g p ract ic e an d t es t i ng mat eri al fo r w o rd s t ress i s v ery s i mp l e:
an y mo d ern Eng lis h d i ct i o n ary w ill s h o w w o rd s t res s p attern s as p art o f w o rd en t ri es , an d
lis t s o f t h es e can b e mad e ei t h er w i t h s t res s mark s fo r s t u d en t t o read fro m (as i n E x erci s e 2
o f T ap e U ni t 10), o r w it h o u t s t res s mark s fo r s tu d en t s t o p u t t h ei r o w n mark s o n (as i n
E x erci s e 1 o f t h e s ame A u d i o Uni t ).

Writ t en ex ercises (ma inly for Ba i tap v iet (cha yeu danh cho ho c
fo reig n lea rners) v i@n nuo c ng o a i)
Mark t h e s t res s o n t h e fo llowin g w o rd s : D anh dau t rong am o c ac tu s au day:
1 . v erb s 1. D ong tu
a) p ro t ect e) b ellow

b) cl amb er f) men ace

c) fes toon g) d is co n n ect

d) d et es t h) en t eri ng

2 . n oun s 2. D a nh tt
a) l an g u ag e e) ev en t

b) cap t ai n f) j o n q u il

e) career g) i nj u ry

d) p ap er h) co n n ecti o n

(N at i v e s p eak ers o f E ng l i s h s h ou l d (H oc vien ban ngd phi phi@n am theo

t ran s cri b e t h e w o rd s p hon emi cally as w ell am vi c ung nhu ghi dau nhan).
as mark i ng s t res s .)
 134

CHUONG 11

affi x / 'efrk s / (n) phu to

co mp l ex w o rd /'k n mp l ek s ' w 3 : d / tu phric
co n s t itu en t / b n ' s t 1 tj u : mt / (n ) thanh to, thanh phan
en cou n t er / rn ' k au n t :i/ ( v) gi,ip phdi
i n q u es t i o n / rn ' k w estJan / dang dugc xet den
i n it i al IT ' mj1/ (adj ) kht i ddu, a ddu mot tt
n atu re/ ' n eTtJa/ (n ) t[nh chiit, hdn chat
p refi x / ' p ri : fT ks / (n ) tin t6, ti @ p ddu ngit
p ro d u ct i v e / p ro ' d x k trv / (ad j ) tr;.o sinh
p ropo rt i o n / p ra' p : [n / (n ) ty le
regu l arit y / regju l a: ratT/ tinh ph6 bien, thumng xuyen
ro o t / ru : t / (n ) can to: tu ct'in
s ak e-> fo r t h e s ak e o f / fa aa ' s e1 k av / d i d11(1 C
s t e m I s t e m / (n ) tit goc, tt can, than tt
s u ffi x / ' s A fT ks / (n ) hau to, tie v i ng@

t reat men t / ' tri : t man t / (n ) sf!/cdch it l

 135
11 Complex word stress
1 1 Trgng
11.1 Co mplex wo rds
In Ch ap ter 10 th e n ature o f s tres s was
exp lain ed an d s o me b road g en eral rules
were g iv en for d ecid in g which s y llab le in a
wo rd s h o u ld receiv e p rimary s tres s . Th e
wo rd s th at were d es crib ed were called
"s imp le" wo rd s ; "s imp le" in th is con tex t
mean s "n o t co mp o s ed o f mo re th an o n e
g rammatical u n it" , s o th at, for ex amp le, th e
wo rd ' care' is s imp le wh ile 'careful' an d
' careles s ' (b ein g co mp o s ed o f two
g rammatical u n its each ) are co mp lex ;
'carefu lly ' and ' careles s n ess ' are als o co mp lex ,
and are co mpo s ed o f three g rammatical u n its
' each . Un fortun ately, as was s u g g es ted in th e
Ch ap ter 10, it is o ften d ifficu lt to d ecid e o n
wh eth er a wo rd s h o u ld b e treated as co mp lex
o r s imp le. Th e majo rity o f Eng lish wo rd s o f
mo re th an o n e s y llab le (po l y s y lla bi c w o rds )
h av e co me fro m o th er lan g u ag es wh o s e way
o f co n s tructin g wo rd s is eas ily reco g n is ab le;
for ex amp le, we can s ee h o w co mb in in g 'mit'
with th e p refix es 'p er-', ' s ub -' , ' co m-' p ro d u ced
'p ermit' , ' s u b mit' , 'co mmit' , wo rd s wh ich h av e
co me in to Eng lis h fro m Latin . Similarly ,
Greek h as g iv en u s 'catalo g u e', ' an alo g u e' ,
'd ialo g u e' , ' mo n o lo gu e', in wh ich th e p refix es
'cata-', ' an a-' , 'd ia-', ' mo no -' are recog n is ab le.
Bu t we can no t au to matically treat th e
s ep arate g rammatical u n its o f o th er
lan gu ag es as s ep arate g rammatical u n its o f
Eng lis h ; If we d id , we wo u ld n o t b e ab le to
s tu d y Eng lis h mo rph o log y witho u t firs t
s tud y in g th e mo rph o lo g y o f fiv e o r s ix o th er
lan g u ag es , an d we wo u ld b e forced in to
rid icu lou s an alys es s u ch as th at th e En g iis h
wo rd 'p arallelep ip ed ' is co mp o s ed o f fou r o r
fiv e g rammatical u n its (wh ich is th e cas e in
' An cien t Greek ). We mus t accep t, th en , th at
th e d is tin ctio n b etween " s imp le" an d
"co mp lex " wo rd s is d ifficu lt to d raw, an d is
th erefore n o t alway s u s eful.
am c ua tu phuc tap
1 1 .1 Ca c tu phuc tap
Chuong 10 da giai thich ban chat cl a
trc;rng am va neu mot so qui ti c ph6 bien
rong rai de quyet dinh am tiet nao trong
mc)t W nen nh~n trong am chinh. Cac tt
da duo·c mieu ta dLlc;IC goi la w "don gian";
"don gian" trong ngu canh nay c6 nghia
la "khong dugc cau tao tr nhieu hon mot
ddn vi ngu phap", vl the, vi du nhu tu
'care' la tu ddn gian trong khi 'careful'
va 'careless' (m6i w du'(JC cau t<)O w hai
ddn vi ngd phap) la tu phuc tap;
'carefully' va 'carelessness' ding la tu
pht c tap va duoc cau tao tu ba don vi
ngd phap. Khong may la, nhu da d cap
o chuong 10, thuong thi that kho quyet
dinh m o t tu nen duoc xem la tu phuc
tap hay don gian. Da so cac tu tieng Anh
co nhieu hon mot am tiet (ca c tu da a m
ti et) d@u bat nguon tu nh@ng ngon ngd
khac v6n c6 cach cau tao tu de dang
nhn biet; vi du, ta c6 the thay vi@c ket
hop 'mit' voi cac tien to 'per-', 'sub-',
'com-' von bi t ngu6n tu tie'ng Latin da
tao ra tu 'permit', 'submit', 'commit' nhu'
the nao. Tu'dng tu, tieng Hy Lap cho ta
ca.c W 'catalogue', 'analogue', 'dialogue',
'monologue', trong d6 cac tien to 'cata­
', 'ana-', 'dia-', 'mono-' de dang dudc
nhan biet. Nhung chung ta khong the tu
d9ng xeni cac don vi ngd phap rieng cda
nhung ngon ngu khac la cac don vi ngCI
phap ri ng cda tieng Anh. Ne'u chung ta
lam vay thi chung ta khong the nghien
.cuu hinh thai hoc ci a tieng Anh ma truoc
ti@n khong can phi nghien ct u hinh thai
hoc cda nam hay sau ngon ngt khac,
chung ta buoc phi phan tich v6 ly chang
han nhu' tu tieng Anh 'parallellepiped'
du'(JC ca'u tao tu 6611 hoac nam Odil vi
ngd phap (day la trui ng hop trong ting
Hy Lap co). Vay thi chung ta phai chap

Co mp l ex w o rd s are o f t w o maj o r t yp es :
i ) w o rd s mad e fro m a b as i c w o rd fo rm (w hich
w e w i ll call t h e s tem ), w i t h t h e ad d i ti o n
o f an a ffi x ; and
i i) comp ou n d words, w h i ch are mad e o f t w o
(o r o ccas i on ally mo re) i n d ep en d en t
E ng lis h w o rd s (e.g . ' i ce-cream', 'armch ai r' ).
W e w ill l o o k fi rs t at t h e w o rd s mad e w i t h
affi x es . A ffi x es are o f t w o s o rt s i n E ng lis h :
prefix es , wh i ch co me b efo re t h e s t em (e.g .
p refi x 'u n -' + s t em ' p l eas an t'-> 'u n pl eas an t ' )
an d s uffi x es, w hi ch co me aft er t h e s t em ( e.g .
. s t em 'g ood ' + s u ffi x ' -n es s ' 'g oo d n ess ).
A ffi x es h av e o n e o f t h ree p o ss i b l e effect s
o n w o rd s t re s s :
i ) T h e affi x i t s el f recei v es t h e p ri mary
s t ress (e.g . 's emi -' + 'ci rcl e' s a :kl -->
l;
's emi ci rcl e' 's em 1 s a : ' p ers o n ' 'pa :s ~
'p ers o n alit y ' pa :s ~ 'rel a ti).
ii) T h e w o rd i s s t ress ed j u s t as i f t h e affi x
w ere n o t t h ere (e.g . ' p l eas an t' 'pl eznt,
' un p l eas an t ' A n' pl eznt; 'mark et ' m a :kTt,
'mark et i ng ' m a :k1 tJ g )
i ii ) Th e s t res s remai n s o n t h e s t em, n o t t h e
affi x, b u t i s s hi ft ed t o a d i fferen t s y llabl e
(e.g . ' magn et ' 'm reg na t, ' mag n eti c'
m reg ' neti k).
11.2 Suffixes
T h ere are s o man y s u ffi x es t h at it w ill
o n ly b e p o ss i b l e h ere t o ex ami n e a s mall
p ro p o rti on o f t h em; w e w ill con cen t rat e on
t ho s e w h i ch are co mmo n an d pro ducti v e
(t h at i s, are app lied t o a co n s i d erabl e n u mb er
o f s t ems an d cou l d b e ap p lied t o mo re t o
mak e n ew En g lis h w o rd s ). In t h e cas e o f t h e
o th ers , fo rei g n l earn ers w o ul d p ro b ab l y b e
b etter adv i s ed t o l earn t h e 's t em + affi x '
co mb i n at i o n as an i n d i v i d u al i t em.
136
nhan rang rat kh6 d e dua ra su khac biet
gil a cac tu "don gian" va "pht c tap" va
su khac biet do khong phai luc nao cung
huu fch.
Cac tu pht c tap thuoc hai loai chinh:
i) cac tu dugc tao ra tu mot dang tu co
b an (dang ma chung ta goi la go'c
tu ), c:6 them m9t p h y to'; va
ii) cac tu gh e p , duoc tao ra tu' hai (doi
khi nhieu hon) tt tieng Anh doc lap
(vi du: 'ice-cream', 'armchair').
Tntac tien chung ta se xem cac tu
dudc tao ra voi cac phu to. Trong tie'ng
Anh, cac phu t6 thuoc hai loai: tien t6,
dung truoc goc tu (vi du ti&n to 'un-' +
goc W 'pleasant' --> 'unpleasant') va h ~u
to, dung sau goc tu vi du: goc W 'good'
+ h~u toe -ness' --> 'goodness').
1
C ac phu to co the' co ba anh huang
len trong am ca tr:
i) Ban than phu to nhan trong am chinh
(vi du: 'semi-' + 'circle' 's a :kl -->
'semicircle' 's em 1 s a :l ; 'person' 'pa:s ~
'personality' pa :s frelati ).
ii) Tu duqc nhan giong nhu the' khong
co phu t6 d d6 (vi du: 'pleasant'
' pl eznt, 'unpleasant ' A n' pl eznt;
'market' m a :k1 t, 'marketing' m a :kTtJ o l.
iii) Trong am van d tr@n goc tut, khong
phi phu to, nhung duoc doi den mot
am tiet khac (vi du: 'magnet' 'm reg na t,
'magnetic' m reg ' nehk).
11.2 Hau t6
C 6 nhi@u h~u t 6 den n6i d day chl c6
the' xem xet mot phcin nho cua chung;
chung ta se tap trung vao nhmng hau to
pho bien va h u u (ch (nghia la duoc ap
dung vao mot s6 luqng dang ke' cac geic
tu va c6 the' dugc ap dung vao nhieu tu
hon de tao thanh nhang tu mdi trong tieng
Anh). Trong trl/ong hqp cua nhung tu
khac, co le nhung nguoi hQc ngoc1- i ngu
nen hoc each ke't hqp 'g6c W + plw to''
n hu mot muc rieng.
 137
O n e o f t h e p ro b l ems t h at w i ll b e
en co u n t ered i s t h at w e may fi n d w o rd s w h i ch
are o bvi o u s l y co mp l ex b u t w h i ch , w h en w e
d i v i d e t h em i n t o s t em + affi x , t u rn o u t t o
h av e a s t em t h at i s d i ffi cu lt t o i mag i n e as an
E n g li s h w o rd . Fo r ex amp l e, t h e w o rd
' aud aci ty ' s eems t o b e a co mp l ex wo rd -
b u t wh at i s i t s s t em? Anoth er p ro bl em i s t h at
i t i s . d i ffi cu l t i n s o me cas es t o kno w w h et h er
a wo rd h as o n e, o r mo re t h an o n e, s u ffi x (e.g .
s h o u ld w e an al y s e ' p ers o n alit y ' , fro m t h e
p oint o f v i ew o f s t res s as sign men t, as pa s n +
rel;,ti o r as p3 :s n + rel + ;,ti?). In t h e s t u d y o f
E n g lis h w o rd fo rmat i on at a d eep er le v el t h an
w e can g o i n t o h ere, it i s n eces s ary fo r s u ch
reas o n s t o d i s t i n g u i s h b etw een a s t em (w hich
i s w h at remain s w h en affi x es are remo v ed ),
an d a root, w h ic h i s t h e s mallest pi ece o f
l ex ic al mat eri al t h at a s t em can b e redu ced
t o . So , i n 'p ers o n al it y ' , w e co u l d s ay t h at t h e
suff "ix '-it y ' i s attach ed t o t h e ste m 'p ers o n al'
w hich co n t ain s t h e root 'p ers o n ' . W e w ill no t
s p en d mo re t i me h ere on l o o k i n g at t h es e
p ro b le ms, b u t g o o n t o l ook at s o me
g en eralis at i o n s ab o u t s u ffi x es an d s t res s ,
u s i n g o nly t h e t erm ' s t em' fo r t h e s ak e o f
s i mp l i ci t y . Th e s u ffi x es are referred t o i n
t h ei r s p elli n g fo rm.
Suf fi xes carrying primary str ess
themselves
In t h e ex amp l es g i v en , w h ic h s eem t o b e
t h e mo s t co mmo n , t h e p ripiary s t res s i s o n
t h e fi rs t s y llab l e o f t h e s u ffi x . If t h e s t em
cons i st s o f mo re t h an o n e s y llabl e t h ere w ill
b e a s eco n d ary s t res s o n o n e o f t h e s y llab l es
o f t h e s t em. T h i s can n o t fall o n t h e l as t
s y llab l e o f t h e s t em an d is , i f n ecess ary ,
mo v ed t o an earl i er s y llab l e. Fo r ex amp l e,
i n 'Ja p an ' d3a'pen t h e p ri mary s t res s i s o n
t h e l as t s y llab l e, b u t w h en w e ad d t h e s t ress ­
carry i n g s u ffi x ' -es e' t h e p ri mary s tr es s i s on
t h e s u ffi x an d t h e s eco nd ary s t res s i s p l aced
n o t o n t h e s eco nd s y llab l e b u t o n t h e fi rs t:
'Jap an es e' ,d3apa'ni:z.
Mqt t ro n g n h an g v an d e s e g ap l a
ch u n g t a c6 t h e t h ay n h mng tu r6 ran g l a
p h u c t q p n h u n g , k h i chu n g t a ch i a ch u n g
t h an h g o c tu + p h u t o t h l h 6 a ra chu n g
co mot g o c tu ma t a k h 6 t t fong t L(Q'n g d 6
l a tu t i en g A n h . V i d u : t u ' au d aci t y ' c6
v e n hu l a mQ t tu p h t c t ap n h u ng d au l a
g o c tu cu a n 6 ? MQ t v an d e k h ac l a t ro n g
mo t s o t ru i n g h o p t h at k h 6 b i et d ug c mot
tu co mo t h ay n h i eu h o n mot h au t o (v i
d 1_1: tu q u an d i em v e cach d at t ro n g am,
ch u n g t a co n en ph an tich ' p ers o n al i t y '
l a pa s n + relati h ay la pa :s n +rel + ati?) K h i
n g h i en cu u cach th an h l ap tu tien g A n h
o cap do s au h o n cap d Q ch un g t a x em
x et o d ay , v i n h u n g ly d o n hu t h e d n
p h ai p h an b i @t g i l a mo t g o c tu (l a p h an
co n l ai k h i l o ai b p h u t 6 ) v a g o c (l a
p h an n h o n h at cl a t ai l i eu tu v u n g ma
mo t g o c tu c6 the g i an l u g c t h an h . V ay ,
t ro n g t u ' p ers o n ali ty ' , ch u n g t a c6 th € n 6 i
ran g h a u t6 ' -ity ' d u c g an v ao g o c tt
' p e rs o n a l ' ch d a g o c ' p e rs o n ' . O d a y
chu n g t a s e k h o n g d an h n h i eu th o i g i an
de x em x et n h u n g v an d e n ay , m a s e
t i ep t i c x em mot s 6 d i eu t o n g qu at v e
h au t o v a t ro n g am, d€ d o n g i an ch i d un g
t h u at n g d ' g 6 c tu'. Cac h u t 6 d u o;c d e
cap o d an g ch i n h t a cd a chu n g .
gA U 7 , EX 3
Ca c hau t c6 sin trqng a m ch in h
T ro ng cac v i d u d u ; c cho , d uong n hu
p h 6 bin n h at, t ro n g am ch i n h n am o
am t i et d au t i en cu a h au t o . N eu g o c tt
c6 h o n mot am t i et t h i s e co mQ t t rQ n g
am p h v a mQ t t ro ng s o cac am t i &t cl a
g o c tt d 6 . T rQ n g am n ay k h on g t h € ro i
v ao am t i et cu o i cd a g o c tu v a n eu can ,
n o d u g c d i d en am t i et p h i a t ru ck . V i
d u , t ro n g tu ' J ap an ' d3a'pan, am t i et
ch i n h n am o am t i e t c u 6 i , n h u n g k h i
c h u n g t a t h e m h a u t o m a n g t ro n g a m
' -e s e ' t h i t ro n g a m c h i n h n a m & h u t o
v a t r o n g a m p h u du o c d a t k h o n g p h a i o
am t i et t h t h ai ma o am t i et t h & n h at:
'J ap an es e' ,d3apa'ni:z.
 138
• ' -ee': 'refu g ee' ,refju'd3:: 'ev acu ee' 1,vrekju'i:
' -eer': 'mou n tain eer' ,maunh'ma; 'v o l~n teer' , vnlan'lTa
I
• '-es e' : 'Po rtu gu es e' ,p:,:tJa'gi:z; 'jou rnales e' , dJ3:nl'i:z
• '-ette' : 'cig arette' ,s1gi;'et; ' laun d erette' ,b:nd~et
• '-es qu e': 'p ictu res q u e' ,pktfr'esk

~·uffixes that do not af f ect st ress Cac hau to khong anh huong de'n
placement cach dat trong am
• ' -ab le' : 'co mfort' 'kAmfat; 'co mfortab le' 'kAmftabi
• '-ag e' : 'an oho r' 'aenka; ' an ch o rag e' 'ankarrd3
• '-al': 'refus e' (v erb ) n'fjuz; 'refus al' n'fju:z!
• '-en ' : 'wid e' ward; 'wid en ' 'wardn
• ' -ful' : 'wond er' 'wAnda; 'wond erfu l' 'wAvdaft
'-in g ' : ' amaze' a'me1z; 'amazing ' a'me1z10
• '-is h' : 'd ev il' 'devl ; 'd ev ilis h ' 'devhf

(Th is is th e rule for adjectiv es ; v erb s with (Day la q u y tac d an h ch o cac tin h tu;
s tems o f mo re th an o n e s y llab le alway s h av e cac d on g tt co cac g o c tu n h ieu h o n
th e s tres s o n th e s y llab le immed iately mot am tiet lu o n co tro n g am n am & am
p reced in g 'is h ' , e.g . ' rep len is h ' n'plemJ, tiet d u n g n g ay tru o c ' is h ' , v i d u : ' rep len is h '
'd emo lis h ' dr'mhf.) n'plemJ, ' d emo lis h ' d11mnhJ.)
'-lik e' : 'b ird ' 'b3:d; 'b ird lik e' 'b3:dla1k
• '-les s' : 'p o wer' 'paua; 'po werles s ' 'paualas
• '-ly': 'tu rried 'hAnd; 'h urried ly ' 'hurdli
• ' -men e' (no u n ): 'p u n is h ' 'pAmJ; 'pu n is h men t'. 'pAmJmant
• 1
-n ess ': ' y ello w' 'jelau; 'y ello wn es s ' 'jelaunas
• '-o u s ': 'po is on ' 'przn; 'p o is ono u s ' 'prznas
• '-fy ' : 'g lo ry ' 'gb:ri; 'g lo ri[y ' 'gb:nfa1
' -wis e' : ' o th er' 'Ada; ' o th erwis e' 'A0NWa1z
' -y ' (adjectiv e o r no u n ): 'fu n ' 'fAn; 'fu nny ' 'fAni
g AUl 1, EX 3
Suffixes that infl uence stress in the Cac hau to anh hu ng den trong am
st em trong go'c tu
In th es e ex amp les p rimary s tres s is o n Tran g cac v f d u n ay , tron g am ch fn h
th e las t s y llab le o f th e s tem . n am & am tit cu 6 i cia g o c tt.

• ' -eo u s' : 'adv an tag e' ad'vo:ntTdJ; ' ad v an tag eo u s ' ,redvan'te1d3as
.' -g raph y': 'pho to ' 'fautau; 'p ho to g rap h y ' fa'tografi
'ial': 'p rov erb ' 'prva:b; 'p rov erb ial' pro'vs:biol
 139
' -io n ' : 'climate' 'kla,mit; ' climatic' kla1'mret1k
'-ion ' : ' p erfect' 'pa:f1kt; ' p erfectio n ' pa'fekJ'}
'·-io u s ': ' inju re' 'md3a; 'inju rio u s ' m'd3J:rias
' -ty': 'tran q u il' 'tngkwil; ' tran q u illity ' trreo'kwdati
' -iv e': 'reflex ' 'ri:leks; 'reflex iv e' n'fleks1v
Fin ally , wh en th e s u ffix es ' -an ce' , '-an t'
an d ' -ary ' are attach ed to s ing le-s y llab le
s tems, th e s tres s is almo s t alway s p laced o n
th e s tem. Wh en th e s tem h as mo re th an o n e
s y llab le, th e s tres s is o n o n e o f th e s y llab les
in th e s tem. To exp lain th is we n eed to u s e a
rule b as ed on s y llab le s tructu re, as was d o n e
for s imp le wo rd s in th e p rev io u s ch ap ter. If
th e fin al s y llab le o f th e s tem is s tro n g, th at
s y llab le receiv es th e s tress . Fo r ex amp le:
'impo rtan ce' mm'p:tns; 'cen ten ary ' sen'ti:nri.
Oth erwis e th e s y llab le b efore th e las t o n e
receiv es th e s tress : ' in h eritan ce' 1n'her1fans;
' military ' 'm1htri.
11.3 Prefixes
We will o n ly d eal b riefly with p refix es .
Th eir effect o n s tres s d o es n o t h av e th e
co mp arativ e reg u larity, ind ep en d en ce an d
p red ictab ility o f s u ffix es , an d th ere is no
p refix o f o n e o r two s y llab les th at alway s
carries p rimary s tres s . Co n s eq u en tly, th e b es t
treatmen t s eems to b e to s ay th at s tres s in
wo rd s with p refix es is g ov erned by th e s ame
rules as tho s e for wo rd s with o u t p refix es .
.,
11.4 Compound words
th e word s d is cu s s ed s o far in this ch ap ter
h av e all cons is ted o f a s tem p lu s an affix . We
n o w p as s o n to an o th er typ e o f wo rd . Th is is
, called co mp o und , an d its main ch aracteris tic
is th at it can_ b e an aly s ed in to two wo rd s , bo th
o f wh ich can ex is t ind ep end en tly as Eng lis h
wo rds . (So me co mpou n d s are mad e o f mo re
th an two wo rd s , b u t \v e will, n o t con s id er
th es e.) As with man y o f th e d is tin ctio n s b eing
mad e in con n ection with s tres s , th ere are
areas o f u n certain ty . Fo r ex amp le, it cou ld
b e arg u ed th at 'p h o tog rap h ' may b e d iv id ed
Cu 6 i cmn g , k h i cac h au to ' -an ce' , ' -an t'
v a ' -ary ' d u o c g an v ao cac g 6 c tu d o n
am tiet, tron g am h au n h u lu c n ao cu n g
d at len g o c tu. Kh i g 6 c tu co h o n mot
am ti&t, tro n g am n am o mot tron g s o
cac am tiet tron g g 6 c tu d o . 0 € g iai th ich
d ieu n ay , chu n g ta can d un g mot qu y
tac d u a tren cau tru c am tiet, gio n g n hu
d 15'i v o i cac tu d o n g in tron g ch l.id n g
tru o c. Neu am ti&t cu o i cla g o c tu man h
th i am ti@t d o n h an tro n g am. Vi d u :
' imp ortan ce' 1m'pJ:tns; ' cen ten ary '
sen'ti:nri. Ng u o c lai, am tie' t d u n g truo c
am tiet cu o i n h an tro n g am: ' in h eritan ce'
m'hentans; ' military ' 'm1htri.
11.3 Tie n t 6
Chun g ta s e ch i b an n g iln g o n v e cac
tien to . Su tac d on g cla ch un g len tro n g
am co tin h qu y tile tu o n g d 6 i, tfn h - d q c
lap v a tfn h co th e d o an truo c cd a cac
h au to , v a k h o n g co tien t6 n ao cla mo t
h o ac h ai am tiet lu o n man g tron g am
ch in h . Do d o , each g iai q u y et t6 t n h a' t
co v e n h u la p h ai n o i ran g tro n g am tron g
cac tu co tien to bi ch i p h o i b i cac qu y
tac g io n g n h u qu y t a c d an h ch o cac tt
k h o n g co ti@n t6 .
I
O AU11, EX4
1 1 .4 Ca c tu ghep
Cac tu d a d uo c th o lu an ch o d en
b ay g io o tron g ch u o ng n ay tat ca d eu
co mot g o c tu con g mo t p h u t6 . Bay g id
ch u n g ta chu y € n q u a mt lo ai tu k h ac.
Lo ai tut n ay d u g c g o i la tu ghep v a d ac
d i€ m ch in h cd a n o la n o co th € d L((JC
p h an tich th an h h ai tu , ca h ai tu n ay d eu
co th € t6 n ti! i d o c lap n h u cac tt tie' n g
An h . (Mot s o tu g h ep dug c tao ra tut n h ieu
h d n h ai tu, 11h u n g ch u n g ta s e k h o n g x em
x et 11h Cl11g w n ay .) Co n g co n h iJ u s u k h ac
b i~t v ~ tron g am, c6 cac ITn h VI/ C k h 6 n g
 14 0
in to two in d ep en d en t wo rd s, ' p h o to ' an d
'g raph ' ; y et we u s u ally d o n o t reg ard it as a
co mp o u n d , b u t as a s imp le wo rd . (If,
ho wev er, s o meon e d rew a g raph d is p lay in g
n u merical in formatio n abou t p h o to s, th is
wou ld p erh ap s b e called a 'p h o to -g rap h ' an d
th e wo rd wo u ld b e reg ard ed as a co mp ound ).
Co mp o u n d s are written in d ifferen t way s ;
s 01n:etimes th ey are written as o n e wo rd -
e.g . ' armch air' , 's u n flo wer' - s o metimes with
th e wo rd s s ep arated b y a h yph en - e.g . 'g ear­
ch ang e', 'fru it-cak e', an d s o metimes with two
wo rd s s ep arated b y a s p ace - e.g . ' d es k lamp ' ,
'b attery ch arg er' . In this las t cas e th ere wou ld,
o f co u rs e, b e no in d icatio n to th e foreig n
learner th at th e p air o f wo rd s was to b e treated
as a co mpo und . Th ere is n o clear d iv id ing
lin e b etween two -wo rd co mp o u n d s an d p airs
o f wo rd s th at s imp ly h app en to o ccu r to g eth er
q u ite freq u en tly .
As far as s tres s is con cerned, th e q u es tio n
is q u ite s imp le. Wh en is p rimary s tres s p laced
o n th e firs t cons titu en t wo rd o f th e co mp o u n d
and wh en o n th e s econ d ? Bo th p atterns are
fou nd . A few rules can b e g iv en , althou g h
th es e are n o t co mp letely reliab le. Wo rd s
wh ich do n o t receiv e p rimary s tress n o rmally
h av e s eco n d ary s tres s , alth o u g h for th e s ak e
o f s imp licity th is is n o t mark ed h ere. Perh ap s
th e mo s t Iamiliar ty p e o f co mp ou n d is th e
o n e wh ich co mb in es two n o un s, an d
n o rmally h as th e s tres s on th e firs t elemen t,
as in :
'ty p ewriter' 'ta rpra rto
'car-ferry ' 'ko :feri
' s u nris e' 's A nra 1 z
It is p rob ab ly s afes t for foreign learners
to ass u me th at s tres s will n o rmally fall in th is
way on o th er co mpo u n d s; ho wev er, a v ariety
o f co mp o u n d s receiv e s tres •, in s tead o n th e
s econd elemen t. Fo r ex all' p le, co mpou n d s
with an adjectiv al firs t elemen t an d th e -ed
mo rp h eme at th e en d h av e this p attern (g iv en
in s p ellin g o n ly ):
chac chan. Vi du, ngudi ta c6 the lap
luan rang 'photograph' c6 the' dl.iQ'c chia
thanh hai tu doc lap, 'photo' va 'graph';
nhung, chung ta thuong khong xem no
la tu ghep, ma la mot tt don gian. (Song,
nu mot ngudi nao do ve bieu do bi&u
dien thong tin bling so ve cac hinh anh,
thl co le no dllQ'c gc;>i la 'photo-graph' va
tu nay duoc xem la W ghep.) Cac W ghep
du@c viet theo nhieu cach khac nhau;
d6i khi chung duoc viet du@i dang mot
tu - vi du: 'armchair', 'sunflower' - d6i
khi v6i cac tu dudc tach rdi bang dau
gqch ngang - vi du: 'gear-change', 'fr uit­
cake' - va d6i khi voi cac tu dudc tach
rdi bang mot khoang trong - vi du: 'desk
lamp', 'battery charger'. Di nhien trllong
hqp cuo'i cung khong cho nglloi hoc
ngoai ng@ thay rang cap tu nay phai du;c
xem la tu ghep. Khong co duong phan
chia ro rang gil a cac tu ghep hai tu va
cac cap tu von don gian xuat hien voi
nhau kha thllong xuyen.
Ve mat trong am, cau hoi nay kha
don gian. Khi nao trong am chinh dLiQC
dat & tu thanh phan dau tien cua tu ghep
va khi nao duoc dat o tu thanh phan tht
hai? C a hai mau deu du;c tim thay. C6
the' c6 m9t vai qui tile dl.ic;Jc dl.ia ra, mac
du nhung qui tfr nay kh6ng hoan toan
dang tin cay. C ac tr khong nhan trong
am chinh thuong co trong am phu, mac
du de don gin no khong duoc danh dau
d day. C o le loq i tu ghep quen thuoc
nhat la loai kt hop hai danh tu va thllong
c6 trong am & thanh phan dau tien, nhu
trong:
's u itcas e' 's u:tke1 s
'tea-cu p ' 'ti :kA p
C6 le an toan nhat la gia st ding tn:rng
am thudng se roi vao cac tu ghep khac
theo each nay; tuy nhien, co du loqi tu
ghep nhan trong am thay vi roi vao thanh
phan thCt hai. Vi du, cac tu ghep voi thanh
phan th& nhat co ch&c nang tinh t u t va
am vi -ed o cuoi co mau nay (chi dL(Q'C
cho o dang chinh ta):
 1 41
b ad -' temp ered bad-'tempered
h alf-' timb ered half-'timbered
h e a v y -' h a n d e d heavy-' handed
Co mpound s in wh ich th e firs t elemen t is Cac tu ghep ma trong d6 thanh phan
a n u mb er in s o me form als o tend to h av e th& nhat la so
theo mot dang no do cung
fin al s tress : co khuynh huong co trong am cu6i:
th ree-' wh eeler th ree-' wh eeler

s eco n d -' clas s s econd -' clas s

fiv e-' fin g er fiv c-' fing er

Co mpou n d s fun ctio n ing as adv erb s are C ac tu ghep thuc hi@en cht c nang la
u s u ally fin al-s tress ed : tinh tu thuong dugc nhan o tu cu6i:
h ead -' firs t h ead -' firs t

No rth -' Eas t No rth -' Eas t

do wn ' s tream do wn's tream

Fin ally , co mp ou nd s wh ich fun ctio n as
v erb s an d h av e an ad v erb ial firs t elemen t
tak e fin al s tress :
d o wn -' g rad e
C u6i cung, cac tu ghep thuc hien
ch(c nang la dong tu va co thanh phan
tht nhat thuc hi@en ch(c nang lam trang
tu nhan trong am cuoi:
d o wn -' g rad e

b a ck -' p e d a l b a ck -' p e d a l

ill-' treat ill-' treat

11.5 Variable stress 1 1 .5 Trqng a m bie n dfii

It wo u ld b e wron g to imag in e th at th e
s tres s p allern is alway s fix ed and u n ch an g in g
in En g lis h wo rd s . Stres s p o s itio n may v ary
for on e o f two reas o n s : eith er as a res u lt o f
th e s tres s o n o th er wo rd s o ccu rrin g n ex t to
th e wo rd in q u es tio n , o r b ecau s e n o t all
s p eak ers ag ree o n th e p lacemen t o f s tres s in
s o me wo rd s . Th e former cas e is an as p ect o f
con n ected s p eech th at will b e en co un tered
ag ain in Ch ap ter 1 4 : th e main effect is th at
th e s tres s o n a fin al-s tress ed co mpoun d ten d s
to mo v e to th e p reced in g s y llab le if th e
follo win g wo rd b eg in s with a s trong ly
s tres s ed s y llab le. Thu s (us in g s o me ex amp les
fro m th e p rev io u s s ectio n ):
That sai lam khi nghT rang mau trong
am lun co dinh va khong thay di trong
cac tu tieng Anh. Vi tri trong am c6 th€
thay do'i vi mot trong hai ly do: la do
trong am trn cac tu khac xuat hien ke
ben tu dang de cap, hoac vi khong phai
tat ca nhung ngudi noi deu chap nhan
cach dat trong am o mot s6 tt . Truong
hop dau la khia canh noi am ma chung
ta se gap lai trong chuong 14: su tac dong
chfnh la trong am o tu ghep dugc nhan
cuoi co khuynh huong chuyen sang am
ti&t dung truoc neu tu theo Sall ba' t du
bang mot am tiet dugc nhan manh. Vay
(mot so vi du tu phan truoc):

b ad -' temp ered but a 'b ad -temp ered 'teach er

h alf-' timb ered but a ' h alf-timb ered 'h o u s e
h eavy -' h an d ed but a ' h eavy -h an d ed 's en ten ce
 1 42
Th e s econ d is n o t a s eriou s p rob lem, b u t
is o n e th at foreig n learners s h o u ld b e aware
o f. A well-k n o wn ex amp le is 'co n trov ers y ' ,
wh ich is p ronoun ced b y s o me s p eak ers as
'kuntrav3:si an d b y o th ers as kan'truvasi; it
wou ld b e q u ite wron g to say th at o n e v ers io n
was co rrect an d o n e in co rrect. Oth er
ex amp les o f d ifferen t p os s ib ilities are 'ice­
cream' (eith er ,a1s'kri:m o r 'a1skri:m)
' k ilo metre' ('k1lami:ta. o r k1'lum1ta) an d
'formid ab le' ('fa:m,dabl o r fa:'mrdabl').
Ly do th& hai khong phai la van de
nghiem trong, nhung la ly do ma ngudi
hoc ngoai ngd nen biet . Mot vi du pho
bien la 'controversy', duoc mot so ngudi
noi phat am la 'kntrava:si va mot so
khac phat am la kon'trvasi; se that sai
lam khi n6i rang mot phien ban dung va
mot phien ban sai. Cac vi du khac ve
nhung kha nang khac nhau la 'ice-cream'
,ars'kri:m hoac 'arskri:m ), 'kilometre'
('krlami:ta ho~c k1'lnm1ta) va 'formidable'
('fa:mrdabf ho~c fa:'mrdabp.

" AUll, EX 5
11.6 Word-class pairs 11.6 Cac cap tu loai
On e as p ect o f wo :d s tres s is b es t treated Mot khfa canh ci a trong am tt tot
as a s ep arate is s u e. Th ere are s ev eral d o zen nha't dt1<;1c xem la mot va'n de rieng. C6
p airs o f two -s y llab le wo rd s with id en tical vai chuc cap tu hai am ti&t vdi cach
s p elling wh ich d iffer fro m each o th er in s tres s viet chinh ta gio'ng nhau nhung khac nhau
p lacemen t, ap p aren tly acco rd in g to wo rd c3' cach dat trong am, r6 rang la theo tu
clas s (no u n , v erb o r adjectiv e). All app ear to loai (danh tu, dong tu hoac tinh tu). Tat
con s is t o f p refix + s tem. We s h all treat th em ca deu co tien t6 + goc tu. Chung ta se
as a s p ecial typ e o f wo rd an d g iv e th em th e xem chung nhu la mot loai tu dac biet
follo win g rule: if a p air o f p refix -p lus -s tem va ap dung qui tac sau day: neu co mot
wo rd s ex is ts , b o th memb ers o f which are s p elt cap ti "ti@n t6 cong goc tu", ca hai thanh
id en tically , o n e o f wh ich is a v erb and th e phan cua cap ny deu d ug c viet giong
o th er o f wh ich is eith er a n ou n o r an adjectiv e, nhau, mot thanh phan la dong tu va thanh
th en th e s tres s will b e p laced o n th e s econ d phan con lai la danh tt hoac tinh t r, thi
s y llab le o f th e v erb b u t o n th e firs t s y llab le trong am duoc dat 8 am tiet th& hai cl a
o f th e n o u n o r ad jectiv e. So me co mmon dong tu nhung o am ti&t tht nhat cl a
ex amp les are g iv en b elo w (V = v erb , A = danh tu hoac tinh tu. Mot s6 vi du ph6
adjectiv e, N = n oun ): bien dudc cho dudi day (V=dqng t Ct ,
A=tfnh tu, N=danh tu ):
' ab s tract' 'aebstrkt(A), reb'strrekt (V)
'co nd u ct' 'kDndAkt ( N) , kan'dAkt (V)
' co n tract' 'kuntrrekt (N), kan'hekt (V)
' co n tras t' 'kuntra:st (N), kan'tro:st ( V)
'd es ert' 'dezat(N), dr'z3:t (V)
'esco rt' 'esk:>:t(N). 1s'k:>:t (V)
'expo rt' 'eksp:>:t (N), 1k'sp:>t (V)
'imp o rt' '1mp:>t (N), 1m'p:>:t (V)
' in s u lt' 'msAlt ( N) , m'sAlt (V)
' o b ject' 'nbd31kt (N), ab'd3ekt (V)
'p erfect' 'p3:fkt (A ), pa'fckt (V)
'p ermit' 'pa:mt (N), po'm t (V)
'p res en t' 'preznt (N. A), pn'zcnt (V)
'p rodu ce' 'prudju:s ( N) . pra'dju:s (V)
'p rotes t' 'prautest (N), pr a' tcst ( V)
'reb el' 'rebl ( N). n ' b el (V)
' re co rd ' 'rek:>:d(N). n ' k:,:d (V)
'sub ject' 'sAbd31kt ( N) , sob' d3ekt ( V)
 14 3
Not es on problems and further reading
Mo s t o f t h e readin g reco mmen d ed i n t h e n o t es fo r t h e p rev i o u s ch ap t er i s rel ev an t fo r
t h i s o n e t o o . Lo o k i n g s p eci fi cally at co mp o u nds, i t i s w o rt h read i n g Fu d g e (1 9 8 4 : Ch ap t er
5). See al s o Cru ttend en (1994: 207-9). If y ou w i s h t o g o mo re d eep l y i n t o co mpou n d -wo rd
s t res s, y o u s h ou l d fi rs t s tu d y E ng l i sh w o rd fo rmat i o n . Reco mmen d ed read ing fo r t h i s i s
Bau er (1983). O n t h e d i s tin cti o n b et w een ste m and root, s ee Rad fo rd e t al. (1999), pp. 67-8.

Written exercises Bai tap viet

Pu t s t res s mark s o n t h e fo llo w in g w o rd s 1. Eat dau nhn len cac t! sau day (cung
(t ry t o p u t s eco n d ary s t res s mark s o n as co gang dat cac dau trong am phu).
w ell).
a) s h o p -fi tt er b ) o p en -end ed c) Ja v an es e

d) b i rt h -mark e ) an ti -cl o ck w is e f ) confi rmat i o n

g) ei gh t -s i d ed h ) fru it -cak e i ) d e fec t i v e

j ) ro o f-timb er

2 W rit e t h e w o rd s i n p h on emi c 2. P hi@n am cac tu nay theo am v i hoc,

t ran s cri pt i o n , i n cl u d i n g t h e s t res s mark s . bao gom cac dau nhan.
 144

CHU'dNG 12

cite /sari/ (v) tr[ch d d n

contracted form /bn' trrektrd ' fo:m/ dq ng tfnh llt(IC
co-ordinate /bu' :-i:drnert/ (v) phoi hap
co-ordinated use /bu' :-i:drnertrd 'ju:s/ d un g ph6i hap
deduction /dr' dAkJn/ (n) st suy luan
demonstrative function /d1monstr;it1v ' fAnk.fn/ chute nang chi dinh (chi r6 nay,
kia, day, d())
demonstrative sense /dr' mpnstratrv ' sens/ nghi chi dinh (chi r6 nay, kia.
day, dr5)
devote /dr' v;iut/ (v) d iin h clw
function word TfAnkfn wa:d/ ht ti t
imply 1Tm' pla1/ (v) ngam chi st ton tai (mot thut gi )
in conjunction with /in bn' d3A1Jk.fn w10/ ding v di
practically /' prrekt1kh/ (adv) (all) h a u nh (t at ca)
pre-consonantal /' pri :,kuns;i ' nrentl/ (adj) dting trurJc ph(t c7m
roughly /' rAfl1/ (adv) khodng (= about)
sense /sens/ (n) _v nghia
severely /sr'v1;ilr/ (adv) m;i.ng ni, trdm tr(mg
 1 45
12 Weak forms
Chapter 9 discussed the difference
between strong and weak syllables in
English. We have now moved on from
looking at syllables to looking at words. We
will now consider certain well-known
English words that can be pronounced in two
different ways; these are called strong forms
and weak forms. As an example, the word
'that' can be pronounced ilret (strong form) or
ila t (weak form). The sentence 'I like that' is
pronounced a1 la1k o ret (strong form); the
sentence 'I hope that she will' is pronounced
a1 ha o p ila t Ji wII (weak form). There are
roughly forty such words in English. It is
possible to use only strong forms in speaking,
and some foreigners do this. Usually they
can still be understood by other speakers of
English, so why is it important to learn how
weak forms are used? There are two main
reasons; first, most native speakers of English
find an "all-strong-form" pronunciation
unnatural and foreign-sounding, something
that most learners would wish to avoid.
Second, and more importantly, speakers who
are not familiar with the use of weak forms
are likely to have difficulty understanding
speakers who do use weak forms; since
practically all native speakers of British
English use them, learners of the language
need to learn about these weak forms to help
them to understand what they hear.
We must distinguish between weak forms
and contracted forms. Certain English
words are shoctcned so severely (usually to
a single phoneme) and so consistently that
they are represented differently in informal
writing. e.g. ' it is' - ' it' s' ; ·we have' - ' we' ve' ;
' do not' - ' don' t' . These contracted forms are
discussed in a later chapter, and are not
included here.
12 Cac dang yeu
Chlldng 9 da ban ve su khac nhau
gil a cac am tiet manh va yu trong tieng
Anh. Bay gi chung ta se chuyen tu viec
xem xet cac am tiet sang xem xet cac
tu. Chung ta se xem xet mot so tu ting
Anh ph6 bien c6 the duoc phat am theo
hai cach khac nhau; nhung tu nay duoc
goi la dang manh va dang yeu. Vi du:
tu 'that' c6 the duoc phat am la ilret (dqng
manh) hoac 0a t (dang yeu). Cau 'I like
that' duoc phcl t am la ax lark 0 a t (dang
mqnh) ; cau 'I hope that she will' dtl(Jc
phat am la ax ha up ila t Ji w rl (dang yeu).
C6 khoang bon muoi W nhu the trong
tieng Anh. Chung ta c6 the chi st'I dLJng
dang manh trong van noi va mt so
nguoi nuoc ngoai lam nhu vay. Thuong
thl nht ng ngudi noi ting Anh khac van
c6 the' hie'u ho, vay tai sao hoc cclch
dung cac dang yeu lai quan trong? C6
hai ly do chinh; tht nhat, hau het nht ng
nguc'li ban nga noi tieng Anh thay cach
phat am "dqng tat ca deu manh" la khong
tu nhien va nghe co ve ngoai lai, dieu
ma hiiu het nhung ngttoi hoc muon tranh.
Thu hai, va quan trong hon, ngudi n6 i
khong quen dung dang yeu co the gap
kh6 khan trong viec hieu nht ng ngttc'li
noi dung dang yeu; vi trn thuc te tat ca
tat ca nhL7ng nglloi n6i Anh ban nga deu
st dung chung, nguoi hoc ngon ng@ nay
can phi hoc ve nhung dang yeu nay de
giup ho h ie'u nhung dieu ho nghe.
Chung ta phai phan biet gida cac dang
yeu va d an g ru t gon . M o t so t u tieng
Anh dll(JC rut gon qua mLIC (thllc'lng con
m o t am vi don) va kien dinh den n6i
chung duoc trlnh bay khac nhau trong
van viet than mat, vi du: 'it is' - 'it's';
'we have' - 'we've'; 'do not' - 'don't'.
Nhung dang rut gon nay duoc thao luan
trong cac chuong sau va khong duoc trinh
bay a day.
 14 6
A l mo s t all t h e w o rd s wh i ch h av e bo t h a
s t ro n g an d w eak fo rm b elo n g t o a cat ego ry
t h at may b e called function words - w o rd s
t h at d o n o t h av e a d ic ti on ary meani ng i n t h e
w ay t h at w e n o rmally ex p ect n o un s , v erbs,
ad j ecti v es an d ad v erb s t o h av e. T h es e
fu n ct ion wo rd s are w o rd s s u ch as au x i li ary
v erb s , p repo s i ti o n s, co nj u n ct i o n s , et c., all o f
w h i ch are i n cert ai n ci rcu ms t ari ces
p ro n o u n ced i n t h ei r s t ro n g fo rms b u t wh i ch
are mo re freq u en t ly p ro n o u n ced i n t h ei r
w eak fo rms . It i s i mp o rt ant t o rememb er t h at
t h ere are cert ai n con t ex t s w h ere o n l y t h e
s t ro n g fo rm i s accep t abl e, an d o t h ers w h ere
t h e w eak fo rm i s t h e n o rmal p ro n u n ci at i o n .
Th ere are s o me fai rl y s i mpl e ru l es ; w e can
s ay t h at t h e s t ro n g fo rm i s u s ed i n t h e
fo llo w i n g cas es :
i ) Fo r man y w eak -fo rm w o rd s , w h en t h ey
o ccu r at t h e en d o f a s en t en ce. Fo r
ex ampl e, t h e w o rd 'o f h as t h e w eak fo rm
av i n t h e fo llo w i n g s en t en ce:
H au h et t at ca cac tu co ca d an g
m an h l an y eu d eu t h u o c v e m o t p h am
t ru ma c6 t h e g o i la tu ch& c na ng - tuc
l a cac tr k h on g co n g h i a t u d i en t h eo
cach ch un g t a t h u on g mu o n c6 ci' d an h
tu, d o n g tu, tf n h tu v a t ran g tu. Cac tt
ch u c n an g n ay la n h u ng W n hu t re;1 d l) n g
tu, g i ai W, l i en tu, v .v ., t a' t ca cac t t
d 6 , t ro n g m<')t s o t ru i n g h o p , d uo c p h at
am t h eo d a n g m a n h ci a c h u n g n h u n g
d ug c p h at am t h u o ng xu y en h o n d an g
y eu. D i eu q u an t ro n g l a p h ai n ho ran g
co mo t s o n g u can h ma o d6 ch i co t h e
ch ap n h an d an g manh , v a n h u n g n g d
can h k h ac t ro n g d o d an g y eu l a each
p h at m b l n h th uo n g . C6 mi) t s o q ui t ac
k h a d o n g i a n ; c h u n g t a c 6 t h e n o i ra n g
d an g man h d u o c d u n g t ro n g n h u ng t ru i n g
h c;1p s au d ay :
i) D 6 i v d i n h iu tu c6 d an g y eu , k h i
ch un g x u at h i en o cu o i cau ; v i d u: tt
' o f' c6 d an g y eu l a av t ro n g Call s au
d ay :

'I'm fo nd o f c'li ps ' aim 'fond av 'tJrps

H o w ev er, w h en i t co mes <it t h e en d o f T u y n h i en , k h i n o d u n g o cu 6 i cau ,
t h e s en t en ce, as i n t h e fo llo w i n g n hll t ro ng v i d u s au , n6 co d an g man h
ex amp l e, i t h as t h e s t ro n g fo rm ov: l a ov:
'Ch i p s are w h at I' m fon d o f 'tJrps a 'wot arm 'fond ov
Man y o f t h e w o rd s g i v en b el o w N h i eu tu d u ; c ch o d uo i d ay (d ac b i et
(p art ic u l arl y t h e fi rs t n i n e) n ev er o ccu r l a ch i n tu d au t i en ) k h o n g b ao g i o x u at
at t h e en d o f a s en t en ce, e.g . ' t h e', 'y o u r'. h i en o cu o i cau , v i d u : ' t h e', ' y ou r' .
So me wo rd s (p arti cu l arl y t h e p ro n o u n s Mo t s o tu (d ac b i et la cac d ai tu d u ; c
n u mb ered 1 0 -1 4 b elow) d o o ccu r i n t h eir d an h s 6 10-1 4 d u 6'i d ay ) x u at h i en o
w eak fo rms i n fi n al p o s i t i o r.. v i t ri cu o i t h eo d an g y eu cu a ch un g .
i i ) W h en a w eak -fo rm w o rd i s b ei n g i i ) K h i mot tu d an g y eu t rai n gu @c v 6'i
co n t ras t ed w i t h an o t h er w o rd , fo r mo t t t k h ac; v i d u :
ex am p l e:
'T h e l etter's from h i m, n o t to h i m' i);, 'letaz 'from rm not 'tuam
A s i mil ar cas e i s w h at w e mi g h t call a co- Mot t ru o n g h o p t u on g t u la d i eu ma
o rdin at ed u s e o f p repo si ti o ns : ch un g t a c6 t h e' g o i l a s u dt_ing ktft
h o p cac g i o i tu:
'I t rav el t o an d fro m L o ndo n a l o t ' a, 'trrev! 'tu: an 'from 'lAndan a 'lot
'A w o rk o f an d ab ou t l it eratu re' a 'w:l:k 'ov an a'baut 'htntJa
i i i ) W h en a w eak -fo rm w o rd i s g i v en s t res s i i i ) K h i mo t tu d an g y eu d u o c n h an vl
fo r t h e p u rp os e o f emph as i s , fo r ex amp l e: mu c d ic h n h an man h ; v i d u :
 14 7
'Y ou must g i v e me mo re mon ey ' ju 'mas t 'grv mi 'm: 'mAni

i v ) W h en a w eak -fo rm w o rd i s b ein g "ci t ed " i v ) K h i mo t tu d an g y eu d an g d u d c t ri ch

o r "qu o t ed " , fo r ex amp l e: d an ; v i d u :
'Y o u s h o u l d n ' t p u t "and " at t h e en d o f a s en t en ce'
ju 'fodnt po t 'rend a t Di 'end a v a 's entans
A no t h er p oi n t t o rememb er i s t h at w h en Mo t d i em k h ac can n h o l a k h i cac tu
w eak -fo rm w o rd s w ho s e s p elli n g b eg i n s w i t h d an g y eu co d an g v i et b at d au b an g 'h'
'h' (e.g . ' h er' , ' h av e' ) o ccu r at t h e b eg i nn i n g o f (v i d u : ' h er' , ' h av e' ) x u at h i en o d au cau ,
a s en t en ce, t h e p ro n u n ci at i o n i s w i t h i n iti al cach p h at am co h o vi tri d au , mac d u
h, ev en t ho u gh t h i s i s u s u ally o mi tted i n n o t h uon g bi l u o c b t ro n g n h u n g n g @
o t h er con t ex ts. can h k h ac.
O AU1 2 , EX 1 -2
In t h e res t o f t h i s ch ap t er, t h e mo s t Ph an co n l ai cl a ch u o ng n ay s e g i o i
co mmo n w eak -fo rm w o rd s w i ll b e t h i eu cac tu d an g y eu ph 6 b i en n h at.
i n t ro d u ced .
' t h e' ' t h e'
W eak fo rms : ila (b efo re co n s on an t s ) D an g y eu : d» (tru o c ph u am)

' Shu t t h e do o r' 'JA t ila 'd:>: ' Sh u t t h e do o r' 'JA t il3 'd;,:

iii (b efo re v o w el s ) d i (t ruo c n g uy en am)

'W ai t fo r t h e en d ' 'we,t fa iii 'end ' W ai t fo r t h e en d ' 'we,t fa iii 'end

2 ' a' , ' a n ' 2 'a', 'an '

W eak fo rms : a (b efo re co n s on ant s ) D an g y eu : s (t ruo c p h u am)

'Read a b ook ' 'ri:d a 'buk ' Read a b o ok ' 'ri:d a 'buk

a n (b efo re v ow el s ) a n (t r u o c n g u y e n a m )

'E at an app l e' 'i:t a n 'repl 'E at an appl e' 'i:t a n 'repl

3 ' an d ' 3 ' an d '

W eak fo rm: a n (s o met i mes n aft er t, d, s, D a n g y e u : a n (d o i k h i n sa u t, d, s , z,J )
z,J)
' Co me an d s ee' 'kAm a n 's i: ' Co me and s ee' 'ka m a n ' s i:
' Fi s h an d ch i p s ' 'if n 'fps ' Fi s h an d ch i p s ' 'tiJ ~ 'tJ1 ps

4 ' bu t ' 4 'b u t '

W eak fo rm: ba t D an g y eu : b a t
' It ' s g o o d b u t ex p en s i v e' ,ts 'g o d ba t ' It ' s good b u t ex p en s i v e' ,ts 'g o d ba t
1 k's pens 1 v 1 k's pens 1 v
5 ' th at ' 5 ' t h at '
Th i s w o rd o nly h as a w eak fo rm w h en Tr n ay ch i co d an g y eu k h i du o c d un g
u s ed i n a rel ati v e cl au s e; w h en u s ed w it h t ro n g men h d e q u an h e; k h i d u g c du n g
 1 48
a demonstrative sense it is always
pronounced in its strong form.
Weak form: oat
'The price is the thing that annoys me' d3
'praIs iz 0» '0 1 0at a'n;nz mi
6 ' than'
Weak form: 0an
'Better than ever' beta 0an 'eva
7 'his' (when it occurs before a noun)
Weak form: rz (hrz at the beginning of a
sentence)
'Take his name' 'terk rz 'nerm
(Another sense of 'his', as in ' it was his', or
'his was late', always has the strong form.)
8 'her'
When used with possessive sense,
preceding a noun; as an object pronoun,
this can also occur at the end of a
sentence.
Weak forms: a (before consonants)
'Take her home' terk a 'haom
ar (before vowels)
'Take her out' 'terk r 'aot
9 'your'
Weak forms: ja (before consonants)
'Take your time' 'tc1k ja 'ta1m
jar (before vowels)
'On your own' 'nn jar 'aon
1 0 ' she', 'he', 'we' , 'you'
This group of pronouns has weak forms
pronounced with weaker vowels than the
i: and u: of their strong forms. I will use
the symbol, i and u (in preference to I
and o) to represent them. There is little
difference in the pronunciation in
different places in the sentence, except
in the case of 'he' .
Weak forms:
voi nghia chi dinh, no luon duoc phat
am o dang manh cla no.
Dang yeu: 0at
'The price is the thing that annoys me' oa
'pra1s iz oa 'l h u oat a'nJIZ mi
6 'than'
Dang yeu: 0an
'Better than ever' beta i'lan 'eva
7 'his' (khi 116 xua't hien truck danh W)
Dang yeu: rz (hrz d dau cau)
'Take his name' 'te1k TZ 'ne1m
(Mot y nghia khac cua 'his', nhv trong
'it was his' , ho,;ic 'his was late' , lu6n
co dang manh.)
8 ' h e r'
Khi duoc dung voi y nghia so hL7u,
di.'tng trVoc danh W; lam da i W a vj
tri tic tu, no cung c6 the xuat hi@n o
cuoi cau.
Dang yeu: a (truoc phu am)
'Take her home' te1k a 'haom
ar (truoc nguye 11 am)
'Take her out' 'te1k ar 'aot
9 'your'
Dang yeu: j» (trL/o'c phu an ,
'Take your time' 'te1k ja 'ta1m
jar (truoc nguye 11 a ml
'On your own' 'nn jar 'aon
1 0 'she', 'he' , 'we' , 'you'
Nhom cac da i tu nay c6 dang ye'u
duoc phat am voi cac nguyen am yeu
hon i: va u: o dang manh cua chung.
T6i st dung cac ky hi@u i va u (hon
la 1 va u) de trinh bay chung. Co it su
khac biet ve cach phat am o nhung
vi tri khac nhau trong cau, ngoai trt
a truang hc:;1p cua 'he' .
Cac dang yeu:
 149
a) ' she' Ji a ) ' s h e' Ji
'Why did she read it?' 'wa1 did Ji 'ri:d 1t 'Why did she read it?' 'wa1 did Ji 'ri:d It

'Who is she?' 'hu: '1z Ji 'Who is she?' 'hu: '1z Ji

b) 'he' i (the weak form is usually pronounced b ) ' h e' i (d an g y eu th u on g du@c ph at am

without h except at the beginning of a k h o n g c6 h n g o a i t ru t ru i n g h o p o
sentence) d au cau )

'Which did he choose?' 'witJ did i 'tJu:z 'Which did he choose?' 'witJ did i 'tJu:z

'He was late, wasn't he?' hi waz 'lert 'wznti 'He was late, wasn't he?' hi waz 'lert 'wznt i

c) 'we' wi c) 'we' wi
' How can we get there?' 'hau kan wi 'get ' How can we get there?' 'hau kan wi 'get
0e3 0ea
' We need that, don' t we?' wi 'ni:d det ' We need that, don' t we?' wi 'ni:d itret
'daunt wi 'daunt wi

d ) ' y o u ' ju d ) 'y o u ' j u

' What do you think?' ' w o t d a j u '1110k ' What do you think?' 'w o t d a j u '1110k

' You like it, do you?' ju 'la1k 1t 'du: ju ' You like it, do you?' ju 'lark 1t 'du: ju

11 'him' 1 1 ' h i m'

Weak form: nn D an g y eu : 1

' Leave him alone' li:v mi a'laun ' Leave him alone' li:v mt a'laun

'I've seen him' a1v 'si:n 1m 'I've seen him' arv 'si:n rm

1 2 ' h e r' 1 2 ' h e r'

Weak form: a (ha when sentence-initial) D a n g y e u : s (h a k h i d u n g o d au cau )

' Ask her to come' o:sk a ta 'kAm ' Ask her to come' 'a:sk a ta 'kAm

'I've met her' arv 'met a 'I've met her' arv 'met a

1 3 ' t h em ' 1 3 ' t h em '

Weak form: 0am D an g y eu : 0am

' Leave them here' li:v itam 'h1a ' J_,eave them here' li:v dm 'hr

' Eat them' i:t ilam ' Eat them' i:t itam

14 'us' 14 ' u s '

Weak form: as D an g y eu : as
' Write us a letter' 'rait as a 'leta ' Write us a letter' 'rart as a 'leta

' They invited all of us' cle1 m'va1hd 'J:l
av as
The next group of words (some
prepositions and other function words)
occur in their strong forms when they ate
' They invited all of us' i)e1 m'va1tld 'J:l
av ;,s
N h a m t u t i e p t h e o (m o t sog i o i tu v a
tu ch &t c n an g k h ac) x u at h i @n & d an g
ma n h cd a ch un g k h i ch un g n am d
 15 0
fin al in a s en ten ce; ex amp les o f th is are c uoi c au; c ac v i du v e di@u nay da
g iv en . (Ex amp le 19 is a p artial du@c c ho. (Vi du 19 l a mot phan ngoai
ex cep tio n .) le.)
1 5 ' at' 1 5 ' at'
Weak form: at Dang y eu: at
Tll s ee you at lun ch ' all 'si: ju at 'IAnJ TU s ee you at lun ch ' a d 'si: ju a t 'Inf
In fin al p o s itio n : ae t d v i tri c uoi: aet
' Wh at's h e s h o o tin g at?' wots i 'Ju: h o ret ' Wh at's h e s h o o tin g at?' wots i 'fu:tr aet
1 6 'for' 1 6 ' fo r'
Weak form: fa (b efore co n s on an ts ) Dang y eu: fa (truck phv am)
' Tea for two ' 'ti: fa 'tu: 'Tea for two ' 'ti: fa 'tu:
fa r (b efore vo wels ) fa r (truck nguy en am)
' Th an k s for as king ' 'ae nks fr 'a :s km ' Th an k s for as king ' 'llreo ks fa r 'o :s km
In fin al po s itio n : fa: d vi tri c u6i: f3 :
' Wh at' s th at for?' 'w o ts 'iJret fa: ' Wh at's th at for?' 'w o ts 'iJret fa:
17 'from' 17 'fro m'
Weak form: fra m Dang y eu: fra m
Tm h o me fro m wo rk ' a mm 'ha um fra m Tm h o me from wo rk ' aJm 'ha o m fra m
' w 3 :k ' w 3 :k
In fin al p o s itio n : fro m d vi tri c uoi: frm
'Here' s wh ere it came fro m' 'h1 a z w ea r It 'Here's wh ere it came fro m' 'h1 a z w ea r ,t
'ke1 m fro m 'keim fro m
18 ' o f' 18 ' o f' •
Weak form: av Dang y eu: a v
'Mo s t o f all' 'm a o s t a v ';i :I 'Mo s t o f all' 'm a o s t a v ';i :I
In fin al p o s ition : v } v i tri c uoi: nv
'So meon e I' v e h eard o f 's A m WA D a 1 v 'h3 :d ' So meon e I' v e h eard o f 's A m WA n a TV 'h3 :d
OV DV

19 ' to ' 19 'to'

Weak forms : ta (b efore con s on an ts ) Dang y eu: ta (truck phv am)
'Try to s to p ' 'tra , ta ' s to p 'Try to s to p ' 'tra 1 ta 's top
tu (b efore v o wels ) tu (truoc nguy en am)
'Time to eat' 'ta m tu 'i:t 'Time to eat' 'tarm tu 'i:t
In fin al p os itio n : tu ( It is n o t u s u al to u s e }v i tri c uoi: tu (Dang manh tu: thuOng
th e s tron g .form tu:, an d th e p re­ k hong duoc dung, dang y eu truoc phu
co n s o n an tal weak form to is n ev er u s ed .) am k hong b ao gio duoc dung.)

' I don' t want to' a, 'da unt 'wont tu
20 ' as '
Weak form: az
' As much as possible' a z 'm Alf a z 'po s a b!
In final position: rez
'That's what it was sold as' 'i hets 'w ot 1 t
w a z 's a ul d rez
21 ' some'
This word is used in two different ways.
In one sense (typically, when it occurs
before a countable noun, meaning "an
unknown individual" ) it has the strong
form:
'I think some animal broke it' a 1 'l hg k s A m
'rem m lI 'bra uk rt
It is also used before uncountable nouns
(meaning " an unspecified amount of")
and before other nouns in the plural
(meaning "an unspecified number of" ),
in such uses it has the weak form s a m .
'Have some more tea' 'hrev s a m 'm a : 'ti:
In final position: SAID
'I've got some' a ,v 'got SAID
22 ' there'
When this word has a demonstrative
function, it always occurs in its strong
form i) ea (i) ea r before vowels), e.g.
'There it is' 'i) ea r ,t 'iz
'Put it there' put ,t 'i) ea
Weak forms: i) a (before consonants)
'There should be a rule' 0 'fo d bi a 'ru:I
i) a r (before vowels)
' There is' 0 a r '1 z
In final position the pronunciation may
be 0 a or 0 ea .
There isn't any, is there?' da r 'rznt eni
o r 0 a r 'rznt eni 'rz 0 ea
151
'I don' t want to' a , 'da unt 'wont tu
20 ' as '
Dang yeu: 9z
' As much as possible' a z 'm A tf a z 'po s a b!
0 vi tri cuo'i: rez
'That's what it was sold as' 'i) rets 'wot ,t
w a z 's a ul d rez
21 'some'
Tu nay duoc dung theo hai cach khac
nhau. Theo mot nghia (thuong khi no
xuat hien truoc mot danh tu dem dugc,
co nghi a la "mot ca nhan la") no co
dang manh;
'I think some animal broke it' a, 'h1k s A m
'rem m lI 'bra uk rt
No cung dugc dung truoc cac danh
tu khong dem du@c (co nghia la "mot
luong khong xac dinh") va truoc cac
danh tu khac d dang s6 nhieu (co
nghTa la "mot so lugng khong xac
dinh"); trong cac cach dung nhu the',
n6 co dcJ. ng ye'u s a m :
'Have some more tea' 'hrev s a m 'm a : 'ti:
0 vi tri cuoi: sAm
'I've got some' a ,v 'got SAID
22 'there'
Khi tu nay co cht c nang chi dinh, no
luon xuat hien o dang manh des (0 ea r
truoc nguyen am), vi du:
'There it is' 'i) ea r 1 t •,z
'Put it there' put Jt 'i) ea
Dang yeu: da (truoc phu am)
'There should be a rule' i) a 'fud bi a 'ru:I
0a r (truoc nguyen am)
' There is' 0a r '1 z
} vi tri cuoi: cach phat am c6 the la
i) a ho;'j c i) ea .
'1z 0 There isn' t any, is there?' da r 'rznt eni '1z 0a
o r 0 o r 'rznI t eni '1 z 0 ea

The remaining weak-form words are all
auxiliary verbs, which are always used in
conjunction with (or at least implying)
another (" full" ) verb. It is important to
remember that in their negative form (i.e.
combined with ' not') they never have the
weak pronunciation, and some (e.g. 'don' t' ,
'can' t') have different vowels from their non­
negative strong forms.
23 'can', 'could'
Weak forms: kan, kad
' They can wait' 'er kan 'wert
'He could do it' 'hi: kad 'du: It
In final position: kren, kud
' I thtnk we can' a1 'lhok wi 'kren
' Most of them could' 'maust av 0am kud
24 ' have' , 'has' , 'had'
Weak forms: av, az, ad (with initial h in
initial position)
' Which have you seen?' w1tJ av ju 'si:n
' Which has been best?' witJ az bi:rt 'best
' ¥ost had gone home' maust ad 'gun
'haum
In final position: hrev, hrez, hred
' Yes, we have' jes wi 'hrev
' I think she has' a, 'lhok Ji 'hrez
' I thought we had' a1 '03:t wi 'hred
25 'shall' , 'should'
Weak forms: Jal or J!; Jad
' We shall need to hurry' wiJl 'ni:d ta 'hAri
' I should forget it' a1 Jed fa'get It
In final position: Jrel, Jud
' I think we shall' m 'lhok wi 'frel
' So you should' 'sau ju 'Jud
26 'must'
This word is sometimes used with the
sense of forming a conclusion or deduction,
15 2
C ac tu dang yeu con lai tat ca deu
la tro dong tu von luon du@c dung ket
hop vdi (hay it ra la ngu y mot dong tu
khac vit day du). Dieu quan trong la
phai nho rang o dang phi dinh cua chung
(nghTa la ket hp voi 'not') chung khong
bao gio co cach phat am yeu, va mot s6
tu (vi du: 'don't', 'can't') co cac nguyen
am khac voi dang manh khong phi dinh
cua cluing.
23 'can', 'could'
Dang yeu: kan, kad
' They can wait' 'er kaon 'wert
'He could do it' 'hi: kad 'du: It
} vi tri cu6i: ken, kud
' I think we can' aI 'lhuk wi 'kren
' Most of them could' 'maust av_kud
24 'have', 'has', 'had'
Dang yeu: av, 3z, ad (voi h dau & vi trf
dau)
' Which have you seen?' wtf av ju 'si:n
' Which has been best?' wtf az bi:rt 'best
' Most had gone home' maust ad 'gun
'haum
o vi tri cuoi: haev, hrez, hred
' Yes, we have' jes wi 'hrev
'I think she has' aI 'lhuk Ji 'hrez
'I thought we had' aI 'lb:t wi 'bred
25 'shall', 'should'
Dang yu: Jal hoc Jl; fad
' We shall need to hurry' wiJl 'ni:d ta 'hAri
' I should forget it' a, Jed fa'get rt
o vi tri cu6i : fel, Jud
. ' I think we shall' a, 'lhok wi '.frel
' So you should' 'sau ju 'Jud
26 ' must'
T l nay d6i khi duoc dung voi nghia
la dua ra ket luan hay suy luan, vi du:
 153
e.g . ' s h e left at 8 o ' clo ck , s o s h e mu s t h av e ' s h e l eft at 8 o ' cl o ck, s o s h e mu s t h av e
arriv ed b y no w' ; wh en 'mu s t' is u s ed in th is arri v ed by n o w ' ; k h i ' mu s t ' d u o c d u n g
way , it is rath er les s lik ely to o ccu r in its theo each n ay , no it co kha nang x uat
weak form th an wh en it is b ein g u s ed in its h i en o d an g y eu h o n k h i n o d u o c d u n g
mo re familiar s en s e o f "ob lig atio n " . t h eo n g hT a qu en t h u q c h d n cu a n 6 l a
"o b li g at i o n " (b 6 n ph an ).
Weak forms : ma s (b efore con s o n an ts ) D an g y eu : ma s (tru o c phu am)

' You mus t try h ard er' ju ma s 'tra , 'ha:da ' You mu s t try h ard er' ju ma s 'tra 1 'ha :da

ma st (b efore v o wels ) ma s t (t ru o c n g u y en am)

'He mu s t eat mo re' hi ma s t 'i:t 'm: 'He mu s t eat mo re' hi ma s t 'i:t 'm;,:

In fin al p os ition : mAs t } v i t ri cuoi: ma s t

' Sh e certain ly mu s t' Ji 'sa:tl}Ii 'mAs t ' Sh e certain ly mu s t' Ji 's a:tl}Ii 'mAs t

2 7 'd o', 'do es ' 2 7 ' d o ', ' d o es '

Weak forms : D an g y eu :

'd o ' da (b efore co n s on an ts ) ' d o ' da (t rv ac phu am)

'Wh y d o th ey lik e it?' 'wa , da iJe, 'la ,k ,t 'Wh y do th ey lik e it?' 'wa r do 0 er 'la rk rt

du (b efore vo wels ) d u (t ruo c n g u y en am)

'Wh y d o all th e cars s to p ?' 'wa 1 du ;,:I iJa 'Wh y do all _th e cars s to p ?' 'wa r du 3:1 0 2
'ka :z 's top 'ka :z 's top

' d o es ' da z ' d o es ' d a z

· 'Wh en d o es it arriv e?' 'wen da z It a 'ra ,v 'Wh en d o es it arriv e?' 'wen da z It a 'ra 1 v

In fin al p o s itio n : du:, dAz } v i t ri cu o i : du:, dz

'We d o n ' t s mo k e, b u t s o me p eop le d o ' 'We d o n ' t s mo k e, b u t s o me p eop le d o '

'wi: da unt 's ma uk ba t 's Am pi:pl 'du: 'wi: da unt 's ma uk ba t 's AID pi:pl 'du:

'I th in k J o h n d o es ' a 1 '0 1 pk 'da nn dAz 'I th in k Joh n do es ' a 'h1 pk 'da n dAz

28 ' am' , ' are', ' w as ' , ' w ere' 28 ' am', ' are' , ' w as ' , ' w ere'

Weak forms : a m D an g y eu : a m

'Wh y am I h ere?' 'wa , a m a , 'hia 'Why am I h ere?' 'wa i a m a 1 'hia

a (b efore co n s o n an ts ) a (trv ac phu am)

'Here are th e p lates ' her a 0a 'plea ts 'Here are th e p lates ' hrer a 0 a 'plerts

_ ar (b efore v o wels ) a r (tr u o c n g u y en am)

'Th e co ats are in th ere' iJa 'ka uts ar m 'Th e co ats are in th ere' 0a 'ka uts a r mn
'dea 'd e

wa z wa z
'He was h ere a min u te ago ' hi wa z h1 a r a 'He was h ere a minu te ago ' hi wa z ha r a
'mm1 t a 'g a u 'mm1 t a '9 a u
 15 4
wa (before consonants) wa (tru o c ph u am)
'The papers were late' ifa 'pe,pa z w a 'l eJt ' Th e p ap ers w ere l at e' tla 'pe,pa z w a 'l eJt
war (before vowels) w a r (t ru ck n g uy en am)
'The questions were easy' oa 'kw es tJa nz ' T h e q u es t i o n s w e re eas y ' d3
w a r i :z i 'kw es tJa nz w a r i :zi
In final position: rem , a:, woz, w a : a vj trf cuo i: rem, a:, woz, wa:
'She' s not as old as I am' Jiz 'nt 3 z ' ul d 3 z ' She' s not as old as I am' Jiz 'nt a z 'a ul d 3 z
'a, rem 'a, rem
'I know the Smiths are' a , 'na u ifa 's milt s 'I know the Smiths are' a, 'n au ila 'sm i lt s
a: a:
'The last record was' a r l a :st 'reko :d w z 'The last record was' a , l a :st 'rek:d w z
'They weren' t as cold as we were' o e, 'They weren' t as cold as we were' ilc,
'w a :nt a z 'ka ul d 3 z 'wi: w 3 : 'w 3 :nt a z 'ka ul d a z 'wi: w 3 ;

Notes on problems and further reading

This chapter is almost entirely practical. All books about English pronunciation devote
a lot of attention to these words. Some of them give a great deal of importance to using weak
forms, but do not stress the importance of also knowing when to use the strong forms,
something which I feel is very important. See Mortimer (1984).

Written exercises B a i tap v iet

In the following sentences, the T ro n g cac cau s au d ay , ph i en am cu a
transcription for the weak-form words is left cac tu d an g yu d uo c d e t r6 n g . H ay d i en
blank. Fill in the blanks, taking care to use v ao ch t r6 n g, can t h an d e s t d un g d an g
the appropriate form (weak or strong) t h i c h h o p (y e u h o a c m a n h ) .

1. I want her to park that car over there.

a r wDnt po :k ko :r a uv a
2 . Of all the proposals, the one that you made is the silliest.
a:l p a p a y zl z w An m e rd rz s rl i a s t
3. Jane and Bill could have driven them to and from the party.
d3 em bl drrv n pa :ti
4. To come to the point, what shall we do for the rest of the week?
kA m pm t w t res t w i:k
5. Has anyone got an idea where it came from?
enrw A n gp t a rdra w ea r rt kem
6. Pedestrians must always use the crossings provided.
p o d es tr1 a n z :l w1z ju:z krps mz p r o v a rd rd
7. Each one was a perfect e ample of the art that had been developed there.
i :tJ w An p3 :fkt +g za :m p! a :t bi:n drv el a pt
 155

CHUONG 13

aesthetic /i:s' 8et1k/ (adj) tham my

affricate /' a:fnbt/ am tiic xdt

allophonic / ,a:la' fomk/ (adj) ve mat tha am

applied phonology / a' pla1d fa' nofad311 am vi hoc tng dung

composition /,kmpa' z1[n/ (n) thanh phdn, ca'u tq,o

diacritic / ,darn'kntik/ (n) ditu khu bi!) t

dispense with /dr' spens w1M/ (v) bd

distinctive feature / d1' stI1Jktiv' fi:tJa/ dijc dilm khu bi!) t

economical / ,i:ka' nom1kl, ,ek-/ (adj) tie't kii)m

economy /1' konam1/ (n) t{nh tie't kif) m

fricative /' fnkanv/ (n) am xdt

ingenious /m' d3i:n1as/ (adj) thong minh, d(ic ddo, sang tq,o

intractable /m' tra:ktabl/ (adj) kh6 gidi quye't

intuition / ,mtju( :) ' 1Jn/ (n) Linh cdm, trtfc gidc

lax /la:ks/ (adj) (am) l oi, ch n g

minimal pair /' mm1ml ' pea/ cijp ta sai bii)t qtc tilu (chi kluic
nhau m(it am)

neutralisation / ,nju:trala1' ze1Jn/ (n) si,t trung t£nh lu5a, ,W trung d1tnK
hda

pervade / pa' ve1d/ (v) Lan tda, Ian r()ng

preoccupation / pn,okju' pe1Jn/ (n) st am anh, quan tam qua mtc

property / ' propan/ (n) ddc diem, tinh chat

pure phonology / ' pjua fa'nolad31/ am vi hoc thuan tuy

rhotic /' rautJk/ (adj) r-tinh, nhan manh r, doc r d cu6i

vein

segment / ' segmant/ (n) am doq,n, chilt iloq,11

syllabicity / ,sila' b1s;,tt/ (n) am vi co am ti@t tinh/cau thanh

am tiet

tense /tens/ (adj) (am) cang


13 Problems in phonem-ic analysis
13 Cac van de trong vi@c phan tich am vi
Th e con cep t o f th e p hon eme was
in trod u ced in Ch ap ter 5 , an d a few th eo retical
p rob lems conn ected with p hon emic an aly s is
h av e b een men tio n ed in o th er ch ap ters . Th e
g en eral as s u mp tio n (as in mo s t p ho n etics
b o o k s ) h as b een th at s p eech is co mpo s ed o f
p h o n emes an d th at u s u ally wh en ev er a
s p eech s o u n d is p rodu ced by a s p eak er it is
p o s s ib le to id e!ltify wh ich p h o n eme th at
s ou nd b elo n g s to . Wh ile th .s is o ften true,
we mus t reco g n is e th at th ere are ex cep tio n s
wh ich mak e u s co n s id er s o me q u ite s erio u s
th eo retical p rob lems. From th e
co mp arativ ely s imp le p o in t o f v iew o f
learnin g p ron un ciation , th es e p rob lems are
n o t p articu larly imp o rtan t; h o wev er, fro m
th e p o in t o f v iew o f learnin g ab o u t th e
p h o n o lo gy o f En g lis h th ey are to o impo rtan t
to ig n o re.
Th ere are p rob lem o f d ifficu lty typ es . In
s o me cas es, we h av e d ifficu lty in d ecid in g
o n th e o v erall p h o n emic s y s tem o f th e accen t
we are s tu d y in g , wh ile in o th ers we are
con cerned abou t ho w a p articu lar s ou n d fits
in to th is s y s tem. A n u mb er o f s u ch p rob lems
are d is cu s s ed b elo w.
13.1 Affricates
Th e affricates tJ an d d3 are, p ho n etically ,
co mp o s ed o f a p lo s iv e follo wed by a
fricativ e, as exp lain ed in Ch ap ter 6 . It is
p o ss ib le to treat each o f th e p air tf, d3 as a
s in g le co n s o n an t p ho n eme; we will call th is
th e o n e-phon eme an aly s is o f f, ds. It is als o
p o ss ib le to s ay th at th ey are co mpo s ed o f
two p h o n emes each - t p lu s J and d p lu s 3
res p ectiv ely - all o f wh ich are alread y
es tab lis h ed as ind ep end en t p h o n emes o f
En g lis h ; th is will b e called th e two-phoneme
analysis o f tf an d d3. If we ad o p ted th e two -
156
Khai niem v e am v i da dugc gidi thieu
a c hlidng 5 va mot s6 van de ly thuy et
c o lien quan v oi v i@c phan tic h am vi
da duoc de c ap trong ca c c hlidng k hac.
Su gia dinh c hung (nhu trong hau het c ac
s ac h ngt am hoc ) c ho rang loi noi duoc
c au thanh tu c ac am vi v a thong thung
ba't cu k hi nao mot ngudi noi tao ra ngd
am thl ta co the x ac dinh am do thu(>c
ve am v i nao. Mac du dieu nay thuong
dung, nhung c hung ta phii c ong nhan
rang c o nhung trucrng hqp ngo,;1i I~ k hie' n
c hung ta phai x em x et mot s o v an de ly
thuy e' t k ha he trQng. Tu quan diem hoc
c ac h phat am tlidng d6i k ha don gian,
nhung van de nay dac bi@t k hong quan
trong. The nhLlng, tu quan diem hoc am
vi hQc c ua tie'ng Anh, thl qua la quan
trQng k hong the b qua.
C6 nhieu loai v an de k hac nhau. Trong
mot s o truong hc;1p, c hung ta tha'y r!ing
x ac dinh am vi t6ng quat c ua giong ma
c hung ta dang nghien c uu la dieu k ho
k han, rnij.c du trong nhung truong hQ' p
k hac c hung ta lai quan tarn den van de
rn(>t am dac biet phu hop vi he th6ng
nay nhu the' nao. Mot s o' van de nhu the
duoc tho luan duoi day .
13.1 Cac am tac xat
Cac am tac x at tf v a d3, ve mat ngu
am hoc , dugc c au thanh tu mot am bat
theo s au la mot am x at, nhu da giai thic h
trong c hlldng 6. Ta c ung c6 the x ern m6i
c ap tf, ds la mot am v i phu am don; c hung
ta s e goi v iec nay la pha n ti ch m o t a m
vj c ua t.f, dJ . Ta c ung c o the noi rang
c hung duoc c au thanh tu hai am vi -
tuong ung la t c ongfv a dc ong 3- tat ca
nhung am nay da duoc thi&t lap roi duoi
dang c ac am vi doc lap trong tie' ng Anh;
v iec nay duoc goi la pha n ti ch hai a m vi
 157
p ho n eme an aly s is, th e wo rd s ' ch urch ' an d
'ju d g e' wo u ld b e co mp o s ed o f fiv e p h o n emes
each , lik e th is :
t · .f · 3: · t · .f d - 3 -A -d -3
in s tead o f th e th ree p h o n emes, res u ltin g fro m
th e o n e-pho n eme an aly s is:
t.f-3:-t.f d3 -4 -d3
an d th ere wou ld b e n o s ep arate t.f an d d3
p ho n emes . Bu t h o w can we d ecid e wh ich
an aly s is is p referab le? Th e two -pho n eme
an aly s is h as o n e main ad v an tag e: if th ere
are no s ep arate t.f and d3 p h o n emes , th en
o ur to tal s et o f En g lis h co n s o n an ts is s maller.
Man y p hon o lo g is ts h av e claimed th at o n e
s h o u ld p refer th e an aly s is which is th e mo s t
"econ o mical" in th e n u mb er o f p h o n emes it
res u lts in. Th e arg u men t for th is migh t b e
b as ed o n th e claim th at wh en we s p eak to
s o meo n e we are u s in g a "co d e" , and th e mo s t
efficien t co d es do n o t u s e u n n ecess ary
s y mb o ls. Furth er, it can b e claimed th at a
p ho n o log ical an aly s is is a ty p e o f s cien tific
th eo ry , an d a s cien tific th eo ry s h o u ld b e
s tated as econo mically as p o s s ib le. Ho wev er,
it is th e o n e-p h o n eme an aly s is is g en erally
ch o s en by p h o no lo g is ts . Wh y is th is? Th ere
are s ev eral arg u men ts; n o s in g le o n e o f th em
is co n clu s iv e, b u t ad d ed tog eth er th ey are
felt to mak e th e o n e-p h on eme an alys is s eem
p referab le. We will lo o k b riefly at s o me o f
th es e arg u men ts.
i) On e arg u men t co u ld b e called "p h on etic"
o r "allophon ic" : if it cou ld b e s h o wn th at
th e p h o n etic q u ality o f th e t an d J (o r d
an d 3 ) in tf. d3 was clearly d ifferen t fro m
realis atio n s o f t, J, d, 3 fou n d els ewh ere
in s imilar co n tex ts, this wou ld s uppo rt th e
an aly s is o f tf, d3 as s ep arate p h o n emes .
As an ex amp le, it mig h t b e claimed th at J
in 'h u tch ' hAtf was d ifferen t (p erh ap s in
h av ing s ho rter d uratio n) fro m J in 'h u s h '
o r 'Wels h ' hf. we lf: o r it mig h t b e claimed
th at th e p lace o f articu latio n o f t in 'watch
ap es ' w tf e mps is d ifferen t fro m th at o f t
ci a tf va d3 . Neu ta chap nhan cach phan
tich hai am vi thl ca c tu 'church' va
'judge' moi tu se dugc tao thanh tu nam
am vi, gio'ng nhu the' nay:
t·J- 3- t · .f d - 3 -A -d -3
thay vl W ba am vi do ke't qua phan tich
m o t am vi:
t.f-:J:-t.f d J -A -d J
va se kh6ng c6 cac am vi tf va d3y rieng.
Nhttng lam the no chung ta c6 th€ quye't
dinh phan tich nao la thich hop hdn? Phan
tich hai am vi co m o t uu di€m chfnh:
ne'u kh6ng co cac am vi tJ va d3 rieng
biet thi toan bo tap hop cac phu am tieng
Anh cda chung ta tr& nen nho hon. Nhieu
nha am vi hoc khang dinh rang ngudi ta
s thich su phan tich mang tinh "tiet kiem"
nha't a so luong cac am vi ma n6 dtla ra.
Lap luan ve van de nay c6 the dua tren
thuyet cho rang khi chung ta n6 i voi m Qt
nguoi nao d6, chung ta dang st dung mot
"ma", va cac ma ht u hi@u nhat khong
st dung cac ky hieu khong can thiet.
Hdn nua, nguoi ta con cho rang phan tich
am vi hoc la m o t loai gi thuyet khoa
hoc va mt gia thuyet khoa hoc nen duoc
phat bieu cang co tinh tiet kiem ca ng
tot. Tuy nhien, cach phan tich mc}t am
vi thuong duoc cac nha am vi hoc chon.
Tai sao lai nhu vay? C6 mot lap luan; so
khong mot lap luan no c6 the thuyet
phwc dl/Q'C, nht/ng ke't hc;ip lc)i voi nhau
thl chung lam cho cach phan tich mc}t
am vi duong nhu hop ly hon. Chung ta
se xem xet so lugc mot so lap luan nay.
i) M o t lap luan c6 the dugc goi la "ngt
am" hay "tha am vi": ne'u chung minh
dl/Q'C rang cha't IL/Q'ng nga am cua t
va .f (ho;:'jc d va 3) trong tf, d3 ro rang
khac voi cac dang the hi@n cl a t, f ,
d, 3 duoc tim thay o mot noi khac trong
ngfl canh tL(dng ti_/ thi di u nay se Ing
su cho viec phan tich tf, d3 la cac am
vi rieng. Vi du, nguoi ta co the' cho
rang .f trong 'hutch' hAtf la khac (co
le co tho i khoa ng ngan hdn) VO i .f
trong 'hush' hAj ho;:'jc 'Welsh' wel.f;
hoac nguoi ta co the cho ding vi tri

in 'wh at s h ap es ' wnt Je1ps. This arg u men t
is a weak o n e: th ere is no clear ev id en ce
th at s u ch p h o n etic d ifferen ces ex is t, an d
ev en if th ere were s u ch ev id en ce, it
wou ld b e easy to p rod u ce ex p lan atio n s
for th e d ifferen ces th at d id n o t d ep en d
on p h on emic an alys es (e.g . th e p o s itio n
o f th e word b ound ary in 'watch ap es ', 'wh at
s h ap e s ' ).
ii) It cou ld b e arg u ed th at th e p ropo s ed
p h o n emes tJ and d3 (if o n e were arg u in g
for th e o n e-p h o n eme an aly s is ) h av e
d is trib u tio n s s imilar to o th er con s on an ts ,
wh ile o th er co mb in atio n s o f p los iv e p lu s
fricativ e do n o t. It can eas ily b e s ho wn
th at tJ an d d3 are fou n d in itially , med ially
an d fin ally . an d th at no o th er co mb in atio n
(e.g . pf, dz, ti!) h as s u ch a wid e d is trib u tio n .
Ho wev er, s ev eral con s o n an ts are
g en erally accep ted as p h o n emes o f BBC
d es p ite n o t b ein g free to o ccur in all
p o s itio n s (e.g . r, w, j, h, o, J) , s o th is
argu men t, tho ug h s up p o rting th e o n e­
p ho n eme an aly s is , d o es n o t actu ally
prove th at tJ, d3 mu s t h e clas s ed with
o th er s ing le-con s o n an t p h on emes .
iii) If tJ and d3 were ab le to co mb in e q u ite
freely with o th er con s o n an ts to form
con s o n an t clus ters . th is wou ld s u p po rt th e
o n e-p ho n eme an aly s is . Infin itial,
h o wev er, tJ an d d3 n ev er o ccu r in clus ters
with o th er co n s o n an ts. In fin al p o s itio n
in th e s y llab le, we fin d th at t.f can b e
follo wed b y t (e.g . 'watch ed ' wotJt) an d
d3 by d (e.g . ' wedg ed ' wed3d). Fin al tJ
and d3 can b e p reced ed b y I (e.g . ' s qu elch '
skel(f, 'bu lg e' bAld3); 3 is n ev er p reced ed
b y I, an d .f is p reced ed b y I o n ly in a few
wo rd s an d n ames , e.g . 'Wels h '. 'Wals h '
wel.f, wol.f. A fairly s imilar s itu atio n is
foun d if we ask if n can p reced e tf an d
d3; s o me BBC s p eak ers h av e ntJ in
' lu n ch ', ' Fren ch ' , etc., an d n ev er
p ron o u n ce th e s equ en ce nJ with in a
s y llab le, wh ile o th er s p eak ers alway s
158
ca'u am cda t trong 'watch apes' wntJ
e1ps khac vdi vi tri cau am cl a t trong
'what shapes' wot Je,ps. 0ay la l-1p
lu~n khong vung cha"c: khong c6
chung co ro rang cho thay rang co
nhetng SL! khac bi@t ngu am nhu the,
va tham chi neu co chung co nhu the
thl se khong de dang giai thich nhung
slf khac biet von khong dua vao cac
thuyet phan tich am vi (vi du: vi tri
cua ranh giai tu trong 'watch apes',
'what shapes').
ii) Nguoi ta co the lap luan rang cac am
vi du; c neu ra tf va ds (neu mot ngudi
dua ra lap luan ung ho phan tich mot
am vi) co cac phan b6 tuong tu cac
phu am khac, mac du nhung su ket
hop khac cha am bat va am xat khong
co. Ngttoi ta co the' d~ dang chung
minh r1ng tJ va d3 duoc tim thay o vi
trf dJu, giaa va cuoi va kh6ng co SL!
ket hop no khac (vi du pf, dz, t i!) c6
slf phan bo rqng 11h11 the. Tuy nhien,
mot so phu am thuong duoc chap nhan
la am vi cl a giong BBC mac du no
khong tu do xut hien tat ca cac vi
tri (vi du: r, w ,j, h, , 3 ), vi vay lap luan
nay, dt:, i ng ho thuyet phan tich mot
am vi, that st! kh6ng clnrng minh rang
tf, d3 phai du;c xep loai cung voi cac
am vi phu am don khac.
iii) Neu tf va d3 co th€ tlf do ket hQ'p vai
cac phu am khac de' ti;\O thanh cac
cum phu am thi di@u nay s i ng ho
cha su phan tich mot am vi. Tuy nhien,
a vi tri dJu, tJ va d3 khong bao gio
xuat hien trong cac cum voi cac phu
am khac. d vi tri dau trong am ti&t,
chung ta thay rang tf co the' c6 t theo
sau (vi du: 'watched' wo(ft) va d3 co
d theo sau (vi dt1: 'wedge' wed3d). t.f
va d3 o vi tri cu6i co the' co I dung
tru o c (vi du: 'squelsh' skeltJ, 'bulge'
hAld3); J kho ng baa gio co I dung
trttac, va .f c6 I dung truac chi a mqt
so' td va ten, vi du: 'Welsh' w el.f,
'Walsh' wolf. Mqt tlnh huo'ng kha
ttJong tl_/ dtJ(J'c tim thy neu chung ta
hoi lieu n c6 the' dang truck tJ va d3
hay khng; mot so nguoi noi gio ng
 159
h av e nJ i n t h es e co n t ex t s an d n ev er ntf.
It s eems, t h en, t h at no con t ras t b et w een
s y llab l e-fi n al IJ an d ItJ ex i s t s i n BBC
accent , an d t h e s ame ap p ears t o b e t ru e
i n rel at i o n t o nf an d ntJ an d t o ny an d
nd3. Th ere are n o o t h er p oss i b i lities fo r
fin al co n s on an t cl u s t ers co n t ai n i ng tJ an d
d3, ex cep t t h at t h e p re-i ni ti al I o r n may
o ccu r i n co mbin at i on w i th p o s t-fi n al t, d
as i n 's q u elc h ed ' skwelJt, ' h i ng ed ' hmd3.
It co u l d no t , t h en , b e s ai d t h at tJ an d d3
co mb i n e freel y w it h o th er co n s o n an t s i n
fo rmi n g con s on an t cl u s t ers ; t h i s i s
p art ic u l arl y n o ti ceab l e i n i ni t i al p o s i t i o n .
H o w w o u ld t h e t w o -p h on eme an al y s i s
affect t h e s y lla h i e-st ru ctu re framew o rk
t h at w as i n t ro d u ced i n Ch apt er 8 ? In i ti al
tf, d3 w o uld h av e t o b e i n t erp ret ed as
i n i t i al t, d p l u s p ost -i n i t i al J, 3 wit h t h e
res u lt t h at t h e p o s t -i n it i al s et o f
co n s o n an t s w o u l d h av e t o co n t ai n I , r, w ,
j an d al s o J, 3 - co n so n an t s w h i ch are
rath er d i fferen t fro m t h e o t h er fo u r an d
wh i ch cou l d o n l y co mbin e w i t h t, d. (T h e
o n l y al t ern ati v e w o ul d b e t o p u t t, d w i t h
s i n t h e p re-i n it i al cat eg o ry , ag ai n w i t h
v ery limit ed p o ssib ili ti es o f co mb i n i n g
w i t h ano t h er co n s o n ant. )
i v ) Fi n ally , i t h as b een s u g g es t ed t h at i f
n at i v e s p eak ers o f E n g l i s h wh o h av e n o t
b een t aught p h o n et i cs feel t h at tJ an d d3
are e a ch " o n e s o u n d " , w e s h o u l d b e
g u i d ed by t h ei r i n t u i ti on s an d p refer t h e
o n e-p h o n eme an al y s i s . T h e p ro bl em w it h
t h i s i s t h at d i s co v eri n g w h at u n t rain ed
(o r "n ai v e" ) s p eak ers feel ab out t h ei r o wn
l a n g u a g e i s n o t as eas y as i t m i g h t s o u n d .
It w ou l d b e n eces s ary t o as k q u est i o n s
lik e t h i s : "W o u l d y o u s ay t h at t h e w o rd
' ch i p ' b egin s wit h o n e s oun d - l i k e ' t i p '
and ' s i p ' - o r w i t h t w o s ou n d s - l i k e ' t ri p '
an d ' s k i p ' ?" Bu t t h e res u lt s w o u l d b e
d i s to rt ed b y t h e fact t h at t w o co n s on an t
l etters are u s ed i n t h e s p elli n g; t o do t h e
t es t p ro p erl y o n e s h o u l d u s e ill it erat e
BBC co ntf tr o n g ' l un ch ' , ' Fren ch ' ,
v .v ... v a k h 6 n g b ao g i o p h at am ch u o i
nJ t ro n g mQ t am tit , mac d u n hu n g
n g t t oi n 6 i k h ac l u 6 n c6 nJ t ron g n hu n g
n g t can h n ay v a k h 6n g b ao g i o c6
ntf. V ay t h i d u o n g n hu k h on g co SL_/
t rai n g ud c g i l a am t i t cu 6i If v a ltJ
t ro n g g i o n g BBC, v a d i eu t uo n g t u t n ay
d u on g n h u d i n g d u n g v o i nf v a ntf v a
v o i n3 v a nd3. K h o n g co cac k h a n an g
k h ac d o i v o i cac cu m p h u am ch t.'ta
tJ v a d3, n go a i tru I h o c)C n t ruo c ph an
d au c6 t h e x u at h i en k et h o p v o i t, d
s au p h J n cu o i n h u t ron g ' s q u el ch ed '
skwel.ft, ' h i ng ed ' hrnd3. V ~y th l k h6 n g
t h € n o i ran g t.f va d3 tudo kt h o p
v o i cac ph u am k h ac d e h i n h t h an h
cac c u m p h u a m ; d i eu n ay d ac b i et
d e n h a n t h a y & v i t ri cu 6 i .
T hu y et p h an tich h ai am v i s e an h
h u cJ n g n h t t t h e n o d en k h u 6 n k h 6 ca"u
t ru c am t i &t d a du o c g i o i t h i eu t ro n g
ch t t d n g 8 ? tJ, d3 a vi t ri d au s e p h i
d u c,c h i € u la t, t d au co n g v o i f, 3 s au
d au , v o i kt q u a l a t ap h o p cac p h u
am s au d au s p h i ch @a l, r, w , j v a
Cli n g ch u a .f, 3 - h ai ph u am n ay k h ac
h o n t o an v d i b o n p h u a m k i a v a c h i
c6 t h e k et h o p v o i t, d . (Su l u a ch o n
duy n h a"t l a d c';t t, d v o i s & lo ai t ruo c
d a u , v o i c a c k h a n a n g ra t h a n c h e l a
kt h o p v o i mo t p h u am k h ac.)
i v ) Cu o i cu n g , g i a t h u y et d u c d u a ra la
n eu n gu d i b an n gu n o i t i en g A nh v o n
k h 6 n g d t t q c d i! Y n g a am h o c cam
t h ay ran g n u tf v a d3 mo i l o ai d eu
l a ' mo t am' , ch un g t a n en t h eo t n _tc
g i ac cu a h o v a t h ic h t hu y et p h an tich
m o t am v i h o n . V an d e l a v i ec k h am
p h a ra d i eu ma n h u n g n g ud i n o i k h 6 n g
d u o c d o t a o (h a y " n g o n g h e c h " ) c a m
t h ay v e n g o n n gu cd a h o t h l k h 6n g
d e d an g n h u t a t u cJ ng . Ch u n g t a d n
p h ai d at ra n h u ng cau h o i n h u t h e n ay :
"Ban s e n o i ran g tu ' ch i p ' b at d au
b an g mi) t am -n hu ' t i p ' v a ' s i p ' - h ay
v o i h ai am - n l u l 't ri p ' v a ' s k i p ' ?" N hu ng
k et q u a s e b i b op meo b d i s u t h at l a
h ai mau t d p l w am d Ll <;/C d un g d d i;l n g
 16 0
subjects, which raises many further chinh ta; de thuc hien viec kiem tra
problems. nay mot each thfch hqp, nguai ta nen
dung cac chu the khong lien quan den
chet nghia, se phat sinh ra nhieu van
de hon mra.
This rather long discussion of the Cuc thao lun kha dai dong nay ve
phonemic status of t.f and d3 shows how tinh trang am vi catf va d3 cho tha'y
difficult it can be to reach a conclusion in rang di den ket lun trong vi@c phan tich
phonemic analysis. am vi that kh6 khan nhu the nao.
For the rest of this chapter a number of Phan con lai cua chuong nay se thao
other phonological problems will be luan tuong doi ngan gon ve mot so van
discussed comparatively briefly. I have de khac ca
am vi hoc. Toi d de cap
already mentioned (in Chapter 6) problems r6 i (d chuong 6) ca c v,'i'n de phan tich
of analysis in connection with the sounds lien quan den cac am thuong duoc phien
usually transcribed hw and hj. The velar nasal am la hw va hj. Am mui vom mem n, da
!J described in Chapter 7. also raises a lot of dL((Jc mieu ta trong Chuong 7, cLlng phat
analysis problems; some writers have sinh nhieu van de plan tich; nhieu tac
suggested that the correct analysis is cne in gia da de
xuat rang SL_{ phan tich dC1ng la
which there is no o phoneme. and this sound phan tich ma trong d6 khong co am vi n
is treated as an allophone of the phoneme n va am nay duoc xem la Iha am vi cua
that occurs when it precedes the phoneme am vi n von xuat hi@n khi no dung truoc
g. It was explained in Chapter 7 that in am vj g. Trong Chuong 7 gia thiet da giai
certain contexts no g is pronounced. but it thfch rang trong mot so n g Ct canh g kh6ng
can be clained that at an abstract level there duoc phat am, nhung gii thuyet c6 th&
is a g phoneme, though in certain contexts cho rang (j cap do tr(u tuong co mot a Ill
the g is not actually pronounced. The sound vi g, mac du trong mot so ngL7 canh g
!J is therefore. according to this theory, an that su khong duoc phat am. Do d6, am
allophone of n.
!J theo gia thuyet nay la tha am vi cua n.
13.2 T h e E n gli sh vow e l syste m 13.2 H~ th6ng nguyen am trong t ie'ng
Anh
The analysis of the English vowel system
Viec phan tich he thong nguyen am
presented in Chapters 2 and 3 contains a
tieng Anh da duoc trinh bay trong chLlo'ng
large number of phonemes, and it is not
2va 3c6 mot s6 luc;mg lon cac am vi va
surprising that some phonologists (who
khong c6 gl dang ngac nhien khi mot so
believed in the importance of keeping the
nha am vi hoc (nhetng ngLlo'i tin vao tam
total number of phonemes small) proposed
quan trong CLla viec giet cho t6ng so cac
different analyses which contain less than
ten vowel phonemes and treat all long
am vi nh6) de xuat nhmng phan tich khac
nhau co ft hon muai am vi nguyen am
vowels and diphthongs as composed of two
va xem ta't ca cac nguyen am dai va
phonemes each. There are different ways of
nhi trC,ng am la mcii loai duoc cau tao
doing this: one way is to treat long vowels
and diphthongs as composed of two vowel
tt hai am vi. C6 nhi&u cach khac nhau
phonemes. If we start with a set of basic or
de lam viec nay: mot cach la xem cac
nguyen am dai va nhi tr(rng am la duoc
"simple" vowel phonemes 1, e, re, A, o, u, a it
cau tao tt hai am vi nguyen am. Bat
would then be possible to make up long
vowels by using vowels twice. Our usual dau vdi mot tap hop cac am vi nguyen
transcription is given in brackets: am don gian hay "co ban" 1, e, a , A, D , u, ;),
ta c6 th€ t<,10 ra cac nguyen am dai bang
each dung cac nguyen am ngan hai Ian.
 161
n(i:) rere (o:) DD (2 :) UU (u:) a0 (3 :)
T h i s can b e mad e t o l o o k l es s u nu s u al b y
ch o o s i n g d i fferen t s y mb o l s fo r t h e b as i c
v o w el s . In t h i s app ro ach , d i p h t h o n g s are
mad e fro m a s i mp l e v o w el p h o n eme
fo llo w ed b y o n e o f 1, 0, a, an d t ri p h t h on g s
are mad e fro m a b as i c v o w el p lu s o n e o f 1, o
fo llo w ed b y a, and are t h erefo re co mp o s ed
o f t h ree p h on emes .
Anoth er w ay o f d o i n g t h i s kin d o f an al y s i s
i s t o t reat l on g v o w el s an d d i ph t h o n g s as
co mp o s ed o f a vo w el p l u s a con s o n an t ; t h i s
may s eem a J es s o bvi o u s w ay o f p ro ceed i ng,
b u t i t w as fo r man y y ears t h e choi ce o f mo s t
A meri can p hon o l o gis t s . Th e i d ea i s t h at l o n g
v o w el s an d d i ph th ong s are co mpo s ed o f a
b as ic v ow el p h o n eme fo llo w ed b y on e o f j,
w, h (w e s h o u l d add r fo r s h o ti c accen t ). T h u s
t h e di p h t h o ng s cou l d b e mad e u p lik e t hi s
(o ur u s u al t ran s cri pt i o n i s g i v en i n b rack et s ):
Ph an p h i @n am t ho n g t hu ong cl a chun g
t a duo c ch o t ro n g da' u n g o ijc:
Ph i en am n ay c6 t h € tra n en t ro n g i t
k h ac la h o n b an g cach cho n cac k y h i eu
k h ac d an h ch o n h u n g n g u y en am co b an .
T h eo each n ay , cac n h i t run g am d LI Q'c
tao ra tu mot am v i n g uy en am d o n g i an
d LI Q'C th eo s au b o i mot t ro n g s o 1, 0, a, v a
cac t am t ru n g am d u d c tao ra tu mot
n gu y en am co b an co n g mot t ro n g s o 1, 0
d u g c t h eo s au b d i a , v a do d o d u o c t ao
ra tub a am v i .
Mot cach k h ac de t h u c h i en lo ai ph an
tich n ay l a x em eac n g u y en am d ai v a
n h i t ru n g am d lf c/ C t ao t h an h tu mqt
n g uy en m co n g mot p h u am; cach th u c
h i e n n a y d u o n g n h u i t r6 ra n g h o n , n h u n g
t ro ng n h i eu n am n o l a s u l u a ch o n cu a
h au h et cac n h a am v i h o c n gu o i My .
N g h T a la cac n g u y en am d ai v a n h i t run g
am d u g c tao t h an h tu mot am v i n gu y en
am C d b an t h eo s au l a j , w, h (chun g t a
n en th em r di v o i cac g i o n g r tin h ). V ay
cac n h i t run g am c6 th € d u (J c t <).O t h an h
n hu t h e n ay (p h i en am th o n g t h u o n g cu a
ch un g t a d LI Q'c ch o t ro n g d a' u n g o ijc):

ej (e1 ) a w ( a o) 1h ( 1a)

wj ( a ) e w ( a o) eh (ea)
- oj (;n) oh ( oa )

Lo n g v o w el s : N g u y en am d i :
1j ( 1: ) reh (a:) oh ( :>:) ah (a:) ow ( u)

D i p h t hong s an d l o ng vo w el s are n o w o f Cac n h i t run g am v a n g u y en am d ai

ex act l y t h e s ame p h on o l o g i cal co mp os i t i o n .
A n i mpo rt an t p o i n t abo u t t h i s an al y s i s i s t h at
j, w, h do n o t o t h erw i s e o ccu r fi n ally i n t h e
s y llab l e. In t his an al y s i s, t h e i n eq u ai it y o f
d ist ri b u t i on i s co rrect ed .
In Ch ap t er 9 w e s aw h o w , al t h o ug h t I and
i: are cl earl y d i s ti n ct i n mo st cont ex t s , t h ere
are o t h er con t ex t rs w h ere w e fi n d a s ound
w h i ch can n ot cl earl y b e s ai d t o b el o n g t o
o n e o r o t h er o f t h es e t wo p h o n emes . T h e
b ay g i o co cu n g th an h p h an cau tao am
v i . Mot d i em q u an t ro n g v e cach ph an
tich n ay l a j, w , h mat k h ac k h o n g x u at
h i en o cu o i t ro n g am t i et. T h eo cach ph an
tich n ay , s u k h ac n h au a cach p h an b 6
d a d u o c s tia d 6 i .
T ro n g ch u o ng 9 ch un g t a d a t h ay d u Q c
tln h trq n g , mijc d u Iv a i: k h ac n h au mot
cach ro ran g t ro n g h au h et cac n g u can h ,
co n h u n g n g a can h k h ac ma a
do ta th y
mot am ma t a k h o n g th e n o i r6 la t h u o c
 1 62
suggested solution to this problem was to
use the symbol i, which does not represent
any single phoneme; a similar proposal was
made for u. We use the term neutra lisa ti on
for cases where contrast between phonemes
which exist in other places in the language
disappear in particular contexts. There are
many other ways of analysing the very
con1plex vowel system of English, some of
which are extremely ingenious. Each has its
own advantages and disadvantages.
13.3 Syllabic consonants
A final analysis problem that we will
consider is that mentioned at the end of
Chapter 8 : how to deal with syllabic
consonants. It has to be recognised that
syllabic consonants are a problem - they
are phonologically different from their non­
syllabic counterparts. How do we account for
the minimal pairs, which were given in
Chapter 9?
Syllabic Non-syllabic
'coddling' kndh!J 'codling' kndho
'Hungary' hAngri 'hungry' hA!)gri
One possibility is to add new consonant
phonemes to our list. We could invent the
phonemes f, ~. 1?- etc. The distribution of
these consonants would be rather limited,
but the main problem would be fitting them
into the pattern of syllable structure. For a
word like ' button' btn or 'bottle' bntl , it
would be necessary to add 1?- and ! to the first
post-final set; the argument would be
extended to include the r in 'Hungary'. But if
these consonants now form part of a syllable­
final consonant cluster, how do we account
for the fact that English speakers hear the
consonants as extra syllables? The question
might be answered by saying that the new
phonemes are to be classed as vowels.
Another possibility is to set up a phoneme
that we might name s y lla bi ci ty , symbolised
with the mark,· Then the word ' codling' would
ve am nay hay am k ia trong s6 hai am
v i. Giai phap de x uat c ho v an de nay la
dung k y hieu i, k hong dai dien c ho bat
c u am v i don nao; mot de x ua't tuong ti/ ·
la danh c ho u. Chung ta dung thu~t ngCt
"trun g tin h h oa" c ho nhung truong hQ'p ma
a do c o su trai ngugc gila c ac am v i
k hong x ua' t hie n trong n hung ngu can h
dac biet nhung lai ton tai 8 nhtng c ho
k hac trong ng6n ngu. C6 nhieu c ac h
k hac de phan tic h he thong nguy en am
ra' t phLlc t,;1p c ua tieng Anh, mot s o eac h
cuc k y k heo leo. Moi c ac h deu c o LIU
k huy et diem rieng.
13.3 Cac phy am co am tiet tinh
Van de phan tic h c uoi c mng ma c hung
ta s e x em x et la v a'n de da duoc de c ap
o c uoi c huong 8: c ac h gii quy et c ac
phu am co am tiet tinh. Phi c ong nhan
rang c ac phu am c o am tiet tinh la mot
v a'n d : v e mat am vi hoc c hung k hac
v oi ca c phu am phi am tiet tinh. Chung
ta gii thic h ca c c ap t6i thieu s au day
nhu the nao, day la c ac c ap da dudc
c ho a ch Liang 9?
Cd am tie't Khring cd c1m tie't
' coddling' kndho ' codling' kndho
'Hungary' hA!J9ri ' hungry' hA!)gri
Mot k ha nang la them ca c am vi phu
am moi v ao danh s ac h c la c hung ta.
Chung ta c o the tao ra c ac am v i l, n.
Su phan bo ca c phu am nay k ha gioi
han, nhung v a' n de c hfnh la lam c ho
c hung hop v oi mau ca u truc am tiet. Voi
mo• t W nhlf 'button' bx tnI hoa• c 'bottle'
bntl , ta c an phai them n v a l v ao tap
hop s au-cu6i th@ nhat; lap luan nay s e
du'c/C mo rong de bao gom r trong
'Hungary ' . NhLlng ne' u bay gio cac plu.1
am nay hinh thanh mot phan c ua c um
phu am c uoi am tie' t th1 c hung ta giai
thic h nhu the no nhtng ngudi noi tieng
Anh nghe ca c pill.I am nay la ca c am
tiet phu them? Cau hdi nay c 6 the duoc
giai dap bang c ac h noi rang c ac am v i
moi phai dudc phan loai la nguy en arn.
Mot k ha ning k hac la thiet lap mot am
 163
consist of the following six phonemes:
k•o•d•l•••o, while the word 'coddling' would
consist of the following seven phonemes:
k•o~d (l and simultaneously ,) , ••o. This is a
superficially attractive theory, but the
proposed phoneme is nothing like the other
phonemes we have identified up to this point
- putting it simply, it doesn' t have any sound.
Some phonologists maintain that a
syllabic consonant is really a case of a vowel
and a consonant that have become
combined. Ler us suppose that the vowel is
a. We could then say that, for example,
' Hungary' is phonemically hApgori while
'hungry' is hAggri; it would then be necessary
to say that the vowel phoneme in the
phonemic representation is not pronounced
as a vowel, but instead causes the following
consonant to become syllabic. This is an
example of the abstract view of phonology
where the way a word is represented
phonologically may be significantly
different from the actual sequence of sounds
heard, so that the phonetic and the phonemic
levels are quite widely separated.
13.4 Clusters of s plus plosives
Words like 'spill', 'still', 'skill' are usually
represented with the phonemes p, t, k
following the s . But, as many writers have
pointed out, it would be quite reasonable to
transcribe them with b, d, g instead. For
example, b, d, g are unaspirated while p, t, k
in syllable-initial position are usually
aspirated. However in sp, st, sk we find an
unaspirated plosive, and there could be a
strong argument for transcribing them as sb,
sd, sg. We do not do this, perhaps because of
the spelling, but it is important to remember
that the contrasts between p and b, between
t and d and between k and g are neutralised
in this context.
13.5 Schwa (a)
It has been suggested that there is not
really a contrast between a and A, since a
vi ma chung ta co the dat ten la am vi
co am ti&t tinh, dugc bieu dien bang k
hieu ,. V a y thi tu ' codling' se co sau am
vi sau day: k··d·lr·p, mac du tu
' coddling' se co bay am vi sau day: k•o•d.
(I va dong th' i co) ,1·n . Gia thuyet nay
c6 ve ly thu hon, nhung am vi da de
xuat khong giong nhu cac am vi khac
ma chung ta da xac dinh cho den.thoi
diem nay - noi mot cach don gian la, no
kh6ng c6 am nao.
M9t so nha am vi hqc van cho rang
mot phu am co am tiet ti@t that ra la
truing hop ket hop mot nguyen am va
mot phu am. Chung ta hay gia st rang
nguyen am la a. Vay thi chung ta c6 th
noi rang, vi du: "Hungary" ve mat am vi
hqc la hAggari trong khi ' hungry' la
hAggri; do d6 can phai noi rang am vi
nguyen am trong ph.i n trlnh bay am vi
khong duoc phat am la nguyen am, ma
thay vao do n6 lam cho phu am theo sau
tr& thanh phu am c6 am tiet tinh. Day
la mot vi du v hinh anh trtu tuong cia
am vi hoc, <1 d6 each trinh bay mot W
ve mat am vi hoc co the khac hoan toan
voi chuoi cac am thl,fc su duoc nghe, vl
the cac cap do ngd am va am vi cach
xa nhau rat nhieu.
1 3 .4 Ca c c um s c ong voi ca c a m bat
Cac W nhv ' spill' , ' still' , ' skill' thuong
duoc trinh bay voi cac am vi p, t, k theo
sau s. Nhvng, nhu nhieu tac gia da chi
ro, se hoan ton hop ly khi phien am
chung voi b, d, g. Vi du, b, d, g kh6ng
bat hoi trong khi p, t, k <1 vi trf d.i u am
tiet thuong bat hoi. Tuy nhien, trong s p,
s t, s k, ta tim thay am khong bat hoi, va
c6 the c6 lap luan vIng chac phin am
chung la sb, sd, sg. Chung ta khong dua
ra lap luan nay, c6 le do cach viet chinh
ta, nhvng dieu quan trong la phai nho
rang su trai nguoc gila p va b, gila t va
d va giua k va g duoc trung tfnh h6a trong
ngu canh nay.
1 3 .5 Schwa (a)
Co gii thuyet cho rang tren thuc te
khong co s u s u trai nguoc gila a va , vi
 16 4
only occurs in weak syllables and no minimal chi xuat hien trong cac am tiet yeu va
pairs can be found to show a clear contrast kh6ng c6 cap t6i thieu nao co th€ dLl<;IC
between A and a in unstressed syllables tlm thay d€ chung minh sl/ tuong phan
(though there have been some ingenious . r6 rang giua Ava a trong cac am. tit
attempts). This has resulted in a proposal that khong nhan (mac du co mot s6 no luc
one phoneme symbol (e.g. a) be used for tai tinh). Gia thuyet nay da de xuat rang
representing any occurrence of a or A , so that mot ky hieu am vi (vi d{): a ) dt1<;1c dung
'cup' would be transcribed 'ka p and 'upper' as cl€ trlnh bay bat cu truong hQ'p nao xay
'a pa . This new a phoneme would have two ra cua a ho~c A, vl the' 'cup' se dt.JQ'C
allophones, one being [a ] and the other [A]; phien am la 'ka p va 'upper' phien am la
the stress mark would indicate the [ A] 'a pa . Am vi moi nay se co hai tha am vi,
allophone and in syllables not marked for mot la [a] va mot con lai la [A} ; dau nhan
stress it would be more lokely that se chi r6 tha am vi [a] va trong cac am
unimportant whether [a ] would be tiet khong duoc danh dau nhan, rt co
pronounced. the [a] se dugc phat am.
Other phonologists have suggested that Cac nha am vi hoc dua ra gia thuyet
a is an allophone of several other vowels; rang a la tha am vi cua mot so nguyen
for. example, compare the middle two am khac; vi du, hay so sanh hai am tiet
syllables in the words 'economy' 1'knnami giua cua cac tu 'economy' 1'knnami va
and ' economic' ,i:kannm1k - it appears that 'economic' ,i:kannm1k - co ve nhu khi
when the stress moves away from the syllable trong am di chuy€n ra xa am tiet dang
containing o the vowel becomes a . Similarly, chua n thl nguyen am nay tr& thanh a.
compare ' Germanic' d:p:'mremk with Tuong tu, so sanh 'Germanic' d3a:'man1k
' German' 'd33:man - when the stress is taken voi 'German' 'd33:man - khi du nhan
away from the syllable mren, the vowel dt.JQ'c lay di khi am tiet men thl nguyen
weakens to a. Many similar examples could am nay tr& nen yeu di thanh a. Nhieu vi
be constructed with other vowels; some du tuong tu co the duoc dua ra v6'i ca c
possibilities may be suggested by the list of nguyen am khac; mc)t s6 kha nang co
words given in section 9.2 to show the th€ dL/Q'C dLla ra trong danh sach cac w
different spellings that can be pronounced dt.JQ'C cho o muc 9.2 cho thay cac cach
with a . The conclusion that could be drawn viet khac nhau v6n co the duoc phat am
from this argument is that a is not a phoneme voi a. Tu lap luan nay co th& rut ra ket
of English, but is an allophone of several lun rang a khong phai la am vi cl a tieng
different vowel phonemes when those Anh, ma la tha am vi cua mot so am vi
phonemes occur in an unstressed syllable. nguyen am khac nhau khi nhung am vi
The argument is in some ways quite an nay xuat hien trong mot am tit khong
attractive one, but since it leads to a rather nhan. Theo mot so cach, day la lap luan
complex and abstract phonemic analysis it kha ly tha, nhung vi no dan den phan
is not adopted for this course. tfch am vi kha pht c tap va trt u tu@ng
nen n6 kh6 ng dt.JQ'c st dung trong sach
nay.
13. 6 Distinc tive fe atu r e s 1 3 .6 C a c da c die m k ha c bi@e t
Many references have been made to Nhieu noi dung tham khao ve am vi
phonology in this course, with the purpose hoc da dLIQ'c dt.Ja ra trong sach nay, v6'i
of making use of the concepts and analytical muc dich la st dung cac khai niem va
techniques of that subject to help explain ky thuat phan tich cua chi de d6 de gii
various facts about English pronunciation as thich C d So' lap luan khac nhau ve cach
efficiently as possible. One might call this phat am tieng Anh theo cach cang hieu
"applied phonology" ; however, the qua cang tot. Nguoi ta co the goi day la
 165
p h o n o l og ic al an al y s i s o f d i fferen t l angu ag es 'am vi hoc ung dung'; tuy nhien, vi@c
rai s es a g reat n u mb er o f d i ffi cu lt an d phan tich am vi cua cac ng6n ngu khac
i nt eres t i n g t h eo ret i cal p ro b l ems , an d fo r a nhau nay sinh rat nhieu van de gia thuyet
l ong t i me t h e s tud y o f p h o n o l o gy "fo r it s o w n kh6 khan cung nhu thu vi, va trong m(,t
s ak e" h as b een reg ard ed as an i mp o rt an t area thoi gian dai viec nghien cuu am vi hoc
o f th eo reti cal l i n g u i s t i cs . W i t h i n t his area o f "vl ban than 11611 du<1c xem la m(lt lin h
w h at co u l d b e called "pu re p h o no l o gy " , Vl/C quan trong cda ngon ngu hoc gii
p ro b l ems are ex ami n ed w i t h l i ttl e o r n o thuyet tinh. Trong ITnh Vl/C ma c6 th€ dl/(1C
referen ce t o t h ei r rel ev an ce t o t h e l angu ag e goi la "am vi hoc thuan tuy", cac van de
l earn er. Man y d i fferen t t h eo reti cal dl/(1C xem xet ft co lien quan hay kh6ng
app ro ach es h av e b een d ev el o p ed , an d n o lien quan toi moi quan he cua chung voi
area o f p h o n o l og y h as b een free fro m cri ti cal ngudi hoc ngon nga. Nhieu gia thuyet
ex ami n at i o n . T h e v ery fu nd amen t al n o ti o n khac nhau da duoc phat trien va khong
o f t h e p hon eme, fo r ex amp l e, h as b een co linh Vl/C am vi hoc no nam ngoai su
t reat ed i n man y d i fferen t w ays. O n e app ro ach · xem xet nghiem ngat. Khai niem rat co
t h at h as b een g i v en a l o t o f i mp o rt an ce i s ban nay ve am vi, chang han, da dudc
distinctiv_e feature analysis, w h i ch i s b as ed xem xet theo nhieu cach khac nhau. M(lt
on t h e p rin ci pl e t h at p h o n emes s h o u l d b e cach du; c chu trong nhieu la phan tich
reg ard ed n o t as i n d ep en d ent an d i nd i v i s i b l e dac diem khac bi@t dua tren nguyen tac
u ni t s, b u t i n s t ead as co mb i n at i o n s o f d i fferen t cho rang cac am vi khong duoc xem la
feat u res . Fo r ex amp l e, i f w e co n si d er t h e don vi doc lap va khng the' chia du(1c,
E n g lis h d p hon eme, i t i s eas y t o s h o w t h at i t ma thay vao do la su ket hop cda cac
d i ffers fro m t h e p l os i v es b an d g i n i t s p l ace dac diem khac nhau. Vf du, nu chung ta
o f art i cu l at i o n (al v eo l ar), fro m t i n b eing xem xet am vi d trong ting Anh, ta de
l en i s, fro m s an d z i n n o t b ei n g fric ati v e, fro m dang thay duoc no khac vdi cac am bat
n i n n o t b ei n g n as al , an d s o o n . If w e l oo k at b va g a vi trf ca'u am cua no (am loi),
each o f t h e co n so n an t s j u s t men t i o n ed an d khac voi t & cho bat hoi yau, khac voi s
s ee which o f t h e feat u res each o n e h as , w e va z a ch6 khong phai la am xat, khac
g et a t ab l e l i k e t h i s, w h ere + mean s t h at a voi n a ch6 khong phi la am mu i, v .v.
p h o n eme d o es p o ss es s t h at feat u re an d - Neu chung ta xem xet rieng moi phu am
mean s t h at it d o es n o t: vl a de cap va xem m i phu am co dac
diem nao, chung ta co duoc mot bang
nhu the nay, trong do + co nghTa la m(lt
am vi co dac diem do va - nghTa la no
khong co:

d b g s z 11

am l g i + + + + +
am moi +
« 2
am v o m m em +
am bat h di yu + + + + (+ )*

am bat + + + +
am x at + +
am miii +
* Since ther e is no fo r tis/lenis contrast among * Vt I • iu g Co st trai ngugc manh/yeu giila
nasals this couldte lef t blank. cc am m nen ch nay c6 the' de' tro'ng.
 16 6

d b g s
alveolar + +
bilabial +
velar +
lenis + + + +
plosive + + + +
fricative
nasal
If you look carefully at this table, you
will see that the combination of+ and -values
for each phoneme is different; if two sounds
were represented by exactly the same +' s
and -' s, then by definition they could not be
different phonemes. In the case of the
limited set of phonemes used for this
example, not all the features are needed: if
one wished. it would be possible to dispense
with, for example, the feature "velar" and
the feature "nasal". The g phoneme would
still be distinguished from b and d by being
neither alveolar nor bilabial, and n would be
distinct from plosives and fricatives simply
by being neither plosive nor fricative. To
produce a complete analysis of all the
phonemes of English, other features would
be needed for representing other types of
consonant, and for vowels and diphthongs.
In distinctive feature analysis the features
themselves thus become important
compone11ts of 1he phonology.
It ha, been --!aimed by some writers that
distinctive feature analysis is relevant to the
study of language learning, and that
pronunciation difficulties experienced by
learners are heller seen as due to rhe need
to learn a particular feature o; combination
of feature, than a, the absence of narticular
phonen es. For example. English speakers
le·1rning French or German have to learn to
produce front rounded vowels. In English it
is not necessary to be able.to consider vowels
which are [ +front, +round], whereas this is
necessary for French and German; it cguld
be 3i' that rho major task fo r tho English­
z n
+ + +
(+)*
+ +
+
Neu bqn nhin ky bi ng nay, ban se
thay rang su ket hop cac gia tri + va ­
cha mcii am vi la khac nhau; neu hai am
duoc trinh bay chinh xac bdi cung cac
gia tri + va -, thl theo dinh nghia chung
c6 the la cac am vi khac nhau. O trui ng
hop cl a tap hop gioi han cac am vi duoc
dung cho vi du nay, khong phai tat ca
cac dac diem deu can thiet: neu muon,
ta c6 the khong can den, chang han nhu,
dac diem "vom mem" va dac diem "mt i".
Am vi g se van phan biet dugc vo i b va
d do khong phai la am ldi cung khong
phi la am moi, va n se phan biet voi
cac am bat va am xat don gian vi khong
phai la am bat cling khong phi la am
xat. De co mot phan tich hoan chinh v
tat ca cac am vi trong ting Anh, dn
phai co cac dac diem khac de trinh bay
cac loai phu am khac, va can cho cac
nguyen am va nhi trung am. Theo each
phan tich dc diem khac bi t, ban than
cac dac diem do d6 tra thanh cac thanh
phan quan trong cl a am vi hoc.
Mot so tac gia cho rang phan tich dac
diem khac biet co lien quan den viec
nghien ct u van de hoc ngon ng@, va cho
rang nhCtng kh6 khan ve cach phat am
ci a nguoi hoc dugc nhin nhan la do nhu
cau hoc mot dac diem cu the hay su ket
hop cda cac dac diem tot hon la khong
co cac am vi cu th€. Vi du, nhCtng ngtloi
noi lieng Anh dang hoc tieng Phap hay
lieng 8C/c phai hoc each tao cac nguyen
am tron moi o hang lrLl<Jc. Trong tieng
Anh, khong nhat t iiet phi co kha narig
xem xet cacnguyn am von la [+hang
truoc, +tron moil, trong khi di@u nay lai
 1 67
speaking learner of French or German in this
case is to learn the combination of these
featu• es, not to learn the individual vowels
y , 0 and (in French) re.*
* The phone tic symbols r e pr e se nt the fo llowing
sounds: y is a close front ro unded vowel ( e.g. the
vowe l in F r enc h tu, Ge rman Bhiine) ; 0 is a close ­
mid front ro unde d vowe l ( e .g. F r e nch peu, Ge rman
schon) ; re is a n ope n- mid front ro unde d vowe l ( e .g.
F r e nc h reuf).
English, on the other hand, has to be able
to distinguish dental from labiodental and
alveolar places of articulation, for II to be
distinct from f and s and for it to be distinct
from v and z. This requires an additional
feature that most languages do not make use
of, and learning this could be seen as a
specific task for the learner of English.
Distinctive featurt: phonologists have also
claimed that when children are learning their
first language, they acquire features rather
than individual phonemes.
13.7 Conclusion
This chapter is intended to show that there
are many ways of analysing the English
phonemic system, each with its own
advantages and disadvantages. We need to
consider the practical goal of teaching or
learning about English pronunciation, and
for this purpose a very abstract analysis
would be unsuitable. This is one criterion
for judging the value of ah analysis; unless
one believes in carrying out phonological
analysis for purely aesthetic reasons, the
only other important criterion is whether the
analysis is likely to correspond to the
representation of sounds in the human brain ..
We do not yet know much about this, but the
brain is so powerful and complex that it is
very ·unlik_ely thnt any of th<:: analys·es
proposed so far bear much resemblance to.
this reality; they are too heavily influenced'
by the theoretician' s p_reocc;upat'ion with
economy. elegance and simplicity.
c an thit d6i v i tieng Anh v a tieng Da e;
c o the noi rang nhiem vu c hinh c da ngudi
Phap hoac Dtc hoc n6i tie'ng Anh trong
truong hc;1p nay la phai hoc k e't hc;1p c ua
cac dc diem nay , c ht k hong phai lioc
c ac nguy en am rieng le y , 0 va (trong
tieng Phap) c:e.*
* Ck ky h i et1 n g u a m tllc;Jn g t rlln g cho ca c a m
s a u d a y: y l a n g u yen a m t r o n mi, do n g , e1 h an g
tr u a c (vi d u : n g u yen am t ron g t i €n g P h a p t u ,-t i € n g
fJucBhtine); 0/a n g u yen a m t r o n m 6 i h an g t r u d c
n iia _d o n g (vi d 1,1: t i €n g P h a p peu, ti €n g Du e sc hon);
re l a n g u yen a m tr o n m o i , h an g t r U a c, n iia m e! (vi
d 1,1: t i € n g P h a p re u f ).
Mat k hac , ti@ng Anh phai c o k h nang
phan biet c ac vi tri cu am c la am rang
v oi am m6i rang v a am lc;1i, II phan biet
v oi f v a s, 0 phan biet v oi v va z. Dieu
nay doi hoi them mot dac diem ma hau
het ca c ngon ngu st dung, v i@c hoc dac
di€m nay c 6 th€ duc;1c x em la mot nhiem
v u dac bi@t d6i v di nguoi hoc tieng Anh.
Cac nha am vi hoc nghien c tu v e dac
diem phan biet c ung c ho ring k hi tre em
hoc ng6n nga dau tien c ua c hung, c hung
hoc dudc c ac dac diem thay vi tiep thu
c ac am v i rieng biet.
13.7 Ke't,luij.n
Chudng nay nham c hung minh rang
c 6 nhi@u c ac h phan tic h he thong am v i
tieng Anh, moi c ac h deu c o Liu k huy e't
di€m rieng. Chung ta c an phi x em x et
muc tieu thuc tien c la v iec day va hoc
c ac h phat am ting Anh, va v i ly do nay
nen v iec phan tic h qua trtu tu@ng 's e
k h6ng pht:1 hop. Day la mot tieu c huan
d€ danh gia gia tri c ua mot c uoc phan ,
tic h; neu mot ngudi tin vao v iec thuc
bien phan tic h am v i hoc vi ly do tha' m
my , lieu chua'n duy nha' t-k hac la lie~1
c ac h phan tic h do c 6 th€ dap ung-voi sl/
trlnh bay ca c am trong nao nguoi hay
k hang. Chung ta c hua biet nhieu d ie u ve
nay , nhung bo nao qua rilc)nh va phlfc
tap den noi bat ct nhung phan tich nao
da duoc de x uat c ho den bay gio k h6ng
th& giong voi thuc te nay ; c hung bi anh
huong qua nhieu boi moi quan tam qua
mtc c la nha ly thuy et ve tinh kinh te
tao nha v a ddn gi-an.
 168

Notes on problems and further reading

The analysis of tf and d3 is one of the most intractable problems. The general principles
in traditional phoneme theory have been set out by Trubetzkoy (1939); the German original
has been translated into English (1969), and the relevant section of this translation is reprinted
in Fudge (1973: 65-70). The problem is also discussed in Cruttenden (1994, 157-60).. The
phonemic analysis of the velar nasal has already been discussed above (see Notes in Chapter
7). The 'double vowel' interpretation of English long vowels was put forward by Maccarthy
(1952) and is used by Kreidler (1989). The 'vowel' plus-semivowel' interpretation of long
vowels and diphthongs was almost universally accepted by American (and some British)
writers from the 1940s to the 1960s, and still pervades contemporary descriptions. It has the
advantage of being economical on phonemes and very 'neat and tidy' . The analysis in this
form is presented in Trager and Smith (1951). This work was claimed to provide an analysis
that could produce a phonologically distinct representation for all English short vowels,
long vowels and diphthongs in all accents. An early attack on this view was made by Sledd
(1955: 316-24). In generative phonology the claim is that, at the abstract level, English
vowels are simply tense or lax. If they are lax they are realised as short vowels, ii tense as
diphthongs (this category including what I have been calling long vowels). The quality of
the first element of the diphthongs/long vowels is modified by some phonological rules,
while other rules supply the second element automatically. This is set out in Chomsky and
Halle ( 1968: 178-87). There is a valuable discussion of the interpretation of the English
vowel system with reference to several different accents in Giegerich ( 1992: Chapter 3),
followed by an explanation of the distinctive feature analysis of the English vowel system
(Chapter 4) and the consonant system (Chapter 5). A more wide-ranging discussion of
distinctive features is given in Clark and Yallop (1995: Chapter 10).
On the interpretation of s p, s t, s k, see Davidsen-Nielsen ( 1969). There is an interesting
discussion of the a - A contrast in Wells ( 1970: 233-5). The idea that a is an allophone of
many English vowels is not a new one. In generative phonology, a results from vowel
reduction in vowels which have never received stress in the process of the application of
stress rules. This is explained - in rather difficult terms - in Chomsky and Halle (1968:
110-26). A clearer treatment of the schwa problem is in Giegerich (1992: 68-9 and 285-7).
Note for teachers
Since this is a theoretical chapter it is difficult to come up with practical work. I do not
feel that it is helpful for students to do exercises on using different ways of transcribing
phonemes - just learning one set of conventions is difficult enough. Some books on
phonology give exercises on the phonemic analysis of other languages (e.g. Katamba,
1989; Roca and Johnson, 1999), but although these are useful, I do not feel that it would be
appropriate in this book to divert attention from English. The exercises given below therefore
concentrate on bits of phonetically transcribed English which involve problems when a
phonemic representation is required.

Written exercises B a i ta p v iet

In this exercise you must look at
phonetically transcribed material from
different English accents and decide on the
best way to interpret and transcribe them
_phonemically. Information is given where
necessary about the meaning of the phonetic
Mr»'ls.
Trong bai tap nay, ban phai xem xet
noi dung da phien am theo ngd am hoc
t ut cac giong Anh khac nhau va quyet
dinh chon cach tot nhat de giai thich va
phien am chung theo am vi hoc. Thong
tin ve y nghia cda cac k hieu ngd am
duoc cho o noi can thiet.
 169
a) ' th ing ' [l hgg ]
b ) 'th in k ' [l h g k ]

c) 'think in g ' [01k1g]

d ) 'fing er' [f1 go ]
e' ) ' s ing er' [s ,g g a ]
f) ' s in g ing ' [s r 9 9 ]

2 It o ften h app en s in rap id s p eech th at a
n as al con s o n an t d is ap p ears wh en it
co mes b etween a v o wel an d an o th er
co n s on an t (for ex amp le, this may h app en
to th e 'n ' in 'fro n t' : wh en this h app en s th e
p reced in g v o wel b eco mes na s a lis ed
(s o me o f th e air es cap es th rou g h th e
n os e). We s y mbo lis e a n as alis ed v o wel
in p ho n etic tran s crip tio n b y p u ttin g th e
- d iacritic abov e it; for ex amp le, th e wo rd
' fro n t' may b e p ronoun ced [fri t].
Nas alis ed v o wels are fou n d in th e wo rd s
g iv en in p h o n etic tran s crip tio n b elo w.
Tran s crib e th em p hon emically.
a ) [s a ud]
2. Tl1Ltcrng trong lcri n6i nhanh, mot phu
am mui bien .ma't khi n6 dung ·gieta
mot nguy@en am va mot phu am khac
(vi du, di@u nay co the xay ra voi 'n'
trong 'front': khi di€u nay xay ra,
nguyen am dung truoc tr& nen bi mui
hoa (mot it kh6ng khi thoat qua mui)).
Chung ta bi&u di n nguyen am bi mui
h6a trong phan phien am theo nget am
hoc bang cach dat dau phu - ben tren
116; vi dl): tu 'front' c6 th€ duoc phat
am la [frt]. Cac nguyen am bi mui
hoa duoc tim thay trong cac tut duoc
cho trong phan phien am theo ngu am
hoc duoi day. Hay phien am chung
theo am vi hoc:

b) [@ g o ]

c ) [kii:t]

d) [ k rep a]

e) [bod]

3 Wh en th e t p ho n eme o ccu rs b etween 3. Khi am vi t xuat hien giua cac nguyen

v o wels it is s o metimes p ronou n ced as a
"tap " (th e to n g u e b lad e- s trik es th e
alv eo lar rid g e s h arply , p rod u cing a v ery
b rief v o iced p lo s iv e: th e p h on etic
s y mb o l is r) ; th is is v ery co mmon in
American En g lis h , an d is als o foun d in a
n u mb er o f accen ts in Eng lan d : thin k o f a
ty p ical. American p ron u n ciatio n o f
"g ettin g b etter" [geng bera]. Lo ok at th e
tran s crip tion s o f a nu mb er o f wo rd s g iv en
b elo w an d s ee if y ou can wo rk o u t (for
th e accen t in q u es tion) th e env iron men t
in wh ich [r] is found .
am, d6i khi no dudc phat am nghe
nhu mot tieng go nhe (song ludi go
manh vao nuou rang, tao ra am bat
huu thanh ra't ng,in: ky hieu ngu am
la r ); am nay rat ph6 bien trong tieng
Anh My va cung duqc tlm tha'y i'J mqt
s
o giong i'J Anh (England): hay nghi
v cach phat am giong M y cda
"getting better" [genu bera]. Xem phien
am ca mot tu duoc cho duoi day va
xem lieu ban co the gii i thich (d6i
vi giong dang du@c d cap) moi
truong ma trong do [rc] duoc tim thay
hay khong.
 170
a) 'betting' [berio] d) ' attitude' [rentu:d]
b) 'bedding' [bed19] e) 'time' [t h arm]
c) 'attend' [at"end] f) 'tight' [ t' a rt ]

4 Distinctive feature analysis looks at
different properties of segments and
classes of segments. In the following
exercise you must mark the value of each
feature in the table for each segment
listed on the top row with either a '+' or' -' ;
you will probably find it useful to look at
the IPA chart on p. xi.
p d
Continuant
(Phu a m xa t)
Alveolar
(Am lqiJ
4. Su phan tich dac diem phan biet xem
xet cac tinh chat khac nhau cda cac
doan va lop doan. Trong bai tap sau
day, ban phai danh dau gia tri cua
m i dac diem trong bang danh. cho
moi doan dudc lit ke o hang tren
bang cach dung '+' hoac '-'; co le
ban se thay ht u ich khi xem bang IPA
a trang xi.
s m z

Voiced
( H t? u th a n h )

5 In all the following sets of segments ( a ­
J), all segments in the set possess some
characteristic feature which they have in
common and which may distinguish them
from other segments. Can you identify
what this common feature might be for
each set?
a) English i:, ,, u:, u; Cardinal vowels (i].
[e]. [u], [o]
5. Trong tat ca cac tap hop doan sau
day (a- f), tat ca cac doan trong tap
hop co chung mot dac diem ti@u bi&u
va c6 the phan biet chung voi cac
doan khac. Ban c6 the nhan ra dac
diem chung nay danh cho mi tap hop
l a g i k h o ng ?
a) Tieng Anh i:, r, u:, o; Nguyen am chuan
[i], [el, [u], [o]

b) t d n I s tfdsf 3r
c ) bf v kg h

d) p t k f 1'1 s J tf
e) u: J: au au

- sj
 171

CHU ONG 14

alternation / ,:>:lta' ne1Jn/ (n) st luan phi@n

arhythmically / e1' nom1kh/ (adj) khong theo nhip/ti@t tau
assimilation /a,s1ma' le1fn/ (n) S(( drJng h6a am
close juncture / ' klaus ' d3A l)ktJa/ tiep diim khep
coarticulation / ,kaua:nkju'le1Jn/ (n) s{! ddng ccfu am (dilng hai b(!
ph(J.n ca'u am khdc anr)
contraction /bn' trrekJn/ (n) s{! tinh lU(f C

discernible / d1' s3:nabl/ (n) co the' nghe dU(lc

external open juncture /Jk' st3:nl ' aupan ' d3Al)ktJa/ ti@p diem md ngoai bi@n
foot /fut/ (n) nhip
inherent / m ' h1arant, ' her-/ (adj) 11/)i tr;i, crf hilu
internal open juncture /m' t3:nl ' aupan ' d3AnktJa/ ti@p diem md noi bien
intervene /,Jta' vi:n/ (v) ndm d giila
intrusive r /m' tru:s1v ' a:/ am r choi, chen vao
juncture / ' d3Al)ktJa/ (n) tiep diim hinh vi (quan hf va
ranh gi<ii giila hai hinh vi)
linking l'h!JkTIJI (n) st luyen am, noi am
metrical grid / ' metnkl ' gnd/ so do ti@t tau
open juncture / ' aupan ' d3Al)ktfa/ tiep dii/m mil
progressive /pra' gres1v/ (adj) (di5ng hda) vJ phia trU(Jc, tie'n,
thug n
proponent / pra'paunant/ (n) ngri de nghi, nguhi de xuat
regressive /n'gres1v/ (adj) (dong hoa) ve pha sau, l i ,
nghjc:h
regularity / ,regju' lreratJ/ (n) tinh dJu di!n
rhythm /' noam/ (n) nhip difultie't ta'u
rhythmical / ' nom1kl/ (adj) theo nhjpltheo tiet tau
stress-shift / ' stres,J1ft/ (n) st! chuyin dich trqng elm
stress-timed rhythm / ' stres,ta1md ' noam/ nhjp diefultie't uf u (dinh thr'Ji
gian)' theo trpng am
suprasegmental / ,su:pra' segmentl/ (adj) sieu doan tinh
syllable-timed rhythm / ' s1labl,ta1md ' rroam/ nhip difultie't td'u (dinh tlu)i
gian) theo am ti&t/van
utterance l' At(a)rans/ (n) phdt ng6n •
 172
14 Aspects of connected speech
14 Cac khia ca• nh cua noi am
Many years ago scientists tried to
develop machines that produced speech
from a vocabulary of pre-recorded words; the
machines were designed to join these words
together to form sentences. For very limited
mes_sages, such as those of a " talking clock" ,
this technique was usable, but for other
purposes the quality of the speech was so
unnatural that it was practically
unintelligible. In recent years,
developments in computer technology have
led to big improvements in this way of
producing speech, but the inadequacy of the
original " mechanical speech" approach has
many lessons to teach us about pronunciation
teaching and learning. In looking at
connected speech it is useful to bear in mind
the difference between the way humans
speak and what would be found in
" mechanical speech" .
14.1 Rhythm
The notion of rhythm involves some
noticeable event happening at regular
intervals of time; one can detect the rhythm
of a qeart-beat, of a flashing light or of a piece
of music. It has often been claimed that
English speech is rhythmical, and that the
rhythm is detectable in the regular
occurrence -of stressed syllables; of course,
it is not suggested that the timing is as regular
as a clock : the regularity of occurrence is
only relative. The theory that English has
stress-timed rhythm implies that stressed
syllables will tend to occur at relatively
regular intervals whether they are separated
by unstressed syllables or nJt; this would
not be the case in "mechanical speech" . An
example is .given below. In this sentence,
the stressed syllables are given numbers:
syllables I and 2 are not separated by any
unstressed syllables, 2 an::l 3 are separated
Cac h day nhieu nam, c ac nha k hoa
hoc da c o gfog phat trien ca c may m6c
t<;IO ra loi noi tu tu VI/Ilg c ua c ac W du'c;lc
thu truoc ; c ac may m6c nay duoc thiet
k e' de' noi ca c tu nay lai v oi nhau de
thanh lap c ac c au. Doi v 6i nhrng thong
diep rat han c he, nhu thong di@p c la
"d6ng h6 bao gio", k y thuat nay c6 the
st dung duoc , nhung v oi nhung muc dich
k hac, c hat lu<;1ng c ua loi n6i k h6ng dtt<;lc
tu nhien den noi k hong the hi@u duoc .
Trang nhung nam gan day , s u phat trien
c la c ong nghe may tinh da dan den
nhieu cai tien lon lao o c ac h tao loi noi,
nhu'ng SI/ k hong tu'ong x ung c ua phL/ong
phap "loi n6i may mo c " day c hung ta
nhieu bai hoc ve viec day v a hoc c ac h
phat am. Khi x em x et noi am, ta thay
htu (c h k hi nho s u k hac bi@t gida c ac h
c on ngu'oi n6i v a nhung gl du'Qc tim thay
trong "loi n6i may m6c ".
14.1 Nhip di@u
Khai niem "nhi p di @ u" lien quan den
mot s u k in dang ch y no do dang xa y
ra v ao c ac k hoang thoi gian deu dan;
ngudi ta c o the phat hien nhip dap c ia
tim, nhip c ua den c hap hay c ua mQt ban
nhac . Nguoi ta thuong c ho rang loi noi
tieng Anh la loi noi theo tiet tau, va nhip
dieu c o the nhan ra dLic;lc theo s u x uat
hin deu din c la c ac am tit nhan; di
nhien, gia thuy e't k h6ng c ho rang v iec
dinh thoi gian k hong d€u d~n nhu d6ng
h : tinh x uat hien deu dan c hi E. tuong
do'i. Gia thuy et nay c ho rang tieng Anh
c6 "nhip di~u dinh thoi gian theo trong
am" ng1,1 y rang ca c am tiet nhan s e c6
k huy n h huong x uat hi@n tai cac k hoa ng
thoi gian tuong doi de: dan c ho du c hung
c o bi tac h rdi boi c ac am tiet k hong
nhan hay k hong; dieu nay s e k h6ng dung
trong "loi n6i may rri6c ". MQt v i" d1,1 dL/(1c

by one unstressed syllable, 3 and 4 by two
and 4 and 5 by three.
2 3
'Walk 'down the ' path to the
The stress-timed rhythm theory states
that the times from each stressed syllable to
the next will tend to be the same,
irrespective of the number of intervening
unstressed syllables. The theory also claims
that while some languages (e.g. Russian and
Arabic) have stress-timed rhythm similar to
that of English, others (such as French,
Telugu and Yoruba) have a different
rhythmical structure called s y lla bl e-ti m ed
rhy thm ; in these languages, all syllables,
whether stressed or unstressed, tend to occur
at regular time-intervals and the time
between stressed syllables will be shorter or
longer in proportion to the number of
unstressed syllables. Some writers have
developed theories of English rhythm in
which a unit of rhythm, the fo o t, is used (with
an obvious parallel in the metrical analysis
of verse}; the foot begins with a stressed
syllable and includes all following
unstressed syllables up to (but not including)
the following stressed syllable. The example
sentence given above would be divided into
feet as follows:
2 3
'Walk 1 'down the 1 'path to the
1
Some theories of rhythm go further than
this, and point to the fact that some feet are
stronger than others. producing strong-weak
patterns in larger pieces of speech above the
level of the foot. To understand how this
could be done, let' s start with a s.imple
example: the word ' twenty' has one strong
and one weak syllable, forming one foot. A
diagram of its rhythmical structure can be
173
c ha duoi day . T rang ca u nay , ca c am
t iet nhan duoc danh s o: ca c am t iet 1
v a 2 k hong duq.c t ac h roi b&i cac am
t i&t k hong nhan, 2 v a 3 k hong du@c t ac h
roi b<'1i m ot am t iet k hong nha' n, 3 Va 4
bdi hai am t i&t , 4 v a 5 b&i ba am t iet .
4 5
' end of the ca' nal
T huy et "nhip dieu dinh t hdi gian t heo
tr ong am " phat bieu rang W m 6i am t iet
nhan den am t it nhan k e t iep s e c o
k huy nh huong ging nhau, bat k e' s o
luong am t iet k hong nhan c an t hiep v ao.
T huy et nay c ing c ho rang m ac du m ot
s o ng6n ngu vi du: t ieng N ga v a t ieng
A R ap) c o nhip di@u dinh t hi gian t heo
t rong am giong v oi nhip di@u c ua t ieng
Anh, nhung nhung ngon ngu k hac (nhu
t ieng Phap, t ieng T elugu v a Yoruba) c 6
ca u t rue theo nhlp k hac goi la "nhip di ~ u
di nh tho i g i a n theo am ti et"; o nht ng ng6n
ngd nay , t at ca cac am t iet , du duoc
nhan hay k hong duoc nhan, c o k huynh
huong xuat hien t ai c ac k hoang t hoi gian
du dan v a t hoi gian gila ca c am t iet
nha' n s e ngin hon hoac di hon t t ldng
t."lng v oi s o lti Q'ng am t iet k hong nhan.
M ot s o t ac gia da phat t rie' n ca c gia
t huy et ve nhip dieu t ing Anh m a t rong
d6 don vi nhip di@u, fo o t, duoc dung (r
rang s ong s ong v oi v iec phan tic h t lw c a
t heo t iet t au); fo o t bat dau bang m ot am
t iet nhan v a gom c o t a' t ca ca c am t iet
k ho ng nhan t heo s au c ho den (nilling
k hong bao gom ) ca c am t iet nhan t iep
t heo. C au v i du o t ren s e dtJQ'c c hia t hanh
ca c foot nhti s au:
4 5
'end of the ca ' nal
M ot s o gia t huy et v e nhip dieu c on
ban v a s au hon v an de duoc ban <'1 day ,
va c h1 ra ding m ot s6 fo ot m a nh hon fo ot
k hac, t ao ra ca c m au m anh - y eu & c ac
phan Ion hon c a loi noi tr@n m (c fo ot.
0e' hie' u dti Q'c v iec nay c 6 t he' t huc hien
nhu the no, c hung t a hay bat dau bang
m ot v i du don gian: tu 't w ent y ' c o m ot
am t iet m anh v a m ot am t iet y eu, hinh
 17 4
mad e, wh eres s tand s for "s tron g " an d w s tan d s thanh mot foot. C6 the lap so d cau tri c
for "weak " . tie't ta'u cua 116 , trong do s la vie't tat cua
cht "strong" (manh) va w viet tat cua cht
"ye'u".

s w

twen ty
The word 'places' has the same form: Tu 'places' co cung dang:

s w
pla
Now consider the phrase 'twenty places' ,
where ' places' normally carried stronger
stress than ' twenty', i. e. is rhythmically
stronger. We can make our "tree diagram"
grow to look like this:
ce s
Bay gio hay xem xet cum tu 'twenty
places', trong do 'places' thuong mang
trqng am manh hon 'twenty', nghia la
manh hon ve
mat nhip dieu. Chung ta
co the lam cho "so do hinh cay" cha chung
ta di hon de no trong nhu the nay:

s w s w
twen ty pla ces
If we then look at this phrase in the Neu sau do chung ta xem cum tu nay
context of a longer phrase 'twenty places trong ngd canh cua cum tu dai hon
further back' , and build up the 'further back' 'twenty places further back', va xay dung
part in a similar way, we would end up with pha n 'further back' theo each ILldng tLI,
an even more elaborate structure: cluing ta se co mot cau truc tham chi
phC/c t<;1p lldn: '

w s
~ ~
w s w s

s
A w s
A A w s w
I
s
twen ty pla ces fur th e r back
 17 5
By analysing speech in this way we are
able to show the relationships between
strong and weak elements, and the different
levels of stress that we find. The strength of
any particular syllable can be measured by
counting up the number of times an s symbol
occurs above it; the levels in the sentence
shown above can be diagrammed like this
(leaving out syllables that have never
received stress at any level):
s s
s s
twen ty pla
The above "m etri ca l g ri d" may be
correct for very slow speech, but we must
now look at what happens to the rhythm in
normal speech: many English speakers
would feel that, although in 'twenty places'
the right-hand foot is the stronger, the word
'twenty' is stronger than 'places' in ' twenty
places further back' when spoken in
conversational style. It is widely claimed that
English speech tends towards a regular
alternation between stronger and weaker,
_and tends to adjust stress levels to bring this
about. The effect is particularly noticeable
in cases such as the following, which all show
the effect of what is call s tress -s hi ft:
compact (adjective) kam'prekt but
thirteen fla:'ti:n but
Westminster w es t' m m s ta but
In brief, it seems that stresses are altered
according to context: we need to be able to
explain how and why this happens, but this
is a difficult question and one for which we
have only partial answers.
Bang ca ch phan tfch lo i no i theo
each nay, chung ta co the trinh bay moi
quan he gil a cac thanh phan manh va
yeu, va cac cap do khac nhau cua trong
am ma chung ta tlm tha"y. 0q dai cL1a
bat k mot am tiet nao do c6 the duoc
do bang cach dem s6 Ian xuat hien ci a
cht s phia tren no; cac cap do trong cau
minh hoa a tren c6 the' du'Q'c ve so d6
giong nhu the nay (bd di cac am tie't
khong nhan trong am o bat cu cap do
nao):
s
ce s fur ther back
"So d 6 ti & t tau " o tren co the' dung
voi loi noi rat cham, nhung bay gio
chung ta phi xem dieu gi xay ra vdi
nhip dieu trong loi noi binh thuong: nhieu
ngudi noi tieng Anh cam thay rang, mac
du trong cvm tu 'twenty places' foot phia
tay phi manh hon, nhung tu 'twenty'
mi! nh hon trong 'twenty places further
back' khi dugc noi theo kieu thuong dam.
Gia thuyet phat biu rang loi noi tieng
Anh c6 khuynh hudng xen ke deu dan
gilla tu manh hon va yeu hon, va co
khuynh huong dieu chinh cap do trong
am de n6i len dieu nay. Tac dong de
nhan thay nhat trong nhung trui ng hop
nhu sau, ta't ca deu cho thay tac dong
cl a dieu du@c goi la "chuyen dich trong
a m ":
compact disc 'knmprekt 'disk
thirteenth place ' 0a :ti :n ' plers
Westminster Abbey 'wcs tm m s ta r 'a •bi
Tom lc_1i, dLtong nhu' trong am bi thay
d6'i theo ngu canh: chung ta can phai co
kha nang gii i thich tai sao dieu nay xay
ra va xay ra nhu' the nao, nhung day la
mot cau hoi kho va la cau hoi ma chung
ta chi co the giai dap mot phan.
 1 76
An additional factor is that in speaking
English we vary in how rhythmically we
speak: sometimes we speak very
rhythmically (this is typical of some styles
of public speaking) while at other times we
speak arhythmically (that is, without rhythm)
if we are hesitant or nervous. Stress-timed
rhythm is thus perhaps characteristic of one
style of speaking, not of English speech as a
whole; one always speaks with some degree
of rhythmicality, but the degree varies
between a minimum value (arhythmical) and
a maximum value (completely stress-timed
rhythm).
It follows from what was said earlier that
in a stress-timed language all the feet are
supposed to be of roughly the same duration.
Many foreign learners of English are made
to practise speaking English with a regular
rhythm. often with the teacher beating time
or clapping hands on the stressed syllables.
It must be pointed out, however, that the
evidence for the existence of stress-timed
rhythm is not strong. There are many
laboratory techniques for measuring time in
speech, and measurement of the time
intervals between stressed syllables in
connected English speech has not shown the
expected regularity; moreover, using the
same measuring techniques on different
languages, it has not been possible to show
a real difference between "stress-rimed" and
"syllable-timed" languages. Experiments
have shown that we tend to hear speech as
more rhythmical than it actually is, and one
suspects that this is what the proponents of
the stress-timed rhythm theory have been
led to do in their auditory analysis of English
rhythm. However, one ought to keep an open
mind on the subject. remembering that the
large-scale. objective study of
suprasegmental aspects of real speech is
difficult to carry out, and there is much
research remains to be clone.
Mot yeu to phu khac la trong tieng
Anh n6i, chung ta thay d6i each n6i .nhjp
nhang: d6i khi chung ta n6i rat nhip
nhang (day la each n6i die'n hinh ci a
loi n6i truck c6ng chung) mc)c du d6i
khi cht'.ing ta n6i kh6ng nhip nhang (nghTa
la khong co nhip di@u) neu chung ta chan
cht hoac lo lang. Vay nhip dieu dinh th&i
gian theo trong am c6 le la dc)c tinh cua
mot li noi, ch@ khong phai cua I6i n6i
tieng Anh n6i chung; mot nguoi luon n6i
voi mc;it muc de) nhip nhang nao d6, nhung
mt c do nay thay di gil a gia tri nh nhat
(kh6ng nhjp nhang) va gia tri lon nhat
(nhip di~u dinh thoi gian theo trong am
hoan toan).
Theo nhung gi da duoc neu truoc day
thl trong mc)t ng6n ngu djnh thoi gian theo
trong am, tat ca cac foot duc;tc cho la c6
khoang thoi gian gan giong nhau. Nhi@u
nguoi nuoc ngoa i hoc ting Anh da tap
noi tieng Anh voi nhip dieu deu dn,
thuong co giao vien dem thoi gian ho;jc
v6 tay di/a theo nhung am tiet nhan. Tuy
nhien, can phai vach ro rang chung cu
ve su ton tai cua nhip dieu dinh th' i gian
thl kh6ng vdng chac. C6 nhieu ky thuat
thuc nghi@m d& do th' i gian trong loi noi,
va so dove cac khoang thoi gian giLi'a
cac am tiet nhan trong noi am tieng Anh
da khong cho thay tinh deu di n nhu mong
dQ'i; hon nda, bang dung cac ky thuat do
ILtang a cac ng6n ngu khac nhau, ngL/oi
ta kh6ng the' chung minh su khac nhau
that su gida cac ngn ngu "dinh thoi gian
theo trong am" va "d!nh thoi gian theo
am tit ". Cac cuoc th& nghiem da cho
thay rang chung ta c6 khuynh huong nghe
ldi noi c6 nh!p nhang hon thuc te, va
nguoi ta nghi ngo day la dieu dan den
nh@ng ngudi de xuong thuyet nhip di@u
djnh thoi gian theo trong am thuc hien
trong phan tich nhip dieu ting Anh theo
thinh giac cl a ho. Tuy nhien, ngudi ta
nen git cho du 6c cdi mo ve chi de
nay, nho rang viec nghien CL/LI khach
quan tren qui mo lon ve cac khia qnh
sieu doan tinh cda loi noi that su thi kho
thuc hien va phan viec nghien cdu van
con phai duoc thuc hien nhieu hon n(a.
 177
Wh at, th en , is th e p ractical v alu e o f th e
trad ition al "rhy th m ex ercis e" for foreig n
learn ers ? Th e arg u men t abo u t rh y th m s h o u ld
n o t mak e u s forg et th e v ery imp o rtan t
d ifferen ce in Eng lish b etween s tron g an d
weak s y llab les ; s o me langu ag es d o n o t h av e
s u ch a n o ticeab le d ifferen ce (wh ich may ,
p erh ap s, exp lain th e s u b jectiv e imp ress ion
o f "s y llab le-timing " ), and for n ativ e s p eak ers
o f s u ch lan g u ag es learnin g En g lis h it can b e
h elp fu l to p ractis e rep eatin g s tron g ly
rh y th mical u tteran ces s in ce th is forces th e
s p eak er to con cen trate o n makin g u ns tres s ed
s y llab les weak . Sp eak ers o f lan g u ag es lik e
Jap an es e, Hung arian an d Sp an is h , which d o
n o t h av e weak s y llab les to an y th ing lik e th e
s ame ex ten t as En g lis h do es, may well fin d
s u ch ex ercis es o f s o me v alu e (as lo n g as th ey
are n o t o v erdo n e to th e p o in t wh ere learners
feel th ey h av e to s p eak Eng lish as though
th ey were reciting v ers e).
Vay t hi gia t ri t huc t e c ia "bai t ap
nhip dieu" truy en t ho'ng danh c ho ngu'ai
hoc ngoai ngd la gi? Lap luan v e nhip
dieu k hong nn lam c ho c hung t a quen
di s u k hac biet rat quan t rong gila cac
am t iet m anh v a y eu t rong t ieng Anh.
M ot so ngon ngu k hong c o s u k hac biet
de nhan t hay nhu t he (c6 le dieu nay
giai t hf c h du'qc an t u'Qng c nu quail C lla
"v i@c dinh th&i theo am t iet ") v a doi v 6' i
ngu'ai ban ngu n6i c ac ng6n ngu nhu' t he
dang hoc t ieng Anh t hl v iec t huc hanh
lap lai ca c phat ngon co nhip di@u m anh
co t he hc u ic h v i di@u nay buoc ho phai
t ap t rung v ao v iec t ao ra c ac am t iet
k hong nha' n y eu. N hung ngu'ai n6i cac
ng6n ngu nhu' t ieng N hat , t ieng H uqgary
v a Ta y Ban N ha - nhung t ieng v o'n k h6ng
c o ca c am t iet y eu t heo mot m uc do
giong nhu t ieng Anh - c6 t he' t ha' y r6
nhung bai t ap nhu' t he c 6 m ot gia t ri nao
do (m ien la ch ung k hong bi lam dung
qua m t c den do nhung ngudi hoc ca m
t hay ho phai noi t ieng Anh nhu the ho
dang ngam t hd).

14.2 Assimilation 14.2 Slf defog h6a

Th e d ev ice men tion ed earlier th at • T hiet bi t ao ra "loi noi m ay m 6c " da
p rodu ces "mech an ical s p eech " wo u ld duqc de c ap t ruoc day s e bao g6m t a't
co n tain all th e wo rd s o f Eng lis h, each h av in g ca c ac tu c ua t ieng Anh, m 6i tu deu dLt qc
b een reco rd ed in is o latio n . A s ig n ifican t ghi lai rieng. Su k hac nhau dang k g t rong
d ifferen ce in n atural co nn ected s p eech is th e noi am t u nhien nam & c h6 c ac am t huoc
way th at s ound s b elo ng in g to o n e wo rd can ve mqt tu c6 t h€ lc).O ra c ac t hay d6i a
cau s e ch an g es in s o u n d s b elo n g in g to nhft ng am t hui;>c c ac W I an c an. Gia s
n eig h b ou ring wo rd s . Ass u ming th at we k n o w rang c hung t a biet ca c am v i t huoc ve
ho w th e p h o n emes o f a p articu lar wo rd wo u ld m ot tu c u t he s e duoc nhan biet nhu t he
b e realis ed wh en th e wo rd was p ronoun ced nao k hi tu do dugc phat am rieng, t rong
in is o lation , in cas es wh ere we fin d a nhung t ruing hop c hung t a t hay m ot am
p h o n eme realis ed d ifferen tly as a res u lt o f v i duoc nhan biet k hac do nam gan mot
b ein g n ear s o me o th er p h o n eme b elong in g am v i k hac t huoc v e mot tt lan c an,
to a n eig h b ou rin g wo rd we call th is an c hung t a goi t ruong hop nay la "d6ng
in s tan ce o f a ss i m ila ti o n. As s imilatio n is hoa". St! d6ng h6a la m ot dieu gi d6 t hay
s o meth in g wh ich v aries in ex ten t acco rd in g d6i ?J m ot m t c do nao do t heo t6c d6 va
to s p eak in g rate an d s ty le: it is mo re lik ely l6i noi; nhiu k ha nang no dugc t im t hay
to b e fou n d in rap id, casu al s p eech an d les s · t rong lai n6i nhanh, blnh thuong v a f t k ha
lik ely in s lo w. careful s p eech . So metimes nang hon t rong loi noi c ham , c an t han.
th e d ifferen ce cau s ed b y ass imilatio n is v ery 06i k hi s u k hac nhau do s t! d6ng hoa
n o ticeab le, and s o metimes it is v ery s lig h t. nay rat de nhan biet , v a di k hi rat k ho.
Gen erally s p eak in g , th e cas es th at h av e mo s t N 6i c hung, nhm ng truing hop t huong duoc
o ften b een d es crib ed are as s imilatio n s m ieu t a nha' t la st! d6ng hoa anh huong
affectin g co n s on an ts . As an ex amp le, den phu am . Vf du, hay x em x et t rt1<1ng
 17 8
consider a case where two words are
combined, the first of which ends with a
single final consonant (which we will call
C ' ) and the second of which starts with a
single initial consonant (which we will call
C); we can construct a diagram like this:
-----C' I e -----
word boundary (ranh gioi tu)
If C' changes to become like C' in some
way, the assimilation is called reg res s i v e
(the phoneme that comes first is affected by
the one that comes after it); if C' changes to
become like C" in some way, the assimilation
is called progressive. In what ways can a
consonant change? We have seen that the
main differences between consonants are of
three types:
i) differences in place of articulation
ii) differences in manner of articulation
iii) differences in voicing.
In parallel with this, we can identify
assimilation of place, of manner and of
voicing in consonants. Assimilation of place
is most clearly observable in some cases
where a final consonant (C) with alveolar
place of articulation is followed by an initial
consonant (C) with a place of articulation
that is not alveolar. For example, the fin a 1
consonant in 'that' ilret is alveolar t. In rapid.
casual speech the t will hecomc p before a
bilabial consnnant, a, in: ' that person' ilrep
p 3: sn :; 'light blue' l a mp 0 1 ; ' meat pie' m i :p
pa 1. Before a dental consonant, t will change
to a dental plosive, for which the symbol is
t.as in: 'that thing' ilre! l hg ; 'get those' g et
ila uz; 'cut through' kA t 0ru:. Before a velar
consonant. the t will become k , as in: 'that
case' 0ek kers; bright colour' brark kAla;
'quite good' kwa1k god. In similar contexts d
would become b, d and g, respectively, and
n would. become m , I) and !}). However, the
same is not true of the other alveolar
consonants: s and z behave differently, the
only noticeable change being thats becomes
J and z becomes 3 when followed by J or j, as
hop ma trong do hai tu duoc ket hop voi
nhau, tu dau tien ket thuc bang mot phu
am cuoi (ta se goi no la C) va tt tht hai
bat dau bang mot phu am dau (ta goi no
la Ct chu ng ta t<;10 ra mqt Sd d6 nhli sau:
Neu er thay d6i d& tr& nen giong nhu
C' d mot cach nao d6, thl sLJ d6ng hoa
d u o c goi la "thoai lui" (am vi dung trL(OC
bi anh huong b&i am vi dung sau do);
n u C' tro nen giong C' & mot cach nao
d6 thi su dong hoa duoc goi la "tien t6i".
Mo t phu m c6 the' thay do'i theo nhCtng
each nao? Chung ta da tha'y rang su khac
biet chinh gil a cac phu am roi vo ba
loai:
il khac biet <'1 vi tri du am;
ii) khac biet <'1 each thuc ca'u am;
iii) khac biet o tieng.
Ben C;:Jnh d6, chung ta co the' x.ic
dinh su dong hoa vi tri, cach thttc va tinl
ht u thanh cda cac phu am. Su dong boa
vi tri c6 the' duoc q u n sat 1 rang nhat
trong mot so truung hop hi mot phu am
rn({i (C') l ri vr trf cau am o ldi theo sau
la mt phu am dau (C) co vi tri cau am
kh o n g phai la ldi. Vi du, phu am cu6i
trong 'that' il::et la t a vi tri IQ'i. Trang lai
noi nhanh, blnh thuang, t se tr& thanh p
truoc mo t phu am mo i , nhu trong 'that
person' o p pa :s n; 'light blue' l a mp 0 1;
'meat pie' m i :p pa 1. TrLloc mqt phw am
rang, t se thay d6i thanh mot am bat o
rang, ky hieu cho am nay la ! , nhLI trang:
'that thing' daet 0m; 'get those' get 090z;
'cut through' kat ru:. Truoc mot phu am
vom mem, t se tr thanh k, nhu trong
'that case' 0 ek kers ; 'bright colour' bra 1 k
kA l a ; 'quite good' kw a uk gd. Trang nhCtng
nga canh tL(ong tLI, d se trd thanh b , d va
g tLlong (Ing va n se tr& thanh m, I} va !J.
Tuy nhien, dieu tuong tu nay khong dung
voi cac phu am ldi: s va z hoat dong
theo each khac, SL_( thay do'i duy nhat de

in: ' this shoe' ihf Ju:; ' those years' D a o 3 j1 a z.
It is important to note that the consonants
that have undergone assimilation have not
disappeared; in the above examples, the
duration of the consonants remains more or
less what one would expect for a two­
consonant cluster. Assimilation of place is
only noticeable in this regressive
assimilation of alveolar consonants; it is not
something that foreign learners need to learn
to do.
Assimilation of manner is much less
noticeable, and is only found in the most
rapid and casual speech; generally speaking,
the tendency is again for regressive
assimilation and the change in manner is most
likely to be towards an "easier" consonant -
one which makes less obstruction to the
airflow. It is thus possible to find cases where
a final plosive becomes a fricative or nasal
(e.g. ' that side' D res s a i d, ' good night' g o d
nad) , but most unlikely that a final fricative
or nasal would become a plosive. In one
particular case we find progressive
assimilation of manner, when a word-initial
D follows a plosive or nasal at the end of a
preceding word: it is very common to find
that the e becomes identical in manner to
the er but with dental place of articulation.
For example (the arrow symbol means
"becomes" ):
'in the'
' get them'
' read these'
It seems that the phoneme frequently
occurs with no discernible friction noise.
Assimilation of voice is also found, but
again only in a limited way. Only regressive
assimilation of voice is found across word
boundaries, and then only of one type; since
this matter is important for foreign learners
17 9
nhan thay la s tro thanh J, z tra thanh 3
khi c6 f hoc j theo sau, nhu trong: 'this
shoe' ihJ Ju:; 'those years' Oa o j j1 a z. 0i~u
quan trqng la phai luu y rang cac phu
am da trai qua st! defog h6a thi khong
bien mat; trong eac vi du o tren, thoi
khoang cua cac phu am it nhieu van la
di@u ma nguoi ta mong dqi a mQt Cl)ITI
gom hai phu am. SL! dong h6a vi trf chl
c6 the nhan thay o su dong hoa thoai
lui cua cac phi) am lqi nay; no khong
phai la dieu ma ngudi hoc ngoai ngd
can bi&t st dung.
St! dong h6a cach tht c it co kha nang
nhan biet hon nhieu, va chi thay trong
loi nc5i nhanh nha't va tu nhien; noi
chung, XU hu6"ng nay chl c6 a dong h6a
lui va su thay d6i & cach tht c co nhieu
kha nang bie'n thanh mot phu am "de
d q c hon" - phu am ft can trd luong khf
hon. Do do, ta co the' tim thay nhung
trui ng hop ma & do am bat cu6i tr& thanh
am xat hoac am mui (vi du: 'that side'
D res s a 1 d, 'good night ' g o d na 1 d), kh6ng
the co trui ng hop am xat hay am mui o
vi tri cu6i tr& thanh am bat. Trong mot
trui ng hop dac biet, chung ta c6 the thy
su dog hoa cach tht c tien toi, khi 0
dung dau tu theo sau mot am bat hoac
am mu i d cuoi tu dung truck; ta th Liang
tha'y rang theo cach tht c C' giong v6"i er
nhung c6 vj trf ca'u am a rang. Vf du (ky
hieu mui ten co nghia la "tr& thanh"):
mi);, ---> 1no
g et D a m ---> g e t ta m
ri:d Di:z ---> ri:c;_l. c;_l. i :z
Duong nhu am vi o thuong xuat hien
khong c6 tieng xat ro rang.
St! dong h6a tieng cOng dL1<;1c tim thay,
nhung chl theo cach han che. Su dong
hoa tieng thoai lui duy nhat duoc tim
tha'y qua cac ranh gi6"i tll, va tnlong hQ'p
d6 chi thuoc mot loai; vi va'n de nay quan
 180
we will look at it in some detail. If er is a
lenis (i.e. "voiced" ) consonant and C' is fortis
(" voiceless" ) we often find that the lenis
consonant has no voicing; this is not a very
noticeable case of assimilation, since, as was
explained in Chapter 4, initial and final lenis
consonants usually have little or no voicing
anyway. When C' is fortis (" voiceless" ) and
Ci lenis (" voiced" ), a context in which in
many languages er would become voiced,
assimilation of voice never takes place;
consider the following example: 'I like that
black dog' a 1 l a 1 k o ret bl rek dog. It is typical
of many foreign learners of English to allow
regressive assimilation of voicing to change
the final k of 'like' to 9 , the final t of 'that' to
d and the final k of 'black' to g. This creates a
very strong impression of a foreign accent,
and is something that should obviously be
avoided.
Up to this point we have been looking at
some fairly clear cases of assimilation across
word boundaries. However, similar effects
are also observable across morpheme
boundaries and to some extent also within
the morpheme. Sometimes in the latter case
it :;eems that the assimilation is rather
different from the word-boundary examples;
for example, if in a syllable-final consonant
cluster a nasal consonant precedes a plosive
'. · or a fricative in the same morpheme, the
place of articulation of the nasal is always
determined by the place of articulation of
the other consonant; thus: 'bump' bA m p;
'tenth' tel].11; ' hunt' hA nt; 'bank' brenk. It could
be said that this assimilation had become
"fixed" as part of the phonological structure
of English syllables, since exceptions are
almost 11on-existent. A similar example of a
type of assimilation that has become fixed is
the progressive assimilation of voice with
the suffixes s and z; when a verb carries a
third person singular ' -s' suffix, or a noun
carries an ' -s' plural suffix or an' -' s' possessive
suffix, that suffix will be pronounced as s if
the preceding consonant is fortis
(" voiceless" ) and as z if the preceding
consonant is lenis (" voiced" ), thus:
trong d6i voi nguoi hoc ngoai ngd nen
chung ta se xem xet no chi ti@t. Neu C'
la phu am bat hoi yeu (ta c la "ht u thanh")
va C' la am bat hoi manh ("vo thanh"),
chung ta thuong tha'y rang phu am bat
hoi yeu khong co a rn hL7u thanh; day
khong phai la trui ng hop rat de nhan
tha'y vi, nhu' da giai thich trong chLlong
4, cac phu am bat hoi yeu o dau va cuoi
thuong co tieng nho hoac khong co ting.
Khi C' bat hoi manh ("vo thanh") va C'
bat hdi yeu ("huu thanh"), mot ngu canh
rna trong nhieu ngon ngu C' se tr& thanh
huu thanh, sl)' d6ng hoa tieng khong bao
gid xy ra; hay xet vi du sau day: "I like
that black dog" a 1 l a 1 k o ret bl rek dog. 06i
vai nhi@u nguoi nude ngoa i hoc tie'ng
Anh, ho thuong de dong hoa tieng thoai
lui d6i k cuoi cua 'like' thanh g, t cuo'i
ca 'that' thanh d va k cu6i ca 'black'
thanh g. Dieu nay tao ra su an tuong rat
ITl c_l nh m e ve gi o ng nu' dc ngoa i, va do
chfnh la dieu ro rang can phai tranh.
Cho den thoi di§'m nay chCmg ta da xem
xet mot so trui ng hop kha ro rang ci a su
d6ng h6a qua cac ranh gi6'i tCI. Tuy nhien,
ket qua lu'dng tl)' cOng c6 th§' quan sat duoc
qua cac ranh gioi am vi va voi m(>t mllc
d9 nao d6 cOng c6 th§' thay ben trong am
vi. 0oi khi trong truong hQ'p sau, duoog nhu'
sl)' d6ng hoa khac vdi cac vi du ve ranh
gi6'i tu; vi du, neu trong Cl) ITl phv am cuo'i
am tiet, mot phu am mOi dung tru'6'c m(>t
arn bat hay am xat trong cCmg arn vi thl vi
trf cau am cua am mOi luon duoc quyet
dinh bai vi trf cau am cua phw am kia;
vay: 'bump' bA m p, 'tenth' ten0 , 'hunt' hA nt,
'bank' brenk. Ta c6 th§' n6i rang su dong
h6a nay da trO' nen "c5 dinh" thanh m(>t
phan cda cu truc am vi hoc cda cac am
tiet tieng Anh, vi hau nhu khong co cac
trui ng hop ngoai le. Mot vi du tuong tu v@
loai dong h6a v6n da trO' nen co' dinh la
dong hoa tieng tien tdi voi cac hau to s va
z; khi d(>ng tu mang hau to & ngoi tht ba
s s
o it '-s', hoac danh tu mang hau to o nhieu
'-s' hoac mot hau t s& ht u '-s', hau to d6
se duoc phat am la s neu plw am dung
tru'6'c la am bat hoi manh ("v6 thanh") va
phat am la z neu phu am dung trL/6'c la
am bat hoi yeu ("ht u thanb"), vay:

' cats ' krets
' ju mp s ' d 3Am p s
' Pat's ' prets
Mu ch mo re co u ld b e s aid ab o u t
ass imilatio n , b u t fro m th e p o in t o f v iew o f
learnin g o r teach in g En g lis h p ron u n ciatio n ,
to d o s o wo u ld n o t b e v ery u s eful. It is
ess en tially a n atu ral p h en o men on th at can
b e s een in an y s o rt o f co mp lex p hy s ical
activ ity, an d th e o n ly imp o rtan t matter is to
rememb er th e res trictio n , s p ecific to Eng lis h ,
o n v o icin g ass imilatio n men tio n ed ab o v e.
As s imilation creates s o meth in g o f a
p rob lem for p h on eme th eo ry ; wh en , for
ex amp le, d in ' goo d ' g ud b eco mes g in th e
co n tex t ' ... g irl' (g ug 9 3 :l ) o r b in th e con tex t
' ... b o y ' (g ub b;n), s h o u ld we s ay th at o n e
p hon eme h as b een s ubs titu ted for ano th er?
If we do th is, h o w do we d es crib e th e
ass imilatio n in ' g o od th ing ', wh ere d
b eco mes d en tal d ( d) b efore th e It o f ' thing ',
o r in ' g o o d food ' , wh ere d b eco mes a
lab io d en tal p lo s iv e b efore th e f in ' foo d ' ?
En g lis h h as no d en tal o r lab io d en tal p lo s iv e
p ho n emes, s o in th es e cas es, alth o ugh th ere
is clearly as s imilation , th ere co u ld n o t b e
s aid to b e a s u bs titu tion o f o n e p h o n eme for
an o th er. Th e alternativ e is to s ay th at
1 ss imilatio n cau s es a p h o n eme to b e realis ed
b y a d ifferen t allo p h o n e; th is wo u ld mean
th at, in th e cas e o f g ug g 3 :l an d g ub bo r, th e
p h o n eme d o f ' go od ' h as v elar an d b ilab ial
allopho n es . Trad itio n ally , p hon emes were
s u p po s ed n o t to o v erlap in th eir allop h o n es ,
s o th at th e o n ly p lo s iv es th at co u ld h av e
allo p h o n es with b ilab ial p lace o f articu latio n
were p ah d b; th is res trictio n is no lo n g er
lo o k ed o n as s o imp ortan t.
14.3 Elision
Th e n ature o f elision may b e s tated q u ite
s imp ly : u n d er certain circu ms tan ces s o u nd s
d is app ear; o n e migh t ex p res s th is in mo re
tech n ical lan gu ag e b y s ay ing th at in certain
181
' do g s ' do g z
'run s ' rA nz
'Pam' s ' premz
C co
6 the nhieu dieu hon de noi ve
st! dong h6a nhung, tu quan diem hoc va
day cach phat am ting Anh, lam nhu
vay se khong ht u fch lam. Ve co ban do
la mot hien tu@ng tu nhien ma c6 the
thay 8 bat ct loai hoat dong the' cha't
phuc tap nao, nhung van de quan trong
duy nhat la phai nho su gioi han, dac
trung cl a tieng Anh, ve su d6ng hoa tieng
da duoc de cap o tren.
St! d6ng h6a d6i khi tao ra m(>t van de
gl do d6i voi thuyet am vi; khi, vi du, d
trong 'good' god tr& thanh g trong ngu canh
' girl' (g ug 9 3 :J) hoi;ic b trong nga canh
' boy' (g ub bJ 1 ), ta c6 n6i ding m(>t am
vi da dugc dua vao thay the cho m(>t am
vi khac hay khong? Neu noi vay, lam the
nao chung ta mieu ta St/ d6ng h6a trong
'good thing', trong d6 d tr& thanh am rang
d (d ) tru6c 0 cha 'thing', hoij.c trong 'good
food', trong d6 d tr& thanh am bat o vi tri
m6i rang tru'oc f trong 'food'? Tieng Anh
khong co cac am vi am bat o rang hoac
m6i rang, vi vy trong nhung trui ng hop
nay, mij.c du kh6ng c6 slf d6ng h6a r6
rang, kh6ng the n6i ding c6 st! thay the
m(>t am vi cho mot am vi khac. Hay n6i
cach khac la su dong hoa khie'n cho mot
am vi duoc nhan ra bdi mot tha am vi
khac; nghia la, trong tru'ong hc;tp cua g ug
g 3 :l va g ub bx , am vi d cua 'good' c6
cac tha vi vom mem va moi rang. Theo
truyen thong, cac am vi dudc cho la
khong de len cac tha am vi cua chung,
vl the cac am vi duy nhat co the co cac
tha am vi voi vi tri cau am moi rang la
p va b; gioi han nay kh6ng con du'c;1c xem
la qua quan trong nda.
14. 3 S u do c nu6t a m
Ba 11 chat cua nuo't am c6 the' dLIQc
neu len mot cach kha don gian la: trong
mot s dieu kien cac am bien mat; ngudi
ta c6 the di@n t dieu nay theo ngon ng@
 1 82
circumstances a phoneme may be realised
as zero, or have zero realisation or be
deleted. As with assimilation, elision is
typical of rapid. casual speech. Producing
elisions is something which foreign learners
do not need to learn to do, but it is important
for them to be aware that when native
speakers of English talk to each other, quite
a number of phonemes that the foreigner
might expect to hear are not actually
pronounced. We will look at some examples,
although only a small number of the many
possibilities can be given here.
i) Loss of weak vowel after p, t, k.
In words like ' potato', ' tomato', 'canary' ,
'perhaps' , 'today' , the vowel in the first
syllable may disappear; the aspiration of
the initial plosive takes up the whole of
the middle portion of the syllable,
resulting in these pronunciations (where
h indicates aspiration):
p"tertau t'ma:tau
ii) Weak vowel + n, I or r becomes syllabic
consonant. (See Chapter 9 for details of
syllabic consonants); for example.)
L
' tonight' tnart; 'police' pli:s;
iii) Avoidance of complex consonant clusters.
It has been said that no normal English
speaker would ever pronounce all the
consonants between the last two words
of the following:
'George the Sixth' s throne' d:_p:d3 ifa s1kslls llraun
Though this is not impossible to
pronounce, something like srksffraun is
more likely. In clusters of three plosives
or two p,l.osives plus a fricative, the middle
plosive may disappear, so that the
following pronunciations result:
'acts' reks; 'looked back' luk brek;
mang tinh ky thuat hon bang each 1101
rang trong m(it so tinh huong mot am vi
co the duoc nhan ra la zero, k hong co
da ng t he hi@n hay bi x6a. Ging nhu dong
h6a, luot am la dac thu cl a loi noi
nhanh, tu nhien. Luot am la m(it viec gl
do ma ngu&i hoc ngoai ngu khng can
phi hoc de lam, nhung dieu quan trong
la ho phi biet rang khi ngudi ngudi ban
ngd noi tieng Anh noi chuyen voi nhau,
m(it s6 luQ"ng Ion cac am vj ma ngLlo'i
nuoc ngoai muon nghe thi that su kh6ng
duoc phat am. Chung ta se xem mot so
vi du, mac du chi co m(it s6 nho trong
so nhi@u kha nang c6 the' dLiQ"c cho duoi
day.
i) Mat nguyen am ye'u sau p, t, k.
Trong cac tt nhu 'potato', 'tomato',.
'canary', 'perhaps', 'today', nguyen
am trong am ti&t th? nhat co the bien
mat; su bat hoi cda am bat dau chiem
ca phan giua cl a am ti&t, tao ra cac
cach phat am sau day (trong d6 h chi
ra su bat hoi):
p "h e p s
ii) Nguyen am yeu + n, I ho;\ic r tro thanh
phu am co am ti@t tiet (em chuong
9 de bi&t cac chi tit ve cac phu am
c6 am tiet tinh); vi du:
'correct' krekt.
iii) Tranh cac cvm phv am pht c tap.
Ngucti ta n6i rang chua bao gict ngLloi
noi tieng Anh blnh thuctng nao phat
am ta't ca cac phu am gida hai tu
cuoi Cl.la CL)m tu sau:
Mac· du khong th§' phat am nhu the
nay, nhung c6 kha nang phat am nhu
s1ksllraun. Trong cac cum gom ba am
bat hoac hai am bat cong mot am
xat, am bat o gil a c6 the bien mat,
vl the cac cach phat am sau day dua
den ket qua la:
' scripts' sknps.
 18 3
i v ) L o s s o f fi n al v i n 'o f b efo re co n s o n an t s .
fo r ex amp l es :
' l ot s o f t h em' lots a Dam; 'w as t e o f mo n ey ' we1st a mrni.
It i s d i ffi cu lt t o k no w w h et h er
co ntra cti o ns o f g rammati cal wo rd s s h o u l d
b e reg ard ed as ex ampl es o f elis i on o r n o t.
T h e· fact t h at t h ey are regu l arl y rep res en t ed
w i t h s p eci al s p elli n g fo rms mak es t h em s eem
rat h er d i fferen t fro m t h e ab o v e ex amp l es .
Th e b es t -kn o w n cas es are:
• 'H ad ', ' w o u l d ' : s p elt ' d , p ro n o u n ced d
(aft er v ow el s ), a d (aft er co n s o n ant s ).
• 'Is ' , ' h as ' : s p elt 's, p ro no u n ced s (aft er fo rt i s
co n s o n an t s ), z (aft er l en i s con s o n an t s ),
ex cep t t h at aft er s, z, J, J , tf, d3 ' i s ' i s
p ro nou n ced iz and ·' h as ' i s p ro n o u n ced az
i n con t ract ed fo rm.
• ' w i ll' : s p el t ' 11, p ro n o un ced I (aft er
v ow el s ' ), ! (aft er co n s o n an t s ).
• 'H av e' : s p elt ' v e, p ro n o un ced v (aft er
vo w el s ), av (aft er co n s o n ant s ).
• ' N o t ' : s p elt n ' t , p ro n o u n ced nt (aft er
v o w e l s ), nt (aft er con s o n an t s ).
(th ere are al s o vo w el ch an g es as s o ci at ed
w it h n ' t , e.g . ' can ' kren -' can ' t ' ka :nt, 'd o '
du: - d o n ' t da unt; ' s h all' Jrel - ' s h an ' t
.fa :nt')
• ' are' : s p el t ' re, p ro no un ced a aft er v o w el s,
u s u ally w i t h s o me ch an g e i n t h e
p reced i n g v o w el, e.g . 'y o u ' ju: - ' you ' re'
jua , o r j:>:, 'w e' w i: - 'w e' re' w 1 a , ' t h ey ' ile1
- ' th ey ' re' ilea ; link i n g r i s u s ed w h en a
v o w el fo llo w s, as ex pl ai n ed i n t h e n ex t
s ect i o n . Con t ract ed ' are' i s al s o
p ro no u n ced as a o r ea w h en fo llo w i n g a
co n s o n an t.
i v ) Ma' t am V cu 6 i t ro n g ' o f' t ruo c cac
p h u am ; v i d u :
T h at k h 6 d e b i et l i eu cac d an g ru t
gen cl a cac t u n gd p h ap co n en duo c
x em l a v i d u v e lu o t am h ay k h ong . Su
t h at l a chun g t h uo n g duo c tri n h b ay v o i
c ac d an g ch i n h t a d ac b i ¢ t l am ch o
chu n g h o an t o an k h ac v o i n h u n g v i d u o
t re n . N h a n g t ru i n g h o p p h 6 b i e n n h a t
l a:
• ' h as ' , ' w ou l d ' : v i et ' d , p h at am d (s au
n g u y e n a m ) , a d (s a u p h u a m ) ;
• ' i s' , ' h ad ' : v i et ' s , p h at am s (s au p h u
am b at h o i manh ), z (s au ph u am b at
h o i y eu ), n g o ai t ru t ru i n g h o p s au s , z,
J, J, tf, d3, 'i s ' d uo c p h at am la iz v a
' h as ' d u o c p h at am az & d an g rut g o n ;
• ' w i ll ' : v i et 'I I, p h at am 1 (s au n g u y en
am), ! (s au p i ll) am);
• ' h av e' : v i et ' v e , p h at a m V (s a u n g u y e n
am), a v (s au p i ll) am);
• ' n o t ' : v i et n ' t , p h at am nt (s au n g uy en
a m ), nt (s a u p h u a m )
(c O n g c 6 c a c t h a y d o i n g u y e n a m l i e n
q u an d en n ' t , v i d u : ' can ' kren - ' can ' t '
ka :nt; ' d o ' du: - d on ' t da unt; ' s h al l ' Jrel
- ' s h a n ' t J a :n t' );
• ' are' : v i et ' re, p h at am a s au n g u y en
am, t h u U n g co s u t h ay d 6 i o n guy en
a m d u n g t ru o c , v i d u : ' y o u ' ju : -
'y o u 're' jua h o~c j:>:, ' w e' w i : - 'w e're'
w 1 a , ~t h ey ' · ile1 - ' t h ey ' re' ilea ; l uy en
am r d u c:,c d un g k h i co mo t n g u y en
t h eo s au , n h u d LI Q C g i a i t h i ch t ro n g
p h a n t i e p t h e o . ' a r e ' ru t g Q n c O n g d L IQ C
p h a t am l a a h o ac ea k h i t h eo s au m o t
p h u am.
 1 84
1 4.4 Linking
In our hypothetical "mechanical speech"
all words would be separate units placed
next to each other in sequence; in real
connected speech, however, we sometimes
link words together in special ways. The most
familiar case is the use of linking r; the
phoneme r cannot occur in syllable-final
position in BBC accent, but when a word' s
spelling suggests a final r, and a word
beginning with a vowel follows, the usual
pronunciation is to pronounce with r. For
example:
"here' hr but ' here are' hr a
'four' fa: but 'four eggs' fa:r egz
BBC speakers use r in a similar way to
link words ending with a vowel even when
there is no "justification" from the spelling,
as in:
'Formula A' fa:mjalar e,
'Australia all out' nstrediar :,:l aut
'media event' mi:dfar ,vent
This has been called intrusive r; some
English speakers and teachers still regard
this as incorrect or sub-standard
pronunciation, but it is undoubtedly
widespread.
"Linking " and "intrusive r" are special
cases of jl'ncture; this name refers to the
relationship between one s·ound and the
sounds that immediately precede and follow
it, and has been given some importance in
phonological theory. If we take the two
words ' my turn' ma, t3:n, the relationship
between m and a,, between t and as: and
between 3: and n is said to be one of close
juncture. The sound m is preceded by
silence and n is followed by silence, and so
m and n are said to be in a position of
external open juncture. The problem lies
in deciding what the relationship is between
a and t; since we do not usually pause
between words, there is no silence (or
14.4 SI/ luye'n am
Trong phan gia thiet "Ii noi may m6c"
cda chung ta, ta' t ca cac tu la cac don
vi rieng d u o c dat ke ben nhau trong mc)t
chu6i; tuy nhien, theo cach noi am that
su, doi khi chung ta lien ket cac tu lai
voi nhau theo nhung cach dac bit.
Truong hc;,p quen thuoc nhat la SU dt,rng
luyen am r; am vi r khong xut hien & vi
tri cuoi am tit theo giq ng BBC, n hung
khi dang viet chinh ta cda mot tu cho
thay mot cht r o cuoi, va mot tu bat
dJu b~ng mqt nguyen am theo sau thl
each phat am. thong thuong la phat am
- 5 r. Vi du:
ere ' h ra nhung ' here are' hrar a
four' fa: nhung 'four eggs' fa:r egz
Nhang ngvoi n6i giqng BBC thuong
dung r theo each ttlong Ill d€ noi cac tu
tan cmng bang mot nguyen am, tham chi
no khng co "su bi&u hi@n" & cach vi&t
chinh ta, nhu trong:
8i~u nay duc;,c gqi la r cho i ; mc)t s6
ngudi noi tieng Anh va cac giao vien
van xem day la cach phat am sai hoac
khong dat ti@u chuan, nhung chac chan
no pho bien.
II Luyen a m II Va II r C h 6 i II I a 11 ln7 11 g
truong hop dac biet cua "ti p d i em hi nh
v i "; ten nay chi moi quan he gida mot
m va cac am dung ngay truoc va sau
no, va no duc cha trong trong gia thuyet
am vj. Neu chung ta la' y hai W ' my turn'
ma, t3:n, m6i quan he gila m va a1, gila
t va as:, gila a: va n dudc cho la tiep
di€m hlnh vi dong. Am m c6- khoang lang
dung truoc va sau theo n la khoa ng lang,
vi vay m va n dL((I C cha la nam a mc)t vi
tri tiep diem hlnh vi ma <'J ben ngoai.
Van de nam & ch6 quyet dinh m o i quan
he la gl gila a1 va t ; vi chung ta thuong
khong tam dung giua cac tt , nen khong
co khoang lang (hay tiep diem hinh vi
 1 85
ex t ern al o p en j un ct u re) t o i n d i cat e w o rd
d ivi s i o n an d t o j u s t i fy t h e s p ace l eft i n t h e
t ran s crip t i on . Bu t i f Eng lis h s p eak ers h ear
ma1 ta:n t h ey can u s u ally recog n i s e t h i s as
' my t u rn ' an d n o t ' mi gh t earn '. T his i s w h ere
t h e p ro b l em o f i n t ern al o p en j u n ct u re
(u s u ally j u s t called "j u n ct u re" fo r s h o rt)
b eco mes ap p aren t. W h at i s i t t h at mak es
p ercep tib l e t h e d i fferen ce b et w een ma, ta:n
an d mall a:n? T h e an s w er i s l h at i n t h e o n e
cas e t h e t i s as p i rat ed (i n i tial i n 't u rn ' ), an d
i n t h e ot h er cas e i t i s n o t (b ei n g · fi n al i n
' mi g h t ' ). In add it i o n t o t his, t h e a, d i p h t h o n g
i s s h o rt er i n ' mi g h t ', b u t w e w ill i g n o re t h i s
fo r t h e s ak e o f a s i mp l er arg u men t. If a
d i fferen ce i n mean i n g i s cau s ed by t h e
d i fferen ce b et w een as p ir at ed an d
u n as p i rat ed t , h o w can w e av o i d t h e
co n cl u s i o n t h at E ng li s h h as a p h o n emi c
co nt ras t b et w een aspi rat ed and u n a-s p i rat ed
t? T h e an s w er i s , o f co u rs e, t h at t h e p o s i tio n
o f a wo rd b ound ary h as s o me effect o n t h e
realis at i o n o f t h e t p h o n eme; t his i s o n e o f
t h e man y cas es i n w h i ch t h e o ccu rren ce o f
d i fferen t allo p h on es can o n l y b e p rop erl y
ex p l ain ed b y mak in g referen ce t o unit s o f
g rammar (s o met hin g w h i ch w as fo r a l o n g
ti me d i s ap p ro v ed o f by man y p h o n o l og i s t s ).
Man y i n g eni o u s mi n i mal p ai rs h av e b een
i nv en t ed t o s h o w t h e s i g n i fi can ce o f
ju n ct ur e, a few o f w h i ch are g i v en b el o w :
• ' mi gh t rai n ' maTt rem (r v o i ced w h en
i n i t i al i n ' rai n ' , a, s h o rt ), v s . 'my t rai n ' ma,
trem (r v o i cel es s fo llo w in g t i n ' t rai n ' )
• ' all t h at I' m aft er t o d ay ' ::,:l clat.arm a:ft;,
tader ( t u n as pi rat ed w h en fi n al i n 'th at')
' all t h e t i me aft er t o d ay ' ::i:l cl;, tarm a :ft,a
tader (t as pi rat ed w h en i n iti al i n " t i me' )
• 'he lies' hi: la 1z ("clear I" in itial in ' lies ' )
mo b en n g o ai) de ch i ro s u p h an ch i a tu
v a ch u a k h o an g t ro ng t ron g p h an p h i @n
am. N h u ng n eu n gu d i n o i tieng A n h n g h e
ma1 ta:n, llQ t h u o n g c6 th e n h an ra d ay
l a ' my t u rn ' chu k h o n g p h ai l a ' mi gh t
earn ' . D ay ch i n h l a l u c x u at h i en v an
d e v t i ep d i em h i n h vi mo b en t ro n g
(t hu on g d u c g o i t at l a t i ep d i em h i n h
v i ). D i e u g i g i u p d e n h a n b i e t s u k h a c
b i et g i d a mar ts:n va mat a:n? Cau t ra
lo i l a t ro n g mo t t ru i n g h o p t b at h o i (o v i
t ri d au t ro n g ' t u rn ' ), v a t ro n g t ruong h o p
co n l i:l i , n6 k h o n g b at h d i (d v i t rf cu o i
t ro n g ' mi gh t ' ). N go ai t ruo n g h o p n ay ra,
n h i t ru n g am n g a' n lw n tr o n g ' mi g h t ' ,
n hlln g ch un g t a s e bo qu a d i eu n ay d€
l ap l u an d o n g i an h o n . N e u co s u k h ac
b it v e y n g h i a do k h ac b i et g i l a t b at
h o i v a k h o n g b at h d i , l am t h e n ao t a c6
th e t ran h d u o c k et l u an ran g t i en g A n h
co s t! t rai n g u'Q'C am v i g i l a t b at h o i v a
k h on g b at h d i ? Di n h i en , cau t ra Ii i la v i
t rf cu a ranh g i d i tu co mo t t ac d o n g n ao
d 6 l en d an g th e h i en cl a am vi t ; d ay l a
mo t t ro n g n h i eu t ru n g h o p ma t ro n g d 6
s u x u at h i @n cd a cac am vi ch i c6 the
d u d c g i ai t h ic h mot cach t h ic h h o p b an g
each t h am ch i eu d en cac d o n v i n g u
p h ap (mo t d i @u g i d o ma tu lau bi n h i eu
n h a a m v i h o c p h a n d o i ).
N h i eu cap t 6i th i &u d o c d ao d a d u @c
t ,;10 ra d € ch u ng mi n h t am qu an t ro n g d 1a
t i &p d i em h i n h v i, mo t s o cap d u o c cho
d u d i d ay :
• ' mi g h t rai n ' ma Tt rem (r h u u th an h k h i
Ci v i t ri d au t ro n g I rai n I' a , n g fo ) v a
' my t rai n ' ma , trcm (r vo t h an h s au t
t ro ng ' t rai n ' )
• ' al l t h at I' m aft er t o d ay ' ::,:I cl;, ta1m
a:fta tade, (t k h o n g b at h d i k h i d v i t rf
d au t ro n g ' t h at ' )
' al l t h at I' m aft er t o d ay ' ::,: I cla tann
a:fta tader (t b at h ct i k h i Ci v i t ri d u
t ron g ' t i me' )
• ' h e l i es ' hi: l a rz (" I t ro n g " o v i t ri d a u
t ro ng ' l i es ' )
 186
' heal eyes' hi:I aiz (" :lark l" final in ' heal')
' keep sticking' ki:p s tk (t unaspirated
after s; i: short)
' keep sticking' ki:ps tlk10 (t aspirated in
' ticking' )
Of course, the context in which the words
occur almost always makes it clear where the
boundary comes, and the juncture
information is then redundant
It should by now be clear that there is a
great deal of difference between the way
words are pronounced in isolation and in the
context of connected speech. It would not
be practical or useful to teach all learners of
English to produce assimilations; practice in
making elisions is more useful, and it is
clearly valuable to do exercises related to
rhythm and linking. Perhaps the most
important consequence of what has been
described in this chapter is that learners of
English must be made very clearly aware of
the problems that they will meet in listening
to colloquial, connected speech.
'heal eyes' hi:l arz ("I duc" o vi tri cuoi
trong 'heal')
• 'keeps ticking' ki:p shk10 (t khong bat
hoi sau s; i: ng~ n)
'keeps ticking' ki:ps trk (t bat hoi
trong 'ticking')
Di nhien, ngu canh ma trng do cac
tu xuat hi@n hau nhu luon cho thay ro vi
tri ci a ranh gioi, va thong tin ve tiep
diem hinh vi tr& nen du tha.
Bay gio ro rang co su khac biet lon
gil a cach ma cac tu duoc phat am rieng
va trong ngd canh noi am. Se khong thuc
ti@n hay hdu (ch khi day nhung nguoi
hoc tieng Anh cach tao ra su dong hoa;
ti uc hanh tao luot am s huu ich hon,
va ro rang dieu quan trong la phi la
cac bai tap lien quan den nhip dieu a
luyen am. Co le dieu quan trong nhat
cua nhung gi duoc mieu ta trong chuong
nay la ngudi hoc tieng Anh phai nhan
tht c ro cac van de ma ho se gap khi
nghe am noi thong tuc.

Notes on problems and further reading

14.1 English rhythm is a controversial subject on whicr. widely dii,ering views have
been expressed. On one side there an; writers such as Abercrombie ( 1967) and Halliday
(1967) who have set out all elaborate theory of the rhythmk:al sl1ucture of English speech
(including foot theory). On the other c;1de there are sceptics like Crystal ( 1969) who reject
the idea of an inherent rhythmical patter,1. The distincLion between physically measurable
time intervals and subjective impressions of rythmicainv is discussed in Roach (1982) and
Lehiste (1977). Adams (1979) presems a re-view and expew:nental study of the subject, and
concludes that, despite the theoretical problems, there is practical value in teaching rhythm
to learners of English. The treatment of rhythmicality as a matter of degree is presented in
Crystal (1969: 161-5)/The "stress-timed I syllable-timed" dichotomy is generally agreed in
modern work to be an oversimplification; a more common view is that all languages display
characteristics of both types of rhythm, but may be closer to one or the other; see Mitchell
(1969) and Dauer (1983). Dauer' s theory makes possible comparisons between different
languages in terms of their relative positions on a scale from maximally stress-timed to
maximally syllable-timed (see for example Dimitrova, 1997).
For some writers concerned with English language teaching, the notion of rhythm is a
more practical matter of making a sufficiently clear difference between strong and weak
syllables, rather than concentrating on a rigid timirig pattern, as I suggest at the end of
Section 14.1; see, for example, Taylor (1981 ); also, Mortimer ( 1984) contains practice
material on rhythm.
 187
Th e treatmen t o f rh y th mical h ierarch y is b as ed o n th e th eo ry o f metrical p h o n o logy .
Ho g g an d McCu lly (19 8 7) g iv e a full ex p lan atio n o f th is, b u t it is d ifficu lt material. Go ld s mith
(1 9 9 0 : Ch ap ter 4 ), an d Katamb a (1 9 8 9 : Ch ap ter 1 1.1) are b riefer an d s o mewh at s imp ler. A
recen t p ap er b y Fud g e (1 9 9 9 ) d is cu ss es th e relationsh ip b etween s y llab les, wo rd s an d feet.
James ( 1 9 88) ex p lo res th e relev an ce o f metrical p h ono lo g y to lan g u ag e learnin g .
1 4 .2 As s imilatio n o f p lace with s p ecific referen ce to alv eo lar con s o n an ts is d es crib ed in
Gims o n (1 960 ). It is imp o rtan t to realis e th at th e trad itio n al v iew o f as s imilatio n as a ch an g e
fro m o n e ph on eme to ano th er is n aiv e; mo d ern in s trumen tal s tu d ies in th e b road er field o f
co articu lation s h o w th at wh en as s imilatio n h ap p en s o n e can o ften s h o w h o w th ere is s o me
s o rt o f co mb in atio n o f articu lato ry g es tures . In 'g oo d g irl' , for ex amp le, it is n o t a s imp le
matter o f th e firs t wo rd end ing ei t h er in d o r in g . b u t rath er a matter o f th e ex ten t to wh ich
alv eo lar an d /o r v elar clo s u res are ach iev ed . Th ere may b e an alv eto lar clo s u re immed iately
p reced in g and o v erlapp in g with a v elar clo s u re; th ere may b e s imu ltan eo u s alv eo lar an d
v elar clo s u re, o r a v elar clo s u re follo wed b y s lig h t co n tact b u t n o t closu re in th e alv eo lar
reg io n . Th ere are man y o th er p o s s ib ilities .
1 4 .3 An es s en tial p art o f acq u iring flu en cy in En g lis h is learning to p rodu ce conn ected
s p eech with o u t g ap s b etween wo rd s , an d th is is th e p ractical imp o rtan ce o f lin kin g . Th ere
are s ev eral p ap ers o n "in trus iv e r" : s ee Wind s o r Lewis (1 9 7 5 ), Prin g (1 9 7 6 ), Win d s o r Lewis
(1 9 77) and Fo x (1 9 78).
An o bv iou s q u es tio n to b e as k ed in relation to ju n ctu re is wh eth er ' in ternal o p en ju n cture'
can actu ally b e h eard . Jon es (1 9 3 1 ) imp lies th at it can , b u t exp erimen tal wo rk (e.g . O' Co n n o r
an d Too ley , 1 9 6 4 ) s u gg es ts th at in man y cas es it is n o t p ercep tib le u n les s a s p eak er is
d elib erately try in g to av o id amb ig u ity. It is in teres tin g to n o te th at s o me p h on o lo g is ts o f
th e 1 9 5 0 s an d 1 9 60 s felt it n eces s ary to inv en t a p h on eme' o f ju n ctu re in o rd er to b e ab le
to tran s crib e min imal p airs lik e ' g rey tap e' / ' g reat ap e' u n amb ig u ou s ly with ou t h av ing to
refer to g rammatical b ou n d aries; s ee, for ex amp le, Trag er an d Smith (1 9 5 1 ).

Notes for teachers

Th ere is a lo t o f d is ag reemen t abou t th e impo rtan ce o f th e v ario u s to p ics in th is ch ap ter
fro m th e lan g u ag e teach er' s p o in t o f v iew. My feelin g is th at two s ep arate matters are
s o metimes mix ed u p : th e p ratice an d s tu dy o f co n n ected s p eech is ag reed by ev eryon e to
b e o f imp o rtan ce, b u t th is can s o metimes res u lt in s o me relativ ely u n imp o rtan t asp ects o f
s p eech (e.g . as s imilation , jun ctu re) b ein g g iv en mo re emp h as is th an th ey s hou ld .
In lo o k in g at th e impo rtan ce o f s tudy in g as p ects o f s p eech ab o v e th e s eg men tal lev el
s o me writers h av e claimed th at learners can co me to id en tify an o v erall "feel" o f th e
p ron un ciatio n o f th e lan gu ag e b ein g learned . Differen ces b etween lan g u ag es h av e b een
d escrib ed in terms o f th eir a rti cul a to ry s etti ng s, th at is, o v erall articu lato ry p o s tu re, b y
Hon ikman ( 1 9 6 4 ). Sh e d es crib es s u ch facto rs as lip mob ility an d to n g u e-s ettin g for En g lish ,
Fren ch an d o th er lan g u ag es . Th e n o tio n s eems a u s eful o n e, altho u g h it is d ifficu lt to
co n firm th es e s ettin g s s cien tifically .
A udi o U ni t 1 4 is liab le to co me as s o meth ing o f a s u rpris e to s tu d en ts wh o h av e n o t h ad
th e exp erien ce o f ex amin in g co llo q u ial Eng lish s p eech b efore. Th e main mess ag e to g et
across is th at co n cen tratio n o n s electiv e, an aly tic lis ten in g will h elp th em to recogn is e wh at
is b ein g s aid, an d th at p ractice u s u ally b rin g s co n fid en ce.
 1 88

Written exercises Bai tap viet

D i v id e t h e fo llo w i n g s en t en ces up i n t o 1 . Ch i a cac cau s au d ay t h an h fo o t , b an g
feet, u s in g a s ing l e v erti cal l i n e (I) as a each d u n g d uo n g doc (D) lam k y h i ed
: : mn d ary s y mbo l. If a s en t ence s t art s w i t h ran h g i o i. N eu mo t cau b at d au b an g
an u n s t res s ed s y llab l e, l eav e i t o u t o f mo t am t i et k h n g n h an , d u ng x em
co n si d erat i o n - it do es n 't b el on g i n a x et n o - n o k h 6 n g t hu c v e fo ot.
fo o t.
a) A b i rd i n t h e h a n d i s w o rt h t w o i n t h e b u s h .
b ) O v er a q u art er o f a cen t u ry h as elap s ed s i n ce h i s d eat h .
c) Co mp u t ers co n s u me a co n s id erab l e amo u n t o f mo n ey an d ti me.
d ) Mos t o f t h em h av e arri v ed o n t h e b u s .
e) N ew s p ap er ed it o rs are i n v ari abl y u nd erw o rk ed .

2 D raw t ree d i ag rams o f t h e rhy t h mi cal 2. V e s o d o cl a cau t ru c t i et t au h l n h

s t ructu re o f t h e fo llo w in g p h ras es . cay cl a cac cu m tu s au d ay .

a) Ch ri st mas p res en t
b) Ro lls Ro y ce
c) p et fo od d eal er
d) Ro lls -Roy ce rally ev en t

3 T h e fo llo w i n g s en t en ces are g i v en i n 3 . Cac cu s au d ay d u d c ch o o d an g

s p elli n g an d i n a carefu l " p h on emi c
t ran s cri p t i on . Rew rit e t h e p ho n emi c
t ran s cri p t i o n as a "bro ad p h o n et i c" o n e
s o as t o s h o w lik el y as s i mil at i ons, elis i o n s
an d · lin k iillg .
ch i n h ta v a t h eo d an g p h i @n am am
v i " can t h an " . V i et l ai p h i n a m am
v i d u 6 i d an g p h i en am "ngt am ran g "
d e ch o t h a y s u d o n g h o a, l u o t am v a
l uy en am.

a) O n e cau s e o f as th ma i s s u p p o s ed t o b e allerg i es
w A n k:z a v res llm a 1z s a p a w z d ta b i l a d 3 z

b ) W h at t h e ur b an p opul at i o n co u l d u s e i s b et t er t rai n s
wt di a ;ba n pppjo l erfn kud ju:z rz beta tremz

c) Sh e act s p art i cul arl y w ell i n t he fi rs t s cen e

Ji ae k t s p at r kj lli we l m d fs: st si:n
 18 9

CHUONG 15

arbitrary /' a:brtran/ (adj) vG doan, khong gidi thich dude

auditory sensation /'::i:drtrr sen' se1fn/ ca m nhan (v e mat) thinh giac

end-point /'endp::imt/ (n) ddu milt

falling tone /'f:l1/ gidng thanh, thanh di<? u xw'i'ng

fundamental frequency l'fAndg,mentl ' fri:kwgns1/ tdn s (/ c <f biin

high fall /'ha1 'hi/ thanh difu cao gidng (gidm t1't
mtc cao xuong)

high rise /'ha1 ' ra1zJ thanh di<?u cao thiing (tiin.g tir
mile gita len)
thanh di<?u 11ganglkhli11g bie'n
level tone /'levl ' taun/
d6'i

low fall /'lgu ' fo: 1/

thanh di<?u hq gidng (gidm tu
giila xtufog)
thanh di@u ha thang (tang tut
low rise /'lau ' rarz/
thflp Len )
thanh di<? u ch uyln dfch/bie'n.
moving tone /'mu:vn:i ' tgun/
drf'i
tdm mtlclphqm vi dao drln.g
pitch range /'pTt.f ,remdy
ctt<lng drJ
nuJ m /iii (di cho ai m5i them)
prompt /prnmpt/ (v)
pseudo-spatial /,sju:dgu' spe1_n1 (n) theo kh<'ing gian dolgid lqp

reservation /,rezg' ve1Jn/ (n) st de dat

scale /ske11/ (n)

thang dtJ, am giai, ,:am nhqc

segmental phonology /seg' mentl fa'nnlad31/ am vi hoc am doan tinh/chi@t

tinh

suprasegmental phonology /' su:prn,segmentl fa'nnJgd31/ : a m vi luJc sie•t doqn tinh

tone /taun/ (n) thanh di<?u

tone language /'taun ,1.el)gwrdy ng<'in ngr7 cd than.h di<?u ( Vi<Jt,

Hoa, Thdi)
 19 0

15 Intonation 1
Chuong 15 : Ngu di@u
Many of the previous chapters have been Nhieu chuong truoc day lien quan den
concerned with the description of phonemes, phien am am vi, va phan 5.2 da vach r6
and in 5.2 it was pointed out that the subject rang chi the ca hinh vi hoc bao gom
of phonology includes not just this aspect kh6ng chl khia ec,nh nay (thuong duoc
(which is usually called s eg m enta l goi la "am vi hoc doan tinh) ma con
pho no l og y ) but also several others. In bao g5m m(lt s6 khfa qnh khac. irong
Chapters J O and 11, for example, we studied chlldng 10 va 11, chang han, chung ta
stress. Clearly. stress has linguistic da nghien cuu trong am. Ro rang, trong
importance and is therefore an aspect of the am c6 tam quan trong ve ngon ngtJ hoc
phonology of English that must be described, va do d6 la khfa cc,1nh CLla am vi hoc
but it is not usually regarded as something trong tie'ng Anh can phi dudc mieu ta,
that is related to individual segmental nhung no thuong khong duoc xem la mot
phonemes: normally, stress is said to be dieu gi do lien quan den cac am vi doan
something that is applied to (or is a property tinh rieng bit ; binh thuong, trong am
of) syllables, and is therefore part of the duoc cho la mot dieu gi do ap dung vao
s upra s eg m enta l pho no l o g y of English. (hoac la tinh chat cl a) cac am tiet, va
Another part of suprasegmental phonology do do la mot phan cl a "am vi hoc sieu
is i nto nati o n. and the next five chapters are doan tinh" cl a tieng Anh. Mot phan khac
devoted to this subject. Clla am vi hoc sieu doan tinh la "n gu
di@u" va nam chuong tiep theo duoc danh
de n6i ve chi d nay.
What is intonation? No definition is NgCt dieu la gl? Khong co dinh nghTa
completely satisfactory, but any attempt at a nao hoan toan thoa dang, nhLtng bat cu
definition must recognise that the pi tch of ai co' g.ing dua ra dinh nghia deu phi i
the voice plays the most important part. Only cOng nhan rang am vuc cda tieng noi
in very unusual situations do we speak with dong m(lt vai tro quan trong nhat. Chi
fixed. unvarying pitch, and when we speak trong nhung tinh huong rat hie'm chung
normally the pitch of our voice is constantly ta m oi noi voi am VL,tc co dinh, khong
changing. One of the most important tasks in thay d6i, va khi chung ta n6i binh thong,
analysing intonation is to listen to the am vuc ci a chung ta lien tuc thay d6'i.
speaker' s pitch and recognise what it is Mot trong nhung nhiem vu quan trong
doing; this is not an easy thing to do, and it nhat khi phan tich ngu dieu la la'ng nghe
seems to be a quite different skill from that am vuc cua nguoi noi va nhan ra no dang
acquired in studying segmental phonetics. ham ch(a gi; day khong phai la vi@c de
We describe pitch in terms of hi g h and l o w . lam, va duong nhu do la mot ky nang
and some people find it difficult to relate hoa 11 toa n khac voi k nang da co du@c
what they hear in someone' s voice to a scale khi nghin ct u ngd am hoc theo doc,111
ranging from low to high. We should tinh. Chung ta mieu ta am VL.(C o dang
remember that "high" and "low" are arbitrary "cao" va "thap", va mot so nguoi thay kh6
choices for end-points of the pitch scale. It khi lien tuong den dieu ma ho nghe o
would be perfectly reasonable to think of giong noi cua mot ngudi nao do v6'i m(lt
pitch as ranging instead from "light" to thang d(l tt thap den cao. Chung ta nen
 191
"heavy" , for example, or from "left" to "right" .
and people who have difficulty in "hearing"
intonation patterns are generally only having
difficulty in relating what they hear (which
is the same as what everyone else hears) to
this "pseudo-spatial" representation.
It is very important to make the point that
we are not interested in all aspects of a
speaker•~ pitch; the only things that should
interest us are those which carry some
linguistic information. If a speaker tries to
talk while riding fast on a horse, his or he
pitch will make a lot of sudden rises and falls
as a result of the irregular movement; this is
something which is outside the speaker' s
control and therefore cannot be linguistically
signific:illt. Similarly, if wc take two speakers
at rand nm \\ c wi 11 :il11111s1 certainly find that
one speaker typically speaks with lower
pitch than thc uther; the difference between
Lhc two speakers is not linguistically
significant because their habitual pitch level
is determined by their physical structure. But
anindividual speakers do have control over
his or he own pitch, and may choose to speak
with a higher than normal pitch; this is
something which is potentially of linguistic
significance.
A word of caution is needed in connection
with the word pi tch. Strictly speaking, this
should be used to refer to an auditory
sensation experienced by the hearer. The rate
of vibration of the vocal folds -something
which is physically measurable, and which is
related to activity on the part of the speaker
- is the funda m enta l frequency of voiced
sounds, and should not be called ' pitch'.
However, as long as this distinction is
understood, it is generally agreed that the
term ' pitch' is a convenient one to use
informally to refer both to the subjective
nhd ding "cao" va "thap" la nhrng lua
chon binh thve1ng cho nhang diem .cuoi
cua thang am vlfc. Se th~t hqp ly khi
nghi rang am vuc nhu la mot pham vi
thay cho tu "nhe" den "nang", chang ha,
hoac tu "tra i" sang "pha i", va nht7ng ngtldi
von gap kho khan trong viec "nghe" cac
mo hinh ngu di@u thuong chi gap kho
khan trong viec lien tlldng de'n nhang
dieu ho nghe (dieu nay giong nhu nhtng
gi nguoi khac nghe) voi su trinh bay "theo
kh6ng gian gia lap" nay.
Dieu quan trong can noi la chung ta
kh6ng quan tam den tat ca cac khia canh
ve am vuc ci a ngudi noi; nhdng dieu
duy nhat lam chung ta quan tam chinh
la nh@ng dieu mang mot s6 thong tin
ng6n ngtl. Ne'u m q t ngue1i co gang noi
trong khi cuoi ngua nhanh thl ho tao ra
nhieu am vuc tang giam dot ngot do ct
dong khong deu; day la dieu gi do nam
ngoai tam kiem soat ci a ngudi noi va
do d6 khong the' co y nghia ve mat ngon
ngtJ. Tuong tu, neu chung ta chon hai
ngudi noi ngau nhien, chung ta gan nhu
chi c chan se thay rang mot ngudi noi
thuong noi voi am vuc thap hon ngue1i
kia; su khac biet gil a hai nguoi noi
khong co y nghia ve mat ngon ngd vl
mdc do a Ill VL_(c theo tho i quen dLiC!C
quyet dinh bdi Call true cua co the' ho.
Nhung mot nguoi noi ca nhan co th€
kiem soat am vuc cl a rieng mi nh va c6
th€ chon de noi voi mot am Vl/C cao hon
blnh thuong; day la dieu gi do c6 kha
na ng quan tro ng ve mat ng611 ngu.
Can phi luu y mot tt lien quan den
tu "a m vlfc". Noi mot cach nghiem tac,
tu nay duqc dung de' chi mot cam nhan
ve mat thinh giac do ngudi nghe trai
nghi@m. Tc do rung dong cua cac day
thanh am - toc do ma ve mat vat ly co
th€ do lue1ng duqc, va lien quan den bo
phan do cha ngudi noi - la t.in s6 Cd ban
cua cac am hau thanh, va khong nen
duc;,c goi la "am vuc". Tuy nhien, vo i dieu
kien ngudi ta hieu duoc su phan biet nay,
ho thuong chap nhan "am vuc" nhu la
mot tu qui uoc d& vt a chi cam nhan ch&
 19 2
sensation and to the objectively measurable
fundamental frequency.
We have established that for pitch
differences to be linguistically significant,
it is a necessary condition that they should
be under the speaker' s control. There is
another necessary condition and that is that
a pitch difference must be percepti bl e; it is
possible to detect differences in the
frequency of the vibration of a speaker' s
voice by means of laboratory instruments,
but these differences may not be great
enough to be heard by a listener as
differences in pitch. Finally, it should be
remembered that in looking for linguistically
significant aspects of speech we must always
be looking for co n tr a s ts ; one of the most
important things about any unit of
phonology or grammar is the set of items it
contrasts with. We know how to establish
what phonemes are in contrast with b in the
context - m; we can substitute other
phonemes (e.g. p, s) to change the identity
of the word from 'bin' to ' pin' to 'sin' . Can we
establish such units and contrasts in
intonation?
15.1 Form and function in intonation
To summarise what was said above, we
want to know the answers to two questions
about English speech:
i) What can we observe when we study pitch
variations?
ii) What is the linguistic importance of the
phenomena we observe?
These questions might be rephrased more
briefly as:
i) What is the form of intonation?
ii) What is the functi on of intonation?
We will begin by looking at intonation
in the shortest piece of speech we can find -
the single syllable. At this point a new term
will be introduced: we need a name for a
quan vlla chl tan so cd ban c6 the do
dudc mot cach khach quan.
Chung ta da chung minh rang de cho
nhung su khac biet ve am vuc tr& nen
co nghia ve mat ngn ngd, can phai
co dieu kien la chung nen o trong tam
kie'm soat cua ngu&i n6 i. C6 mot dieu
ki n can thiet khac la su khac biet ve
am vuc phai "co th e n h an bi et d u c"; ta
c6 the phat hien su khac biet trong "t,in
so'" rung dc)ng a giong cl a nguoi noi bang
cach dung cac dung cu trong nhung thf
nghiem, nhung nhClng su khac biet nay
c6 the khong di ln de nguoi nghe nghe
dLIQ'c nhli la st! khac biet a cliang de).
Cu6i cung, nen nho rang khi tim kiem
cac khia canh cua ldi noi co n g hi a v e
mat ngon ngu, chung ta phai luon tlm
kiem st trai ngudc; mot trong nhung dieu
qua11 trong ve bat cu don vi am vi hay
ngd phap la tap hop cac muc trai nguoc
v&i n6. Chung ta biet cach chung minh
cac a Ill vi nao tra i nglfQc v&i b trong ngu
ca 11 h -m; chu ng ta c6 the' thay the' ca C
am vi khac vi du: p, s) de' thay di tinh
d6ng nha't cua tu, W 'bin' den 'pin'. den
'sin'. Chung ta c6 the' chung minh cac
don viva SI/ trai nglfQ'C nhlf the trong ngd
dieu kh6ng?
15.1 D~ng va chuc nang trong ngu
di@u
De t6m tat nhung dieu da duc noi &
tren, chung ta muon biet cau tra loi cho
hai cau hoi ve Ii noi tieng Anh:
i) Ch(rng ta c6 the quan sat dieu gi khi
nghien CULi cac thay d6i v cuong do?
ii) Tam quan trong ve mat ngon ngu ci a
hien tung ma chung ta quan sat la gl?
Nhung cau hoi nay c6 the duoc noi
lai van tat hon la:
i) D ang cua ngd di@u la gi?
ii) Chuc min g cua ngu dieu la gl?
Chung ta se bat du bang cach xem
xet ngu di@u o bo phan ngan nhat cua
loi n6i ma chung ta tlm tha'y - a m tiet
don. O thoi diem nay, mot thuat ng@ moi
 19 3
co n tinuo u s p iece o f s p eech b eg in n in g an d
en d in g with a clear p au s e, an d we will call
th is an uttera nce. In this ch ap ter, th en , we
are go in g to lo o k at th e in ton atio n o f o n e­
s y llab le u tteran ces. Th es e are q u ite co mmon,
an d g iv e u s a co mp arativ ely eas y
in trodu ctio n to th e s u b ject.
Two co mmo n o n e-s y llab le u tteran ces are
'y es ' an d 'no' . Th e firs t th in g to n o tice is th at
we h av e a ch o ice o f s ay in g th es e with th e
p itch remain ing at a cons tan t lev el, o r with
th e p itch ch an g in g fro m o n e lev el to
an o th er. Th e wo rd we us e for th e o v erall
b eh av io u r o f th e p itch in th es e ex amp les is
to ne; a o n e-s y llab le wo rd can b e s aid with
eith er a l ev el to ne o r a m ov i ng to ne. If y ou
try s ay in g 'y es ' o r 'n o ' with a lev el ton e (rath er
as th o u g h y ou were try ing to s in g th em o n a
s tead y n o te) y o u may fin d th e res u lt d o es
n o t s o u n d n atu ral, an d in d eed En g lis h
s p eak ers d o n o t u s e lev el to n es o n o n e­
s y llab le u tteran ces v ery freq u en tly . Mo v in g
to n es are mo re co mmo n ; if En g lis h s p eak ers
wan t to s ay 'y es ' o r ' n o ' in a d efin ite, fin al
man n er th ey will p rob ab ly u s e a fa lli ng to n e
- o n e wh ich d es cen d s fro m a h ig h er to a
lo wer p itch . If th ey wan t to s ay ' y es ?' o r ' n o ?'
in a q u es tio n ing mann er th ey may s ay it with
a ri s i ng ton e - a mov emen t from a lo wer
p itch to a h igh er o n e.
No tice th at already , in talk in g abou t
d ifferen t to n es, s o me id ea o f fu n ctio n h as
b een in trod u ced ; s p eak ers are s aid to s elect
fro m a ch o ice o f to n es acco rd in g to ho w th ey
wan t th e u tteran ce to b e h eard , an d it is
imp lied th at th e lis ten er will h ear o n e­
s y llab le u tteran ces s aid with d ifferen t to n es
as s o u nd ing d ifferen t in s o me way . Durin g
th e d ev elo p men t o f mo d ern p h o n etics in th e
p res en t cen tury it was for a lo ng time ho p ed
th at s cien tific s tu d y o f in to n atio n wo u ld mak e
it p oss ib le to s tate wh at th e fu n ction o f 'each
d ifferen t as p ect o f in ton ation was, an d th at
foreig n learners co u ld th en b e tau g h t rules
se duoc gioi thieu: chung ta can mot ten
cho mot be phan lien tuc cda loi noi bat
dau va ket thdc bang mot khoang dung
r6 rang, va chung ta se goi n6 la phat
· n gon . Vay thi trong chuong nay, chung
ta se xem xet ngd dieu cl a cac phat
ngon mot am tiet. Nhung phat ngon nay
kha ph bien, va dan nhap chung ta vao
vande tuong d6i de dang.
Hai phat ngen gom mot am tiet pho
bien la 'yes' va 'no'. Di&u dau tien can
lvu y la chu ng ta co slf ll/a cho n d€ no i
nhung dieu nay voi cui ng do van o mot
mac khng di , hoac voi cuong do thay
do'i tu mot mt c nay sang mt c khac. TCI
ma chung ta dung cha toan bo hanh dong
cl a cuong do trong nhung vi du nay la
th an h d i@u ; mot tu gom mot am tiet co
the' dLlc;tc 116 i v6'i th an h d i~u n gan g ho~ c
th an h d i~u ch u ye'n d jch . Neu bqn thCt n6 i
'yes' hoc 'no' v6'i thanh dieu ngang (nhv
the ban dang crf giing hat chung theo
not co dinh), ban c6 the thay ket qua
t;;to ra am kh6ng tu nhien va that su ngudi
n6i tie'ng Anh khong dung thanh dieu
ngang ? cac phat ngon mot am tiet
thuong xuyen lam. Cac t hanh dieu
chuye'n d!ch thl ph6 bin hon. Neu ngudi
noi tieng Anh muon n6i 'yes' ho;j.c 'no'
theo ca ch dut khoa t, r6 rang, c6 le ho
se dung thanh dieu xu o n g - thanh dieu
giam tu cui ng do cao xuong cuong do
thap hon. Neu ho muon n6i 'yes?' ho;j.c
'no?' theo cach tht c chat van, ho c6 the'
n6 i v6'i thanh dieu len - chuyen tu cuong
do thap len cui ng do cao hon.
L u u y rang, khi noi ve cac thanh dieu
khac nhau, mot chut tuong ve ch&c
na ng da dvqc gi6' i thieu; ngvo i ta cha
rang ngVoi n6i phai chon Iva cac thanh
dieu theo each ho muon phat ngon duoc
nghe nhu the nao, va dieu do ngu rang
ngudi nghe se nghe cac phat ngon mot
am tiet noi rang nhieu giong khac nhau
theo mqt each nao d6. Trang qua trlnh
phat trie'n cua ngL7 am hoc hien dai trong
the k nay, trong mot thoi gian di ngudi
ta hy vong rang nghien ct u khoa hoc ve
ngd dieu co the phat bieu cht c nang n"ia
m6i khfa c;;tnh khac nhau d1a ngu am la
 194
to enab1r them to use intonation in the way
that native speakers use it. Few people now
bdieve this to be possible. It is certainly
possible to produce a few general rules, and
some will be given in this course, just as a
few general rules for word stress were given
in Chapters l O and 11. However, these rules
are certainly not adequate as a practical
guide to how to use English intonation. My
treatment of intonation is based on the belief
that foreign learners of English at advanced
levels who may use this course .should be
given training to make them better able to
recognise and copy English intonation. The
only really efficient way to learn to u s e the
intonation of a language is the way a child
acquires the intonation of its first language,
and the training referred to above should
help the adult learner of English to acquire
English intonation in a similar (though much
slower) way - through listening to and
talking to English speakers. It is perhaps a
discouraging thing to say, but learners of
English who are not able to talk regularly
with native speakers of English, or who are
not able at least to listen regularly to
colloquial English, are not likely to learn
English intonation, although they may learn
very good pronunciation of the segments and
use stress correctly.
15.2 Tone and tone languages
In the preceding section we mentioned
three simple possibilities for the intonation
used in pronouncing the one-word
utterances 'yes' and 'no' . These were: level,
fall and rise. It will often be necessary to use
symbols to represent tones, and for this we
will use marks placed before the syllable in•
the following way (phonemic transcription
will not be used in these examples - words
are given in spelling):
gl va phat bieu rang ngudi hoc ngoai ngd
sau do co th€ dt1c;1c day eac qui t.'ic cl€
giup ho st dung ngu dieu theo cach ngudi
noi ban ngu dung no. ft nguoi bay gio'
tin rang dieu nay la co th€. Chae chan
la c6 the tao ra mot so qui tac chung, va
mot vai qui tac se dL/c;lc cho trong sach
nay, giong nhu mot so qui tac chung danh
cho trong am t i:t da dt1c;1c cho trong chuong
10 va 11. Tuy nhien, cac qui tac nay
chac chan khong day du de lam huong
dan thuc t& ve cach dung ngt di&u tieng
Anh. Cach xem xet ngu dieu o day dua
vao niem tin rang nguoi nuoc ngoi hoc
tieng Anh O trlnh do cao st dung sach
nay nen dugc do tao d€ ho c6 kha nang
nhan bi&t tot hon va bat chuoc ngt dieu
tieng Anh. each that su hieu qui duy
nhat de hoc cach st dung ngu dieu ci a
mot ngon ngu la cach ma mot d&a tr¢
dat duoc ngt dieu cua ngon ngt dau tien
ca no, va su do tao duoc de cap o
tren nen giup ngudi Ion hoc tieng Anh
tiep thu dLlc;lc nga dieu tieng Anh theo
cach tuong tu (mac du chm hon nhieu)
- thong qua viec nghe va noi chuyen voi
nguoi noi ting Anh. N6i nhu the c6 le
nghe hdi nan long dlic;lc, nhL/ng nhung
nguo i hoc tieng Anh kho ng the' no i
chuyen thuong xuyen voi nguoi noi tieng
Anh bi n ngt , hoac nht ng nguoi khong
tlutong xuyen nghe tieng Anh thong tuc
khong the hoc ngt dieu tieng Anh, mac
du ho co th€ hoc rat tot cach phat am
ca cac doan va dung trong am dung.
'-AUlS, EX 1- 3
1 5 .2 T hanh di~u va ng o n ng u c6
thanh di@u
Trong phan truoc, chung t6i da de cap
ba kha nang don gian co the c6 de ngCt
dieu duoc dung khi phat am cac phat
ngon gom mot W 'yes' va 'no'. Ba kha
nang nay la: ngang, xuong va len. Ta
thuong can phi i dung cac ky hieu de
trlnh bay thanh dieu, va vi vay chung ta
dung cac dau dat trudc am tiet theo cach
sau day (phien am theo am vi se khong
duoc dung trong ba vi du nay - ca C W
dugc cho o dang chinh ta):
 195
Lev el _ y es _ n o
Fallin g ,y es ,n o
Ris in g ,y es ,n o
Ob v io u s ly , th is s imp le s y s tem for ton e
tran s crip tio n cou ld b e ex tend ed , if we
wis h ed , to cov er a g reater n u mb er o f
p o s s ib ilities . For ex amp le, if it was impo rtan t
to d is tin gu is h b etween a h ig h lev el an d lo w
lev el to n e for Eng lis h we co u ld d o it in th is
way :
Hig h lev el y es n o
Lo w lev el _ y es _ n o
Alth o u g h in En g lis h we d o o n o ccas io n s
s ay y es or n o an d o n o th er o ccas io n s _ y es
o r _ n o, n o s p eak er o f En g lis h wo u ld s ay th at
th e mean ing o f th e wo rd s 'y es ' an d 'n o ' was
d ifferen t with th e d ifferen t ton es . (As will
b e s een b elo w, we will n o t u s e th e s y mbo ls
for h ig h an d lo w lev el to n es in th e
d es crip tio n o f En g lis h in to n atio n .) Bu t th ere
are man y lan g u ag es in wh ich th e to n e can
d etermin e th e mean in g o f a wo rd , an d
ch ang in g fro m o n e ton e to an o th er can
co mp letely ch an g e th e mean ing . Fo r
ex amp le, in Kono , a lan g u ag e o f Wes t Africa,
we fin d th e follo wing (mean ing s g iv en in
b rack ets ):
Hig h lev el -b co (' u n cle' ) -bu u (' ho rn' )
Lo w lev el b ep (' g reedy ' ) b u u (' to b e cros s ' )
Similarly, wh ile we can h ear a d ifferen ce
b etween En g lis h _ y es, ,y es an d ,y es , an d
b etween _ n o , ,n o an d ,n o , th ere is n o t a
d ifferen ce in mean in g in s u ch a clear-cu t way
as in Ch in es e (Pek ing d ialect), wh ere, for
ex amp le, m a mean s ' mo th er' , ,m a mean s
' h emp ' an d ,m a mean s 's co ld ' . Langu ag es
s u ch as th e abo v e are called to ne la ng ua g es ;
alth ou g h to mo s t s p eak ers o f Eu rop ean
langu ag es . th ey may s eem s tran g e an d
exo tic, s u ch langu ag es are in fact s pok en by
a v ery larg e p rop o rtio n o f th e wo rld ' s
p o p u lation . In add itio n to th e man y d ialects
o f Ch in es e, man y o th er lan g u ag es o f Sou th ­
Eas t · As ia (e.g . Th ai, Vietn ames e) are ton e
lan gu ag es ; s o are v ery man y African
Ng an g _ y es _ no
Xu o ng ,y es ,n o
Len ,y es ,n o
Ro ran g h e th o ng p h ien am th an h d i@u
d o n g ian n ay co th e d u o c mo ron g , n eu
ch un g ta mu o n , detrin h b ay mo t s o lu c;,n g
cac k h a n an g lo n h o n . Vi d u , n eu v iec
ph an b i@t g ila th an h d i@u cap cao v a
cap th ap tron g tien g An h q u an tron g th l
ch u n g ta c6 th e th u c h ien d ieu d o th eo
each n ay :
Ca'p cao
Cap th ap _ y es _no
Mij.c d u tron g tie' n g An h, d 6 i k h i chun g
ta n o i y es h o c n o v a d o i k h i n 6 i _ y es h o ij.c
_ n o, k h 6 ng c6 n g u'Cli n 6 i tie' n g An h n o n o i
rin g y ngh ia cu a tr 'y es ' v a 'n o ' k h ac v d i cac
th an h d ieu k h ac n h au . (Nh u ch u n g ta s e th ay
d u @i d ay , ch in g ta s k h o n g d u n g cac k
h ie u d an h ch o ca c th an h d ie u ca'p cao vii
cap th ap k h i mieu ta n g r d i@u tien g An h .)
Nh u'ng c6 n h i€ u n g 6 n n g Ci' tron g cl6 th anh
d ieu co th e x ac d in h y n g h ia cu a mo t tu , v ii
v iec th ay di tux mo t th an h d i@u n ay th an h
th an h d ieu k h ac co the lam th ay d o i h o an
to an n g h ia. Vi d u , th eo tie' n g Ko n o , m(>t
n g6n n g r & Tay Ph i, ch u n g ta th ay cac th an h
d ieu s au d ay ( n g h ia clu'c;1c ch o tron g n go ij.c):
Ca'p cao b cn (C' u n cle' ) b u u ('h o rn' )
Cap th ap bp (' greedy ' ) b uu (' to b e cross ' )
Tu o n g tu , mac d u ch u n g ta c6 th e n gh e
s u k h ac n h au g iu a _ y es, {y es v a ,y es, v a
g iua _ n o , ,n o v a ,n o tron g tieng Anh ,
n h u n g k h o n g co s u k h ac b iet v e y n gh ia
th eo cach ro ran g n h u th e tro ng tien g Ho a
(tien g Bac Kinh ), v i d u , tron g n g 6 n n gu
n ay , ma n g h ia la "me" , ,ma n g h ia la "s Q'i
g ai d au " v a ma n g h ia la "ray la" . Cac
n g o n n g u n h u tren co th e d u g c g o i la
"n g o n n g u co th an h d i@u " ; mac d u v d i
n h an g n g u d i n o i n g o n n g a ch au Au ,
ch u n g d uo n g n h u la v a n go ai lai, cac
n g o n n gu n hu th e th at ra d ug c n o i b o i
mo t p h an rat lo n d an s o th e g io i. Ng o ai
n h ieu p h u on g n g u tin g Ho a n ay , n h ieu
n g o n n g a k h ac o Do n g Nam A (v i d u :
 19 6
languages, particularly those to the South
and West, and a considerable number of
Amerindian languages. English is, of course,
not a tone language, and the function of tone
is muds more difficult to define than in a
tone language.
1 5.3 Complex tones and pitch height
We have introduced three simple tones
that can be used on one-syllabi~ English
utterances: level, fall and rise. However,
other more complex tones are also used. One
that is quite frequently found is the fa ll-ri s e
tone, where the pitch descends and then rises
again; another complex tone, much Jess
frequently used, is the ri s e-fa ll in which the
pitch follows the opposite movement. We
will not consider any more complex tones,
since these are not often encountered and
are of little importance.
One further complication should be
mentioned here. Each speaker has his or her
own normal pitch range: a top level which is
the highest pitch normally used by the
speaker, and a bottom level that the speaker' s
pitch normally does not go below. In
ordinary speech, the intonation tends to take
place within the lower part of the speaker' s
pitch range, but in situations where strong
feelings are to be expressed it is usual to
make use of extra pitch height. For example,
if we represent the pitch range by drawing
two parallel lines representing the highest
and lowest limits of the range, then a normal
unemphatic 'yes' could be diagrammed like
this:
ting Thai va Viet Nam) la nhung ngon
ngu co thanh dieu; rat nhieu ngon ngCI
chau Phi cung vay, dac bi@t nhung ngon
ngtJ a Nam Va Tay Au, va mot s6 1Lt<;1ng
dang ke' ng6n ngu cua th6' dan My. Tuy
nhien, tieng Anh khong phai la ngon ngd
co thanh dieu, va chuc nang cua tl_1anh
dieu kho dinh nghia hon nhieu so vdi
ng6n ngu c6 thanh dieu.
1 5 .3 Ca c thanh di@u phuc ta p v a do
cao cua cuo ng de}
Chung t6i da gii thieu ba thanh dieu
don gian co the duoc dung o cac phat
ngon tieng Anh mot am tiet: ngang,
xu6ng va len. Tuy nhien, cac thanh dieu
khac phuc t,:1p hdn nua cung co the' du(Jc
dung. Mt thanh dieu du@c thay thuong
xuyen la thanh dieu xu o'n g -l en , tuc la
cuong do giam r6i l,:1i tang. Mot thanh
dieu pht c ta p khac, duoc dung it thuong
xuyen hon nhieu, la thanh di@u l en ­
xu o ng , tt c la cuong do theo stf chuye'n
dong trai nguoc. Chung ta se khong xem
xet bat ell thanh dieu ph(c tap nao nua,
vi nhung thanh dieu nay hiem khi gap
va it quan trong.
Mot trui ng hop phuc tap hon nua nen
dugc de cap o day. Moi ngudi n6i deu
co pham vi dao dong cuong d6 binh
thuong rieng cda minh: mt c tren cung
la CL/ong do cao 11 ha't th Liang dtl(;lc ngtloi
noi dung, va mt c thap nha't ma cuong
de) cua nguoi noi thuong kh6ng di xuong
du6'i. Trong loi noi blnh thuong, ngCt dieu
co khuynh huong xuat hien o phan thap
hon ci a pham vi dao dong cuong do ci a
nguoi noi, nhttng trong nhllng tlnh huong
muon dien ta cam xuc manh, ta thuong
phai st dung do cao cuong do VLl(Jl mtk
blnh thuong. Vi du, neu chung ta bie'u
pham vi dao dong cui ng do bang cach
ve hai ducrng thilng song song trinh bay
gioi han.cao nhat va thap nhat cl a pham
vi dao dong, thl 'yes' khong nhan manh
co the' duqc ve sd d6 nhu the nay:
 197
bu t a s t ro ng, emp h ati c ' y es ' l i k e t h i s :
w e· w i ll u s e a n ew s y mbo l i (a v ert i cal
arro w ) t o i nd i cat e ex tr a p it ch h ei g h t , s o t h at
w e can d ist i n gu i s h b et w een :
,y es and i ,y es
A n y o f t h e t o n e s p re s e n t e d i n t h i s
ch ap t er may b e g i v en extr a p i t ch h ei gh t , bu t
s i n ce t h i s co u rs e i s b as ed on ' N o rmal ,
u n emo t i o n al s p eech , i t w ill no t b e n eces s ary
t o u s e t h e s y mbo l v ery frequ en t l y .
1 5.4 S om e fu n c tion s of E n gli sh ton e s
In t h i s ch ap t er o n l y a v ery s mall p art o f
E n g lish i nt o n ati o n h as b een i nt ro d u ced . W e
w i ll n o w s ee i f i t i s p o s s i b l e t o s t at e i n w h at
ci rcu ms t an ces t h e d i fferen t t on es are u s ed
w i _t h i n t h e v ery limi t ed cont ex t o f t h e w o rd s
'y es ' an d 'n o ' s ai d i n i s o l ati o n . W e w i ll l o o k
at s o me t y p i cal o ccu rren ces ; n o ex amp l es o f
ex t ra p i t ch h ei g h t w i ll b e co n s i d ered h ere,
s o t h e ex amp l es s ho u l d b e t h ou gh t o f as
b ei n g s aid rel at i v ely l o w i n t h e s p eak er' s
p it ch ran g e·.
Fall' ,y e s , n o
T h i s i s t h e t on e abou t w h i ch l eas t n eed s
t o b e s ai d, an d wh i ch i s u s u ally reg ard ed as
mo re o r l es s "n eu t ral " . If s o meo n e i s as k ed a
q u es t i o n an d rep lies ,y es o r ,n o i t w i ll b e
u n d ers t o o d t h at t h e qu es ti o n i s n o w an s w ered
an d t h at t h ere i s n o t hi n g mo re t o b e s ai d .
T h e fall cou l d b e s ai d t o g i v e an i mp res s i on
o f "fi n al i t y ".
nhung 'y es ' nhan m anh giong nhu t he nay :
C hung t a s e s t dung m ot k y hieu m oi
i (m ui t en huong th ang len) de c hi c hi@u
c ao c ha c uong do v uot t ri, VI t he t a c 6
t he phan bi@t giua:
,y es v ii i ,y es
Bat c u t hanh dieu nao du' Qc t rlnh bay
t rong c hu'dng nay deu co t he du'Qc c ho
m ot c hieu c ao c uong do v uc;it m uc , nhung
v l s ac h nay dl,J'a t ren loi n6i blnh t huong,
k hong x uc dong nen k hong c an phai
dung k y hieu nay t hung x uy en lam .
O AU15, EX 4
1 5 .4 M c} t s6 chuc nang cua t ha nh
di@ u ti@ng Anh
C huong nay c hi gioi t hieu m ot phan
rat nho v e ngu di@u t ieng Anh. Bay gi
c hung t a s e x em lieu c hung t a c o t he
phat bieu t rong nhung t inh huong nao thi
c ac t hanh di@u k hac nhau duoc dung
t rong ngu ca nh ra't han c he c ua ca c tu
'y es ' va 'no' dugc noi rieng. C hung t a s e
x em x et m c) t s o t ruong hQ'p t ieu bieu;
k h6ng c o v i du nao ve c hieu c ao c uong
do v ugt m uc s e dugc x em x et o day , v l
v ay c ac v i du nen duoc x em la dang
du@c noi v oi c uong do tuong d6i t hap
t rong pham vi dao dong c uc'Jng do c ua
n g u o i n o i.
T ha nh di~u x u6 ng , ye s ,no
D ay la t hanh dieu c an phai dugc noi
it nhat , v a t huong du'Q'c x em la o k hoang
"trung lap". N eu m c) t ngu' c'Ji du'<;IC hoi v a
t ra loi y es hoac , no, ngudi t a s e hieu
c au hi bay gic'J duc:, c t ra lc'Ji v a k hong
c o dieu gi k hac nua de du'Qc n6i. T hanh
dieu x uong c o t he du@c noi de c ho an
t t1 <;1ng v @ "s l/ dut k hoa t ".
 198
Rise ,y es ,n o
In a v ariety o f way s, th is to n e con v ey s an
imp res s io n th at s o meth in g mo re is to follo w;
a ty p ical o ccu rren ce in a d ialo g u e b etween
two s p eak ers wh o m we s h all call A an d B
mig h t b e th e follo win g :
A (wishing to attract B's attention): Ex cu s e
me.
B: ,y es B: ,y es
(B' s rep ly is, p erh ap s , eq u iv alen t to 'wh at
do y o u wan t?' ) Ano th er q u ite co mmon
o ccu rren ce wo u ld b e:
A: Do y o u k no w Joh n Smith ?
Thanh di~u len ,y es ,no
T heo nhieu c ac h k hac nhau, t hanh
dieu nay t ruy en an t ugng rang co m ot
dieu gi k hac nua t iep t heo s au; m ot t ruong
hop t i@u bieu t rong c uoc hoi t hoai giC/a
hai ngudi noi m a c hung t a goi la A v a B
s au day :
A ( m uon thu h u t SJ/ ch u y ciia B ) : Ex cus e
m e.
(C au t ra Joi c ua B c 6 le t u'ang duang
v oi "w hat do y ou w ant ?") M ot t ru'ong h<;1p
k ha ph6 bien k hac la:

On e p os s ib le rep ly fro m B wo u ld b e ,y es, M o t c au t ra ldi co t he c o c da B la

in v itin g A to con tinu e with wh at s h e in ten d s , y es , m di A t iep t uc v oi nhung gl c o dinh
lo s ay ab o u t J oh n Smith after es tab lish in g noi v e J ohn Sm it h s au k hi c hung m inh
th at B k n o ws h im. To rep ly in s tead ,y es rang B biet anh t a. T hay v i v ay , t ra loi
wo u ld g iv e a feelin g o f "fin ality " , o f "en d o f y es s e c ho m o t ca m giac v e "t inh dut
th e co nv ers ation " ; if A d id h av e s o meth in g k hoat ", v e "s u k et t huc cac uoc dam
to s ay ab ou t J o h n Smith, th e res pon s e with a t hoai"; neu A c o dieu gi d6 de noi v e
fall wo u ld mak e it d ifficu lt for A to con tinu e. J ohn Sm it h, c au t ra li v oi t hanh di@u
x uong k hien c ho A k ho t iep t uc.
We can s ee s imilar "in v itatio n s to C hung t a c 6 the t hay "nhm ng loi m oi
con tin u e" in s o meo n e's res p o n s e to a s eries t iep t uc " t uong t u t rong c au t ra loi c ua
o f ins tru ctio n s o r d irectio ns . Fo r ex amp le: m ot nguoi nao do c ho m ot loat c ac c hi
dan. Vi du:
A: Yo u s tart o ff o n th e rin g road ...
B: ,y es
A: tu rn left at th e firs t round ab o u t ...
B: ,y es
A: and o u rs is th e th ird h o u s e o n th e left.

Wh atev er B rep lies to th is las t u tteran ce Ba't cu dieu gi B t ra loi c ho phat ngon
o f A, it v o u ld b e mos t u n lik ely to b e ,y es c uoi c ung nay c da A, c au t ra s k hong
ag ain , s in ce A h as clearly fin i"s h ed h er the la , y es , v i A r6 rang d a k et t huc c ac
in s tructio n s n n d it wo u ld b e p o in tles s to c hi dan c ua m inh v a s t hat v u v o k hii
"p romp t" h er to co n tin u e. "m om Joi" c ho c o ay t iep tuc .
With 'no ', a s imilar fun ctio n can b e s een . Vdi 'no' , t a c o t he t hay m ot c h&c nang
Fo : ex amp le: t Lf ong t lf . Vi du: .
A: Hav e y o u s een An n? .
lf B rep lies · ,no, h e imp lk s qu ite clearly N eu B tra loi no, anh t a ngu y k h a ro
th at h e h as n o in teres t in con tin u in g with _ rang rang anh t a k hong quan t am den
lh al lo p ic o f co n v ers atio n . Bu t a rep ly o f ,n o v i@c t iep t uc vi c hi de d6 c ia c uc
 19 9
w o u l d b e an i n v it at i o n t o A t o ex p l ai n w h y
s h e i s l ook i n g fo r A n n , o r w h y s h e d o es n o t
kn o w wh ere s h e i s .
Si mil arl y , s o meo n e may as k a q u es t i on
t h at i mp li es readin es s t o p res en t s o me n ew
i n fo rmat i o n . Fo r ex amp l e:
A : D o y o u k n o w wh at t h e l ong es t b alloo n fligh t w as ?
If B rep l i es ,n o h e i s i n v i t ing A t o t ell
h i m, w h il e a respon s e o f ,n o co u l d b e t ak en
l o mean t h at h e d o es n o t kn o w an d i s n o t
ex p ect i n g t o b e t o l d .' T h i s i s, i n fact , a
co mmo n cau s e o f mi s un d ers t an d i n g i n
.E n g l i s h co n v ers ati o n , w h en a q u es ti o n s u ch
as A ' s ab ov e mi g h t b e a req u es t fo r
i n fo rmat i o n o r an o ffer t o p ro v i d e s o me.
Fall-r ise .yes .no
T h e fall-ri s e i s u s ed a J o t i n E n g lis h an d
h as s o me rat h er s p eci al fu n cti o n s . In t h e
p res en t con t ex t w e w i ll o n l y con s id er o n e
fai rl y s i mpl e o n e, w h i ch cou l d p erh ap s b e
d es cri b ed as "l i mi t ed ag reemen t " o r
"res p on s e w i t h res erv at i on s " . Ex amp l es may
mak e t h i s cl earer:
A: I' v e h eard t h at i t 's a g oo d s ch oo l.
B: .y es
B' s rep l y w o u l d b e t ak en t o mean t h at h e
w o u l d n o t co mp l et el y ag ree w i t h w h at A
s ai d ,. an d A w o u l d p ro b ab l y ex p ect B t o g o
on t o ex p l ai n w h y h e w as relu ct an t t o ag ree.
Si mil arl y :
A: It ' s n o t really an exg en s i v e reco rd , i s i t ?
B: .n o
T h e fall-ri s e i n B' s rep l y ag ai n 'in d i cat es
t h at h e w ou l d n o t co mp l et el y ag ree w i t h A. ·
Fall-ri s e i n s u ch co n t ex t s al mo s t al w ay s
i n d i cat es b o t h s o met h i n g "g i v en " o r
"con ced ed " an d at t h e s ame t i me s o me
"res erv at i on " o r "h es i t at i on " . T h i s u s e o f
i n t o n at i o n w ill b e ret u rn ed t o i n Ch ap t er 1 9 .
d am t ho ai . N hu n g cau t ra l o i ,n o s @ l a
l d i mo i A g i ai t h ic h l y do t ai s ao co tl m
k i e m A n n , h ay t ai s ao c o k h o n g b i e t co
ay d au .
T u o n g tu, mo t n g ud i n ao d o co t h e
d at cau h o i n g u y s an s an g du a ra mo t
s o t h o n g ti n mo i . V i d u :
N eu B t ra lo i ,no , an h t a d an g mo i A
n o i chu y en v o i an h t a, mac d u cau t ra
lo i ,n o c6 t h e man g n g h i a l a an h t a k h o n g
b it v a k h o n g mo n g mu o n d u g c b i et. T h at
ra, d ay la n g uy en n h an th o n g t h u ong g ay
h i eu s ai t ron g mo t cu )c d am t ho ai t i eng
A nh , k h i mo t cau h i n hu cau h o i cu a A
cJ t ren c6 t h e l a y eu cau t h o n g ti n h o <)C
lo i d e n g h i cu n g cap mot s6 t h o n g t i n .
Thanh di~u xu6ng-len .yes .no
T h an h d i eu "x u o ng -l en " d uq c d u n g
n h i eu t ro n g t i en g A n h v a co mo t s o ch c
n an g k h a d <)c b i et. T ro ri g n g O' can h h i en
t ai , ch u n g t a ch i s e x em x et m o t ch (c
n an g k h a d o n g i n . C6 le ch &c n an g n ay
co t h e d u q c mi eu t a l a "s u' t an th an h c6
g i o i h an " h ay " c au t r l o i co su
de d <)t ".
Cac vi du c6 t h e l am ch c d i fu n ay t ro
n e n ro ra n g h em :
Cau t ra lo i cu a .B s e duc h i eu l a an h
t a k h o n g h o an t o an d o n g y v o i n h mng g l
A n 6 i , v a ·co l e A mo ng mu o n B t ip t u c
g i i t h i ch t ai s ao an h t a mi en cuang d6n g
y. T u on g t u':
T h an h d i e u x u o n g -l e n m o t l a n n t a c h i
ro ra n g a n h t a k h o n g h o a n t o a n d o n g y
v o i A. T h an h d i @u x u o n g -l en t ro n g n h u ng
n g u can h n h u th e h au n h u l ac n o cu n g
v l a ch i ro d i eu g i d 6 "d uo c ch o " h ay
"d u ; c th l a n h an " v l a d o n g t h o i ch o th ay
"s u de d <)t " h ay "ch an ch r" . Cacb d un g
n g t d i @u n ay s e du o c d e cap lai t ro n g
ch u on g 1 9 .
 200
Rise-fall .yes .no
This is used to convey rather strong
feelings of approval, disapproval or surprise.
It is not usually considered to be an important
tone for foreign learners to acquire, although
it is still useful practice to learn to distinguish
it from other tones. Here are some examples:
A: You would' t do an awful thing like· that, would you?
B: .no
A : Isn' t the view lovely!
B: .yes
A: I think you said it was the best so far.
B : .yes
Level _yes _no
This tone is certainly used in English,
but in a rather restricted context: it almost
always conveys (on· single-syllable
utterances) a feeling of saying something
routine, uninteresting or boring. A teacher
calling the names of pupils from a register
will often do so using a level tone on each
name, and the pupils would be likely to
respond with _yes when their name was
called. Similarly, if one is being asked a
series of routine questions for some purpose
such as applying for an insurance policy -
one might reply to each question of a series
(like 'Have you ever been in prison?' . Do
you suffer from any serious illness?' , 'Is your
eyesight defective?' , e.c., with _no.
A few "meanings" have been suggested
for the five tones that have been introduced,
but each tone may have many more such
s meanings. Moreover, it would be quite
wrong to conclude that in the above
examples only the tones given would be
appropriate; it is, in fact, almost impossible
to find a context where one could not
s11i,,1i1ute a different tone. This is not the
Thanh di~u len-xu6ng .yes .no
Thanh dieu nay dugc dung de truyen
cac cam xuc kha manh ve su tan thanh,
bat dong hay ngac nhien. N6 thuong
khong duc;tc xem la thanh dieu quan trong
de ngudi hoc ngoai ngu dat duoc, mac
du hoc cach phan biet no voi cac thong
dip khac van la di@u ht u fch. Sau day
la mot s6 vi du:
Thanh di~u ngang _yes _no
Thanh dieu nay chac chan duoc dung
trong tieng Anh, n hung trong nga can h
kha han che: no hau nhu luon truyen (tren
cac phat ngon am tiet don) mot cam xuc
v viec noi dieu gi do theo thoi quen,
khong thu vi hay nham chan. Giao vi n
goi ten hoc sinh tu s6 die'm danh thuong
se lam nhu vay bang each dung thanh
dieu ngang ?:J rn6i ten, va cac hoc sinh
co the tra l i _yes khi ten Clla chung
duoc go i. Tu'dng tu, neu mot nguoi dugc
hoi mot loat cac cau hoi theo thi tuc vi
mot muc dich nao do - chang han nhu
nop don xin hu?:Jng chfnh sach bao hie'm
- ng~oi ta c6 the tra loi moi cau hoi trong
mot loat cac cau hoi (nhu 'Have you ever
been in prision?', ' Do you suffer from any
serious illness' , 'Is your eyesight
defective?, v.v.') la _no.
Mot vai " nghia" da dudc de nghi
cho narn thanh di@u von da duoc gioi
thieu, nhung mdi thanh dieu co the' c6
nhieu y nghia nhu' the. Hdn nua, se th;;'.\t
sai lam khi ket luan rang trong cac vi du
?:J tren, chi nhung thanh dieu da cho moi
thfch hop; tren thuc te, hau nhu ta khong
the tim thay mot ngu canh ma o do mot
thanh dieu co the' thay the cho mot thanh
 20 1
s ame th in g as s ay in g th at an y ton e can b e
us ed in an y co n tex t; th e p o in t is th at no
p articu lar ton e h as a u n iq u e "p riv ileg e o f
o ccu rren ce" in a p articu lar co n tex t. Wh en
we co me to look at more co mp lex in to n atio n
p atterns , we will s ee th at d efin in g
in to n ation al "mean in g s " d o es n o t b eco me
an y' eas ier.
di@u k hac . D ieu nay k hong giong nhu
noi rang bat c t t hanh dieu nao c ung deu
c6 t h€ duqc dung t rong bat c u ngCI ca nh
nao: v an de la k hong c o t hanh dieu dac
bi@t no c6 "dac quy en x uat hi@n" doc
nhat t rong mot ngd ca nh c u t he. Khi
c hung t a x em x et c ac m o hinh ngu dieu
pht c t ap hon, c hung t a s t hay rang v i@c
dinh nghia c ac "y nghia" t heo ngu di@u
k hong phi la diu de dang.

Notes o n pro blems a nd further rea ding

To d ev o te fiv e ch ap ters to in to n ation may s eem ex cess iv e, b u t I feel th at this is n ecess ary
s ince th e s u bject is d ifficu lt an d co mp lex , an d n eed s to b e ex p lain ed at co n s id erab le len g th
if th e ex ,lan atio n is to b e in tellig ib le. Th e s tud y o f in to n atio n wen t th rou g h man y ch an g es in
th e twn tieth cen tu ry . Th e mo s t inten s iv e th eo retical d ev elo p men t b eg an d u ring · th e 1 94 0s . In
th e Un ited States th e th eo ry th at evo lv ed was b as ed on ' p itch p h o n emes ' (Pik e, 1 94 5 ): four
co n tras tiv e p itch lev els were es tab lis h ed and in to n atio n was d es crib ed b as ically in terms o f a
s eries o f mov emen ts fro m o n e o f th es e lev els to ano th er. This ap p roach was fu rth er d ev elo p ed
in Trag er an d Smith (1 9 5 1 ). Alth o u g h this 'p itch pho n eme' th eo ry b ecame an o rth o d o xy, it was
con s is ten tly attack ed by o n e American ling u is t, D. Bo lin g er (e.g . Bo lin g er, 1 9 5 1 ). In Britain
th e ' to n e-un it' o r ' to n etic' ap p roach b egu n b y H. E. Palmer in th e 1 9 20 s (Palmer, 1 9 24) was
d ev elo p ed by (amo n g o th ers ) Kingdo n (1 958 a), O' Con n o r an d Arno ld (1 962) an d Hallid ay
(1 9 67 ). Th es e two d ifferen t th eo retical app ro ach es b ecame g rad u ally mo re elab o rate; in th e
American cas e p erh ap s th e mo s t elabo rate ex po s itio n was in Trag er (19 6 4 ), while O' Con n o r
and Arno ld p rod u ced an ex ten d ed v ers io n o f th eir treatmen t in th eir s econ d ed itio n (1 973)
which was cery d ifficu tl to learn in fu ll. Sin ce th e 19 70 s it h as b eco me clear th at, d es p ite th eir
co mp lex ity s u ch framewo rk s are inad equ ate for d e;ling with n atural s pon tan eou s s p eech ; in
Britain th e mo s t in flu en tial wo rk lead in g to this reco gnitio n was Cry s tal (1 969 ). I h av e tried ii i
this cou rs e to reflect s o me o f th e mo re recen tly d ev elo p ed id eas for d ealin g with in to n ation,
alth o u g h th e treatmen t remams es s en tially with in th e conv en tio n s o f th e Britis h trad itio n . A
g o od in trod u ctio n to th e th eo retical is s u es is Crutten d en (19 97 ). A mo re d ifficu lt ( th o ugh
v ery v alu ab le) b o o k o n th eo ry is Lad d (1 9 96).
1 5 .1 Th e amo u n t o f time to b e s p en t o n learnin g ab o u t to n e lan g u ag es s ho u ld d ep en d to
s o me ex ten t o n yo ur b ack g rou n d . Th o s e wh o s e n ativ e lan g u ag e is a ton e lan g u ag e s h o u ld
b e aware o f th e co n s id erab le lin gu is tic impo rtan ce o f ton e in s u ch lang u ag es ; o ften it is
ex tremely d ifficu lt for p eop le wh o h av e s p o k en a ton e lan gu ag e all th eir life to learn to
o b s erv e th eir o wn u s e o f ton e o b jectiv ely . Th e s tu d y o f ton e lang u ag es wh en learnin g
En g lis h is les s imp o rtan t for n ativ e s p eak ers o f n o n -ton e lan g u ag es , b u t mo s t s tu d en ts s eem
to fin d it an in teres tin g s u b ject. A g o o d in trod u ctio n is Lad efog ed (19 8 3 : 226 -3 2 ). Th e
class ic wo rk on th e s u bject is Pik e (1 94 8 ), wh ile mo re mod ern treatmen ts are Hy man ( 1 9 7 5 :
2 1 2 -2 9 , Fromk in (1 9 78) and Katamb a (1 9 8 9 : Ch ap ter 10).
Man y an aly s es with in th e Britis h ap p roach to in ton ation in clu d e amon g ton es b o th 'high '
and 'lo w' v arieties . Fo r ex amp le, O' Co n no r an d Arno ld ( 1 9 73) d is tingu is h ed b etween ' h ig h
fall' an d lo w fall' (th e former s tartin g fro m a hig h p itch , th e latter fro m mid ), an d als o b etween
' lo w ris e' an d 'h igh ris e' (th e latter ris in g to a high er p o in t th an th e former). So me writers h av e
h ig h and lo w v ers ion s o f all to n es . Co mp ared with th e p rop o s ed es tab lis h in g o f a s ep arate
featu re o f 'ex tra p itch h eig h t' (wh ich is exp lain ed mo re fu lly in 1 8 .1 ), th is is u n n eces s ary
d u p licatio n . Ho wev er, if o n e add s ex tra p itch h eig h t to a ton e, o n e h as n o t g iv en all p o ss ib le
d etail ab ou t it. If we tak e as an ex amp le a fall-ris e with ou t ex tra p itch h eig h t:
 202

then something symbolised as T could be any of the following:

U
It would be possible to extend our framework to distinguish between these possibilities,
but I do not believe it would be profitable to do so. Several writes have included in thier set
of tones fa ll-ri s e-fa ll and ri s e-fa ll-ri s e; I have seldom felt the need to recognise these as
distinct from rise-fall and fall-rise respectively.
N ote for te ac h e r s
As explained above, some students may be perfectly well able to discriminate between
tones. but have difficulty in labelling them as 'fall' , 'rise', etc. I find that about five per. cent
of the students I teach are never able to overcome this difficulty (even though they may
have perfect hearing and in some cases a high level of linguistic and musical ability). Of the
remainder, a few are especially gifted and cannot understand how anyone could find the
task difficult, and most others eventually learn after five or ten hours of practical classes.
Many students find it very helpful to work with a computer showing a real-time display of
their pitch movements as they speak.

Writt e n e xe r cise Bai ta p v i@et

In the following sentences and bits of Trong cac cau va doan hoi thoai sau
dialogue, each underlined syllable must be day, moi am tiet du@c gach duoi phai
given an appropriate tone mark. Write a tone dugc cho mot dau thanh dieu thich hop.
mark just in front of each of the syllables. Hay ghi dau thanh dieu ngay phia truoc
1. This train is for Leeds, York, Darlington moi am tiet.
and Durham
2. Can you give me a lift?
Possibly Where to?
3. No! Certainly not! Go away!
4. Did you know he' d been convicted of drunken driving?
No!
5. If I give him money he goes and spends it
If I lend him the b i l e he la : it
He' s completely unreliable
 203

CHUONG 16

categorization /,kaetrgarar' zer[n/ (n) slf pluin loqi

component /kam' paunant/ (n) thdnh tif

hierarchical relationship /'haia,ra:hkl n' lerJnJ1p/ quan he cap b@c

lay (sth) down /,lei ' daun/ thiet lap (qui tac)
nuclear stress /'nju:kha ' stres/ trqng am hat nhan (= tonic
stress)
nucleus / ' nju:khas/ (n) hat nhan (= tonic syllable)
obligatory /a' blrgatn/(adj) bit bu@c
physiological /,flzia' Jud31kl/ (adj) sinh l hoc
progressively /pra'gresrvl1/ (adv) cang hie cdn.g them
(=continuously)
prominence /'prummans/ (n) tinh n o i bat
prominent / 'prummant/ (adj) n6i bat
punctuation /,pAl)ktJu' erJn/ (n) d{iu cau (clu1111, ph!i'y, V .l' .. )

subsequent /' sAbs1kwant/ (adj) theo sau

tone-unit /'taun ,ju:mt/ d<Jn vi thanh difu
tone mark /'taun ,ma:k/ da'u thanh dif ll

tonic stress /'tumk ' stres/ trr;mg am thanh difLI

tonic syllable /'tomk ' siiabl/ am tie't mang than.h difu
 20 4
16 Intonation 2
16.1 The tone-unit
In chapter 15 it was explained that some
of the world' s languages are " tone
languages" , in which substituting one
distinctive tone for another on a particular
word or morpheme can cause a change in
the 'dictionary (" lexical" ) meaning of that
word or morpheme, or in some aspect of its
grammatical categorisation. English is one
of the languages that do not use tone in this
way though tones_ or pitch differences are
used for other purposes; such languages are
sometimes called intonation languages. In
tone languages the main suprasegmental
contrastive unit is .the tone, which is usually
linked to the phonological unit that we call
the syllable. It could be said that someone
analysing the function and distribution of
tones in a tone language would be mainly
occupied in examining utterances syllable
by syllable, looking at each syllable as an
independently variable item. In the last
chapter 15, five tones found on English one­
syllable utterances were introduced, and if
English was spoken in isolated
monosyllables, the job of tonal analysis
would be a rather similar one to that described
for tone languages. However, when we look
at continuous speech in English utterances
we find that these tones can only be
identified on a small number of particularly
prominent syllables. For the purposes of
analysing intonation, a unit generally
greater in size than the syllable is needed,
and this unit is called the tone-unit; in its
smallest form the tone-unit may consist of
only one syllable, so it would in fact be wrong
to say that it is always composed of more
than one syllable. The ton-unit is difficult
to define, and one or two examples may help
to make it easier lo understand the concept.
(As explained in chapter 15, examples used
1 6 N g& d i @ u 2
16. 1 Od n vi th an h di~u
Chuong 15 da giai thic h rang mot s 6
ngon ngu tren the gioi la "ngon nga c o
thanh dieu", trong ngon nga do viec thay
the mot thanh dieu phan biet c ho mot
thanh dieu k hac o mot tu hay am v i dac
bi@t c 6 the k hien c ho y nghia tu ditfo
c ua tu hay am v i d6 thay d6i, hoijc ttiay
d6i mot k hia c anh no do 8 s u phan loai
ngu phap c ua no. Mijc du c ac thanh dieu
hay s u k hac biet ve c uong do duoc dung
v i c ac muc dic h k hac nhung tieng Anh
la mot trong nhang ngon ngu k hong dl'.,ng
thanh dieu theo eac h nay . Cac ngon ngu
nhll the di k hi dllQ'c goi la "ngon ngu
co ngu di @ u". d c ac ngon ngu c o thanh
dieu, ca c don v i tuong phin s ieu doan
tinh la thanh di@u, don v i nay thuong du@c
lien k et vai don v i am v i hoc ma c hung
ta goi la am tiet. C6 the noi rang mot
nguoi nao do dang phan tic h c huc nang
va s u phan b6 c ac thanh di@u trong ngon
ngu c o thanh di@u c hi y eu s e bi c hoan
k hi x em ca c phat ngon am tiet theo am
tiet, x em x et moi am tiet nhu la mot muc
bien d6i dc lap. Chuong 15 da gioi thi@u
nan, thanh dieu duoc tim thay tren ca c
phat ngon ting Anh mot am t it va neu
tieng Anh du@c noi rieng tu am tit, v iec
phan tic h thanh di@u k ha giong voi phan
tic h da duoc mieu ta danh c ho cac ngon
ngu c 6 thanh di$u. Tuy nhien, k hi c hung
ta x em x et loi noi lien tuc trong c ac phat
ngon tieng Anh, c hung ta tha'y d:ng
nhung thanh dieu nay c hl co the duoc
x ac dinh tren mot s 6 nhd ca c arn tie' t
dac biet noi bat. Vi muc dich phan tic h
ngu dieu, thuong c an mot don v i co k ich
co lon hon am tiet v a don v i nay duoc
go i la "don vi than h dieu"; theo dang n h
nhat CLJ a, don v i thanh dieu c o the' c hi
gom c o mot am tiet, v i v ay that s ai lam
 205
to illustrate intonation transcription are
usually given in spelling form, and you will
notice that no punctuation is used; the reason
for this is that intonation and stress are the
vocal equivalents of written punctuation, so
that when these are transcribed it would be
unnecessary or even confusing to include
punctuation a.s well. )
Let us begin with a one-syllable
utterance:
,Yfil!.
We will underline syllables that carry a
tone. Now consider this utterance:
is it ,.YQ!!
The third syllable is more prominent
than the other two and carries a rising tone.
The other two syllables will normally be
much Jess prominent, and be said on a level
pitch. Why do we not say that each of the
syllables 'is' and ' it' carries a level tone? This
is a difficult question that will be examined
more fully later; for the present I will answer
it (rather unsatisfactorily) by saying that it is
unusual for a syllable said on a level pitch to
be so prominent that it would be described
as carrying a level tone. To summarise the
analysis of ' is it ,you' so far, it is an utterance
of three syllables, composed of one tone­
unit; the only syllable that carries a tone is
the third one. From now on, a syllable which
carries a tone will be called a to nic s y lla bl e.
It has been mentioned several times that
tonic syllables have a high degree of
prominence; prominence is, of course, a
property of stressed syllables, and a tonic
syllable not only carries a tone (whic:, is
something related to intonation) but also a
type of stress that will be calletl to ni c s tres s .
(Some writers use the terms nucl eus and
nucl ea r s tress for to ni c s y llabl e and to nic
s tres s .)
khi n6i rang n6 luon duc:,c cau tc_10 tu hon
mot am tiet. Don vi thanh dieu kho xac
dinh va mot hoac hai vi du co the giup
ta de dang hieu duoc khai niem nay.
(Nhu da giai thich trong chi.Jong 15, cac
vi du duc:,c dung cl€ minh hoa phien am
ngu dieu thuong duqc cha a d,_rng chinh
ta, va ban se luu y thay rang khong co
dau cham cau nao dugc dung; ly do la
vl ngu dieu va trong am la nhC/ng each
phat am ti.Jong duong voi dau cham cu,
vl the khi duoc phien am, viec dua vao
dau cham cu la khong can thiet tham
chi con gay kh6 hieu.)
" AU16, EX1-2
Chung ta hay bat dau voi phat ngon
mot am tit:
,YQ!!
Chung ta se gach duoi cac am tiet
mang mot thanh di@u. Bay gio hay xet
phat ngon nay:
is it , till!
Am tiet th& ba n6i bat hon hai am
tiet con lai va mang than h die u tha ng.
Hai am tiet con lai thuong s kem n6i
bat hon nhieu va duoc noi & tren cui ng
do ngang. Tai sao chung ta kh6 ng noi
rang m6i am tiet 'is' va 'it' mang thanh
dieu ngang? Day la mot cau hoi kho se
duoc xem xet sau day di hon; con hien
tai toi se tra loi cau hi nay (hoan toan
khong tha dang) bang each n6i rang
dieu la la mot am tiet dudc noi tren
Ci.Jong dQ ngang tro nen no'i bat den 116 i
no duqc mieu ta la mang thanh die u
ngang. Tom tat phan tich 'is it ,you' cha
den day: no la phat ngon gom ba am
tiet, gom co mot don vi thanh dieu; am
tiet duy nhat mang thanh di@u la am tiet
tht ba. Tu gio tr& di, mot am tiet maig
mot thanh dieu se duoc goi la "am tie"t
co thanh di@u". Nhu da d cap mot vai
lan, cac am tiet mang thanh di@u co do
no'i bat cao; di nhien, su noi bat la tfnh
chat cha cac am tiet nhan, va mot am
tiet mang thanh di@u khong chl mang
thanh dieu (la dieu gi d6 lien quan den
nga di~u) ma con mang mot loai trong
a Ill go i la "trqng am mang thanh di~u".
 206
The example can now be extended:
.,John is it , YQ!!
(a fall-rise is used quite commonly in
calling someone' s name out). If there is a clear
pause (silence) between ',John' and 'is it
, YQ!! '. then according to the definition of an
utterance given in chapter 15, there are two
utterances: however. it is quite likely that a
speaker would say ' .John is it ,YQ!!' with no
pause, so that the four syllables would make
up a single utterance. In spite of the absence
of any pause, the utterance would normally
be regarded as divided into two tone-units:
'.John' and 'is it ,YQ!! '. Since it is very difficult
to lay dnwn the conditions for deciding
where the boundaries between tone-units
cxist. the discus' on of this nrntter must wait
until later.
It should be possible lo see now that the
tone-unit has a place in a range of
phonological units that are in a hierarchical
relationship: speech consist" of a number
of utterances (the largest unit that we shall
consider): each utterance consists of one or
more tone-units; each tone-unit consists of
one or more feet; each foot consists of one
or more syllables; each syllable consists of
one or more phonemes.
16. 2 T he struc tu r e of th e ton e -un it
I n Chapter 8 the structure of the English
syllable was examined in some detail. Like
the syllable, the tone-unit has a fairly clearly­
defined internal structure, but the only
component that has been mentioned so far
is the tonic syllable. The first thing to be
done is to make more precise the role of the
tonic syllable in the tone-unit. Most tone­
units are of a type that we call simple. and
the sort that we call compound are not
discussed in this chapter. Each simple tone­
unit has one and only one tonic syllable;
this means that the tonic syllable is an
obligatory component of the tone-unit.
(Mot s o tac gia dung thuat ngu ha t nh a n
va t rong a m ha t nha n de ch la m t ie't mang
t hanh di@u v a t rong a m ma ng t ha nh di@u.)
Bay gie1 vi dtJ c6 the' dL/c;fc ma r9ng:
John is it ,YQ.!!
Thanh di@u xuong-len dudc dung kha
ph6 bien khi gqi to ten m9I ngLICli.) Neu
c6 khoa ng dung rd rang (khoa ng I~ ng)
giCla 'John' va 'is it ,:tQIJ. ' thl theo dinh
nghia vephat am dugc cho !rang chLldng
15, co hai phat ngon; tuy nhin, hoan
toa n co kha nang mot ngLlo'i no i se no i
'John is it ,YQ.!!' kh6ng co khoang dtng,
vl the bon am tiet nay se hinh thinh non
mot phat ngon don. Mac du khong co
khaang l~ng, nhLlng phat ngdn thLlbng se
dLlc;fc xem nhLI dLlc;fc chia than hai don vi
thanh dieu: 'John' va 'is it ,YQ.!!'. Vi.that
kho de dua ra cac dieu kien de quyet
dinh ranh gioi gifa hai don vi thanh dieu
n.'im a dau, nen phan thio luan v vin
de nay phai cho ddi cho den phan sau.
Bay gi6' ta co the' tha'y r.'ing don vi
thanh dieu co mot vi trf trong pham vi
cua cac don vi am vi lheo m(>t "mo'i qua n
he pha n c a p": loi noi gm co mot so pha t
ngon (don vi Ion nh;:i't ma chung ta se
xem xet); moi phat ngon gm co mot
hoac nhieu don v i t ha nh dieu; moi don
vi thanh di@u gm c6 mot hoic nhieu
fo ot ; m6i foot co mot hoc nhieu a m t it ;
moi am tiet co mot hoic nhieu a m v i.
1 n .2 Ca"u truc cua don vj t hanh di~u
Trong chLlong 8 , chung ta da xem xet
chi tiet cau truc ca am tiet tieng Anh.
Giang nhu am ti&t, don vi thanh di@u co
ca'u truc noi tai dudc xac dinl kha r6
rang, nhung thanh phn duy nhat da duoc
de cap cho den bay gio la am tiet mang
thanh di@u, Di@u dau ti@n can lam IA
neu chinh xac hon vai tr6 Cl l<I am tic't
mang thanh dieu trong don vi thanh dieu.
Hu het cac don vi thanh dieu deu thuoc
mot loai ma chung ta goi la don vi thanh
di&u "don", v a loai ma chung ta goi la
don vi thanh dieu "ghep" kh6ng duc;,c thao
luan trong chuong nay. M6i don vi thanh
dieu don co mt va chi mot am tiet mang
 20 7
(Co mp are t h e ro l e o f t h e v o w el i n t h e
s y llab l e.) W e wi ll n o w s ee w h at t h e o t h er
co m p o n en t s m ay b e.
t hanh dieu; nghia la am t iet m ang t hanh
dieu la m ot t hanh phan bat buoc ca
don v i t hanh di@u. (So s anh v ai t ro c ua
nguy en am t rang am t iet.) Bay gio c hung
t a s e t hay c ac t hanh phan c on lai la gi.

The head Head (dau)

Co n s i d er t h e fo l l o w i n g o n e-s y ll ab l e Xem phat ngon g6m m ot am t iet s au
u tteran ce: d ay :
,thos e
W e can fi n d t h e s ame t o n i c s y llab l e i n a C hung t a c6 t he t hay am t iet m ang
l on g u tt eran ce (st i ll o f on e t o n e-unit ): t hanh dieu t uong tu
nay t rang m ot phat
ngon dai (v an t huoc m ot don v i t hanh
d ie u ):

'g i v e me ,t h o s e
T h e re s t o f t h e t o n e -u n i t i n t h i s e x a m p l e
i s called t h e head. N o t i ce t h at t h e fi rs t
s yllab l e h as a s t res s mark; t h i s i s i mp o rt ant.
A h ead i s all t h at p art o f a t o n e-u n i t t h at
ex t en d s fro m t h e fi rs t s t res s ed s yllab l e u p t o
(b u t n o t i n c_lu d i n g ) t h e t o n i c s y llab l e. It
fo llo w s t h at i f t h ere i s n o s t ress ed s y llabl e
b efo re t h e t o n i c s y llab l e, t h ere can n o t b e a
h ead . In t h e abov e ex amp l e, t h e fir s t t w o
s y llab l es (w o rds) are t h e h ead o f t h e t o n e­
u n i t. In t h e fo llo w in g ex amp l e. t h e h ead i s
th e fir s t fi v e s y llab l es :
' g iv e m e , t h o s e
Phan c on lai c ua don v i t hanh dieu
t rang v i dv nay dv Q'c goi la "h ead ". Luu
rang am t iet dau t ien co dau nhan; dieu
nay quan t rong. H ead la t at ca nhO' ng gl
t huoc phan do cua mot don vi t hanh dieu
k eo dai tu am t iet nhan t h@ nhat den
(nhv ng k h6ng bao g6m ) am t iet c o t hanh
di@u. T heo do neu k hong co am t iet nhan
dung t ruoc am t iet m ang t hanh di@u t hi
k h6ng t he c 6 head. T rang v i dv o t ren,
hai am t iet dau t ien (ca c t u) la head c la
don v i t hanh di@u. T rong v i du s au day,
head g6m c o nam am t it dau t ien:

'Bi ll 'called t o 'g i v e mt: ,t h es e 'Bill 'c alled t o 'give m e , t hes e

A s w as s ai d a l i ttl e ean i er, i f t h ere i s n o N h u d a n o i s o lu o c t ruoc day , neu

s t res s ed s y llab l e p reced i n g t h e t o n i c k h6 ng c 6 am t iet n ha n dung t rv oc am
s y llab l e, t h ere i s n o h ead. T h i s i s t h e cas e i n t iet m ang t hanh di@u t hi k h6ng c 6 head.
t h e fo llo w in g ex amp l e: D ay la t ruong hop t rong v i du s au day :

i n an ,h o u r in an , hour

N ei t h er o f t h e t w o s y llab l es p recedi n g Khong c 6 am t iet no t rong s o hai am

t h e t o n i c s y llab le i s s t res s ed . T h e s y llab l es t iet dung t ruoc am t iet m ang t hanh di@u
' i n an ' fo rm a pre-head, w h i ch i s t h e n ex t duoc nhan. C ac am t iet "in an" hlnh
co mpon en t o f t h e t o n e-u n i t t o b e thanh p re-h ead , la t hanh phan t ip t heo
in t ro du ced . c ua don v i thanh dieu duoc gioi t hieu.

The pre-head Pre-head (t ntoc d,fo)

T h e p re-h ead i s co mpo s ed o f all t h e
u ns t res s ed s y llab l es i n a t o n e-un it p reced i n g
t h e fi rs t s t res s ed s y llab l e. Thu s p re-h ead s are
fo u n d i n t wo mai n env i ro n men t s :
Pre-head dL/ c;JC c au t hanh t u t at c a c ac
am t ie't k h6ng nhan t rong m ot don vi
t hanh di@u dung t ruoc am t iet nhan t hu
nhat. D o d6, pre-head duoc t im t hay t rong
hai m 6i t rv ong:
 208
i) When there is no head (i.e. no stressed
syllable preceding the tonic syllable), as
in the example
in an ,hour
ii) When there is a head, as in the following
example:
in a 'little 'less than an ,hour
In this example, the pre-head consists of
'in a', the head consists of "little ' less than
an' , and the tonic syllab!t: is ' ,hour' .
The tail
It often happens that some syllables
follow the tonic syllable. Any syllables
between the tonic syllable and the end of
the tone-unit are called the ta il. I n the
following examples, each tone-unit consists
of an initial tonic syllable and a tail:
,look at it ,what did you say
When it is necessary to mark stress in a
tail, we will use a special symbol, a raised
dot . for reasons that will be explained later.
The above examples should, then, be
transcribed as follows:
,look at it ,what did you say
This completes the list of tone-unit
components. If we use brackets to indicate
optional components (that is, components
which may be present or may be absent), we
can summarise tone-unit structure as follows:
(pre-head) (head) tonic syllable
or, more briefly, as:
( PH ) (H ) TS ( T)
To illustrate this more fully, let us
consider the following passage, which is
transcribed from a tape-recording of
spontaneous speech (the speaker is
describing a picture). When we analyse
i) khi khong co
head (nghia la khong
co am tiet nhan dung truoc am tiet
mang thanh dieu), nhu trong vi du nay:
in an ,hour
ii) khi c6 head, nhu trong vi du nay:
in a ' little ' less than an ,hour
Trang vi du nay, pre-head gom co ' in
a' , head gom co
' little ' less than an', va
am tiet mang thanh di@u la ' ,hour' .
Ta il (duoi)
Thuong co truong hop mot so am tiet
theo sau am tiet mang thanh di@u. Bat
cu am tiet nao dung gila am tiet mang
thanh di@u va cuoi don vi thanh di@u dudc
goi la tail (du6i). Trong cac vi du sau
day, moi don vi thanh di@u gom co mot
am tiet mang thanh di@u dung dau va
mot duoi:
,both of them were here
Khi can phai danh dau trong am a
duoi, chung ta se dung mot ky hi@u dac
biet, mot dau cham nho, vi cac ly do se
dugc giai thich sau. Cac vi du & tr@n nen
dugc phien am nhu sau:
,both of them were here
Oieu nay lam cho danh sach cac
thanh phn don vi thanh dieu them hoan
chinh. Neu chung ta dung cac dau ngoac
de chi r cac thanh phan tuy y (nghia la
cac thanh phan co the hi@n dien hoac
vang mat), chung ta c6 the tom tat cau
true d 1a don vi thanh dieu nhu sau:
(tail)
hoac, ngan gon hon, la:
De minh hoa dieu nay mt cach day
du hon, chung ta hay xem xet doan van
sau day, doan van nay duoc chep lai tu
bang ghi am loi noi tu nhien (nguoi noi
dang mieu ta mot btc tranh). Khi chung
 209
l ong er s t ret ch es o f s p eech, i t i s n eces s ary t o ta phan tich su keo dai cl a lei noi, chung
mark t h e p l aces w h ere t on e-u n i t b ound ari es ta can phi danh dau cac vi tri noi xuat
o ccu r (t h at i s, w h ere o n e t on e-u n it end s an d hi@n ranh gioi cua don vi thanh di@u
an o t h er b eg i n s, o r w h ere a. t o n e-un i t en d s (nghia la, noi mot don vi thanh di@u ket
an d i s fo llow ed by a p au s e, o r w h ere a t o n e­ thuc va mot don vi thanh dieu khac bat
u n i t b eg i n s fo llo w i n g a p au s e). It w as dau, hoac noi mot don vi thanh dieu ket
men t i o n ed ab ov e t h at t o n e-u n it s are thuc va theo sau la mot khoang dung,
s o met i mes s ep arat ed b y s il en t p au s es an d hoac noi mot don vi thanh di@u bat dau
s o met i mes n o t ; p au s e-ty p e b ound ari es can sau mot khoang dung). Nhu' da du'<;lc de
b e mark ed b y d oubl e v erti cal l i n es lik e th i s cap i:J tren, cac don vi thanh dieu d6i khi
(II) an d n on -p au s e b ound ari es wi t h a s i ng l e duoc tach rdi bang cac khoang dung
l i n e (I) p racti ce i t i s no t u s u ally i mp o rt an t t o lang va doi khi kh6ng tach rai; cac ranh
mark p au s es at t h e b eg i n n i n g and end o f a gioi kieu khoi ng dung co the dugc danh
p ass ag e; i n t h e res t o f t h e b o o k I p u t n o lin es dau bang hai duong thang dung (11) va
o n s h o rt ex amp l es an d o n l y s i n g l e lin es cac ranh gioi khong co khoa ng dung
aro u n d l ong er o n es ; t h e bo u n d ari es w i t h i n a dudc danh dau bang mot duong thang
p as s ag e are mu ch mo re i mpo rt an t. dung (I). Trang thLJc te, thu'ong kh6ng
quan trong khi danh dau cac khoang dung
o dau va cu6i mot doan. O phan con lai
cl a quyen sach nay, toi khong dat cac
duong trong cac vi du ngan va chi dat
cac dung don xung quanh cac duong
dai hon; cac ranh gioi trong doan thi quan
trong hon nhieu.
11 and then 'nearer to the .fr ont 1 1 on the ,left I theres 'bit of ,forest 'com i ng 'down
to the ,waterside II and then a 'bit of a ,bay ll

We can mark t h ei r s t ru ct u re as fo llo w s : C hung ta co the danh dau cda cau

true o.'1a chu ng nhu' sau:

PH H I TS I PH I TS I PH I
I and t h en 1 ' n earer t o t h e : ,fr
- o n-t o n t h e : ,_
l eft t h ere' s a i

H TS I
I
T I
I
H I
I
TS I
I
T II
'b i t o f / o r I es t 1 ' co mi n g ' do w n t o t he wa t ers i d e
PH : H I TS II
an d th en a , 'b i t o f a : ,2i!Y
T h e abo v e p as s ag e co n t ai n s fiv e t on e­ Doan van tren day co nam don vi
u n it s . N ot i ce t h at i n t h e t h i rd t o n e-u n it , s i n ce thanh dieu. Luu y rang eJ don vi thanh
i t i s t h e t on i c s y llab l e rath er t h an t h e w o rd dieu thu ba, vl n6 la am tiet mang thanh
t h a t c a rri e s t h e t o n e , i t i s n e c e s s a ry t o d i v i d e dieu hon la tu mang thanh di@u, nen can
t h e w o rd 'fo res t' i n t o t w o p art s, 'fo ' for an d phi chia tu 'forest' thanh hai phan, 'for'
'est ' 1st (i t co u l d b e argu ed t h at t h e s y llab l es for va 'est ' 1st (c6 the' lap luan rang cac
s h ou l d b e d i v i d ed 'fo r' an d 'est ' , b u t t hi s i s am tiet nen dugc chia thanh 'fo' va 'rest',
n o t i mpo rta n t h ere). T h i s ex amp l e s h o w s nhung dieu nay kh6ng quan trong i:J day).
cl earl y h o w t h e u nit s o f p honol o g i cal an al y s i s Vi du nay cho thy ro ca c don vi cu a
can s o met i mes b e s een t o d i ffer fro m t h o s e phep phan tich am vi d6i khi c6 the' khac
o f g rammat i cal an al y s i s . voi cac don vi cua phep phan tfch ngu
phap nhu the nao.
 210
16.3 Pit ch possibilities in the simple
tone-unit
It has been said several times in this
chapter that tone is carried by the tonic
syllable. and it is now necessary to examine
this statement more carefully. Before doing
this. another general statement will he made
(and will also need further explanation):
intonation is carried by the tone-unit.
In a one-syllable utterance, the single
syllable must have one of the five tones
described in the last chapter. In a tone-unit
of more than one syllable. the tonic syllable
must have one of those tones. If the tonic
syllable is the final syllable, the tone will
not sound much different from that of a
corresponding one-syllable tone-unit. For
example. the word 'here' will be said in much
the same way in the following:
,here
However, if there are other syllables
following the tonic syllable (i. e. there is a
tail). we find that the pitch movement of the
tone is not completed on the tonic syllable.
If a tail follows a tonic syllable that has a
rising tone. it will almost always be found
that the syllable or syllables of the tail will
continue to move upwards from the pitch of
the tonic syllable. For example, if the word
'what' is said on a rising tone, ' ,what' , it might
have a pitch movement that could be
diagrammed like this:
The four syllables in ' ,what did you say'
might be said like this:
16.3 Cac kha nang co the c cua
am vgc trong don vi tha nh di~u da n
ChLtdng nay In Qt va i li111 da no i rang
thanh dieu duoc mang boi am ti@et mang
thanh dieu, va bay gio chung ta dn phai
xem xet loi phat bieu nay mc)t each ca'n
than hon. Trt oc khi lam viec nay, mot
loi phat bieu pho bien hon se duoc neu
(va CL1ng se can duoc giai thich them):
ngL7 dieu dLtc;/c mang bo'i don vi thanh
dieu.
Trong phat ng6n mc)t am tiet, am tiet
don do phai co mc)t trong nam thanh dieu
dudc mieu ta o chuong 15. Trong mot
don vi thanh di@u gom nhieu hon mot
am tiet, am tiet mang thanh dieu do phai
co mot trong nht ng thanh dieu d6. Neu
am tiet mang thanh dieu la am tiet cuoi,
thanh dieu do se khong phat am khac
nhau nhieu voi thanh dieu cua don vi
thanh di@u mot am tiet tuong Ling. Vi dtJ,
tu 'here' se duoc noi theo cach giong
nhu sau:
'shall we 'sit ,here
Tuy nhien, neu co cac am ti&t khi c
theo sau am tiet mang thanh di@u (nghi a
la c6 du6i), chung ta thay rang su chuyen
dich am vuc cua thanh dieu khong du@c
hoan chinh tren am tiet mang thanh di@u.
Neu du6 i theo sau mot am tiet mang
thanh dieu co thanh dieu thang, hau nht
ta se thay rang am tiet hay cac am tiet
ci a duoi se tiep tuc chuyen dich toi tu
am We cua am tie't mang thanh dieu. Vi
du, neu tt 'what' duoc noi tren thanh dieu
tha ng, ',what', no co th€ co su chuyen
dich am vuc va d u o c ve so d6 nhLt sau:
Bon am tiet trong ',what did you say'
c6 th e du o c noi nhu the nay:
 211
-
with th e p itch o f th e s y llab les in th e tail
g elling p rog res s iv ely h igh er. In s u ch cas es,
th e ton ic s y llab le is th e s y llab le on wh ich
th e p itch mov emen t o f th e ton e b eg in s, b u t
th at p itch mov emen t is co mp leted o v er th e
res t o f th e to n e un it (i.e. th e tail). If, in ris in g
p rog ress iv ely h ig h er, th e p itch reach es th e
h ig h es t p art o f th e s p eak er' s n o rmal p itch
rang e, s u b s eq u en t s y llab les will con tin u e at
th at lev el.
We fin d a s imilar s itu ation with th e falling
to n e. On a s in g le s y llab le ' ,wh y ', th e p itch
mo v emen t mig h t b e o f th is s ort:
b u t if th ere are s y llab les follo win g , th e fall
may n ot b e co mp leted o n th e to n ic s y llab le:
,wh y d id y o u go
Ag ain , if th e s p eak er' s lo wes t p itch is
reach ed b efore th e en d o f th e tail, th e p itch
con tin u es at th e b o tto m lev el. In th e cas e o f
a lev el ton e, s y llab les follo win g in th e tail
will, o f co u rs e, co n tinu e at th e s ame lev el;
s in ce lev el to re is to b e treated as a rath er
u n u s u al typ e o f ton e, we will n o t ex amin e it
in mo re d etail at th is s tag e. Th e s itu atio n is
mo re co mp licated wh en we h av e a tail
follo wing a fall-ris e o r a ris e-fall, an d th is
will b e d es crib ed in ch ap ter 1 7 .
v oi am v uc c ua c ac am t iet t rong du6i
ngay c ang t ro nen cao hem . T rang nhung
t ruong hqp nhu the, am t iet m ang t hanh
dieu la am t iet m a t ren do s u c huy en
dic h am Vl/C c ua t hanh dieu bat dfo ,
nhung s u c huy en dic h am v uc do k h6ng
hoan c hinh t ren phan c on lai c ua don v i
t hanh dieu (nghia la du6i). N eu, k hi lien
t uc t ang c ao hon, am v uc dat den ph.fo
c ao nhat c ua pham v i dao d(lng am Vl/C
binh t hung c ua nguoi noi, ca c am t iet
t iep t heo s e t iep t uc t ai m uc c ao nhat
d o.
C hung t a t hay m ot t inh huong t uong
t l! v di t hanh dieu x uong. T ren m (lt am
t iet don, I w hy ' , s u c huy en dic h am Vl/C
c o t he' t hu(lc loa i nay :
nhung neu c o ca c am t iet t heo s au, thanh
di@u x uong c o t he k hng duoc hoan
c hinh t ren am t iet m ang t hanh dieu: w hy
did y ou go
N goai ra, neu dat den am v uc t hap
nhat c ua nguoi noi t hi am v uc do t iep
t uca m uc t hap nhat. T rong t ruong hop
c ua t hanh di@u ngang, c ac am t iet t heo
_;au t rang du6i di nhien s t iep t uc o c ung
m uc ; v i t hanh dieu ngang duoc x em nhli
la m ot loa i k ha bat t huong ca t hanh
dieu, nen c hung t a s e k hong x em x et no
c hi t iet hon c'J giai doan nay . T inh huong
nay phuc t ap hon k h i c hung t a c o m (lt
duoi t heo s au t hanh die@u "x uong-len" hoac
"I @n-x uong", v a dieu nay da dugc m ieu
t a t rong c huong 1 7.
 2 12
Notes on problems and furt her reading
Almo s t all Britis h an aly s es u s e a un it s imilar o r id en tical to wh at I call a ton e-u n it, an d
link in to n atio n to h ig h er-lev el g rammatical u n its . Differen t writers u s e d ifferen t n ames :
'to n e-g roup ' , 's en s e-g rou p', 'in to n ation un it' an d ' to n e-un it' are all mo re o r les s s y n o n y mo u s .
It is p o s s ib le to rep res en t in to n atio n as a s imp le s eq u en ce o f ton ic an d n on -to n ic s tres s ed
s yllab les , an d p au s es , with no high er-lev el o rg an is atio n : an ex amp le o f th is is th e tran s crip tio n
u s ed in th e Sp o k en Eng lis h Co rp u s (Williams , 1 9 96). An early attemp t at d efin ing in to n atio n
u nits was th at o f Jon es ( 1 9 7 5 : Ch ap ter 3 0 ), wh ere s tretch es o f s p eech b etween p au s es were
called ' b reath -g roup s ' an d mark ed with d ou b le v ertical lin es ( Il) , an d s maller s tretch es
with in th es e called ' s en s e-g rou p s ' b ou n d ed b y p laces wh ere 'p au s es may b e mad e' an d
co n s is tin g o f ' a few wo rd s in clo s e g rammatical conn ex ion ' . Trim (19 5 9 )* criticis es th is
p ropos al_ s ay in g th at Jon es ' 's en s e-g roup ' is d efin ed in s eman tic terms an d th e 'b reath -g roup '
in p hy s io lo g ical terms , wh ereas we s h o u ld b e con cerned with p h on etic an d p h o n o lo g ical
u n its an d d efin ition s . In s tead , h e p rop os es th at th e u n it u s ed s h ou ld b e th e ' to n e-g roup ',
.d efin ed in terms o f rhy th m and p itch mo v emen ts , an d th at we s hou ld d is tin g u is h b etween
' majo r' an d 'min o r' to n e-g rou p s . Th e min or ton e-g rou p co rres pon d s to th e to n e-u n it u s ed in
th is co urs '- , and th e id ea o f a larg er u n it (th e majo r ton e-un it) is a v alu ab le o n e th at will b e
d is cus s ed furth er in th e n o tes o n Ch ap ter 1 9 .
Note for teachers
Th e mo v e fro m ton es to to n e-u n its is a d ifficu lt o n e, an d I feel it is adv is ab le at this s tag e
to u s e o n ly s lo w, carefu l s p eech for ex ercis es (Aud io Un its 1 5 an d 1 6 ). Mo re d ifficu lt
ex ercis es follo w later (Aud io Un its 1 8 an d 1 9 ).

Writt en exercises Bai tap vie&t

1 . Here is a lis t o f s in g le to n ic s y llab les . Add
a n u mb er o f ex tra s y llab les (as s p ecified
b y th e n u mb er in b rack ets ) to mak e a tail.
Ex amp le: go ( 2) an s wer: go fo t it
a) b u y ( 3)
b ) h ear (I)
c) talk ( 2)
(Th e an s wers s ection g iv es s o me p o ss ib le
v ers io n s .)
2 . No w exp an d th e follo win g ton ic s y llab les
b y p u ttin g h ead s in fro n t o f th em,
con tain in g th e n u mb er o f s tres s ed
s y llab les ind icated in b rack ets . Ex amp le:
( 2) d ark an s wer; 'Joh n was a' fraid o f th e
d ark
a) (1 )s tep
1 . Sau d ay la d an h s ach cac am tiet man g
th an h d ieu d o n. Th em mo t s o am tiet
p h u (nh u d u o c ch i ro b an g co n s o n am
tron g n go ac) d e tao mo t d u o i.
Vi d u : go (2); Dap an : g o fot it
a) b u y ( 3)
b )hear(l)
c) talk (2)
(P h a n d a p a n n e n s o d on g c6 th e
c 6 ).
2. Bay g io mo ro n g cac am tit man g
th an h d ieu s au d ay b an g cach d at cac
h ead o p h ia tru o c ch u n g , co s o am
tiet n h an d u o c ch i ro tro n g d au n go ac.
Vi d u : (2) d ark ; Dap an : 'J o h n was
a'fraid o f th e d ark
a) D)step

b ) ( 3) train b ) (3) train

c) ( 2) h o t c) (2) h o t
No t s u rp ris in g ly , th e fact th at Trim' s article is written in p h o n emic tran s crip tio n with
m any wo rd s n o t s ep arated b y s p aces mak es it h ard to read .
 213
3 . T h e fo llo w ing s en t en ces are g iv en w it h
i nt o n at io n t ran s cri b ed . D raw u nd ern eat h
t h em a d i ag ram o f t h e p it ch mo v emen t s ,
l eav i n g a g ap b et w een each s y llab l e.
E x am p l e:
3. Cac c a u sa u da y dugc c ho c ung voi
ngu die u dugc phi@n a m. Hay ve so
do ve su c huye n dic h c uUng do be n
de
d u o i c h u ng , la i mot khoa ng ho
gil a moi am tie t. Vi du:

'w o u l d y o u .ike s o me mo re ,mi lk

a) 'O n l y w h en t h e .w i nd b l ow s

b) ,W h en d i d y o u s ay

c) 'W h at w as t h e ,n ame o f t h e p l ace

 21 4

CHUONG 17

ample /' rem pl/ (adj) ddy di

analogy /a'nrelad31/ (n) st tumng dong
anomolous /a' nnmalas/ (adj) bat thong
autosegmental /,::i:ta( u) seg' mentl/ (adj) (am vi hoc) tu doan
boundary /' baundan/ tn) ranh gi<fi
comprehensive /,knmpn' hens1v/ (adj) tocln diijn, tA'ng h11p
declination /,dekh' ne1Jn/ (n) ngil diij u xurfng ddn
distort /dr' st:t/ (v) lclm hie'n dcp1g
elaborate /J' lrebarat/ (adj) tinh vi, phtc tap
intonation pattern /,mta' na1Jn ,pretn/ mo hinh ngrl diiju
level tone /'levl ' taun/ rhanh di/ju nganglkhrJng hi12'n
drf'i
non-tonic /,nun ' tnmk/ (adj) kh6ng cr;/mang thanh diij u
polysyllabic /,pnhs1'lreb1k/ (adj) da van, da am ti@t
sketch /ske~f/ (v) phac hoa
successive /sak' seks1v/ (adj) lien ti@p nhau
tonal rhyme /' taunl ' ra1m/ s1f vrinlh(!p thanh diij u
tone-unit /' taun ,ju:mt/ (n) dmn vi thanh di/ju
tone mark /'taun ,ma:k/ drfu thanh diiju
tonic stress /'tnmk ' stres/ trong am thanh di@u
tonic syllable /' tnmk ' s1labl/ am tie't mang thanh dif11
unmarked !An' ma:kt/ (adj) vo trung. kh6ng danh dau
 215

17 Intonation 3
In chapter 16 the structure of the tone­
unit was introduced and it was explained that
when a tonic syllable is followed by a tail,
that tail continues and completes the tone
begun on the tonic syllable. Examples were
given to show how this happens in the case
of rising and falling tones. We now go on to
consider the rather more difficult cases of
fall-rise and rise-fall tones.
1 7 .1 Fa ll- rise a nd rise- fall to nes
follo wed by a tail
A rising or a falling tone is quite easy to
identify, whether it falls on a single syllable
or extends over more syllables in the case of
a tonic syllable followed by a tail. Fall-rise
and rise-fall tones, however, can be quite
difficult to recognise when they are
extended over tails, since_ their characteristic
pitch movements are often broken up or
distorted by the structure of the syllables
they occur on. For example, the pitch
movement on '.some' will be something like
this:
17 Ng& di@u 3
Chuong 16 da gioi thieu cau truc cua
don vi thanh dieu va giii thich rang khi
mc)t am tiet mang thanh dieu co mc)t duoi
theo sau th1 duoi do tiep tuc va ket thuc
thanh dieu von da bat dau tren am tiet
mang thanh dieu do. Cac vi di) eOng dLl<;je
cho de minh hoa dieu nay xay ra nhu the
nao trong tru'ong h<;1p eae thanh dieu len
(thang) va xuong (hc,i). Bay gio ehung ta
tiep tuc xem xet cac truing hgp kho hon
eua thanh dieu xu6ng-len va len-xuong.
'-AU17, EX 1-2
di~u xuo ng-le n v a
1 7 .1 Ca c th an h
len-xuo'ng c6 duoi theo sau
Thanh di@u len hoac xuong duoc nhan
biet kha de dang, cho du no roi vao mot
am tiet don hay keo dai qua nhi@u am
tit trong truing hop cua am tit mang
thanh dieu e6 duoi theo sau. Tuy nhien,
cac thanh dieu xuong-len Va len-xu6ng
c6 th& rat kh6 nhan bi t khi chung duoc
keo dai qua cac dui, vi su chuyen dich
euong de) rieng eua ehC111g thuong bi thay
d6i hay bien dang do cau truc cla cac
am tiet ma ehung r d i vao tren d6. Vi dL_I,
su chuyen dich euong de) tren '.some' se
giong nhu the nay:

If we add a syllable, the "fall" part of the Neu ehung ta them mc)t am tiet, phan
fall-rise is usually carried by the first "xuong" cda thanh dieu xuong-len thuong
syllable and the "rise" part by the second. dugc mang b&i am tiet tht nhat va phan
The result may be a continuous pitch "len" du'qe mang b&i am tiet tht hai. Ket
movement very similar to the one-syllable qua co th€ la st! ehuy€n dich cuong do
case, if there are no voiceless medial _ lien tuc rat giong voi trung hop mot am
consonants to cause a break in the voicing. tiet, neu khong co cac phu am VO thanh
For example: C1 giaa tc,iO ra mot cho ngat trong am rung.
Vi du:
.some men

If the continuity of the voicing is broken,
however, the pitch pattern might be more
like this:
.some •chairs
In this case it would be possible to say
that there is a falling tone on ' some' and a
rise on ' chairs' . However, most English
speakers seem to feel that the pitch
movement in this case is the same as that in
the previous two examples; it can be said
that there is a parallel with rhyming. Just as
'balloon' rhymes with 'moon', so we might
say that some chairs' has what could be called
a to na l rhy me with ' some' .
If there is a tail of two or more syllables,
the normal pitch movement is for the pitch
to fall on the tonic syllable and to remain
low until the last stressed syllable in the tail.
The pitch then rises from that point up to the
end of the tone-unit. If there is no stressed
syllable in the tail, the rise happens on the
final syllable. Here are some examples:
i) I might
I .might
""
have
""
2 16
,·
Tuy nhien, neu tinh lien tuc cl a am
rung bi pha vo, mo hinh cung do co the'
giong nhu the nay:
Trang trliong hQ'p nay, ta c6 the noi
rang c6 thanh dieu xuong tren 'some' va
thanh di@u tang tren 'chairs'. Tuy nhien,
duong nhu hau het nht ng ngudi noi tieng
Anh cam thay rang st! chuye'n dich cliong
d trong truong hop nay giong nhu SL./
chuyen dich trong hai vi di) truck; ta c6
the' n6i rang c6 slj tlfdng duong voi an
vc1n. Gicfog nhu 'balloon' an van voi
'moon', vay ta co the n6i rang 'some
.chairs' co dieu ma c6 the' dtJQ'c goi la
"van mang thanh di @ u" voi 'some'.
Neu co mot dui gom hai hoac nhieu
am tiet, su chuyen dich cuong do binh
thuong la voi cuong do roi vao am tiet
mang thanh di@u va van ha thap cho den
am tiet nhan cuoi cung o duoi. Sau do
cui ng do tang tu diem d6 len den cu6i
don vi thanh dieu. Neu kh6ng c6 am tiet
nhan a du6i, thanh dieu tang xy ra a
am tiet cuoi cung. Sau day la mot so vi
du :
•buy it
_,,,,
•thought of •buying it-
---
----- /
 2 17

b) .most of them

"
.most of
_,/

it was for them

" -- - -
With the rise-fall tone we find a similar
_,/

Vo i th an h d ieu len -xu on g , ta th ay mo t

situation: if the tonic syllable is followed by tin h h u o'n g ILJ d n g tu : n eu am ti t m an g
a single syllable in the tail, the "rise" part of th an h d ieu d u o c th eo s au b o i mo t am tiet
the tone takes place on the first (tonic) d o n n am o du o i th i p h an "len " cla th an h
syllable and the "fall" part is on the second. d ieu x u at h ien o am tiet (man g th an h
Thus: d ieu ) th t n h at v a p h an "x u on g" x u at h ien
a am tiet th u h ai. Do d 6 :
.no .!!Q one .!!Q sir

(\
When there are two or more syllables in
the tail, the syllable immediately following
the tonic syllable is always higher and any
following syllables are low. For example:
.beaut i ful
Kh i co h ai h o ac n h ieu am tiet & d u o i,
am tiet th eo n g ay s au am tiet man g th an h
d ieu lu o n cao h o n v a bt ct am ti&t n o
th eo s au d u th ap . Vi d u :
.1!1l of them went

.Thats a nice way to speak to your mo ther

It should he clear by now that the speaker Bay g io ch un g ta b iet ch ac ran g n g u o i

does not have a choice in the matter of the n o i k h 6 ng c6 SL/ ILJa cllQ 11 a v a' n d e v e
pitch of the- syllables in the tail. This is . cu o n g do cla cla cac am tiet n am o
completely determined by the choice of tone du 6 i. Dieu n ay h o an to an d u g c qu y et
for the tonic syllable. d in h b d i s u lu a cho n th an h d i@u cu a am
tit man g th an h d ieu .
 21 8
17.2 High and low heads
Th e h ead was d efin ed in ch ap ter 1 6 as
"all th at p art o f a to n e-u n it th at ex tend s fro m
th e firs t s tress ed s y llab le u p to , b u t n o t
in clud in g , th e to n ic s y llab le". In o u r
d es crip tio n o f in ton atio n u p to th is p o in t, th e
o n ly p itch co n tras ts fou n d in th e to n e-u n it
are th e d ifferen t p os s ib le ch o ices o f ton e for
th e ton ic s y llab le. Ho wev er, we can id en tify
d ifferen t p itch p o s s ib ilities in th e h ead ,
th o u g h th es e are limited to two wh ich we
will call hi g h head an d l ow hea d. In th e cas e
o f th e h igh h ead , th e s \:res s ed s y llab le which
b eg in s th e h ead is h ig h in p itch ; u s u ally it is
h ig h er th an th e b eg inn in g p itch o f th e to n e
o n th e ton ic s y llab le. Fo r ex amp le:
Th e 'b u s was ,late
--
In th e lo w h ead th e s tres s ed s y llab le
wh ich b eg in s th e h ead is lo w in p itch ; u s u ally
it is lo wer th an th e b eg in n in g p itch o f th e
to n e on th e ton ic s y llab le. To mark th is
s tress ed s y llab le in th e lo w h ead we will u s e
a d ifferen t s y mbo l, ,as in ' ,lo w' . As an
ex amp le, th e h ead s o f th e ab o v e s en ten ces
will b e ch an g ed fro m h ig h to lo w:
Th e ,b u s was ,late
Th e two d ifferen t v ers io m (h ig h an d lo w
h ead ) will u s u ally s o u n d s l. g h tly d ifferen t
to En g lis h lis ten ers , th o u g h it it n o t eas y to
s ay ju s t wh at th e d ifferen ce i s , as will b e
mad e clear in ch ap ter 1 8 .
'-AUl 7, EX 3
1 7 .2 . H ead cao va thap
T rong c hv ong 16 head dv <;1c dinh nghra
la "m oi phan c la m ot don v i t hanh di@u
k eo dai tu am t iet nhan t h& nhat len den,
nhv ng k h6ng bao g6m , am t ie't m ang
t hanh di@u". T rong phan m i@u t a v e ngd
dieu c ua c hung t a c ho den t hai di€m nay,
nhung s u t rai ngugc v c uong do duy nhat
dugc t im t hay t rong don v i t hanh dieu la
nhung s u lua c hon t hanh dieu hop ly k hac
nhau danh c ho am t it m ang t hanh di@u.
Tuy nhien, c hung t a c 6 t he x ac dinh c ac
k ha nang c 6 t h€ c o k hac nhau c ua cung
do t rong head, m ac du nhung k ha nang
nay bi gioi han den hai loai m a c hung
t a goi la head cao va head tha'p. T rong
t ruong h<;1p "head c ao", am t iet nhan bat
dau head c6 am v uc c ao; no t huong c ao
hon am v uc ban dau c ua t hanh di@u t r@n
am t iet m ang t hay di@u. Vi du:
• Is 'th at th e ,en d
--
0 t ruong h<;1p "head thap" am t iet nhan
bat dau head c 6 am Vu'C thap; n6 t hv ang
t hap hon am v uc ban dau c ua t hanh dieu
t ren am t iet m ang thanh di@u. D e danh
dau am t i&t nhan nay t rong head t hap,
c hung t a s e dung m ot k y hi@u k hac , ,
nhv t rong I, low ' . Vi du, head c da c ac c au
tren s e dugc di tu c ao t hanh t hap:
Is ,th at th e ,en d
H ai k ieu k hac (head c ao v a t hap)
thuong s e phat am hoi k hac nhau doi v oi
nhm ng nguoi nghe tieng Anh, m ac du t a
k hong de dang n6i s u k hac nhau d6 la
gi, nhu s e dugc lam ro t rong c huong 18.
 21 9
It i s u s u al fo r u n s t ress ed s y llab l es t o
co '.1li n u e t h e p i t ch o f t h e s t res s ed s y llab l e
t h at p reced es t h em. In t h e fo llo w i n g
ex amp l e, t h e t hr ee u n s t res s ed s y llab l es 'i f i t
h ad ' cont i n u e at t h e s ame p i t ch as t h e s t res s ed
s y llab l e ' as k ed ' :
a) wi t h h i g h h ead
W e ' as k ed i f it h ad
b ) w it h l ow h ead
W e ' as k ed i f i t h ad
W h en t h ere i s mo re t h an on e s t ress ed
s yllab l e i n t h e h ead t h ere i s u s u ally a s li g h t
ch an g e i n p it ch fro m t h e l ev el o f on e s t res s ed
s y llab l e t o t h at o f t h e n ex t , t h e ch ang e b ei n g
i n t h e d i rect i o n o f t h e b eg i n n i n g pit ch o f
t h e t o n e o n t h e t on i c s y llab l e. W e w i ll u s e
s o me l o ng ex amp l es t o i llu s tr at e t his, t h o ugh
h ead s o f t h i s l en gt h are n o t v ery freq u en tly
fo un d i n n at u ral s p eech . In t h e fir s t ex amp l e
t h e s t ress ed s y llab l es i n t h e h i gh h ead s t ep
d o w n w ar4 s p ro g res s i v el y t o ap p ro ach t h e
b eg inn i n g o f t h e t o n e:
Th e 'rai n w as 'co rnin g 'do w n 'fai rl y
In t h e n ex t ex amp l e t h e h ead i s l o w ;
s i n ce t h e t on e al s o s t art s l o w , b ei n g a ri s e,
t h ere i s n o u p w ard mo v emen t • i n t h e h ead :
Thuong thi cac am tiet khong nhan
tiep tuc am vuc cua am ti@t nhan dang
dung truoc chung. Trong vi du sau cfay,
ba am tiet khong nhan 'if it had' tiep tuc
a cung am vl)'c nhu am tiet nhn 'asked'.
,co me
Khi co nhieu hon mot am tiet nhan
trong head, thuong co sl)' thay d6i nho o
am vuc tut cap cua mot am tiet nhan
nay sang cap ca am tie&t ke tip, su thay
di theo hung cua am vl)'c ban d~u cua
thanh dieu tr@n am tiet mang thanh dieu.
C hung ta se dung mot so vi du dai de
minh hoa dieu nay, mac du cac head
thuoc do dai nay khng dugc gap thuong
xuyen lii m trong loi noi tl! nhien. Trong
vi du th@ nhat, cac am ti&t nhan trong
head cao lien tgc di xuong de ti€en den
dau thanh di@u:
,h ard
Trong vi du tiep theo, head tha'p; vl
thanh dieu cung bat dau thap, do la
thanh di@u "len", nen khong co su chuyen
dich huong len trong head:

,Th ats ,n o t th e ,s to ry you ,to ld
Wh en th ere is a lo w h ead follo wed b y a
fallin g to n e, s u ccess iv e s tres s ed s y llab les in
th e h ead will ten d to mo v e u p ward s to ward s
th e b eg inn in g p itch o f th e to n e:
,I cou ld h av e ,bo u gh t it for ,les s th an
Wh en a h igh h ead is follo wed b y a ris e
th e s tres s ed s y llab les ten d to mo v e
d o wn ward s , as o n e wo u ld ex p ect, to ward s
th e b eg in n in g p itch o f th e to n e:
'Will th ere be a' n o th er
Of cou rs e, wh en we ex amin e th e
in to n atio n o f p o ly s y llab ic h ead s we fin d
mu ch g reater v ariety th an th es e s imp le
ex amp les s ug g es t. Ho wev er, th e d iv is io n in to
h ig h an d lo w h ead s as g en eral ty p es is
p rob ab ly th e mo s t b as ic th at c:rn b e mad e,
an d it wo u ld b e po in tles s to s et u p a mo re
elab o rate s y s tem to rep res en t d ifferen ces if
th es e d ifferen ces were n o t reco g n is ed b y
mo s t En g lis h s p eak ers . So me writers on
in to n atio n claim th at th e in tv n alio n p attern
s tarting at a fairly h ig h p itch , with a g rad u al
d rop p in g d o wn o f p itch ci.1rin g th e u tteran ce,
is th e mo s t b as ic, n o rmal, "u n mark ed "
in to n atio n p attern; th is mo v emen t is o ften
called declination. Th e claim th at
d eclin atio n is u n iv ers ally u n mark ed in
Eng lis h . o r ev en in all langu ag es , is a s tro ng
220
in ,co u rt
Khi co mot head thap theo sau la
thanh di@u xuong, cac am ti&t nhan tiep
theo trong head c6 khuynh huong chuyen
dich huong len ve phia am vl)'c ban dau
cua thanh dieu:
a ,p o und
Khi head cao theo sau la thanh dieu
len, cac am tit nhan co khuynh huong
chuyen dich huong xuong, nhu ta mong
dq i , v ~ ph i a am Vl)'c ban dau cua thanh
di@u:
'train ,later
Di nhien, khi ta xem xet ngu dieu cl a
cac head da am tiet, ta thay su thay d6'i
Ion hem nhieu so voi nhung gl ma cac vi
du don gian nay cho thay. Tuy nhien, su
phan chia thanh head cao va head thap
duoi dang cac loa i chung c6 le la su
phan chia c a ban nhat co the du@ c thuc
hien, va that vo (ch khi thiet lap mot he
thong phuc tap hon de trinh bay nhung
u
su khac biet n su khac biet d6 khong
dudc hau het nhang ngudi tieng Anh
nhan ra. Mot so tac gia viet ve ngt dieu
cho rang mo hinh ng@ di@u bat dau tai
mot am vljc kha cao, vdi am vuc sut
giam dan trong qua trinh phat ngon la
m6 hinh ngu dieu "kh6ng danh d.fu", blnh
thuUng, co ban nhat; su chuyen dich nay
thuong duqc goi la "ngu di~u xuo'ng d.in".
 221
o n e. As far as Eng lis h is co n cerned, it wou ld
b e g oo d to s ee mo re ev id en ce fro m th e full
rang e o f reg io n al an d n atio n al v arieties in
s uppo rt o f th e claim.
It s ho u ld b e n o ted th at th e two mark s '
an d , are b ein g u s ed for two d ifferen t
p u rpo s es in this co urs e, as th ey are in many
p h o n etics b oo k s . Wh en s tres s is b ein g
d is cu s s ed , th e ' mark ind icates p rimary s tres s
and . , in d icates s econ d ary s tres s . Fo r th e
p urp o s es o f mark in g in ton atio n , h o wev er, th e
mark ' in d icates a s tres s ed s y llab le in a hig h
h ead an d th e mark , ind icates a s tress ed
s y llab le in a lo w h ead . In p ractice th is is n o t
u s u ally foun d con fus in g as lon g as o n e is
aware o f wh eth er o n e is mark in g s tres s lev els
o r in ton atio n . Of co u rs e, wh en th e hig h an d
lo w mark s ' an d , are b ein g u s ed to ind icate
in ton ation it is no lo ng er p o s s ib le to mark
two ·d ifferen t lev els o f s tres s within th e wo rd .
Ho wev er, wh en lo o k in g at s p eech at th e
lev el o f th e to n e-u n it we are n o t us u ally
in teres ted in th is ; a mu ch mo re impo rtan t
d ifferen ce h ere is th at b etween to n ic s tres s
(mark ed by u nd erlin in g th e to n ic s y llab le
an d p lacin g b efore it o n e o f th e fiv e to n e­
mark s ) an d n o n -ton ic s tress ed s y llab les
(mark ed ' o r , in th e h ead o r • in th e tail).
It n eed s to b e emp h as is ed th at in mark ing
in ton ation , o n ly s tress ed s y llab les are··
mark ed ; this imp lies th at in to n atio n is carried
en tirely by th e s tres s ed s y llab les o f a to n e­
u n it and th at th e p itch o f u n s tres s ed s y llab les
is eith er p red ictab le fro m th at o f s tress ed
s y llab les o r is o f s o little imp o rtan ce th at it is
n o t wo rth mark in g . Rememb er th at th e
add itio n al in formatio n g iv en in th e ex amp les
abo v e b y d rawin g p itch lev els an d
mo v emen ts b etween lin es is o n ly in clu d ed
h ere to mak e th e ex amp les clearer an d is
n o t no rmally g iv en with o u r s y s tem o f
tran s crip tion , s o all th e impo rtan t in formatio n
ab o u t in ton atio n mu s t b e g iv en b y th e mark s
p laced in th e tex t.
Su khang dinh rang ngu di@u xuong dn
kh6ng danh dau ph6 bien trong tieng
Anh, hoac tham chi trong moi ngon ngd,
la ngu di@u xuong dan ro ret. D6i voi
tieng Anh, that tot khi thay duoc nhieu
chung c CI muon mau muon ve theo vung
va quoc gia de ho trc;, cho khang dinh
nay.
cfo luu y rang hai dau ' va ' dang
dllc;lc dung vl hai mLJC dich khac nhau
trong quyen sach nay, nhu chung co mat
trong nhieu quyen sach ngu am hoc. Khi
trong am dang duc;lc thao lu~n, dfo ' chl
trong am chinh va ' chl trong am phu.
Tuy nhien, doi voi cac muc dich danh
dau ngt dieu, dau ' chi am tiet nhan trong
head cao va dau , chl am tiet nhan trong
head thap. Trong thuc te, nguoi ta thLlo'ng
thay du nay khong kh6 hieu mien la
ho biet duoc ho dang danh dau cac cap
trong am hay ngu di@u. Khi cac dau cao
I va thap , dang dllc;lc dung cl€ chl nga
dieu, ta kh6ng con danh dau hai cap
khac nhau cda trong am ben trong tu.
Tuy nhien, khi xem xet loi noi o cap don
vi thanh dieu, chung ta thuong kh6ng
quan tam den dieu nay; su khac bi@t
quan trong hon nhi@u o day la giCta trong
am mang thanh di~u (danh dau bang each
gach duoi am tiet mang thanh dieu va
dat truoc no mot trong nam dau thanh
dieu) va cac am tit nhn khong mang
thanh di@u (dau ' hoac , trong head (dau)
hoac • trong tail (du6i)).
Can phai nhan manh rang khi danh
dau nga dieu, chi co cac am tiet nhan
moi duoc danh dau; dieu nay ngu y rang
ngt dieu duoc mang hon toan bdi cac
am tiet nhan cda mot don vi thanh di@u
va c@ng ngu y rang CLIO ng de) cu a ca C
am tiet khong nhan c6 the doan truoc tt
cudng do ci a cac am tiet nhan hoac
kh6 ng quan tro ng den no i chi ng dang
d& danh dau. Hay nho rang thong tin 66
sung dllc;lc cho trong cac vf dLI CJ tre 11 bang
each ve cac cap cuong d6 va cac
chuy€n dich gida cac duong chi duoc
dlla vao CJ day cl€ lam cho cac vi dL.1 tro
nen ro rang hon va thuong khong dLlc;/C
 22 2
17.3 Problems in analysing the form
of int onation
The a na lysis of intona tiona l fo r m
pr e se nte d in this c ha pte r a nd in c ha pte r s 15
and 16 is simila r in most r e spe c ts to the
a ppro a c he s use d in ma ny B ritish studie s of
English intona tion. The r e a r e c e r ta in
diffi cultie s tha t a ll of these studie s ha ve had
lo c onfr ont, a nd it is usefu l to ha ve a br ie f
summa r y of wha t the ma jor diff icult ie s a r e .
Identifying the tonic syllable
I t is ofte n sa id tha t the tonic syll able c a n
be ide ntifie d be c a use it is the only syll a ble
in the tone - unit tha t c a rr ie s a move me nt in
pitc h; this is in fac t not a lw a ys tru e . We have
see n how w he n the tonic syll a ble is fo ll ow e d'
by a ta il the tone is c a rr ie d by the tonic plus
tail toge the r in such a way tha t in some c a se s
pr ac tic a ll y no pitc h move me nt is de te c ta ble
on the tonic syll a ble itse lf. I n a ddition it ha s
be e n c la ime d tha t one of the tone s is the
level tone , which by de finition ma y not ha ve
a ny pitc h move mc nt. I t is the r e fo r e
ne c essa r y to say in this pa r tic ula r c a se tha t
the tonic syll a ble is identifie d simply a s the
most promine nt syll a ble .
In a ddition, it some time s seems a s if some
tone - units ( though only a sma ll numbe r )
c onta in not one but tw o tonic sylla ble s,
a lmo_st a lw a ys w ith the first syll a ble ha ving
a fall on it a nd the othe r a r ise . An e xa mple
is:
I ve
i)
c ho c ung v oi he thong phi@n am ca
c hung ta; do d 6 , tat ca thong tin quan
trong ve ngd dieu phai duoc c ho bang
c ac dau dat k e ben c ha.
17.3 Cac van de khi phan tich dang
ngu di@u
Phan tic h dang ngu dieu da dugc trlnh
bay trong c hL/C1ng nay v a trong c hu'ong
15 v a 16 o hau het ca c k hia c anh thl
tu'ong tlf nhu c ac phuang phap du'Q'c dung
trong nhiu nghien c u v e ngu dieu tieng
Anh c ua nguai Anh. C6 mot s o k h6 k han
ma tat ca c ac nghien c uu nay phai d6i
m;')t, th~t huu ic h k hi c ung ca p phan tom
ta"t nhung k h6 k han c hinh la gl.
Xac dinh am tiet mang am di@u
Nguo i ta thud ng noi rang a m tiet
mang am dieu co the du'Q'C x ac dinh v i
no la am tiet duy nha't trong don v i thanh
di@u mang s u c huy en dic h o c uong d6;
that ra dieu nay k hong phai luc nao c ung
dung. Chung ta da thay c ac h ma k hi am
tiet mang thanh dieu duoc theo s au bi.'Ji
mot du6i thl thanh dieu du'Q'c mang bi.'Ji
am ti@t mang thanh dieu c ong v oi du6i
theo mot eac h ma trong mot s o trL/ang
hop tren thuc te k hong c o s u c huy en dic h
c uong do nao c o the nhan ra dugc tren
c hinh am tiet mang thanh di@u do. Ngoai
ra, nguai ta c ha rang mot trong nhung
thanh di@u la thanh di@u "n g a n g ", theo
dinh nghTa no k h6ng c6 ba' t CLr SL(
c huy endic h c uong do nao. Do do, trong
truing hop dac bi@t nay , ta c an phai noi
rang am tiet mang thanh di@u duJ c x ac
dinh don gian la am tiet noi bat nhat.
Ngoai ra, di k hi duong nhu mot s o
don v i thanh dieu (m;'jc du c hi c o mot s o
nh) c o k hong phai mot ma la hai am
tiet mang thanh di@u, hau nhu luon v oi
am ti&t dau c o thanh di@u roi vao no va
thanh di@u len roi v ao nhung am tiet c on
la i . V i d u :
,him
 223
In th is ex amp le th ere s eems to b e eq u al
p romin en ce o n 's een ' an d 'h im'. Of co urs e, it
cou ld b e claimed th at this was th e s ame th in g
as:
Trong v i d u n ay , d u n g n hu co s u n o i
b at d o n g d eu tr@n ' s een ' v a ' h im' . DI
n h in , co th e p h at b ieu ran g d ay la d i@u
tu o n g tu n hu :

Iv e ,h im

ii)

It h as, h o wev er, b een p o in ted o u t th at th e Tu y n h ien , r6 ran g h ai d q n g n ay k h ac

two v ers io n s are d ifferen t in s ev eral way s .
Sin ce 'h im' h as g reater p romin en ce in (i), it
can no t o ccu r in its weak form ,m, b u t mu s t
b e p ron o u n ced hi m, wh ereas in (ii) th e
p ron u n ciatio n is lik ely to b e a v si;n mm.
Th e two v ers ion s are s aid to conv ey d ifferen t
mean in g s , to o . Vers ion (i) migh t b e s aid in
conv ers atio n o n h earin g s o meo n e's n ame, as
in th is ex amp le:
n h au th eo n h ieu cach . Vi ' h im' co su n o i
b at n h ieu h o n tron g (i), n o k h o n g th e x u at
h ien th eo d an g y eu mm cu a n o , ma p h i
d uo c ph at am la hi m , trong k h i (ii) each
p h at am n ay c6 th e la a v .si;n mm. Hai
d qn g n ay d u o c n o i d e truy en d at nh u n g
y n g h ia k h ac n h au . Dan g (i) co th e d ll{JC
n 6 i tron g cu o c tro chu y en k h i n gh e ten
cu a ai d o , n h u tron g v i d w s au :

A: J o h n Clees e is a v ery funn y acto r.

B: 'Oh es I Iv e ,s eem ,h im

In v ers io n (ii), o n th e o th er h an d, th e wo rd Mat k h ac, tron g (ii), tu ' s een ' co s u

's een ' is g iv en th e g reates t p romin en ce, an d n o i b at n h at v a no co th e d u ;c p h at am
it is lik ely to s o u n d as th ou g h th e s p eak er n h u th e n gud i n o co s u d e d at, h ay co
h as s o me res erv atio n , o r h as s o meth in g d ieu g i n v a mu o n n 6 i:
furth er to s ay :

A : Hav e y o u s een my fath er y et?

B: Iv e .s een him I b u t I 'h av en t h ad 'time to ,talk to h im

Th e s ame is foun d with 'h er' , as in Di@u tu o n g tu d u g c tim th ay v o i ' h er' ,

n hli trong

Iv e .s een ,h er
a 1v .s.im ,ha;_

co mp ared with so vo i

Iv e .s een ,h er
'•
a 1 v .si.;.n a

Th is is a d ifficu lt p rob lem, s in ce it Day la mot v an d e k h 6 v i n o lam

weak en s th e g en eral claim mad e earlier th at y eu tu y en b o chun g d a d u o c n eu tru o c
each to n e-u n it co n tain s o n ly o n e ton ic d ay ran g mo i d o n v i th an h d ieu ch i co
s y lla.ble. mo t am tiet man g th an h d i@u .
 22 4
Identifying tone-unit boundaries
It is a generally accepted principle in the
study of grammar that utterances may contain
one or more sentences, and that one can
identify on grammatical grounds the places
where one sentence ends and another
begins. In a similar way in suprasegmental
phonology it is claimed that unerances may
be divided up into tone-units, and that one
can identify on phonetic or phonological
grounds the places where one tone-unit ends
and another tone-unit begins. However,
giving rules for determining where the
boundaries are placed is not easy, except in
cases where a clear pause separates tone­
units. Two principles are usually mentioned:
one is that it is possible in most cases to
• detect some sudden change from the pitch
level at the end of one tone-unit to the pitch
level that starts the following tone-unit, and
recognition of the start of the following tone­
unit is made easier by the fact that speakers
tend to "return home" to a particular pitch
level at the beginning of a tone-unit. The
second principle used in tone-unit boundary
identification is a rhythmical one: it is
claimed that within the tone-unit, speech has
a regular rhythm, but that rhythm is broken
or interrupted at the tone-unit boundary.
Both the above principles are useful guides,
but one regularly finds, in analysing natural
speech, cases where it remains difficult or
impossible to make a clear decision; the
principles may well also be factually correct,
but it should be emphasised that at present
there is no conclusive evidence from
instrumental study in the laboratory that they
are .
Xac dinh cac ranh gioi cua don v i
thanh di@ u
Nguyen tac thu'ang duc;c chap n ha n
trong nghien cuu ngd phap la cac phat
ngon c 6 the co mot hoac nhieu cau, va
nguoi ta co the nhan ra vi tri ma mot
cau ket thuc va mot cau khac bat dau
di.fa tren_cac n@n tang ngCI phap. Theo
each tLldng tL_/, trong am vj hoc sieu doan
tinh, nguyen tac cho rang cac phat ng6n
c6 th€ dLldc chia thanh hai ddn vi thanh
dieu, va cho rang ngudi ta co the xac
dinh vi tri ncri ma mot don vi thanh dieu
kt thc va mot don vi thanh di@u khac
bat dau dua tren nen tang ngu am hoc
hay am vj hoc. Tuy nhien, viec dua ra
cac qui tac de' xac djnh cac ranh gii
duoc dat o dau khong phai la viec d@
dang, tru cac trLlong hc;p ma trong do co
mot khoang dung r6 rang ngan each cac
d o n vi thanh dieu. C6 hai nguyen ta'c
thuong dugc de cap: mot nguyen tac cho
rang trong hau het cac trui ng hdp ta
kh6ng the nhan biet duoc mot su thay
d6i d6t ngot nao d6 tu cap cui ng d6 o
cucs'i mqt don vj thanh dieu de'n cap
cuOng do bat dau don vi thanh di@u theo
sau, va viec nhn biet phan dau cua don
vj thanh dieu theo sau kh6ng phai la viec
de dang do ngLlai 116 c6 khuynh huong
"tr& ve nha" den mt cap cui ng do cu
th& o phan dau cua don vj thanh dieu.
Nguyen tac th(/ hai dLl(lC d!'.mg trong viec
xac dinh ranh gioi cl a don vi thanh dieu
la nguyen tac tiet tau: nguyen ta'c nay
phat bieu rang trong don vi thanh dieu,
loi n6i co nhip deu dan, nilling nhip do
bi pha VO hay gian doan tai ranh gidi
cua don vi thanh dieu. C a hai nguyen
tac o tr@n du la nht ng huong dn ht u
ich, nhung khi phan tich loi noi iv nhien,
ta thllong thay nhung trLIClng hQ'p ma a
d6 that kh6 hay kh6ng the dua ra quyet
dinh r6 rang; thuc te cac nguyen tac nay
c6 the' dung, nhLlng can phai nhan manh
rang hien tai khong co chung c& thuyet
phuc tu viec nghien ct u cong cu trong
phong thi nghiem noi chua chung.
 225
Anomalous tone-units
' However comprehensive one's
descriptive framework may be (and the one
given in this course is ·very limited), there
will inevitably be cases which do not fit
within it. For example other tones such as
fall -rise-fall or rise-fall-rise are
occasionally found. In the head, we
sometimes find cases where the stressed
syllables are not all high or all low, as in the
following example:
,After ,one of the 'worst 'days of my Jife
It can also happen that a speaker is
interrupted and leaves a tone-unit
incomplete - for example, lacking a tonic
syllable. To return to the analogy with
grammar, one often finds in natural speech,
sentences which are grammatically
anomalous or incomplete, but this does not
deter the grammarian from describing
" norm a I" sentence structure. Similarly,
though there are inevitably problems and
exceptions, we continue to treat the tone­
unit as something that can be described,
defined and recognised.
17.4 Aut osegment al treat ment of
intonat ion
In recent years a rather different way of
analysing intonation, sometimes referred to
as a utos eg m enta l, has become quite widely
used, especially in American work. In this
approach, all intonational phenomena can
be reduced to just two basic phonological
elements: H (high tone) and L (low tone). A
movement of pitch from high to low (a fall)
is treated as the sequence HL. Individual
stressed (" accented") syllables must all be
marked as H or L, or with a combination
marking a pitch movement. In addition to
this process: H and L tones are associated
with boundaries. A major tone-unit boundary
(equivalent to what we have been marki g
with II) is given the symbol %, but it mu'
also be given a H or a L tone. Let us take an
Cac don vi thanh di~u ba't thuong
Du khuon kh6 mieu ta cl a mot ngudi
co toan di n nhu the no di nua (khuon
kh6 dLl(JC cho trong sach nay rat han che),
chac chan rang se co nht ng truong hop
khong vlla v;:)n trong khu6n kho' d6. Vi
du, di khi nguoi ta thay cac thanh dieu
khac nhu xuong-len-xuong hoac len­
xuo'ng-len. Trong ph.1n head, do i khi
chung ta thay cac truong hop ma a do
cac am tiet nhan khong cao cling kh6P;
thap, nhu trong vi du sau:
Cung co the xay ra trui ng hop ngudi noi
bi gian doan va de' l,:1i m9t don vi thanh
dieu khong hoan chinh - vi du, thieu am
tiet mang thanh dieu. Quay tro lai SL(
tuong dng voi ngu phap, trong loi noi
tu nhien, nguoi ta thuong thay cac cau
ve mat ngd phap bat thttong hay khong
hoan chinh, nhung di€u nay khong ngan
can nha van pham mieu ta cau truc cau
"blnh thuong". Tuong tl/, du chac chan
co cac van de va trui ng hop ngoai le,
nhung chung ta tiep tuc xem don vi thanh
dieu la m6t di€u gl d6 c6 th& duoc mieu
ta, dinh nghia va nhan biet.
17.4 Nghien cuu ngu di~u c6 tinh ti/
doan
Trong nhdng nam gan day, mot cacl
hoan toan khac de phan tich ngt dieu,
doi khi duqc goi la "hf do ~n", da dLl(Jc
st dung kha rong rai, dac biet trong tac
phi m cua ngttoi My. Theo phuong phap
nay, tat ca cac hien tu@ng ngt dieu co
the' dLi(Jc rut gon chl con hai thanh phfo
am vi co ban: H (thanh dieu cao) va L
(thanh dieu thp). Su chuyen dich ctong
do tu cao xuong thap (thanh dieu xuong)
duc;tc xem la chu6i HL. Cac am tiet nhan
rieng ("co trong am") tat ca deu phai duoc
danh da'u la H ho;:)c L, ho;:)c ket hcJp b~ng
cach danh dau s u chuyen dich cui ng do.
Ngoai qui trlnh nay ra, cac thanh dieu H
va L gan lien voi cac ranh gioi. Mot ranh
gioi don vi thanh dieu chinh (tuong duong
 226
u tteran ce lik e 'It's time to leav e', which migh t vi d ieu ma ch un g ta d an g d an h d au
b e p ron o u n ced . b an g II) d u'Qc ch o k y h ieu %, n h u n g no
cu n g p h ai d l.1Qc ch o m◊t th an h d i~u H
h o ac L. Ch u n g ta h ay lay p h at n g o n co
th € duqc ph at am ch iln g h an n hu 'It' s
time to leav e' .

its 'time to )eav e (u s in g o u r u s u al trans crip tio n )

In a s imp le v ers io n th e alternativ e } d an g d o n g ian , p h i@n am k h ac s e

tran s crip tio n will lo o k lik e this: tr6 n g g i6 n g n h u' th e n ay :

H H L%
its time to leav e

In s tead o f mark in g a fallin g to n e on th e Th ay v i d an h d au th an h d ieu x u o n g a

word 'leav e' , th e h igh -p itch ed p art o f th e wo rd tu I leav e' p h fo co cu'o n g d o cao d ,a tu
I

is s h o wn b y th e H an d th e lo w' p art by th e L n ay d u c trin h b ay b an g chu H v a p h an

_ s s wiated with th e b ound ary %. Th ere is
an o th er b ou nd ary (co rre-s p ond in g to th e
mino r to n e-u n it b oun d ary I) wh ich is mark ed
with -, an d ag ain th is mu s t b e mark ed with
eith er a H o r a L. Th ere mu s t alway s b e o n e
o f th es e b o und aries mark ed b efore a %
b ou nd ary . So , th e follo win g u tteran ce wou ld
b e tran s crib ed lik e th is in th e s y s tem u s ed in
th is b o o k :
th ap trin h b ay b an g ch u L g an lien v o i
ran h g io i % . Co mo t ran h g io i k h ac (tu'o n g
u n g v o i ran h g io i d o n v i th an h am th u
y eu I) d u'Qc d an h d au b an g dau -, v a mo t
lan n u a d au n ay p h ai d u @c d anh d au
cu n g v o i H h o ac L. Ph ai lu o n d anh d au
m(>t tron g n h u n g ran h g io i n ay truo c ran h
g io i %. Vay , ph at n g o n s au d ay s e d ud c
p h ien am n h u' s au th eo h e th on g d u'Qc
d un g tron g s ach n ay :

we ,loo k ed at th e ,fil I an d 's aw th e ,clo u d s

an d in th is way u s in g au to s eg men tal v a th eo each n ay , dCing p h ien am IL!

trans crip tio n : doa n:

L LH- H HL-L%
we lo o k ed at th e s k y an d s aw th e clo u d s

Ho w wou ld th is app ro ach d eal with Phu ong p h ap n ay x t ly cac th an h d i@u

to mp lex ton es s p read o v er s ev eral s y llab les ?
,mo s t o f th em cou ld b e tran s crib ed
Although th is ty p e o f an aly s is h as s o me
attractions , es p ecially in th e wax it fits with
co n tempo rary p h ono log ical th eo ry, it s eems
u n lik ely th at it wo u ld b e mo re u s eful to
learners o f En g lis h th an th e trad itio n al
an alys is p res en ted h ere.
p h u c tap k eo d ai qu a mo t s 6 am tiet n hu
th e n ao ?
H L-H%
mo s t o f th em
Mac d u k ieu p h an tich n ay co mo t
s 6 d i@u h ap d an , d ac b i@t o cach no h o p
v o i g ia thu y et am v i h o c h i@n d ai, n h u n g
d u o n g n h u n o k h on g h lu (ch d o i v d i
n gu d i h o c tien g An h b an g k ieu p h an tich
truy en th 6 n g d u'Qc trln h b ay a d ay .
 227
Notes on problems and further reading
Th e main con cern o f th is ch ap ter is to co mp lete th e d es crip tion o f in ton atio n al form,
in clud in g an alys is o f p erh ap s th e mos t d ifficu lt asp ect: th at o f reco g n is in g fall-ris e an d
ris e fall to n es wh en th ey are ex ten d ed o v er a. n u mb er o f s y llab les . Th is is n eces s ary s in ce
n o co rn ]ete an alys is o f in to n ation can b e d o n e with o u t h av in g s tud ied th es e "ex ten d ed
to n es " .
Crutten d en (19 97 : Ch ap ters 3 an d 4) g iv es a g oo d in trod u ctio n to th e p rob lems o f
an aly s in g to n es b o th with in th e trad itio n al Britis h framewo rk an d in au to s cg men tal terms . A
v ery d etailed d is cus s io n o f th e d ifferen ce b etween fall-ris e an d th e "co mp o u n d " fall-p lu s ­
ris e is
g iv en in Sh arp (195 8 ), alth oug h this is n o t eas y read in g an d s o me o f th e ex amp les are
d ifficu lt to follo w/On ton e-un it b o u nd aries , th ere is a clear ex p lan atio n o f th e p rob lems in
Crutten d en (1 9 97: Sectio n 3 .2 ), an d in mo re d etail in Crys tal (1 969 : 2 0 4 -7 ). Th e s tud y o f
Sco ttis h En g lis h by Brown et a l . (1 9 8 0 ) g iv es amp le ev id en ce th at to n e-u n its in real life are
n o t as eas y to id en tify as to n e-un its in tex tbo ok s. Th ere h as recen tly b een a g rowth o f
in teres t in th e co mp arativ e s tudy o f in to n atio n in d ifferen t lan g u ag es an d d ialects: s ee
Cruttend en (1 9 9 7 : Ch ap ter 5 ); Hirs t an d d i Cris to (199 8 ); Lad d (1 9 96 : Ch ap ter 4 )
..On d eclin atio n, s ee Crutten d en (19 9 7 : 1 2 1 -3 ).
Fo r read in g on au to s eg men tal an alys is (wh ich is o ften als o g iv en th e n ame To BI ), a
g oo d in trod u ctio n is Crutten d en ( 1 9 9 7 : 5 6 -67 ). A fuller an d mo re critical an aly s is can b e
read in Ladd (1 9 96: Ch ap ters 2 an d 3 ); s ee als o Ro ca an d J o h n so n (19 9 9 : Ch ap ter 1 4 ). A
s ho rt acco u n t o f th e p rob lems foun d in try ing to co mp are th is ap p roach with th e trad itio n al
Britis h an aly s is is g iv en in Ro ach (1 9 94 ).

Note for teachers

I wou ld lik e to emph as is e ho w v alu ab le an ex ercis e it is for s tud en ts an d teach ers to
attemp t to an aly s e s o me reco rd ed s p eech for th ems elv es . Fo r b eg in n ers it is b es t to s tart o n
s lo w. carefu l s p eech s u ch as th at o f n ews read ers b efore attemp ting co n v ers atio n al
s p eech . On e can learn mo re abou t in ton ation in an h o u r ef th is wo rk th an in d ay s o f read in g
tex tbo ok s o n th e s u b ject, and o n e' s in teres t in an d u nd ers tand ing o f th eo retical p rob lems
b eco mes mu ch mo re p rofound .

Written exercises Bai tap viet

I. Th e follo win g s en ten ces are g iv en with
in ton atio n marks . Sk etch th e p itch with in
th e lin es b elo w, leav ing a g ap b etween
each s y llab le.
a) 'Wh ich was th e ,ch eap o n e d id you s ay
1 . Cac cau s au d uo c d u o c ch o cu n g v o i
cac dau n g d d i eu . H ay phac ho a
cu i n g d o t ron g cac d ong d uo i d ay ,
d e l ai mo t k h o an g h o g i l a mo i am
t i et .
 228
b) I 'only 'want to .taste it

c) ,She would have ,thought it was ,obvious

d) There 'wasnt 'even a 'piece of ,bread in the •house

e) ,Noy will you be •lieve me

2. This exercise is similar, but here you are
given polysyllabic words and a tone; you
must draw an appropriate pitch movement
between the lines.
2. Bai t ap nay t uong tu, nhung o d ay
ban dLl<;/C cho cac tu' da am tie t v a
m ot t hanh dieu. Ban phai ve m ot
huong dic h c huy en t hic h hop cu a
c uong do giua c ac dong.

a) (rise) opportunity

h) (fall-rise) actually

c) (fall) confidently
 229
d) (ris e-fall) magn ificen t

e) (ris e) ' relatio n s h ip

f) (fall-ris e) afternoo n
 230

CHU<1NG 18

accentual funtion /;ik' sentfual ' fAJJk.fn/ chtlc 1uing trqng amlnhti'n
mqnh
attitudinal function /' a:tr,tjudnl ' fAJJkJn/ chtc nang hie'u thdi (hi€'u-dqt
thai d(!, tinh cdm)
discourse function /' drsb:s ,fAJJkJn/ ch1ic niing diln ngiJnlng/!11 hdn
key /ki :/ (n) khoa, di@u, am di@u
laryngeal /la' rind3ral/ (adj) thanh qudn
lexical meaning /'leksrkl ' mi:nnJI y nghia ta vung/noi dung
(kh6ng phdi y nghfa ngil phdp)
mechanism /' mebnrzm/ (n) ca chit
mid key /mrd ' ki:/ khoa gita
not least /not ' li:s/ (idiom) nhat la, ddc bi@t la
( = espl!cially)
paralinguistic /,pa:ralrJJ' gwrkstrk/ (adj) can ngon, gan vhi ngon ng?
(nhu g(it ddu thay cHo n6i yes)
pharyngeal /fa' rrnd31;il/ (adj) ye't hdu
phonation type /fau' nerJn ,tarp/ kie'u tqo am
prosodic /pr;i' sndrk/ (adj) ngon di@u
quantify /' kwontrfar/ (v) lugng hoa, tfnh srJ' l1t(fng
range /remnd3/ (n) tdm mile dao dr')ng
rhythmicality /,nomr'ka:latr/ (n) tinh nhfp difu
subordination /sa,b:,:dr'nerfn/ (n) ph,, kiJ't, lien klft pill.I thurlc,
dang m@nh de phu thujc
supralaryngeal /,su:pral3' rind3ral/ (adj) tren thanh qudn
syncta~tic /srn ' ta:ktrk/ (adj) cti phdp
variable /' vearr::ibl/ (adj) bi @n then, thay d6 i
variable /' vear1abl/ (n) bi &n t6
variety of English /va' ra1atr ov ' mglrf/ dqng tie'ng Anh (Anh, M_v. Uc.
v.v ... )
vocal /'vaukl/ (adj) giong noi
vdcal effect /'vaukl r' fekt/ hifu qua ve thanh giong
watertight /'w:,:tata1t/ (adj) chqt che, vilng cluic
 231

18 Fundions of intonation 1
Chuong 18: Chuc nang cua ngu di~ u 1
Th e fo rm o f i n t on at i o n h as n o w b een Bay g i e1 d q n g n g u d i eu d a d u o c mi @u
d es cri b ed i n s o me d et ail, an d w e w ill mo v e t a c h i t i et , ch un g t a s e t i ep t u c x em x et
o n t o l ook mo re cl o s el y at i t s fun cti on s . k y h o n cac ch (c n an g cl a n o . C6 l e each
P e rh a p s t h e b e s t w a y t o s t a rt o n t h i s i s t o as k t o t n h a t d e b a t d a u l a t u h i d i e u g i b i
o u rs el v es w h at w o u l d b e l o s t i f w e w ere t o mat n eu ch un g t a no i ma khong c6 n g u
s p eak wi th ou t i nto n at i o n : y ou s h o u l d t ry t o d i eu : b an h ay t h & t u @n g t u gn g l o i n 6 i
i mag i n e s p eech i n w h i ch ev ery s y llabl e w as ma t ro n g d 6 m6 i am t i et d ud c n o i v o i
s ai d o n t h e s ame l ev el p it ch , w i t h no p au s es c u o n g d q cu n g ca' p , k h on g co k h o an g
an d no ch an g es i n s p eed o r l ou d n es s . T h i s i s d u n g v a k h o n g t h ay d 6 i t 6 c d o h ay d o
t h e s o rt o f s p eech t h at w o u l d b e p ro d u ced Io n . 0 ay l a l oq i l e1 i n o i d u o c t ao ra b o i
b y a "mech an i cal s p eech " d ev i ce (as d un g cu t ao "l o i n o i may m6 c" (n hu d u o c
d es cri b ed at t h e b eg i n n i n g o f Ch ap t er 14) mi eu t a 8 d au chu o n g 14), h l n h t h an h
t h at mad e s en t en ces by p u tti n g t o g et h er n en cac cau b an g cach t ap h o p cac tu
reco rd i ng s o f i s o l at ed w o rd s . T o p u t i t in t h e ri en g b i @t d a d u o c t h u l q i. D i € n d at n o
b ro ad est po ss i b l e t erms , w e can s ee t h at t h eo ca c t h u at n g d ron g n h a' t c6 t h e,
i n t o n atio n mak es it eas i er fo r a list en er t o ch un g t a c6 t h t h y ran g n gu d i eu g i u p
u n d ers t an d w h at a s p eak er i s t ry i n g t o ch o n gud i n gh e de h i eu d i eu ma n g uo i
co nv ey . T h e w ay s i n w hich i n t on at i o n d o es n 6 i d an g co t ru yn d at . N h u ng cach t h t c
t J:i i s are v ery co mp l ex , an d man y s ugg es t i o n s m a t h eo d 6 n g a d i eu t h u c h i en c n g v i ec
h av e b een mad e fo r w ay s o f i s o l at i n g n ay thi rat ph t c t ap v a d a co n h i eu g d i
d i fferen t fu n ct i on s. A mo n g t h e mo st o ft en y d llc;ic d u a ra d p h n ch i a cac ch t c
p ro po s ed are t h e fo llo w in g : n an g k h ac n h au . T ro n g so' n h an g each
t h uon g d u o c d e x u at t huon g x u y en n h at
l a:

i ) In t o n at i on en ab l es u s t o ex p res s emo t i o n s
and attit u d es as w e s p eak , an d t h i s ad d s a
s p eci al ki n d o f "mean i n g " t o s p ok en
l an g u ag e. T h i s i s o ft en called t h e
attitudinal function o f i nton at i o n .
i) N g t d i @u ch o p h ep ch u n g t a b ay t o
cam x u c v a t h ai d o k h i ch u n g t a n 6 i ,
v a d i eu n ay th em mo t lo ai "y n g h ia "
d ac b i et v ao n g o n n g u n o i . Lo ai n ay
t h u o n g d u g c g o i l a " c h & c n a n g b ie u
thai" cl a n gu d i eu .

i i ) In t o n at i o n h el p s t o p ro d u ce t h e effect o f
p ro minen ce o n s y llabl es t h at n eed t o b e
p ercei v ed as s t res s ed , an d i n p art i cul ar
t h e p l aci n g o f t on i c s t res s o n a p arti cu l ar
s y llab l e mark s o u t t h e w o rd t o w h i ch i t
b el on g s as t h e mo s t i mp o rt an t i n t h e
t o n e-un i t. T h i s h as b een called t h e
accentual function o f i n ton at i o n .
i i ) N g a d iu g i up t ao ra an t ug n g v e sf
n 6 i b at t ren cac am t i et can d u @c h i eu
l a n h an m an h , v a d ac b i et v i ec d at
t ro n g am IT) an g t h an h d i eu l en mo t
am t i et cu t h e s e d an h d a' u tu ma n o
t h u q c v @ la qu an t ro n g n h a' t t ro n g d o n
v i t h an h d i @u . Lo ai n ay d u o c g o i la
"c h&c na ng nha n ma nh" cl a n g t d i eu,

i i i) T h e l i s t en er i s b etter ab le t o reco g n i s e i i i ) N g u d i n g h e c6 t h e n h n b i t t o t h o n
t h e g rammar an d s yn t act i c s t ru ctu re o f cau tru c n g d p h ap v a am vi ctla
w h at i s b ei n g s ai d b y u s i n g t h e n h an g g l d an g d u @c n 6 i b an g ca ch
 2 32
information contained in the intonation: dung thong tin c 6 trong ngu di~u; v i
for example, such things as the placement du, nhung su viec nhu c ac h s ap dat
of boundaries between phrases, clauses ranh gioi gila c ac c um tt, menh de
or sentences, the difference between hoac c au, 's u k hac biet gida c au hoi
questions and statements and the use of v a c au phat bi@u v a c ac h dung 'lien
grammatical subordination may be k et phu thu9c c6 the' dLi(fc c hl ro. Loai
indicated. This has been called the nay du(fc go i la "c huc nang ngu phap"
grammatical function of intonation. c ha ngu di@u.
iv) Looking at the act of speaking in a broader iv ) Bang c ac h x em x et hanh dong noi
way, we can see that intonation can signal theo c ac h rong hon, c hung ta c6 the
to the listener what is to be taken as tha' y rang nga dieu c6 the' bao hieu
"new" information and what is already c ho nguoi nghe biet nhung gi duoc
"given" , can suggest' when the speaker is x em la thong tin "moi" v a dieu gi duoc
indicating some sort of contrast or link "cho" r6i, c o the' am c hi k hi nao ngLloi
with material in another tone-unit and, noi dang c hl ra su trai nguoc thu9c
in conversation, can convey to the mot loai nao do hoac moi lien k et
listener what kind of response is v oi noi dung trong mot don vi thanh
expected. Such functions are examples dieu k hac , trong giao tiep, c o the'
of intonation' s discourse function. truy en dat voi ngudi nghe biet loai
ca u ra loi gi duoc mong ddi. Cac
c h(lc nang nhLI the la nhCTl;g ·:: ::!~ v~
"c h&c nang die n ngon".
The attitudinal function has been given Chuc na ng bie' u tha i da dl/Q'c ch Li
so much importance in past work on trong nhieu trong ca c s ach x ua viet v @
intonation that it will be discussed separately ngd dieu v a s e duoc tho luan rieng trong
in this chapter, though it should eventually c hlldng nay , mac du c u6i c uing ta biet
become clear that it overlaps considerably c ha' c rang no c hong c heo dang k e voi
with the discourse function. In the case of c hic nang dien ngn. Trong truong hop
the other three functions, it will be argued c ia ba c htc nang c on lai, ngui ta s e
that it is difficult to see how they could be lap luan rang that k h6 de biet c hung c6
treated as separate: for example, the the' duqc x em la c ht.'lc nang rieng nhu
placement of tonic stress is closely linked to the no; v i du, c ac h dat trong am mang
the presentation of "new" information, while thanh dieu co moi lien he c hat c he v oi
the question/statement distinction and the v iec trinh bay thong tin "moi", mac du
indication of contrast seem to be equally s u phan bi@t cau hi/cu phat bieu v a
important in grammar and discourse. What SI)' bi&u lo dieu trai ngugc duong nhu quan
seems to be common to accentual, trong nhLI r,hau trong ngd phap v a di@n
grammatical and discourse functions is the ngon. Duong nhll die' m c hung c ia ca c
indication, by means of intonation, of the c htc nng nhan manh, ngd phap v a di@n
relationship between some· linguistic ng6n la s lf bie' u thi, bang eac h dung ngu
element and the context in which it occurs. die@u, moi quan he gila mot thanh phan
The wor.d used in linguistics for this type of ng6n n gd nao do v a ngd ca nh ma no
relationship is syntagmatic, and I will refer x uat hi&n trong do. Su v iec c hung c hong
to the accentual, grammatical and discourse c heo v oi nhau a mot mac do Ion k hong
functions as syntagmatic functions of quan trong lam neu ngudi ta k hong doi
intonation. The fact that they overlap with hi phai x ac dinh ranh gioi c hat c he gita
each other to a large degree is not so c hu ng.
important if one does not insist on defining
waterting boundaries between them.
 233
Th e res t o f th is ch ap ter is co n cerned with
a critical ex amin atio n o f th e attitu d in al
fu n ctio n .
18. 1 T h e · att itudin al fu n c tion of
intonat ion
Man y writers h av e exp ress ed th e v iew
th at in to n atio n is u s ed to co n v ey o u r feeling s
an d attitud es ; for ex amp le, th e s ame
s en ten ce can b e s aid in d ifferen t way s , wh ich
mig h t b e lab elled " an g ry " , ' h app y " ,
"g rateful" , "bo red " , and s o o n . It h as als o b een
wid ely o b s erv ed th at th e form o f in ton atio n
is d ifferen t in d ifferen t lan g u ag es ; for
ex amp le, th e in ton atio n o f langu ag es s u ch
as Swe.d is h , Italian o r Hin d i is in s tan tly
reco g n is ab le as · b eing d ifferen t fro m th at o f
Eng lis h . Not s urp ris in g ly , it h as o ften b een
s aid th at foreig n learners o f En g lis h n eed to
learn En g lish in to n atio n ; s o me h av e g o n e
furth er th an this an d claimed th at, un les s th e
foreig n learner learns th e ap p rop riate way
lo u s e in to n atio n in a g iv en s itu atio n , th ere
is a ris k th at h e o r s h e may u n in ten tion ally
g iv e o ffen ce; for ex amp le, th e learner mig h t
us e. an in to n ation s u itab le for ex p res s in g
b o red o m o r d is co n ten t wh en wh at was
n eed ed was an ex p res s io n o f g ratitu d e o r
affectio n . This mis lead in g v iew o f in to n atio n
mu s t h av e cau s ed u n n ecess ary an x iety to
. man y learners o f th e lang u ag e.
Let u s b eg in b y co n s id erin g h o w o n e
mig h t an aly s e th e attitu d in al fun ctio n o f
in to n ation . On e p o ss ib ility wo u ld b e for th e
an aly s t to inv en t a larg e n u mb er o f s en ten ces
an d try s ay ing th em with d ifferen t in ton atio n
p atterns (i.e. d ifferen t co mb in atio n s o f h ead
an d to n e), n o tin g wh at attitu d e was s u p p o s ed
to co rres po n d to th e in ton ation in each cas e;
o f co u rs e, th e res u lts are th en v ery
s u b jectiv e, an d b as ed on an artificial
p erforman ce th at h as little res emb lan ce to
con v ers atio n al s p eech . Alternativ ely , th e
an aly s t co u ld s ay th es e d ifferen t s en ten ces
to a g rou p o f lis ten ers an d as k th em all to
write d o wn wh at attitu d es th ey tho ugh t were
b ein g ex p res s ed ; h o wev er, we h av e a v as t
rang e o f ad jectiv es av ailab le for lab ellin g
attitud es an d th e memb ers o f th e g rou p
Phan c on lai c da cl1Lt ong nay , lien
quan den v i@c x em x et k y c h@c nang
bie'u t hai.
1 8 .1 Chuc na ng dien cam ca ng@
di@u
N hiu t ac gia da bay t o quan diem
rang ngu dieu duoc dung de t ruy en dat
ca m x uc v a t hai do; v i du, c ung mot
c au c6 t he' du'Qc n6i t heo nhang eac h
k hac nhau v a c6 t he' dllQc ghi la "gian
da", "vui v e", "d~ c hiu", "chan" v . v . N guoi
t a c ung quail s at rang rai v a t hay rang
dang c da ngu dieu k hac nhau o nhung
ngon nga k hac nhau; v i du, ngu dieu c la
c ac ngon nga nhu' T huy D ien, Y hoc
H indi luon c6 t he' duoc nhan ra la k hac
v oi ngu dieu c la t ieng Anh. Khong c 6 gl
dang ngac nhien k hi ngudi t a t huong n6i
nguoi nuoc ngoai hoc t ieng Anh c an phai
hoc nga di@u t ieng Anh. M ot so ng u d i
c on di xa hon dieu nay v a phat bieu rang
neu ngudi hoc ngoai ngd k h6ng hoc eac h
t hic h hop de dung ngu dieu t rong m qt
tlnh huong da c ho t hl c6 k ha nang ho vo
t lnh gay ra dieu c huong t ai gai m ilt ; v f
dLJ , nguoi hoc d6 c o t he' dt'1ng ngu dieu
t hfc h hQp de' bay t o n6i bu6n c han hay
bat m an k hi dieu c an t hi&t la by t o long
biet on hoac s u y eu m en. Quan diem s ai
le c h v e ngu dieu nay han da gay ra nhieu
lo ling c ho nhie nguoi hoc ngoc;1 i nga.
C hung t a hay bat du bang c ac h x em
x et lam t he nao ngudi t a c6 t he phan
t ic h c h&c nang bieu t hai c ua ng@ dieu.
D 6i v di nguoi phan ti c h, m ot k ha nang
la t ao ra m ot lu' Qng lon c ac c au v a t ht
n6i c hung bang nhung m 6 hlnh nga dieu
k hac nhau (nghia la c ac k et hop gila
head va t hanh dieu k hac nhau), luu y t hai
d 6 nao dudc c ho la t u'ong ung VO i ngll
dieu tr ong m oi t ruong hop; di nhien, k et
qua s au d6 rat m ang ti nh c hu quan va
dua t ren s u t huc hien gia tao hoi giong
v oi loi noi giao t ip. H oac , nguoi phan
tfc h c 6 the' n6i nhang c au k hac nhau nay
v oi mot nhom ngudi nghe, va y eu du
ho ghi lai nhung t hai do no ho nghi la
dang duoc bay t o; t uy nhien, c hung t a
_c 6 rat nhieu t inh tu de' ghi ra nhung t hai
 234
would probably produce a very large number
of such adjectives, leaving the analyst with
the problem of deciding whether pairs such
as 'pompous' and 'stuck-up' - 'obsequious'
and ' sycophantic' were. synonyms or
represented different attitudes. To overcome
this difficulty, one could ask the members of
the group to choose among a small number
of adjectives (or "labels" ) given by the
analyst; the results would then inevitably
be easier to quantify (that is, the job of
counting the different responses would be
simpler) but the results would no longer
represent the listeners' free choice of label.
An alternative procedure would be to ask a
lot of speakers to say a list of sentences in
different ways according to labels provided
try the analyst, and see what intonational
features are found in common (for example,
one might count how many speakers used a
low head in saying something in a "hostile"
way). The results of such experiments are
usually very variable and difficult to
interpret, not least because the range of
acting talent in a randomly selected group is
considerable.
A much more useful and realistic
approach is to study recordings of different
speakers' natural, spontaneous speech and
try to make generalisations about attitudes
and· intonation on this basis. Many problems
remain, however. In the method described
previously, the analyst tries to select
sentences (or passages of some other size)
whose meaning is fairly "neutral" from the
emotional point of view, and will tend to
avoid material such as '"Why don' t you leave
me alone?' or ' How can I ever thank you
enough?' because the lexical meaning of the
words used already makes the speaker' s
attitude pretty clear, whereas sentences such
as 'She' s going to buy it tomorrow' or 'The
paper has fallen under the table' are less
likely to prejudice the listener. The choice
of material is much less free for someone
studying natural speech. Nevertheless, if we
are ever to make new discoveries about
intonation, it will be as a result of studying
do va cac thanh vien cla nhom c6 the'
se dua ra mot ,luqng ;,ft
Ion cac tinh W
nhu the', d lai cho ngudi pha n tich van
de quyet dinh xem cac cap nhu ' pompous'
va ' stuck-up' , hocjc ' obsequious' va
' sycophantic' la cac W d6ng nghia. hay
trlnh bay cac thai do khac nhau. De giai
quyet kh6 khan nay, ngucri ta co the' yeu
du thanh vien cua nhom chon trong so
mot luong nho cac tinh tu (hoc "nhan" )
ma ngudi phan tich dua ra; khi d6 ket
qua chac chan de dang duoc dinh luong
(nghia la viec dem cac cau tra loi khac
nhau se don gian hon) nhung ket qua do
kh6ng con cho thay duoc nhung lua chon
nhan ti/ do cua nguoi nghe. Mc)t each
khac la yu cau nhieu nguoi noi noi len
mc)t danh sach cac cau bang nhung each
khac nhau theo cac nhan do nguoi phan
tich dua ra, va nhung dac diem ngd dieu
nao giong nhau. (vi du, ngudi ta c6 the'
dem s6 lan nguoi noi dung head thap
khi n6i dieu gl do theo each "thu djch" ).
Ket qua cda cac th? nghiem nhu the
thuong rat hay thay doi va kh6 hi@u, dac
biet la vi pham vi cua nang luc hoat dong
o mot nhom d u o c chon ngau nhien thi
rat Ion.
M<)t phung phap thuc te va htu fch
hon nhieu la nghien cuu am thanh ghi
lai loi noi tu nhien cla nhung ngucri n6i
khac nhau va co gang dua ra nhang dieu
khai quat ve thai do va ngd dieu dua
tren co so nay. Tuy nhien, van con co
nhieu van de. Theo phu'ong phap da dtlc;ic
mieu ta truck day, nguoi phan tich co
gang chon cac cau (hoac doan voi mot
do lon nao do) co y nghia kha "t u nhi@n"
tu quan die'm cam xuc, va se co khuynh
huong tranh dung n<)i dung nhu ' Why don' t
you leave me alone?' hoac ' How can I
ever thank you enough?' vl nghia W Vtlng
cia cac tu nay da duoc dung roi lam
cho thai do cua ngudi noi tr& nen ro rang
hon, trong khi cac cau nhu ' She's going
to buy it tomorrow' hoac ' The paper has
fallen under the table' lam cho nguoi nghe
co thanh kien. Su lua chon noi dung it
tu do hon nhieu d6i voi mot ngudi dang
nghie n ctu loi no i ti/ n hie n. Hon lllla,
 235
what people actually say rather than
inventing examples of what they might say.
I
The notion of "expressing an emotion or
attitude" is itself a more complex one than is
generally realised. First, an emotion may be
expressed involuntarily or voluntarily; if I
say something in a "happy" way, this may be
because I feel happy, or because I want to
convey to you the impres s io n that I am happy.
Secondly, an attitude that is expressed could
be an attitude towards the listener (e.g. if I
say something in a "friendly" way), towards
what is being said (e.g. if I say something in
a "sceptical" or "dubious" way) or towards
some external ·event or situation (e.g.
"regretfuf" or "disapproving" ).
However, one point _is much more
important and fundamental than all the
problems discussed above. To understand
this point you should imagine (or even
actually perform) your pronunciation of a
sentence iii a number of different ways: for
example, if the sentence was 'I want to buy a
new car' and you were to say it in the
following ways: "pleading" , "angry" , "sad" ,
- "happy" , "proud" , it is certain that at least
some of your performances will be different
from some others, but it is also certain that
the technique for analysing a nd transcribing
intonation introduced earlier in the course
will be found inadequate to represent the
different things you do. You will have used
variations in loudness and speed, for
example; almost certainly you will have
used different voice qualities for different
attitudes. You may have used your pitch
range (which was introduced in 15.3) in
different ways: your pitch movements may
have taken place within quite a narrow range
(narrow pitch range) or using the full range
between high and low (wide pitch range); if
you did not use wide pitch range, you may
have used different key s : hi gh key (using
the upper part of your pitch range), mid key
(using the middle part of ·the range) or low
nu chung ta phi dua ra nhung kham
pha moi ve ngt di@u thi no s giong nhu
la ket qua cda viec nghien ctu dieu ma
ngLloi ta that Sy' noi hon la t,;10 ra nhang
vi du ve dieu ho c6 th€ n6i.
Khai nien "dien ta cam xuc hoac thai
d<)" ban than no phdc tap hon nhung gl
thuong du@c nhan thtc. Th& nhat la, cam
xuc c6 the duoc bieu l6 mot cach vo
tlnh hay co chu y ; neu ti n6i m(>t "ditu
gl do theo each "vui ve" , day co th€ la
vl toi "di m tha'y'' vui, ho;\ic vl t6i muon
truyen dat cho ban "an tuong" rang toi
vui. Thu hai la, mot thai do duoc bay to
co th€ la' tha i di'.> huong v@ nguoi nghe
(vi du: neu toi noi di Ju gl do theo each
"than thien" ), huong ve di@u dang du@c
n6i (vi du: neu ti noi dieu gi do theo
cach "hoai nghi" hay "dang ngo" ) ho;\ic
huong ve mot su kien hay tinh huong ben
ngoai (vi du: "h6i tie" hay "phan d61").
Tuy nhien, co mot diem co ban va
quan trong hon nhieu so voi cac van de
duoc tho luan o tren. De hi&u duoc
di€m nay, bc)n nen tudng tLICJng (ho;\ic
tham chi thuc hien) cach phat am mot
cau cia minh theo mot so cach khac
nhau, vi du: neu cau ' I want to buy a
new car' va ba n no i no theo ca ch sau
day: "nai xin", "gian d" , "buon ba" , "vui
ve" , "tu ho", chac chan rang it nhat mot
so cach thuc hien cda ban se khac voi
m<)t so each khac, nhLlng cung chac chan
rang ky thut phan tich va phi@n am ngu
dieu duoc gioi thieu truoc day trong sach
nay s duoc thay la khong du d€ trlnh
bay nhang viec khac nhau ma ban lam.
Ban se dung cac bi&n di ve d lon va
t6c do, chang han; gan nhu chac chan
be) 11 se dung ca C chat ILl(Jng gio ng no i
khac nhau cho nhung thai. d<) khac nhau.
Ban co the dung pham vi dao dong cuing
de) (da du@c gioi thieu trong phan 5.3)
theo nhung cach khac nhau: su chuyen
dich cuong do co the xay ra trong mot
pham vi kha hep (p h am vi dao d on g cu on g
d o h ep ) hoc s& dung het pham vi gila
cao va thap (ph am vi dao d ong cu on g
de h ep ); neu ban khong dung pham vi
dao d<')ng cuong d(> rong, ban co the dung

key (the lower part). It is very likely that you
will have used different facial expressions
and even gestures and body movements.
These factors are all of great importance in
conveying attitudes and emotions, yet the
tradi tiona I handbooks on English
pronunciation have almost completely
ignored them.
If we accept the importance of these
factors it becomes nece_ssary to consider how
they are related to intonation, and what
intonation itself consists of. We can isolate
three distinct types of suprasegmental
variable: sequential, prosodic and
paralinguistic.
S e q u e n tial
These components of intonation are
found as elements in sequences of other such
elements occurring one after another (never
simultaneously). These are:
i) pre-heads, heads, tonic syllables and tails
(with their pitch Iiossibilities);
ii) pauses;
iii) tone-unit boundaries.
These have all been introduced 111
previous chapters.
Pr osod ic
These components are characteristics of
speech which are constantly present and
observable while speech is going on. The
most important are:
i) width of pitch range;
ii) key;
iii) loudness;
iv) speed;
v) voice quality.
236
cac khoa khac nhau: khoa cao (dung
phn tren cda pham vi dao d9ng Cllo'ng
d<'?), kh6a giua (dung phan gila cua pham
vi dao dong) hoc khoa thap (phan thap
hdn). Rat c6 the ban se dung ve mat hoac
Cll chl va d<'?ng tac khac nhau cua Cd
the' . Nhang yeu t6 nay ra't quan trong
trong vi@c truyen dat thai do va cam xuc,
tuy nhien hau het nht111g quye'n s6 tay
truyen thong viet ve cach phat am gan
nhtl hoitn toan bo qua chung.
Neu chung ta chap nhan tam quan
trong cua nht7ng ye' u to' nay, chung ta
can phai xem xet xem chung co quan
he voi ngu dieu nhu the nao, va ban than
ngu dieu d6 g6m c6 gl. Chung ta co the'
ta ch rieng ba loai bien sieu doan tinh
khac nhau nay: trlnh IL_/, ngon dieu va
can ngon.
Tdnh ti;
Cac thanh phJn nay cia ngd am
dugc xet thay la cac thanh phan trong
trlnh tu cia cac thanh phan khac nhtJ
the xuat hie n sau n hau (kho ng bao gio
xuat hi@n dong thoi). D6 la:
i) pre-head, head, am tiet mang thanh
dieu va duoi (voi cac kha nang co
the' co cda cuing do cia chung);
ii) cac khoang dung;
iii) cac ranh gioi cda don vi thanh dieu.
Tat ca nhang thanh phan nay da dtlc;lc
gioi thieu trong chLlc:/ng trtJoc.
Ng@n di@ u
Nht7ng thanh phan nay la dac diem
cla loi noi vo n lien tuc hien dien va d
nhan thy trong khi loi noi dang dien ra.
Thanh phan quan trong nhat la:
i) do r<'?ng cua phcJm vi dao d<'?ng cuong
d<'?;
ii) khoa;
iii) d(> Ion;
iv) t6c d(>;
v) chat luong giong noi.
 237
It is not possible to speak without one' s
speech having some degree or type of pitch
range, loudness, speed and voice quality
(with the possible exception that pitch
factors are largely lost in whispered speech).
Different speakers do, of course, have their
own typical pitch range, loudness, voice
quality, etc .. and contrasts among prosodic
components should be seen as relative to
these "background" speaker characteristics.
Each of these prosodic components needs
a proper framework for categorisation, and
this is an interesting area of current research.
One example of the prosodic component
"width of pitch range" has already been
mentioned in 15 .3, when "extra pitch height"
was introduced, and the "rhythmicality"
discussed in 14. l could be regarded as
another prosodic component. Prosodic
components should be regarded as part of
intonation along with sequential
components.
Paraltf'igu istic
Mention was made above of facial
expressions, gestures and body movements.
People who study human behaviour use the
term bo dy la ng ua g e for such activity. One
could also mention certain vocal effects such
as laughs and sobs. These are obviously
relevant to the act of speaking but could not
themselves properly be regarded as
components of speech. Again, they need a
proper descriptive and classificatory system,
but this is not something that comes within
the scope of this course, nor in my opinion
should they be regarded as components of
intonation.
What advice, then, can be given to the
foreign learner of English who wants to learn
"correct intonation" ? It is certainly true that
a few generalisations can be made about the
attitudinal functions of some components of
intonation. Within tone, for example, most
Ngucri ta k h6ng the noi v oi loi 1101
k h6ng co mot mtc do hay loai pham v i
dao dong c uong do, d6 Ion, t6c do v a
c hat luong giong noi nao d6 (v oi truong
hop ngo<) i le c o the c6 la c ac y eu to
CL/ohg de) ph~n Ion bi ma't trong loi n6i
thi tham). DT nhien, nhung ngL/oi n6i k hac
nhau c o pham vi dao dong c uong do, de>
I6' n, c hat luong giong n6i, v .v . CLJa rieng
lw, v a nhung SL./ trai nguc trong s o ca c
thanh phan ngon di&u nen duoc x em la
c 6 lie'n quan v oi nhtng dac diem "nen
tang" nay c ua nglloi n6i.
M6i thanh phan ngon dieu nay ca n
mot k huon k ho phan loai thic h hop, va
day la mc)t linh v uc nghien Cllll thu vj
hien nay . Mot v i du v e thanh phan ngon
dieu "do rong c da pham v i dao dong
c uing do" da du@c de c ap roi trong phan
15.3, k hi "do c ao c uing do v uot muc "
duoc gioi thi~u, v a "tinh nhip dieu" da
tho luan trong phan 14.1 c 6 the duoc
x em la mc)t thanh phan ngon dieu k hac.
Cc thanh phan ngon dieu nen duoc x em
la mot phan c la ngt dieu c ung v oi c ac
thanh phan trinh ti/.
Can ngon
Phan tren da de c ap v e c ac v mat,
dt c hl va dqng tac c ua c d the. Nhung
ngudi nghi@n c tu hanh v i c ua c on nguoi
thLlong dung thu~t ngu "ngon ng u cu chi "
de c hi hoat dong nhu the. Nguoi ta Cling
c 6 the de c ap mot s o hieu qua ve thanh
giQng nhu tieng c uoi v a tieng ntc nd.
Cac hieu qua ve c an ngon r6 rang c 6
lien quan den ha nh dong noi ban than
c hC111g k h6ng the duoc x em la thanh phan
c ua loi n6i. Hon n(J a, c hung dn lllQt he
thong mieu ta v a phan lo<)i thic h hop,
nhung day k hng phai la dieu nam trong
pham vi c ua quy en s ac h nay , theo y toi
c h(111g c ling k h6ng nen duoc x em la thanh
phan c la nga dieu.
Vay thi nguoi nuoc ngoai hoc tieng
Anh muon hQc "n g Ct dieu dung" c ho the
dudc c ho li k huy en g1? OT nhien, that
su c o mot s o dieu k hai quat v e c htc nang
bieu thai ca mot s o thanh phan c ua ngu
dieu c o the du@c dua. Chang han, trong.
 238
books a gree on some ba sic mea nings; he re
are s o me ex amp les :
l. Fall (Thanh di@u xuong)
Fin ality, d efin iten es s :
(Tinh dtt khoat, ro rang)
2 . Ris e
Mo s t o f th e fun ction s attrib u ted to ris es
are n earer to g rammatical th an attitu d in al,
as in th e firs t th ree ex amp les g iv en
b elo w; th ey are in clud ed h ere main ly to
g iv e a fuller p ictu re o f in to n atio n al
fun ction .
Gen eral q u es tio n s :
Ccic cau hiJi tiJ'ng qucit
Lis tin g :
Li@t ke
"Mo re to follo w":
T i ep t h em
En cou rag ing :
Khuye'n khich
3 . Fall-ris e (Thanh di?u len-xur'fng)
Un certain ty , d o u b t:
KhrJng cluic chdn
Req u es tin g :
Yeu cdu
4 . Ris e-fall
Su rp ris e, b ein g imp ress ed :
Nga nhi@n, bi an tang
thanh di@u, hau let cac sach de thong
nhat v mot s o nghTa Cd ban; s au day la
mot s o vi du:
Th at is th e end o f th e ,n ews
I' m ab s o lu tely ,certain
Sto p ,talk ing
2. Thanh di@u len:
Hau ht c ac c h&c nang dong gop v ao
thanh di@u tang deu gan v di c h&c
nang ng@ phap hon c h&c nang bi&u
thai, nhu' trong ba vi du dau tien duoc
c ho dud i day ; c hung du@c dua v ao
day c hu y eu M c ung ca'p hinh anh
day du hon v e c h&c nang ngt di@u.
Can y o u ,h elp me
Is it ,o v er
,Red, ,b rown, ,y ello w o r ,b lu e
(fall is n o rmal on th e las t item)
(thanh di@u xuong la binh thmng muc
cuoi cn g )
I ph o n ed th em righ t a, way
(an d th ey ag reed to co me)
va ho da dong y den)
Yo u mu s t write it a,g ain
(an d th is time, g et it righ t)
( vd !r1n nay, lam ngay)
It wo n t ,h urt
Yo u ,may b e righ t
Its p o s s ib le
Can I buy it
Will y ou Jen d it to me
Yo u were ,firs t
,All o f th em
 239
- Gen eralis ation s s u ch as th es e are,
h o wev er, v ery b road , an d foreig n learners
d o n o t fin d it eas y to learn to u s e into n atio n
th rou g h s tu d y ing th em. Similarly , with in th e
area o f p ros o d ic co mp on en ts mo s t
g en eralis ation s ten d to b e rath er o b v iou s:
wid er p itch ran g e ten d s to b e u s ed in ex cited
o r en th u s ias tic s p eak in g , s lo wer s p eed is
ty p ical o f th e s p eech o f s o meon e wh o is tired
o r b o red , an d s o o n . Mo s t o f th e
g en eralis ation s o n e cou ld mak e are p rob ab ly
true for a lo t o f o th er lan gu ag es as well. In
s h o rt, o f th e rules an d g en eralis atio n s th at
cou ld b e mad e ab o u t con v ey in g attitu d es
th roug h in to n atio n , th o s e wh ich are n o t
actu ally wron g are lik ely to b e too triv ial to
b e wo rth learnin g . I h av e witn es s ed man y
o ccas ion s wh en foreig n ers h av e
u n in ten tio n ally cau s ed mis u nd ers tand ing o r
ev en o ffen ce in s p eakin g to a n ativ e Eng lis h
s p eak er. b u t can rememb er o n ly a few
o ccas io n s wh en th is co u ld b e attribu ted to
"u s in g th e wron g in to n atio n "; mo s t s u ch
cas es h av e in vo lv ed n ativ e s p eak ers o f
d ifferen t v arieties o f En g lis h , rath er th an
learners o f En g lis h . So metimes an in to n atio n
mis tak e can cau s e a d ifferen ce in ap p aren t
g rammatical mean ing (s o meth in g th at is d ealt
with in Ch ap ter 1 9 ). It s h o u ld n o t b e
con clu d ed th at in to n ation is ,n o t impo rtan t
for con v ey in g attitu d es . Wh at is b ein g
claimed h ere is th at, alth o u g h it is o f g reat
imp o rtan ce, th e co mp lex ity o f th e to tal s et
o f s eq u en tial an d p ros o d ic co mpo n ·en ts o f
in ton atio n an d o f p aralin g u is tic features
mak es it a v ery d ifficu lt th in g to teach o r
learn. On e mig h t, co mp are th e d ifficu lty with
th at o f try in g to write rules for ho w o n e mig h t
in d icate to s o meo n e th at o n e fin d s him o r
h er s ex u ally attractiv e; wh ile p sy ch o log is ts
an d b io lo g is ts mig h t mak e d etailed
o bs erv ation s and g en eralis atio n s abo u t h o w
hu man b eing s o f a p articu lar cu ltu re b eh av e
in s u ch a s itu atio n , mo s t p eo p le wou ld rig h tly
feel th at s tud y in g th es e g en eralis atio n s
wo u ld b e n o s u b s titu te for p ractical
ex p erien ce, an d th at rely ing o n a tex tbo o k
cou ld lead to h ilario u s . co n s eq u en ces . Th e
attitu d in al us e o f in to n atio n is s o meth in g
th at is b es t acq u ired th rough talkin g with an d
Tuy nhien, nhdng dieu tong quat nhu
the nay rat r(>ng, va ngudi hoc ngoai ngd
thay khong d hoc.cach st dung ngu
dieu qua viec nghien cuu chung. TLtdng
tt!, trong pham vi cua cac thanh phan
ngon dieu, hau het nht ng dieu tong quat
co khuynh huong trd nen ro ·rang hdn:
pham vi dao d(>ng cuong do rong hon co
khuynh huong dLIQ'c dung trong loi 116i
soi n6i, hang hai, t6c do cham hon la
dien hinh o loi noi cl a mot nguoi met
moi hay chan nan, v.v. Hau het nhung
dieu tong quat ma ngudi ta dua ra Cling
c6 th€ dung doi voi nhii!u ngon ngu khac.
N6i tom lai, trong so cactqui tac va nhCtng
dieu tong quat c6 th& dua dua ra ve vi@c
truyen dat thai d qua ngt di@u, nhung
qui tac va dieu tt'>ng quat khong that su
sai lam thl moi co th€ trd nen qua tam
thuong kh6ng dang cl€ hoc. Toi da chttng
kien nhieu truong hoc khi nguoi nu6c
ngoai vo tinh gay hieu nham hoc tham
chi gay chuong tai gai mat khi n6i chuyen
vdi nguoi n6i tieng Anh ban nget, nhLtng
chl co the nho mot vai trui ng hop khi
duc quy la "stt dung ngu dieu sai"; hau
het nhetng truong hQ'p nhLt the deu bao
ham nhang ngudi ban ngt thuoc nhieu
loai khac nhau noi tieng Anh, cha kh6ng
phai nhung ngudi hoc tieng Anh. Di khi
sai ngu dieu co the gay ra su khac biet
ve y nghia ng@ phap ro rang (dieu se
dugc de cap trong chuong 19). Khong nen
ket lun rang ngu dieu khong quan trong
trong viec truyen dat thai do. Dieu dang
duoc khang dinh o day la, mac du ngd
dieu rat quan trong nhung tinh phOc tap
cl a toan bo tap hop cac thanh phfo trlnh
tu va ngon dieu ci a ngd dieu va cda
cac dac diem can ngon khien cho no
trd thanh dieu rat kho day hay hqc.
Ngudi ta co the so sanh su kh6 khan nay
voi viec co gang viet cac qui tac ve viec
lam the nao nguo i ta co th€ cho mot
nguoi nao do thay rang ho thay anh ay
hay co ay hap dan ve mat gidi tinh; trong
khi cac nha tam ly hoc va sinh vat hoc
c6 the co cac quan sat chi tiet va ~hctng
dieu khai quat ve viec con nguoi thuoc
mot nen van h6a CL.I th€ cu XU nhu the
 24 0
listening to English speakers, and this course
aims simply to train learners to be more aware
of and sensitive to the way English speakers
use intonation.
nao t rong m ot t inh huong nhu the, nhung
hu het m oi nguoi deu ca m t hay rang
v iec nghien c &u nhung dieu k hai quat
nay s e k hong t hay t he c ho k inh nghiem
t huc t e, v a v iec dua v ao s ac h giao k hoa
co t he dan den nht ng k ei qua v ui v e.
C ong dung bi&u t hai c ia ngon ng@ la
dieu gi do dat duoc t ot nhat t hong qua
v iec noi c huy en va lang nghe nguoi noi
t ing Anh, v a quy en s ac h nay c hi nham
de do t ao ngudi hoc trd nen thao hon
v a nhay ben v oi c ac h dung ngu dieu c la
nguoi noi t ieng Anh.

N ote s on p r ob le m s an d fu r th e r r e ad in g
Perhaps the most controversial question concerning English intonation is what its function
is; pedagogically speaking, this is a very important question, since one would not wish to
devote time to teaching something without knowing what its value is likely to be. At the
beginning of this chapter I list four commonly cited functions; it is possible to construct a
longer list; Lee (1958), for example, proposed ten.
For general introductory reading on the functions of intonation, there is a good survey in
Cruttenden (1997: Chapter 4). Critical views are expressed in Brazil et al ( 1980: 98-103)
and Crystal (1969: 282-308). There are many useful examples in Brazil (1994). Few people
have carried out experiments on listeners' perception of attitudes through intonation,
probably because it i s extremely difficult to design properly controlled experiments.
Once one has recognised the importance of features other tha g pitch ' t is necessary to
devise a framework for categorising these feature . There are many different views about
the meaning of the term "paralinguistic" . In the framework presented in Crystal and Quirk
(1964), paralinguistic features of the "vocal effect" type are treated as part of intonation, and
it is not made sufficiently clear how these are to be distinguished from prosodic features.
Crystal ( 1969) defines paralinguistic features as: ' vocal effects which are primarily the
result. of physiological mechanisms other than the vocal cords, such as the direct results of
the workings of the pharyngeal, oral or nasal cavities' but this does not seem to me to fit the
facts. In my view, "paralinguistic" implies 'outside the system of contrasts used in spoken
language' which does not, of course, necessarily mean 'non-vocal' . I would therefore treat
prosodic variables as linguistic and consequently part of intonation while I would
treat vocal effects like laughs or sobs as non-linguistic vocal effects to be classed with
gestures and facial expressions. Brown (1990), on the other hand, uses "paralinguistic" to
include what I call "prosodic" , and appears to have no separate term for non-linguistic vocal
effects. A recent paper on transcription of prosodie and paralinguistic features is Roach et
al. (1998).
The term 'voice quality' needs comment, as it tends to be used with different meanings:
sometimes the term is used to refer to the personal. "background" characteristics that make
one person' s voice recognisably different from another, mainly as a result of the complex
interaction of laryngeal and supra laryngeal features (Crystal, 1969: I 00-4; Laver, 1980;
1994); for some writers, however, "voice quality" is the auditory result of different types of
vocal fold vibration. A better name for this is phonation type (Catford, 1964).
 24 1
No t e for tea chers
A udi o U n i t 1 8 con s i s t s o f ex tract s fro m a reco rd i ng o f s p o nt an eou s d i alo g u e. St u d en t s
u s u ally feel t h at l i st en i n g t o t h es e u n fami li ar v o i ces ch o p p ed u p i n t o s mall p i eces i s h ard
w o rk , b u t g en erally t h e t ran s cri pt i o n ex erci s e i s n o t foun d n earl y as d i ffi cu lt as ex p ect ed.

Wr itt e n e xe r cise s Bai tap viet

In t h e fo llo w i n g b i t s o f co nv ers at i o n , y ou Trong cac doan hoi thoai sau day, ban
are s upp lied w i t h an "o p en i n g l in e" an d a dugc cho mot "dong mo" va mot cau tra
res po n s e t h at y o u mu s t i mag i n e s ay i n g . Y o u loi ma ban phi tuong tugng de noi. Ban
are g iv en an i nd i cati o n i n b rack et s o f t h e dugc cho mot tu bieu thi cam xuc hoac
feelin g or attit u d e exp res s ed , and y o u mu s t thai do duoc bay to trong ngoac, va ba n
mark on t h e t ex t t h e i n t o n at i o n y o u t h i n k i s phai danh dau len ngu di@u ma ban nghi
appro p ri at e (mark o n l y t h e res p o n s e). A s la thich hop (chi danh da u cau tra Ioi).
u s u a l i n i n t o n a t i o n w o rk i n t h i s b o o k , Nhu thuong le, trong phan noi ve ngd
pu n ct u at i o n i s l eft ou t , s i n ce i t can cau s e di@u trong quyen sach nay, dau cham
co n fu s i on . cau bi xoa di, vi no co the gay nham
lan.
I. It l ook s n i ce fo r a ,s w i m It s rath er co l d (doubtful)
2 . Wh y n o t g et a ,car Becau s e I can t affo rd it (impatient)

3 . Iv e l o s t my t i ck et Y o u re s i lly t h en (stating the obvious)

4 . Y o u can t h av e an i ce ,cream O h p l eas e (pleading)
5 . W h at t i mes are t h e ,b u s es Sev en o ' cl o ck s ev en t h i rt y an d eig h t (Listing)

6 . Sh e g o t ei g h t ' A ' l ev el s E i g h t (i mp ress ed )

7 . H ow mu ch ,w o rk h av e y o u Iv e g o t t o d o t h e s ho p p i n g
go t to do (and more things after that)

8 . W i ll t h e ch i l d ren g o So me o f t h em mi g h t (uncertain)
 24 2

CHVdNG 19

adjacent /a' d3ersnt/ (adj) ke' ccJn

comprehensively /,knmpn' hensrvh/ (adv) toan di@n, tong hap
converational behaviour /'knnva,se1fnl b1' he1v1;:,/ hnh xt trong dam thoai
function word l'fAl)kfn , W3:d/ ht t it
in the light of /m {fa '!art av/ khi xet de'n
intonational subordination I, mt;;i' nerfnl s;;i, b:,:d1' ne1Jn/ phu ket nga di@u, mr'i'i lien kit
phu thuoc ve ng? di@u
intonationally subordinate /' mta, nerfnl s;;i' b:,:dm;;it/ phu thujc ve mat ng? di@u
lexical word /' leks1kl 'w3:d/ th t!C IU'
mimimal pair /'mmrml 'pea/ cap cau sai bi@t ctc tieu (cht
k!uic nhau ,1 11:(Jt diri'm)
non-emphatic /, nnnrm' fat1k/ (adj) khng nhan manh
non-linguistic /, nnnhl)' gwrkstrk/ (adj) phi ngiJn ngt7
non-subordinate /, nonsa' b:,:dmat/ khong ph thu@c, chinh
parenthetic /, pa:ran' Bert1k/ (adj) them vao, phu
placement /' ple1smant/ (n) SI_( dcJt (trong am, than.Ii di¢ II
F l/O nu)t um tie't)
reference /' refr;;ins/ (n) st tham chie'u. sd chi. chi den
ccii gi
regulate /' regjulert/ (v) chi phi, tac dong
tone-unit /' taun ,ju:nrt/ (n) drm vi thanh dif11
tonic syllable /'tnmk' ' srlabl/ am tie't mang thanh dif u
tonicity /t;;i' ms;;itT. tau' n-,to' n-/ (n) Fife chon lta noi dut trong am
thanh dif u
turn-taking /'t3:n, terkrl)/ (n) S I! luan phien. thay phin
 24 3
19 Functi ons of intonation 2
19 Chu c
In the previous chapter a distinction was
made between the attitudinal function of
intonation and several other functions that
were given the collective· names of
s y ntag m a ti c functi o ns . They include
accentual, grammatical and discourse
functions, and these are discussed below.
19.1 The accentual f unct ion of
intonation
The term accentual is derived from
"accent" . a word used by some writers to refer
to what in this course is called "stress" . When
writers say that intonation has accentual
function they imply that the placement of
stress is something that is determined by
intonation. It is possible to argue against this
view: in Chapters 10 and 1 i, word stress was
presented as something quite independent
of intonation, and subsequently (p. 17) it was
said that "intonation is carried entirely by
the stressed syllables of a tone-unit". This
means that the presentation so far has been
implied that the placing of stress is
independent of and prior to the choice of
intonation. However, one particular aspect
of stress could be regarded as part of
intonation: this is the placement of the tonic
stress within the tone-unit. It would be
reasonable to suggest that while word stress
was independent of intonation, the
placement of tonic stress was a function (the
accentual function) of intonation. Some
older pronunciation handbooks refer to this
area as "sentence stress" , which is not an
appropriate name: the sentence is a unit of
grammar, while the location of tonic stress is
a matter which concerns the toneunit, a unit
of phonology.
nang cua ngu di@u 2
a chuong truck chung ta da thay dLtqc
su khac nhau each phat am duoc tao ra
giua chuc na ng theo tha i do cu a ngl.7
di@u va mot vai chi c nang khac co ten
chung la ch @c n an g n gu d oan. Chung
bao gom chi c nang ve tro ng am, ngd
phap va dien thuyet. Nhung dieu nay se
duoc thao luan duoi day.
1 9 .1 Chuc nan g trq n g am c ua ngu·
di@u:
Thu~t nga "accentual" ba't ngu6n tu
"giong" (accent), m o t ma dudc m o t so
tac gia dung trong giao trinh nay de chi
"trong am" (stress). Khi cac tac gia noi
rang ngt dieu co cht c nang trong am la
ho ngu y rang cach dat trong am duoc
quye't dinh bdi ngu dieu. Ta co th€ tranh
luan chong lai quan diem nay: o chuong
10 va 11, trong am cua tu duqc trlnh bay
la hoan toan doc lap voi ngu dieu, sau
d6 (trang 176) c6 n6i rang "nga dieu dL(qc
dien dat hoan toan bang nhung am tiet
nhn cl a mot don vi thanh di@u". Dieu
nay c6 nghia la phan trinh bay cho de'n
bay gio ngu y rang viec dt trong am la
d(>c l~p va co truoc khi chon ngl.7 dieu.
Tuy nhien, mo t khia canh dac biet ci a
trong am c6 th€ duc;1c xem la mot phan
cua ngl.7 dieu: day la cach dat trong am
mang thanh dieu trong don vi than h dieu.
Cung hc;1p ly kh i de xuat rang mac du
trong am cua tu d(>c lap voi ngl.7 dieu,
nhung viec dat trong am mang thanh dieu
lai la mo t cht c nang cda ngd dieu (ch(c
nang trgng am). Mo t s6 so tay ve cach
phat am cu hon goi day la "trong am
trong cau" von la mot cai ten khong thich
hop: cau la mo t don vi ngd phap, trong
khi vi trf cua trong am mang thanh dieu
la mot van de lien quan don vi thanh
dieu, mot don vi am vi hoc.
 244
The location of the tonic syllable is of
considerable linguistic importance. The
most common position for this is on the last
lexical word (e.g. noun, adjective, verb,
adverb as distinct from the function words
introduced in Chapter 12, p: 112-113) of the
tone-unit. For contrastive purposes, however,
any word may become the bearer of the tonic
syllable. It is frequently said that the
placement of the tonic syllable indicates the
focus of the information. In the following
pairs of examples, (a) represents normal
placement and (b) contrastive:
i) I I ,want to ,know ,where hes ,travelling to I
(The word 'to' , being a preposition and not a lexical word, is not stressed.)
(Tit 'to ', Lu i;t<Ji t it kh6n g p h ili
ii) (I 'dont want to 'know where hes 'travelling from)
I I ,want to ,know ,where hes ,travelling
i) I She was 'wearing a 'red ,dress I
ii) (She 'wasnt 'wearing a ,green •dress) I She was 'wearing a ,red •dress I
Similarly, for the purpose of emphasis we
may place the tonic stress in other positions;
in these examples, (i) is non-emphatic and
(ii) is emphatic:
a) I It was 'very ,boring I
b) I It was , very •boring I
a) I You 'mustnt 'talk so loudly I
b) I You ,mustnt •talk so •loudly I
However, it would be wrong to say that
the only cases of departure from putting tonic
stress on the last lexical word were cases of
contrast or emphasis. There are quite a few
situations where it is normal for the tonic
syllable to come earlier in the tone-unit. A
well-known example is the sentence 'I have
plans to leave'; this is ami1i!!;uous:
Vi t ri c da am t iet m ang t hanh di@u
dugc x em la dieu quan t rong t rong n
ngu hoc. Vi t ri pho bien nhat c ho no la d
tu c uoi c ung m ang nghT a a tu v lf ng (v i
du: danh tu, t inh tu, dong tu, t rang tu de
phan biet v oi c ac t u c h&c nang da duoc
gioi t hieu t rong c huong 12, t rang 112-113)
c la don v i t hanh dieu. T uy nhien, de neu
len m uc dic h t uong phan, bat c u tu nao
c Ong c6 the t r t hanh tu am t iet m ang
thanh dieu. N gudi t a t huong noi rang v iec
dat am t i&t m ang t hanh di@u bi@u t hi t hong
t in t rung t am . T rong c ac c ap v i du s au
day, (i) bi&u t hi c ac h dat t hong t huong v a
(ii) bieu t hi c ac h dat ngugc lai:
la t it m a ng n g hla t it vu n g , kh o ng durc n h an )
to
M ot c ac h don gian , d6i v oi m uc dic h
nhan m anh c hung t a c o t he dat t rong am
m ang thanh di~u a v i t ri k hac ; nhu t rong
ca c v i du s au, (i) k hong nhan am v a (ii)
nh n m a nh :
T uy nhien, s e s ai lam k hi no, rang
nhdng t ruong hop duy nhat k hong dat
t rong am m ang t hanh dieu len t ren ti."t
m ang nghT a tu v ung t inh c uoi c ung la
nhung t ruong hop t uong phan hay nhan
m anh. C o v ai t ruong hop di@u k hi am
t i&t m ang t hanh di@u dung t ruoc t rong don
v i m ang am t iet la binh t huong. M ot v i
du pho bien la c au " I hav e plans t o leav e";
C au nay c 6 nghT a m o ho:
 245
a) I I h av e 'p l an s t o ,l eav e I
(i.e. I am p l an n i n g t o l eav e.) (n gh 'ia la: TlJ i dt,t d j n h ra di.)
b ) I I h av ~ .p l an s t o •l eav e I
I (i .e. I h av e s o me p l an s / d i ag rams / d raw ing s t h at I h av e t o l eav e.)
(Nghia la: TiJ i c:6 m o t so ke hoach/sa do/ban v@ ma ti>i p h d i de' lqi.)

V ers i o n (i i) co u l d n o t b e d es cri b ed as Cau (ii) khong du@c mieu ta nhu nghTa

co n t ras t iv e o r emp h at i c. Th ere are man y tuong phan hay nha'n manh. C 6 nhieu vi
ex amp l es s i mi l ar t o (ii ); p erh ap s t h e b es t ru l e du tuong tu nhu cau (ii); c6 le quy tac
t o g i v e i s t h at t h e t o n i c s y llab l e w i ll t en d t o hay nhat nen dua ra la am tie't mang am
o ccu r o n t h e l as t l ex i cal w o rd i n t h e t on e­ dieu se co khuynh huong roi vao tu c6
u n it , b u t may b e p l aced earl i er i n t h e t o n e­ tfnh tu vung cuoi cung trong don vi thanh
u n i t i f t h ere i s a w o rd t h ere w i t h g reat er dieu, nhung co the dugc dat truoc trong
i m p o rt a n ce t o w h a t i s b e i n g s a i d . T h i s ca n don vi thanh di@u neu co mot tu o do
qu i re o ft en h ap p en as a res ul t o f t h ~ l as t p art quan trong hon nhung gl dang duQc n6i.
o f t h e t o n e-u n it b ein g al ready "g i v en " (i.e. Dieu nay thuong xay ra do phan cuoi
' s o m et h i n g w h i ch h as al read y b een don vi thanh di@u dugc "neu len" roi (nghTa
ment i on ed o r i s co mp l et el y p red i ct ab l e); fo r la mot dieu gi do da dugc de cap den
e x am p l e: ro i hay hoa n toan c6 the doan truck
duQc). Vf di):
a), 'H eres t h at ,b oo k y o u •as k ed me t o •b rin g
(Th e fact t h at y o u ··as k ed me t o b ring it i s n o t n ew .)
(V i ~c h 9 n n h iJ t iJ i m a n g n o kh 6 n g p h d i l d m (l i .)
b ) I Iv e ,g o t t o ,t ak e t h e ,QQg fo r a •w al k I
(Fo r a w alk' i s by far t h e mo s t p ro b ab l e t h i ng t o fo llo w 'I'v e g o t t o t ak e t h e
d og' ; i f t h e s en t en ce en d ed w i t h ' t o t h e v et ' t h e t o n i c s y llab l e w o u l d p ro b ab l y
b e ' v et ' .)
(C6 t h e t h eo s au ' I' v e go t t o t ak e t h e d o g' l a ' fo r a w al k ' ; neu cau k et t h u c
· v d i 't o t h e v et' t h 1 am ti e't man g t h anh ~i ~n c6 t h €' l a ·v et'.)

Pl acemen t o f t on i c s t res s i s , t h erefo re, Nhu vay, cach dat trong am mang
i mp o rt an t an d i s cl o s el y l i n k ed t o i nt o n at i on . thanh dieu la quan trong va lien quan
A q u est i o n t h at remai,n s, h o w ev er, i s wh et h er chat ch@ voi ng@ dieu. Tuy nhi n, mot
o n e can an d s h o u l d t reat t h i s matt er as cau hi duc neu ra la lieu ta co the va
. s ep arat e fro m t h e o t her fun ct i o n s d es c_rioed co nen xem va'n de nay la tach biet voi
b el o w . tu nhang ch&c nang khac duo¢ mieu ta
sau day hay khong.
19.2 The grammatical f unct ion of 1 9 .2 Chuc na ng ng& phap cua ngu
intonation di@u
T h e w o rd ·" g rammatical " t end s t o b e u s ed , Tu " ng@ phap" co khuynh hung dugc
i n a ·v ery l o o s e s en s e i n t h i s con t ex t. It , i s dung trong tinh hung nay theo nghTa
u su al t o iHust rat e · t h e g rammat i cal fun ct i on khong chat che. Ta thuong minh hoa chic
by i nv ent i n g s en t en ces w h i ch w h en w ri tten nang ng@ phap ban, cach tao ra nhung
are amb i g.uo u s , an d -w h o s e amb i g u i t y can cau ma khi dugc viet mo ho, va su mo
o n ly . b e .remo v ed b y u s i n g d i fferen ces o f ho cl a nhung' cau do.chi c6 the du@c bo
 246
intonation. A _typical example is the
sentt:nce "Those who sold quickly made a
profit" . This can be said in at least two
different ways:
di bang cach st dung ng@ di@u khac
nhau. Mot vi du ti@u bi@u la cau " Those
who quickly made a profit". Ta c6 the su
dung dugc it nha' t hai each de n6i .cau
nay:

i) I 'Those who 'sold .quickly I ,made a ,IITQfit I

ii) I 'Those who .sold I ,quickly ,made a ,IITQfit I

The difference caused by the placement Sukhac nhau phat sinh do cach dat
of the tone-unit boundary is seen to be ranh giai don vi thanh dieu duqc xem la
equivalent to g1vrng two different tuong duong voi viec dua ra hai loi di@n
paraphrases of the sentences, as in: giai khac nhau cda cau, nhu trong:

a) A profit was made by those who sold quickly.

b) A profit was quickly made by those who sold.

Let us look further at the role of tone­
unit boundaries, and the link between the
tone-unit and units of grammar. There is a
strong tendency for tone-unit boundaries to
occur at boundaries between grammatical
units of higher order than words; it is
extremely common to find a tone-unit
boundary at a sentence boundary, as in:
I I 'wont have any ,tea, I I 'dont ,like it I
Chung ta cung nghien cuu sau hon
ve vai tro cda ranh gioi don vi thanh dieu
va moi quan he giO'a don" vi thanh dieu
va cac don vi ngO' phap. Cac ranh gioi
don vi thanh dieu co khuynh huong xuat
hi@n & cac ranh gioi giua don vi ngu phap
cua bac cao hon ca tu; Ta thuong thay
ranh gioi don vi thanh dieu tai ranh gioi
cau, nhu trong:

In sentences with a more complex Trong cac cu voi cau truc phuc tap
structure, tone-unit boundaries are often hon, nhung ranh gioi don vi thanh dieu
found at phrase and clause boundaries as thuong dugc tim thay tai ranh gioi cum
well, as in: tu va menh de, nhu trong:

I In ,France I where ,farms ,tend to be·'.smaller I the 'subsidies are 'more

,imQ_Q[tant

It is very unusual to find a tone-unit boundary
• at a place where the only grammatical
boundary is between words. It would, for
example, sound distinctly odd to have a tone­
unit boundary between an article and a
following noun, or between auxiliary and
main verbs if they are adjacent (although we
may, and debating on occasions, hesitate or
pause in such places within a tone-unit; swne ·
pe9ple who do a lot of arguing, •notably
politicians and philosopl)ers, develop the
skill of pa using fo r breath in such
intonationally unlikely places because they
are less likely to be interrupted than if they
That la la khi thay ranh gioi don vi thanh
dieu a f)Cli chl c6 ranh gioi ngO' phap la
ranh gioi gida cac tu . Vi du, ta se thay
het sdc ky quac nu co mot ranh gioi
don vi thanh di@u giua mot mao tu va
mot danh tu theo sau, hoac gida try dong
7tu va dong tu chinh neu chung dung gcin
nhau (mac du d6i khi chung ta c6 the do
du hoac ngung lai o nhung vi tri nhu the
trong mot dan vi thanh dieu; mot so ngudi
phai tranh cai nhieu, thao lujn, dang chu
/ ' la nhung nha hinh tri, nha triet hoc,
phat huy ki nang dung 9e thi'J a vi tri kh6
xay ra xet ve mat ngu di@u bdi vi ho it
 2 47
p au s e at t h e en d o f a s en t en ce). T on e-u n i t
b o und ary p l acemen t can , t h en , i n d i cat e
g rammati cal s t ru ct u re t o t h e lis t en er an d w e
can fi n d mi n i mal p ai rs s u ch as t h e fo llo w i n g :
bi ngilt loi hon neu ho ngung CJ c u6i c au).
Vi vay , c ac h dat ranh gioi don v i t hanh
dieu c o t he c h_l ca u t rue ngu pha p c ho
ngudi nghe v a c hung t a s e t lm ra de
c ap t 6i t hieu nhu s au:

a) Th e Co n ' s erv ati v es w h o J i k e t h e •p ro po s al I are ,p l eas rd

b ) Th e Co n .s erv at i v es I w h o .li k e t h e p ro •p o s al I are ,p l eas ed

T h e i n t o n at i o n mak es cl ear t h e N gu dieu lam r6 hon s u k hac nhau

d i fferen ce b etw een (i) "res t ri ct i v e" an d (i i )
"n on -res t ri ct i v e" rel at i v e cl aus es ; (i ) i mp lies
t h at o n l y s o me Co n s erv at i v es l i k e t h e.
p ro po s al , w h il e (ii ) i mp li es t h at a ll t h e
Co n s erv at iv es lik e i t.
giua c ac m @ nh de quan he (i)han dinh"
v a (ii) "khong han dinh"; (i) ham y rang
c hi c o m ot s o D ang v ien D ang bo t h&
t hfch loi d~ nghi, trong k hi (ii) ham y la
t a't 'ca c ac D ang v ien D ang bdo t hu t hic h
loi de nghi. . '

A n o t h er co mp o n en t o f i n t o n at i o n t h at M o t t h a n h p h a n k h a c c u a n g u d ie u
can b e s ai d t o h av e g rammatical s i gn i fi can ce m a ngudi t a c ho la c o y nghia ngu phap
i s t h e ch o i ce o f t o n e o n t h e t o n i c s y llab l e. l a s lJ Iva c hon c ua t hanh di@ u o am t iet
O n e ex amp l e t h at i s v ery fami li ar i s t h e u s e m a n g t hanh dieu. M ot v i du t huU ng t ha'y
o f a ri s i n g t o n e w i t h q u es t i on s . Man y l a s 11 d vng t hanh 'di@ u len v oi c au hoi.
l an g u ag es h av e t h e pos s ibili t y o f ch an g i n g N hieu ngon ngu c 6 t he t hay d6i t hanh
a s t at emen t i n t o a q u es t i o n s i mp l y by di?u m o li phat ngon t hanh m ot c au
ch an g i n g t h e t o n e fro m falli n g t o ri s i n g . T his hi don gian bang c ac h t hay d6i tu x u1ng
i s , i n fact , n o t u s ed v ery mu ch by i t s el f i n t h e giong t hanh len giong. T hat ra, dieu nay
v ari et y o f En g l i s h b ei n g d es cri b ed h ere,· k hong t huong dugc dung nhieu lam a loai
w h ere q u est i o n s are u su ally g rammat i cally t ie.i g Anh duQc m ieu t a a day , v oi ca c
mark ed . T h u s t h e s en t en ce ' T h e p ri ce i s ca u 1-.cli t huong t huong duQc danh da'u
g o i n g u p ' can b e s ai d as a s t at emen t lik e v e m at ngu phap. C au "t he pris e is going
up" c 6 t he dugc noi nhu c au phat bieu
this:
nhu s au:
I T h e ,p ri ce i s g o i n g u p I

(t h e t o ni c s t res s co u l d eq u ally w ell b e (T rong am m ang t hanh dieu c ung c 6

o n ' up ' ). It w o u l d b e q u it e accep t ab l e i n s o me
,d i al ect s o f Eng t sh (e.g . man y v ari et i es o f
A meri can E n g l i s h ) t o as k a q u es ti o n l ike t h i s :
t he roi v ao "up"). 0ieu nay, c 6 the hoan
t oan c hap nhan dugc t rong m ot s o t ing
dia phuong c ua Anh (v i du: nhieu loai
ti eng Anh M y ) k hi hoi m ot c au hoi nhu
t he nay :

(W h y d o y o u w an t t o buy it n o w ?) I Th e ,p ric e i s g o i n g u p I

Bu t s p eak ers i n E n g l an d w o u l d b e mo re N hung nguoi n6i giong Anh c6 t he

lik el y t o as k t h e q u es tion li k e t h i s : hi m ot c au hoi nhu s au:

(W h y do y o u w an t t o b u y i t n o w ?) I 'Is t h e ,p ri ce g o i n g up I
(.
It i s b y no mean s tr u e t h at a ri s i n g t on e i s Khong phai t hanh di@ u len lac nao
al w ay s u s ed fo r q u est i o n s i n E ng lis h ; i t i s c ung duQc dung c ho ca c c au hoi trong
q u it e u s u al ,_fo r ex amp l e, t o u s e a falli n g t o n e t ieng Anh; Vi du, t a t huong dung t hanh
wi t h q u es t i o n s b eg i n ni n g w i th o n e o f t h e di?u x uong v oi c au hoi bat diiu b.i ng_
 248
"wh -qu es tio n -wo rd s " lik e ' wh at', 'wh ich ' , m ot t rong nhung tu hoi "w h" nhu "w hat",
' wh en ' , etc. Here are two ex amp les with "w hic h", "w hen" v . v . . . Sau day la hai vi
ty p ical in to n atio n s, wh ere (i) d o es n o t s tart du voi ngu di@u t i@u bi&u, (i) k hong bat
with a "wh- wo rd " an d h as a ris in g to n e an d dau bang "tu w h" va c o t hanh di@u len,
(ii) b eg in s with 'wh ere' an d h as a fallin g to n e. (ii) bat dau v oi "w here" v a co t hanh di@u
x uong.
a) I 'Did y o u 'p ark th e ,car I
b ) I 'Wh ere d id y o u 'p ark th e ,car I

Ho wev er, th e fall in (ii) is certain ly n o t
o b lig ato ry , and a ris e is q u ite o ften h eard in
s u ch a q u es tio n . A fall is als o p o s s ib le in (i).
Th e in to n atio n o f ques ti o n-ta g s (e.g . 'is n ' t
it' , 'can ' t h e', 'sho u ld s h e' , 'won' t th ey' , etc.) is
o ften q u o ted as a cas e o f a d ifferen ce in
mean in g b ein g d u e to th e d ifferen ce
b etween fallin g an d ris in g to n e. In th e
follo win g ex amp le, th e q u es tio n -tag is 'aren ' t
th ey'; wh en it h as a fallin g to n e, as in (i), th e
imp licatio n is s aid to b e th at th e s p eak er is
co mp arativ ely certain th at th e in formatio n
is co rrect, an d s imp ly exp ects th e lis ten er to
p rov id e co n firmatio n , wh ile th e ris in g to n e
in (ii) is s aid to ind icate a les s er d eg ree o f
certain ty , s o th at th e q u es tio n -tag fun ctio n s
mo re lik e a requ es t for in formatio n .
T uy nhien, v i@c x uong giong t rong c au
(ii) duong nhien k hong phai la dieu bat
buoc, va v iec Jen giong t hi t huong nghe
t rong m ot c au hoi nhu t he. T rong c au (i)
c ung c 6 t he x uong giong.
N ga di@u c ua c au hoi duoi (v i du:
"is n' t ", "can' t he", "s hould s ne", "w on' t
t hey ", v . v . . . ) t hL(Cl ng duqc neu Jen nhlf la
m ot t rung hop k hac nhau v e nghia gila
t hanh dieu len va x u6ng. T rong vi du duoi
day, c au hoi duoi la "aren' t t hey "; k hi
c au c o t hanh di@u x uong nhu t rong c au
(i), ngu y la ngudi noi t uong doi c hac
c han rang t hong t in dung va m ong m uon
ngudi nghe x ac nhan t rong k hi d6, ngu
di@u len t rong c au ii) n6i Jen lllUC do
c hac c han t hap hon, v i t he c au hoi duoi
c o c h&c nang giong nhu m ot loi y eu au
thong t in.

a) I Th ey are 'co min g o n ,Tu esd ay ,aren t th ey I

b ) I Th ey ' are 'co ming on ,Tu esd ay I ,aren t th ey I
Th e d ifferen ce illu s tratecj h ere co u ld
reas on ab ly b e s aid to b e as mu ch attitu d in al
as g rammatical. Certain ly th ere is o v erlap
b etween th es e two fun ctio ns .
19.3-. The discourse funct ion of'
intonation
If we th in k o f lingu is tic an aly s is as u s u ally
b ein g lin k ed to th e s en ten ce as th e
max imu m u n ir o f g rammar, th en th e s tu d y o f
d is co u rs e attemp ts to loo k at th e larg er
co n tex ts in wh ich s en ten c-.:s ,J ,·cu r. Fo r
ex .• 1:n p le, co n s id er th e fou r s en ten ces in th e
fo llo win g :
Su k hac nhau m inh hoa CJ day c 6 t he
dugc c ho la dien t a t hai do c ung dugc ,
ngd phap cu ng dugc c hac c ha n c6 Sl/
c h6ng c heo giua hai c h&c nang nay .
19.3 Chuc na ng dien thuyet cua ng @
di@ u:
N eu c hung t a nghi den v iec phan tic h
ngon ngd hoc t huong c 6 lien quan c au
la m ot don v i c ua ngu phap I6n nha' t , t hl
vi&c rghien tu nhung no luc dien giai
c o gang de x em x et c ac ngu c anh rong
hon. Vi du, t a hay x em x et bon c au s au
d ay :

A: Hav e yo u g o t an y free time th is mo rnin g ?.

B: I migh t h av e later o n if' th al meeting 's o ff.
 24 9
A : Th ey w ere t al king ab ou t p u t ti n g i t l at er.
B : Y o u can' t b e s ur e.

E ach s en t en ce cou l d b e s t u d i ed i n Mo i cau n en d u o c x em x et ri en g v a

i s o l a t i o n a n d b e an al y s e d i n t erm s o f
g rammat i cal co n s t ru cti o n , l ex i cal con t en t
an d s o o n. Bu t i t i s o b v iou s t h at t h e s en t en ces
fo rm p art o f s o me l arg er act o f co nv ers at i o n al
i n t eracti o n b et v een t w o s p eak ers : t h e
s en t en ces co nt .. ,n s ev eral referen ces t h at
p res u p po s e s h ared kn o w l ed g e (e.g . ' t h at
meet in g ' i mpl i es t h at b o t h s p eak ers k n o w
wh i ch meeti ng i s b ei n g s p o k en ab out ), an d
i n s o me cas es t h e mean i n g o f a s en t en ce can
o n l y b e co rrectl y i n t erp ret ed i n t h e ligh t o f
k n o w l e d g e o f w h a t h a s p re c e d e d i t i n t h e
conv ers at i o n (e.g . 'Y o u can ' t b e s u re' ).
If w e co n si d er h o w i n t on at i o n may b e
s t ud i ed i n rel at i o n t o d i s co u rs e, w e can
i d ent i fy t wo mai n areas : o n e o f t h em i s t h e
u s e o f i n t on ati o n t o fo cu s t h e l i s t en er' s
att en t i o n o i l as p ect s o f t h e mes s ag e t h at are
mos t' i mp o rt an t , an d t h e o t h er i s con cern ed
w i t h t h e reg u l at i o n o f co n v ers at i on al
b eh av i o u r. W e w i ll l o o k at t h es e i n
In t h e cas e o f "at t en t i o n fo cusin g ", t h e
mo s t o bvi ou s u s e _h as al ready b eet s t h i s i s
t h e p l aci n g o f t on i c s t res s o i l t h e app ro p ri at e
s yllab l e o f o n e p art i cu l ar wo rd i n t h e t on e­
u n i t. In many cas es i t i s eas y t o d emon s tr at e
ch at th e t o ni c s t res s i s p l aced o il t h e w o rd
t h a t i s i n s o m e s e n s e t h e " m o s t i m p o rt an t " ,
as i n :
duo c p h an tich th eo ph u o n g d i en ca' u t ru e
n g @ p h ap , n o i dun g n g u n gh i a, v .v . N hu ng
ro ran g cau t ao n en mo t p h an g i ao t i ep
t h u o n g d am r(l n g h o n g i v a h ai n g u o i n 6 i :
cac cau ch &a mot s o p h an t h am ch i eu
g i up t a d o an d u @c s u h i &u b i et chu n g v i
d u : ' t h at meet i ng ' n g u y ran g ca h ai ng u di
n 6 i d e b i et cu @c h o p n ao d an g d u o c n o i
de n), v a t ron g m(l t s o t ruon g h q p y n g h i a
ci a cau ch i co th e d u ; c d i en g i ai d un g
t h eo s u h i eu b i &t v e n h u ng g l d u n g t ru ck
n o t ro n g cu o c d am t ho ai (v i d u : ' Y o u
ca n ' t b e s u re ' ).
N eu c h u n g t a x em x et l am t h e n ao
n gu d i eu c6 th e d uo c n gh i en cu u t ro n g
mo i t u on g qu an v o i d i @n t h u y et , ch u n g t a
c6 th e x ac d i n h h ai lin h v u c ch i n h : mot
la s t d un g n g a d i @u d e t ap t ru n g s u ch a y
cu a n gud i n g h e v ao cac k h i a can h cd a
th on g d i ep qu an t ro n g n h at , v a h ai la v i ec
d i ~u ch l n h h an h v i t h u an g d am. Ch u n g t a
s e lan lu gt x em x et n h u ng d i em na y .
T ran g t ru o n g h o p "t ap t ru ng s u ch i y",
each d un g ro ran g n h at d a duoc mi @u t a
r6 i ; d ay l a v i ec d at t ro n g am mang t h an h
d i eu len am t it t h i ch h o p cd a mo t t u
d ac b i et t ron g d o n v i t h an h d i @u . T ron g
n h i J u t ru o n g h q p , t a d e d a n g c h u n g m i n h
d u Q c ra n g t ro n g a m m a n g t h a n h d i e u
d ug c d at len tu ma t h eo mot y n gh i a
n ao d o n 6 l a "q u an t ro n g n ha' t ", n h u t ran g :

I Sh e 'w en t t o ,Sco tl and I

So meti mes it s eems mo re app ro p ri at e t o E) 6 i k h i v i ec mo t a ca ch d at t ro n g

d es cri b e t o n i c s t res s p l acemen t i n t erms o f am man g t h an h d ·ieu t h eo d an g "n (l i dun g
"in fo rmat i o n co n t en t " : t h e mo re p red i ct ab l e t h o n g ti n " d u o n g n h u t h i ch h o p h o n : s u
a w o rd' s o ccu rren ce i s i n a g iv en con t ex t, x u at h i en cu a tu t ro n g mot t i n h h u o n g
t h e l o w er i t s i n fo rmat i o n con t en t i s. T o n i c d a ch o can g d e do an t h i n o i d u n g t h 6 ri g
s t res s w i ll t en d t o b e p l aced o n w o rd s w i t h t i n cu a n o can g t h ap . T ron g am man g
h i g h i n fo rmat i o n co n t en t , as s u g g es t ed t h an h d i eu s e c6 k hu y n t, h u o n g d ;j.t t ren
abo v e w h en t h e t erm focus w as i n tr od u ced . ' n h O'n g , t u c6 n Q i du n g t h o ng t i n cao , n h u
T h i s i s t h e. expl an at i o n t h at w o u l d b e u s ed . d a de
n g h i a t re n l ac g i o i t h i @u t h u a t
i n t h e cas e o f t h e s en t en c es s u g g es t ed i n n g Ct "t ap t ru n g " D ay l a cach g i ai t h i ch
Sect i o n 9 . I: d u o c d u n g t ron g t ru o n g h o p cu a n h u n g
c;:au d u'(J c d ~ n gh i t ro n g mv c 9 .1 :
 25 0
a) I Iv e ,g o t t o ,t ak e t h e ,Q.Qg fo r a w al k I
b ) I Iv e ,g o t t o ,t ak e t h e ,d o g t o t h e s et I
T h e w o rd 'v et ' i s l es s p red i ct ab l e (h as a
hi gh er i n fo rmati o n co n t en t ) t h an ' w al k ' .
How ev er, w e s t ill fi n d man y cas es w h ere it
i s d i ffi cu l t t o exp l ai n t o n i c _p l acemen t i n
t erms o f "i mp o rt an ce" o r "i n fo rmat i o n " . Fo r
ex amp l e, i n mess ag es l i k e:
Y o u r co at 's o n fi re
T h e rad i o ' s g on e w ro n g
p ro b ab l y t h e maj o ri t y o f E n g lis h s p eak ers
w o u l d p l ace t h e t oni c s t res s o n t h e s ubj ect
n o u n , alt houg h it i s d i ffi cul t t o s ee h o w t h i s
i s mo re i mp o rt an t t h an t h e l as t l ex i cal w o rd
i n each o f t h e s ent en ces . T h e p l acemen t o f
t o n i c s t res s i s s t i ll t o s o me ex t en t an
u n s o l v ed my s t ery ; i t i s cl ear, ho w ev er, t h at
it i s at l eas t p art l y d et ermi n ed b y t h e l arg er
co n t ex t (l i n g u i s ti c an d n o n -lin g u i s ti c) i n
w h i ch t h e t on e-u n i t o ccu rs .
W e can s ee at l eas t t w o o th er w ay s i n
w h i c~ i n t on ah o n can ass i s t i n fo cu s s i n g
atten ti on . T h e t o n e ch o s en can i nd i cat e
w h et h er t h e t o n e-u ni t i n w h i ch i t o ccu rs i s
b ei n g u s ed t o p res en t n ew i n fo rmat i o n o r t o
refer t o i n fo rmat i o n w h i ch i s fel t t o b e al ready
p o s s ess ed b y s p eak er an d h earer. Fo r
ex amp l e, i n t h e fo llo win g s en t en ce:
I 'Si n ce t h e\ l as t t i me w e •met I w h en w e h ad t h at 'h u g e ,d i nn er I
Iv e 'b een o n a ,ru et I
t h e fir s t t wo t o n e-unit s p res en t i n fo rmati on
w h i ch i s rel ev an t t o w h at t h e s p eak er i s
s ay i n g , b u t w h i ch i s n o t s o met h i ng n ew an d
un kno w n t o t h e lis t en er. T h e fin al t on e-un i t ,
h o w ev er, d o es p res en t n ew i n fo rmat i o n .
W ri t ers on d i s co u rs e i n t o n at i o n h av e
p ro po s ed t h at t h e falli n g t o n e i n d i cat es n ew
i n fo rmati o n w h ile ri s i n g (i n cl u d i ng falli n g ­
ri s i n g ) t o n es i nd i cat e "s h ared " o r "g i v en "
i n fo rmat i on .
T u 'v et ' k ho t ien doan hon (c o no,
dung t hong t in c ao hon) 'w alk ' . T uy nhien,
c hung t a v an t hay co
nhieu t ruong hop
k ho gii t hic h c ac h dat t hanh di@u t heo
"t am quan t rong" hay "t hong t in". Vi du,
t rong c ac t hong diep nhu:
Th e w i n g ' s b reak i n g up
Y o u r u n cl e' s d i ed .
c 6 le da s o ngudi noi t ieng Anh dat t rong
am m ang t hanh dieu len danh tu lam c hu
ngu, m ci,c du k h6 m a hieu dugc tu nay
quan t rQ ng hon nhu t he nao s o VO i tu'
m ang nghia tu v ung c uoi c ung t rong m oi
ca u. Viec dat t rong am m ang di@u x et
v e m ot m uc do nao do v an c on la dieu
bi cfn c hua giai quy et dugc ; t uy nhien,
r6 rang la it nhat no dugc quy et dinh phan
no boi ngu c anh rang hon (ngon ng@
hoc phi ngon ng@) m a don v i t hanh dieu ~
x uat hi@en.
C hung t a c o t he t hay it nhat hai c ac h
k hac m a ngu dieu c o t he giup t ap t rung
s u c hu y. T hanh di@u duoc c hon c6 t he
c ho t hy lieu don t hanh dieu m a t rong d6
no xuat hien dang dugc dung de trinh bay
t h o n g t in m o i h a y de de c ap den t hong
t in m a t a cam t hay nguoi noi v a ngudi
nghe du c o. Vi du, t rong c au s au da·:
hai don v i thanh dieu dau ti en t rlnh bay
t hong t in c 6 lien quan den dieu m a nguoi
n6i darig n6i, nhung k hong phdi la di@u
m a ngudi nghe c an thay la m oi hay c hua
biet. T uy nhien, don v i t hanh di@u cuoi
c ung k h6ng t rlnh bay t hong t in m oi. C ac
t ac gia v iet v e ngu di@u dien t huy et da
de nghi rang t hanh di@u x uong c ho bi&t
t hong t in m oi t rong k hi ngu di@u len (k e
ca ngu dieu len - x uong) c ho bit t hong
t in "chung" hay "da duQc n6i r6".
 25 1
A n o th er u s e o f i n t o n atio n conn ect ed w it h
t h e fo cu ss i n g o f atten t i o n i s i nto na ti o na l
subo rdi na ti o n; w e can s i gn al t h at a p art i cu l ar
t o n e-u n i t i s o f co mp arat i v el y l o w i mpo rt an ce
an d as a res u lt g i v e- cor resp o n d i ng l y g reat er
i mp o rt an ce t o ad j acen t t on e-un i t s . Fo r
ex ampl e:
a) I A s I ex ,p ect y o uv e ,h eard I t h ey re 'o n l y ad ' mi tti n g e 1merg en cy cas es I
b) I Th e ,J ap a .nes e I fo r ,s o me ,reas o n ,oth er I 'd ri v e on t h e ,l eft I lik e ,u s I
In a t y p i cal co n v ers ati on al p ro nu n ci atio n
o f t h es e s ent en ces, t h e fi rs t t o n e-u n it .o f (i )
an d t h e s econ d an d fou rt h t on e-u n i t s o f (i i)
mi g h t b e t reat ed as i nto na ti o na lly
s ubo rdi na te; t h e p ro s o d i c ch aract eri st i cs
mark i n g t h i s are u s u ally
(i ) a d ro p t o a l ow er p art o f t h e p it ch ran g e
(" l o w k e y " ),
(ii ) i n creas ed s p eed ;
(i i i )n arro w er rang e. o f p it ch; an d
(i v )l o w er l ou d n es s , rel at i v e t o t h e n on -
s u b o rd in at e t o n e-u n i t (s ).
Th e µs e o f t h es e co mp o n en t s h as t h e res u lt
t h at t h e s u b o rd i n at e t on e-uni t s are l ess eas y
t o h ear. at iv e s p eak ers can u s u ally s t ill
u nd ers t an d w h at i s s ai d , i f n eces s ary by
g u es s i n g at i n aud i b l e o r u n reco g n i s ab l e
w o rd s on t h e b as i s o f t h ei r k nowl ed g e o f w h at
t h e s p eak er i s t al k i n g ab o ut ; fo rei g n l earn ers
o f Eng l i s h , o n t h e o t h er h and , h av i n g i n
g en eral l es s "co mmon g ro u nd " o r s h ared
k now l edg e w it h t h e s p eak er, o ft en fi n d t h at
t h es e s ubo rd i n at e t o n e-u n i t s , w i t h t h ei r
" t h ro w -aw ay " ,. p aren t h et i c s t y l e, cau s e
s eri o u s d i ffi cu lti es i n u n d erst and i n g .
W e n o w t u rn t o t h e s econ d mai n area o f
i n t o n at i o n al d i s co u rs e fu n ct i o n , t h e
reg ul at i o n o f co n v ers at i o n al b eh av i ou r. W e
h av e al read y s ee,n h o w , t h e s t ud y o f
s eq u en ces o f t o n e-un it s i n t h e s p eech o f o n e
s p eak er can rev eal i n fo rmat i o n t arri ed b y
i n t o n at i on w h i ch w ou l d n o t h av e b een
reco gni s ed i f i n to n at i on w as an al y s ed on l y
at t h e l ev el o f i n d i v i du al t on e-u n it s .
In t o n a t i o n i s a l s o i m p o rt a n t i n t h e
M ot c ac h dung k hac c ua ngu di@u
lien quan den v i@c t ap t rung s u c ha y la
phu k et nga di@u; c hung t a c 6 t he bi&u
t hi rang m ot d o n v i thanh di@u dac biet
c 6 t am quan t rong t lldng doi t hap va do
d6 c huy en t am quan t rong t lldng Ctng Id,
hon c ho c ac don v i t hanh dieu k e ben
Vi du:
T rang c ac h phat am hoi t hoai t ieu
bieu c ua nhung c au nay , don vi t hanh
di@u dau t ien c da c au (i) v a don v i t hanh
di@u t h& hai v a t h& t u c la c au (ii) c 6 t he
dugc x em la dac diem ngon dieu dugc
danh dau di@u nay t huong:
(i) roi x uong phan t ha'p hdn c ua day
c u0ng d ("khoa t hap"),
(ii) t oe do t ang;
(iii) day hep hon c ua c uong do; v a
(iv . do v ang t hap hon, t t/ong Ctng v oi (ca c)
don v i t hanh dieu k hong phu t huoc
v iec s t dung c ac thanh phan nay c o k et
qua la c ac don v i t hanh dieu phu k ho
nghe hdn. N guoi ban x u' t huang v fo c 6
t he hieu dieu gi dugc noi, neu ca n t hiet
bang eac h doan nhung tu k hong nghe
dugc hay k h6ng nhi1-n ra duQc di/ a t ren
s u hi&u biet v @ dieu m a nguoi noi dang
n6i den; m ;j t k hac , nguoi hoc ngoai ngu
la t ieng Anh c o "nen t ang c hung" it ph6
bien hay s u hi&u biet c hung v di nguoi
n6i, t huong t hay rang nhung don v i t hanh
dieu phu, v oi loi noi c hen v ao gila, bang
quo, k hien c ho rat k ho hieu.
Bay gio c hung t a c huy en s ang linh
v uc c hinh t hu' hai la c huc dien t huy et
t heo ngu dieu: s t! dieu c hlnh hanh vi giao
t ,ie'p. C hung t a da t hay roi v iec nghien
c uu c hu6i c ac don v i t hanh dieu t rong
loi noi c ua m ot rgudi noi c 6 t he bi&u lo
t hong t in duc dien dat boi ngt di@u m a
s e k hong dugc nhan ra neu ngu di@u c hi
duoc phan t ic h o ca p c ac don v i t hanh
dieu rieng le. N gu di~u c ung quan trong

conversational interaction of two or more
speakers. Most of the research on this has
been on conversational interaction of a rather
restricted kind - such as between doctor and
patient, teacher and pupil or between the
various speakers in court cases. In such
material it is comparatively easy to identify
what each speaker is actually doing in
speaking - for example. questioning,
challenging, advising, encouraging,
disapproving, etc. It is likely that other forms
of conversation can be analysed in the same
way; although this is considerably more
difficult. In a more general way, it can be
seen that speakers use various prosodic
components to indicate to others that they
have finished speaking, that another person
is expected to speak, that a particular type
of response is re_quired, and so on. A very
familiar example is that quoted above (p.
197). where the difference between falling
and rising intonation on question-tags is
supposed to indicate to the listener what sort
of response is expected. It seems that key
(the part of the pitch range used) is important
in signalling information about
conversational interaction. We can observe
many examples in non-linguistic behaviour
of the use of signals to regulate turn-taking:
in many sports, for example, it is necessary
to do this - footballers can indicate that
they are looking for someone to pass the ball
to, or that they are ready .to receive the ball,
and doubles partners ill tennis can indicate
to each other who is to play a shot. Intonation,
in conjunction with "body language" such
as eye-contact, facial expression, gestures
and head-turning, is used for similar purposes
in speech, as well as for est:iblishing or
confirming ·the status of the pllrticipants in a
conversation.
1 9.4 C on clu sion s
It seems clear that studying intonation in
relation to discourse makes it possible to theo chllc nang dien thuyet r rang c6
. explain much more comprehensively the the giup ta gii t hich mot cach toan dien
uses ii,t speakers make of intonatio~-. hon ve nhung cach dung ngt dieu ci a
_ Practically all the -separate functions. ngudi noi. Tr@n thuc te, tat ca cac chi c
252
trong giao tiep gil a hai hoac nhieu nguoi
n6i. Phan l6n nghien ct u v e v an de nay
deu nghin cuu o mot loai giao tie'p kha
ha n che - cha ng han nhu gil a bac si v a
benh nhan, giao vien v a hoc sinh hoac
giua hhung ngLloi khac nhau trong cac
phien t a. Trong nhung ngu di~u nhu the,
viec xac dinh m i nguoi that s u dang
n6i gl la dieu tuong doi de dang - vf dtJ,
chat van, thach thuc, cho loi khuyen,
khuyen khich, phan doi, v . v . C6 the cac
hlnh thuc giao tiep khac c6 the' d u q c
pha n tich theo cach tung tu, mac du
viec nay kho hon dang ke'. Theo each
t6'ng quat hdn, ta c6 th€ thay rang nhung
ngudi st dung cac thanh phan ngon di@u
khac d€ cho nguoi khac bie't ding,ho da
n6i xong, rang ho muon nguoi khac muon
n6i, rang ho can mot cau tra loi Cl,l th€
v a v . v . Mot v i du rat quen thuoc da duoc
trfch d~n a tren (trang 197), trong d6 nguoi
ta cho rang su khac nhau giL7a ngu di~u
xuo'ng v a lend cau hdi duoi bao cho
ngudi nghe biet nguoi ta mong doi loai
cau tra loi gi. Duong nhu kh6a (thanh
phan Clla day cuong do d uq c dung) quan
trong trong viec bao hieu thong tin v e
cuoc giao tiep. Chung ta c6 th€ quan sat
nhieu vi du ve hanh vi phi ng6n ngu ci a
viec st dung cac tin hi@u d& di&u chinh
tlnh trang luan phien: d nhieu mon th€
thao, chang han, can phi lam vi ec nay
- cac du thi'1 c6 th€ bao hieu la ho dang
tlm m(it ngLloi _d€ chuyen banh, hay ho
san sang nhan banh, v a nhung cap choi
trong mon quan vo t c6 th€ bao _hi~u cho
nhau bi6t ai dap bong. Nga dieu, cung
vo i "ngon ngu cu chi" nhu su lien lac
bang mat, ve mat, ct chi va ngoanh dau,
duqi:: dung cho cac nlL_IC dich tlfdng tL_I
trong loi n6i, cung nhtl d€ thie't l~p hay
xac nhan tinh trang CLla nhung nguoi
thani gia trong cu@c giao tiep.
19.4 Ket lu,a, n
Duong nhu viec nghien ct u ngd dieu
 25 3
t rad iti o n ally at t ri bu t ed t o i n t o n at i o n
(attit u d i n al , accen t u al an d g rammat i cal )
co u l d b e s een as d i fferen t as p ect s o f
d i s cou rs e fu n ct i o n . T h e ri s k , wi t h s u ch a
b ro ad ap pro ach , i s t h at o n e mi g h t en d u p
mak i n g g en erali s at i on s t h at w ere t o o b ro ad
an d h ad lit tl e p o w er t o p red i ct w it h an y
accu racy t h e i nt o n at i o n t h at a s p eak er w o u l d
u s e i n a p arti cu l ar co n t ex t. It i s t o o earl y y et
t o s ay h o w u s efu l t h e d i s co ur s e ap p ro ach w ill
b e, b u t ev en i f i t ach i ev es n o thing el s e, i t
can at l eas t b e cl ai med t o h av e s h o w n t h e
i n ad eq u acy o f attemp ti n g t o an al y s e t h e
fu n ct i o n o f i n t on at i o n o n t h e b as i s o f i s o l at ed
s en t en ces o r t on e-un it s , remov ed fro m t h ei r
l i ng u i s tic an d s itu at i on al co n t ex t.
nang t heo t ruy en t hong t huoc gan lien
v oi ng@ di@u (bieu t hi t hai do, t rong am
v a ngd phap) co t he dugc x em la ca c
k hia c anh k hac nhau c ua c h&c nang dien
t huy et. Voi c ac h t iep c an rong nhu t he,
co nguy co la ngudi t a co t he kt luan
bang c ac h dua ra nhung dieu k hai quat
qua rang va k hong du k ha nang de t ien
doan c hinh x ac ngt di@u m a m ot ngudi
noi dung t rong m ot t inh huong c u t he.
Van c on qua s om de noi phuong phap
dien t huy et nay s e ht u ic h nhu t he nao,
nhung t ham c hi neu no k hong dat dugc
gi ca, thi it ra nguoi t a v an c ha rang no
da c h@ng m inh s u t hat bai t rong no luc
pha n t ic h c h&c nang c ua ngu di@u t ren
CCIso nhung c au hay don v i t hanh di@u
doc lap, t ac h k hoi ngu c anh ngon ng@
hoc v a theo t inh huong.

Not es on problems and f urther reading

Imp ort an t w o rk w as d o n e o n t h e p l acemen t o f t o n i c s tr es s b y H alli d ay (1 9 67 ); h i s t erm
fo r t h i s i s 't o n i cit y', an d h e ad o p t s t h e w i d ely -u s ed l i ng u i s ti c t erm 'mark ed ' fo r t on i ci t y t h at
d evi at es fro m w h at I h av e called (fo r t h e s ak e o f s i mp lici ty) 'n or mal ' . W i t h i n g en erat i v e
p h o nolog y t h ere h as b een mu ch d eb at e abo ut w h eth er o n e can d et ermi n e t h e p l aci n g o f
t o n i c (' p ri mary ) s t res s w itho u t referri n g t o t h e n on -l in g u i st i c co n t ex t i n w h i ch t h e s p eak er
s ay s s o met h i n g . T h i s d eb at e w as v ery act i v e i n t h e 1 9 7 0 s, w ell s u mmari s ed an d cri t i ci s ed i n
Sch merl i n g (1 9 7 6 ), bu t s ee Bo l i ng er (1 9 72). Fo r mo re recen t acco unt s , s ee Co u p er-K u h l en
(1 9 8 6 : Ch ap t ers 7 an d 8 ) an d L ad d (1 9 9 6: 2 2 1 -3 5 ).
O n e o f t h e mo s t i n t erest i ng d ev elo p ment s o f recen t y ears h as b een t h e emerg en ce o f a
t h eo ry o f d is co u rs e in t on at i on . Read ers u n fami l i ar with t h e s t u dy o f d i s cou rs e may fi n d
s o me i n it i al d i ffi cu l t y i n u nd ers t an din g t h e p ri n ci p l es i n v o lv ed ; t h e b es t i n t ro du cti o n i s
Brazi l et al. (1 9 8 0 ), w h i l e t h e i d eas s et o u t t h ere are g iv en mo re p ract i cal ex p res sion i n
Brazi l ( 1 9 9 4 ). I h av e n o t b een ab l e t o d o mor e t h an s ugg es t t h e ro u g h out lin e o f t h i s
ap pro ach .
T h e t reat men t o f i n ton at i o n al s u b or d i n ati o n i s b as ed n o t o n t h e w o rk o f Brazi l b ut o n
Cry st al an d Q u i rk (1 964 : 5 2 -6 ) an d Cryst al (1 969: 2 3 5 -5 2 ). Th e b asi c p h i l o s o p h y i s t h e
s ame, h o w ev er, i n t h at b o th v i ew s i llu s t rat e t h e fact t h at t h ere i s i n i n t o n at i o n s o me
o rg an is at i o n at a l ev el h i gh er t h an t h e i s o l at ed t on e-u n it ; t h i s w as p o i n t ed out i n t h e
d is cussi o n o f T ri m (1 9 5 9 ; s ee t h e n o t es on Ch ap t er I6 abo v e); s ee al s o Fo x (1 9 73 ). A
p arallel mi g h t b e d raw n w i t h t h e rel at i on s h i p b etw een t h e s en t en ce an d t h e p arag rap h i n
w ri t i n g . It s eems li k el y t h at a con s i d erab l e amou n t o f v alu ab l e n ew res earch on p ro nu n ci at i o n
w i ll g ro w o u t o f t h e s t ud y o f d i s co u rs e.
Not e for teachers
T h e co mmen t ab ou t A u d i o U n it 1 8 at t h e end o f Ch ap t er 1 8 app l i es al s o t o A u d i o U n i t
1 9 : at fi rs t h eari n g i t s eems v ery d i ffi cu l t , b u t w h en w o rk ed o n s t ep by s t ep it i s far fro m
i mpo ss i b l e. II , fact , alt ho u g h t hi s p as s ag e s ou n d s rap i d an d co llo q ui al i t i s s t i ll eas i er t o
an alys e t h an a fu ll-s p eed co n v ers at i on al i nt erch ang e.
 254
Written ex ercises
l. In th e follo win g ex ercis e, read th e
"o p en in g lin e" an d th en d ecid e th e mo s t
s u itab le p lace for to n ic s tres s p lacemen t
(und erlin e th e s y llab le) in th e res p o n s e.
Bai ta p vi&t
1. Trong bai tap sau, doc "dong mo dau"
va sau do quyet dinh vi tri thich hop
nhat cho cach dat thanh dieu ( gach
duoi am ti@t ) trong cau tra loi.

a) I' d lik e yo u to ,h elp me (rig h t) can I d o th e s h op p in g for y o u

b ) I h ear y o u ' re o ffering to d o
th e s ho ppin g for s o meon e
c) Wh at was th e firs t th in g th at ,h.;um en ed
d ) Was th e th eo ry ex p lain ed b y ,s tu d en ts
e) Tell me h o w th e ,th eo ry was p res en ted
D) I th in k it s tarts at ten to ,th ree
g ) I th ink it s tarts at qu arter p as t ,th ree
h ) I th in k it s tarts at ten p as t fou r
(righ t) can I d o th e s h o pp in g for y o u
firs t th e p rofesso r ex p lain ed h er th eo ry
n o firs t th e p rofess o r ex p lain ed h er th eo ry
firs t s h e ex p lain ed h er th eo ry
n o ten p as t th ree
no ten p as t th ree
no ten p as t th ree

2 . Th e follo win g s en ten ces are g iv en
with o u t p u n ctu atio n . Un d erlin e th e
ap p rop riate to n ic s y llab le p laces an d
mark to n e-u n it b ou n d aries wh ere y o u
th in k th ey are ap p rop riate.
2. Nhung cau sau dugc dua ra ma khong
co dau cau. Gach dudi vi tri am ti@t
thanh di@u va danh dau ranh gioi don
vi thanh dieu thich hop o vi tri ma
ban nghi chung thich hp co.

a) (he wrote the letter in a sad way) h e wro te th e letter s ad ly

b ) (it's regrettable that he wrote the letter) h e wrote th e letter s ad ly
c) four p lu s s ix d iv id ed b y two equ als fiv e
d ) fou r p lu s s ix d iv id ed b y two equ als s ev en
e) we b rok e o n e th ing after an o th er fell d o wn
f) we b rok e o n e th ing after an o th er th at n ig h t
 255

CHUONG 20

acoustic phonetic level /a' ku:strk fo' netrk ' levl/ cup d(J ngil iim thanh h(JC I iim
fr.QC

articulatory phonetic level /n:' trkjolatn fa' net1k ' levl/ cilp d{} ngil iim cii'u iim
auditory phonetic level /' ::i:d1tr1 fa' net,k ' levl/ cap d o ng? am thinh giac
brain scanning /' brern ,ska:nnJI c hup hinh nao

co-ordination /kau,:dr ' ne1[n/ (n) s ph6i hap

cross language /,kros ' la:1.19w1dy (adj) gita c dc ngon ng?

dialectology /,da,alek' tolad31/ (n) plut1111g n g L7 h( > c

electrode /J' lektraod/ (n) d i fn qtc

electromyography /J,l ektra( o) mm' ograf1/ (n) d i @n ca do

electropalatography /J,lektra( o) ,pa:la' tografT/ (n) d i fn n g q c d d

far from /,fa: ' from/ (idiom) khfing Ire (= not at all)
field worker /'fi:ld ,w3:b/ (n) n g ui ng h i e n ct u tr@en thuc dia
incomprehensible /m,kornpn' hensabl/ (adj) kluJng tlui' lri d' u di t(fC

phonetic data /fo,net1k ' de,ta, - ' da:ta/ d ii l i fu ngir um

pre-vocalic /,pri:va (o) ' ka:hk/ (adj) trit lic nguy en iim

radiation /,re1d1' e1Jn/ (n) b t c xg

radiographic /,re1drn( o) ' gra:f1k/ (adj) c h(J fJ X qu a ng

slip of the tongue /' shp av oa 'tAI)! noi nham

spectrographic /,spektra(o) ' ga:flk/ (adj) th a n h pho
speech chain /'spi:tJ ,tJem/ day ch u yi n n g {) n. n.gl7, dtriin.g
dc1y truv 211 ngiJn.
speech database /' spi:tJ ,de1tabe1s/ kho dil li fu lt ti 1u>i

speech error /' spi:tJ ,era/ n6i n h d m

speech synthesis /'spi:tJ ' sm8as1s/ st tong hap ti n g n o i
static /' sta:t1k/ (adj) tinh
synthesiser /sm8asa1z;i/ (n) may tong hap ti@ng noi, may am
thanh d i ? 1i t it
synthetic speech /sm' Betrk ,spi:tf/ ti,J'ng 1ufi tren. mciy cim thanh
d ie n tit

20 Further areas of study in phonetics_and
phonology
2 0 Cac linh vtfc nghien cuu chuyen sau
hon ve ngu am hoc va am vi hoc
This chapter completes the course by
looking at two further areas of study. Each is
important in its own way, and each is an area
on which students working at an advanced
level in phonetics and phonology spend a
considerable amount of time.
20.1 Laboratory phonetics
"1.
Experimental phonetics has been an
important part of phonetics for most of the
twentieth century, and experimental work
in phonetics laboratories has produced many
important discoveries about how speech is
produced and perceived. Too often,
however, this area of the subject has been
regarded as a mysterious world where
incomprehensible things are done with
expensive equipment. This situation is
changing rapidly, and one consequence of
the easier availability of instrumental speech
analysis techniques is that the fields of
descriptive phonetics, pronunciation
teaching and experimental phonetics have
become much more closely linked.
Computers and the software needed to
analyse speech are becoming much cheaper,
and the increasing accessibility of the
Internet is adding to the availability of
suitable technology.
In explaining the subject matter of
experimental phonetics it is helpful to start
by looking at the s peech cha i n, which may
be diagrammed in simplified form like this:
256
Chuong nay hon tat quyen sach bang
each xem xet hai linh vuc nghien cuu
chuyen sau hon. Moi linh vuc deu co
tam quan trong rieng, va deu la li mn vuc
ma sinh vien dang nghi@n c?a ngd am
hoc va am vi hoc a tri"'·, d(l cao danh
mot th' i luong dang ie.
2 0 .1 Ngu a m hqc thLjc nghi~m
Ng Ct am hoc thuc nghiem la mot phan
quan trong cua n gCt am hoc gan het the'
ky hai mlfdi, va c6ng tac tht nghiem trong
nhung phong thi nghiern ve ngt7 am hoc
da dua den nhieu kham pha quan trong
v cach phat am va tiep nhan ngu am.
Tuy nhien, thong thuong linh vuc nghien
cCtu nay duoc xem la m(lt the gioi day
bi i n, la lldi ma ngttoi ta lam nhCtng dieu
kh6 hi&u bang nhung thiet bi dat ti n.
Tinh hinh nay dang thay d6i rn(lt each
nhanh chong va do co san cac ky thut
phan tich loi noi bang dung cu ma cac
linh vuc ve ngd am hoc mo ta, day cach
phat am va ngCt am hoc thuc nghiem da
trd nen co moi quan he chat che hon
nhieu. May tinh va phan mem can de
phan tfch loi n6i dang ngay cang tra nen
re hon, va viec gia tang kha nang tiep
can Internet dang gop phan vao viec tao
ra san c6ng nghe thich hQ'p.
De giai thich chi de n g Ct am hoc tht_tc
nghim, ta se thay ht u ich khi bat dau
bang each xem xet ch u i l o i n o i , c6 the
duoc lap thanh so do 8 dang don gin
nht/ sau:
 257
transmission
speaker' s ➔ speaker' s ➔ of sound
brain vocal tract through air
l 2 3 4
a rti cul a to ry a co ucti c
pho neti c pho neti c
l ev el l ev el
niio cua ➔ dudng dan thanh > truyen am qua» tai ngu'oi
ngudi noi cua ngu'oi n6i kh6ng khi nghe
1 2 3 4
ca p d cap do
ngu am ng l am ho c
ca'u am tha nh ho c
With currently available technology we
are not able to discover what goes on in detail
in the brain when someone is speaking (Stage
l ). although we can make informed guesses
based on evidence such as speech errors
(" slips of the tongue" ), the effects on speech
production of different sorts of brain damage
and the evidence of brain scanning.
Much more is known about Stage 2, the
articulatory aspect of speech production.
Many special instruments have been
developed to help us to find out aboutt such
things as the pressur,e of air in the lungs and
the vocal tract. the flow of air out of the
mouth and nose, the opening and closing of
the vocal folds and of the soft palate, and the
movement of articulators like the lips and
the lower jaw. X-ray techniques were used
extensively for examining the movements
of articulators until the 1970s, and produced
very important discoveries, but it later
became clear that there were serious health
risks in using normal radiographic and
cineradiographic technology (in the early
l 970s I received - at my own request - a
large amount of radiation through
cineradiographic recording of my larynx for
my research, which I now find a little
worrying!). Safer "microbeam" techniques
with much lower doses of radiation were
developed in the 1980s, but even those are
now linle used. Contact between the tongue
➔ listener' s ➔ listener' s
ear brain
5
a udi to ry
p h o n e ti c
l ev el
➔ nao 'ngttdi
nghe
5
ca p do
ng u am
thi nh am
Voi cong nghe co san hien nay, chung
ta kh6ng the kham pha chi ti&t dieu gi
dang dien ra trong bo nao ki mot ngudi
dang n6i (Giai doan 1 ), mac du chung ta
c6 the dua ra nhung du doan dua tr@ ll
chCtng co nhu loi phat am ("l iu luoi"), tac
dong cua cac loai phat am khac nhau
do nao bi t6n ha i va dua tren du vet
cua ke't qua quet nao.
Ta bit rd hon ve giai _doan 2, W e la
khia canh cau am cl a viec phat am.
Nhieu dung cu dac biet da duoc phat
trien de git1p chung ta tlm hieu ve nhCtng
dieu nhu ap suat khong khi trong ph6i
va duong dc'ln thanh, lu6ng khi ra khoi
mi~ng va 1mii, tlnh trang lllo' va dong
cua cac day thanh am va Clla vom mieng
mem, va su chuyen dich cua cac bo phan
cau am nhu moi va ham duoi. Cac k y
thuat X quang da duoc dung rong rai de
kiem tra s u chuyen dich c ua cac bo phan
Call am cho den nhung nam 1970, va da
c6 nhung kham pha ra't quan trong, nhung
sau d6 ro rang c6 .nhi€u nguy co nghiem
trong anh hung den st c khoe khi st dung
cong nghe chup X quang va va X quang
d(> ng (vao dau nhung nam 19 70 to i da
tiep nhan - theo yeu cau cl a toi - mot
luqng Ion phat xa thong qua viec gh i la i
hlnh anh chup X quang dong Cllil thanh
quan cho viec nghien cuu cda toi, day
la diu ma hien gio toi thay co chut lo
lang!) Cac k y thuat "microbeam" an toan
 2 58
and the palate can be measured electrically
by means of electropalatography (EPG},
where a piece of moulded plastic is fitted to
the hard palate. This false palate is similar to
the palate that holds false teeth for those
who have them but. instead of having teeth,
this ·palate contains small electrodes that can
detect the contact of the tongue with the
hard palate. This technique can reveal agreat
deal of interesting information about the
working of the tongue during speech.
Additionally. it is possible to detect the
electrical activity that is produced when
muscles contract, through electromyography
(EMG), and we can thus observe the complex
co-ordination of activity in the muscles
controlling speech production. Although
most of these techniques are expensive and
difficult to use. it is possible that at least some
of them may become more easily available.
They can be very useful both for discovering
in detail how English speakers produce their
speech sounds, and for demonstrating to
learners of English their pronunciation errors
in a way that helps them to correct them. To
give a simple example, recording the airflow
from speakers' mouths can show how
successfully they are producing the
aspiration appropriate for syllable-initial p,
t and k.
Stage 3, the transmission of sound waves
through the air, is studied by a co us tic
a na ly s is . Much has been discovered about
the sounds of speech in this way. We can
discover the physical events that produce
the perceptual characteristics of speech
sounds, including the dura tion of sounds or
syllables (we often refer to duration as
"length"}, the intens ity of different sounds
(which is closely related to the loudness that
we perceive). and the fundamental
frequency of voiced sounds (which is closely
related to pitch). Until recently, the acoustic
analysis of speech was such a slow and
laborious business that only small samples
of speech could he analysed; however,
developments in computer technology have
made it possible to carry out analysis on a
hon voi cac lieu buc xa thap hon da duoc
phat trien vao nhung nam 1980, nhung
thm chi nhung ky thuat do ngdy nay it
duoc st dung. Su tiep xuc gil a luoi va
vom mieng co the dudc do bang di@n
ngac d6 (EPG), vdi mot mi ng nhua duc
lap vl a vao vom mieng cung. Vom mieng
gia ny giong nhu vom ming git ham
rang gia cha nhung nguoi dung rang gii ,
nhu'ng thay vl c6 rang, vom mieng nay
ch@a cac dien cuc nho co the phat hien
su tiep xuc cua lui voi vom miensc(g.
Ky thuat ny co the cho thay nhieu thong
tin ly thu v@ each hoc) t dong ci a luoi
trong qua trlnh n6i. Ngoai ra con co the
phat hi@n hoat dong do dien sinh ra khi
c d co rut , qua di@en co d 6 (EMG), va vi
the ta co the quan sat SL./ phoi hQ'p phllc
tap cda hoat dong o cac co nham kiem
soat viec phat am. Mac du hau h t
nhung ky thuat nay ton kem va klio SL'(
dung nhung ft ra m o t so ky thuat nay c6
the tro nen d@ ti€ip can hon. Nhetng ky
thuat nay ra't hetu lch trong Vl~C kham
pha mc)t each chi tiet cach nht ng ngudi
noi tieng Anh phat am, va de chung mmnh
vi ngudi hoc ti@ng Anh thay l i phat
am n1a ho nham giup ho sda sai Lay vf
du don gian la ght lai luong ho tt mueng
nguoi n6i c6 the cho thy nuc do th."rnh
c6ng cua ngL/oi phat ra d o bill hoi thicl•
hQ'p cha p, t, k o vi tri dau am tiet
Giai doan 3, W e la g,ai clo;in truyen
song am qua kh6ng khf, clL(Oc nghien n/u
bang vi@c phan tich am hoc Theo cach
nay da c6 nhieu kham pha ve ngt1 am.
Chung ta c6 the kham pha rht ng s u krn
vat ly gay ra cac dac diem ve mat tri gac
ct'ia ngft am, bao gom thhi khoang ci a cac
am hay am tiet (chung ta thuong de cap
thoi khoang la "d(i d;i i' ), cu·ong d o cua
cac am khac nhau ( on co len qua n m1%1
thiet voi de;, vang ma chC11,g t;:i 11h;i1 th.a'yl,
va tan s6 co ban cua ca, am htuu thanh
(c6 lien quan mat th1et vdi do CL/Ongl. Mai
cha den gan day, vic phan tich am hoc
ngu am van con la mot cong viec ch;,111
chap va kh6 nhoc ma chl c6 cac mu ngu
am nho moi co the dudc phan tich; tuy
e
nhien, SL/ phat trien cong ngl may tuh

much larger scale. Software for acoustic
analysis and spectrographic displays of
speech is available at little or no cost via the
internet, and it is now possible to get a
computer to produce a simple phonetic
transcription of what is said to it.
Computers can provide additional
pronunciation training at times when a human
teacher is not available, and can help children
with hearing and speech disorders to improve
their speech. Since (as mentioned above) it is
possible to produce an accurate computer
analysis of the fundamental frequency of
speech. this can be displayed on a screen to
help someone in practising the production of
prosodic features of speech.
Phor.e 1ic 0 p
SOC<)
4500
4 0C0
3 500
2
2 500
1500
1000
500
0
R ectJk . 0.300 0 .4 00
Fig. 15 Spectrogram of phrase ' shopping centre'
Hirih 15 Thanh ph cl a cum tt 'shopping center'
Finally. it is of great importance to
discover more about how the listener' s brain
identi.fics what it receives from the ear
(Stages 4 and 5). Many experiments have
shown how sensitive human beings are to
very slight acoustic differences and how
flexible they are in being able to adjust to
very different speakers. We are also very
strongly influenced by our expectations: if
we have heard and understood half a
sentence, it seems that our brain is already
guessing at what the rest of it will be before
it is heard, and is certainly not acting in a
259
da co the giup thuc hien vi@c phan tich
tren quy mo l6n. Phan mem dung cho viec
phan tich am hoc va cac man hinh hien
th! thanh ph6 Clla ngu am c6 san v6'i 111Qt
it chi phi hoac mien phi thong qua Internet,
va hi~n nay ta c6 th€ dung may tinh de
_dua ra phien am don gian theo ngCt am
hoc cua nhung gl d dugc noi.
Cac may tinh co the ho trd viec do
tc)O each phat am b sung vao nhmng luc
khong co giao vien, va giup tre em bi khiem
thinh hay co tat ve noi cai thi n loi noi ca
chung. Vi (nhu da de cap tren) ta c6 the
thuc hi@en vi@c phan tich tan so co ban cl a
loi noi m(>t each chinh xac bang cach dt:mg
may tinh, nen ket qua phan tich co the du@c
hi&n thi tren man hinh de giup ngudi ta tap
tao ra cac dac diem ngon di@u cl a loi noi.
0
t ( secl 0 ,7 00 0 .&CO 0.900 1.COO
Cuoi cCrng, di@u V O ct'rng quan trong
la tim hieu them ve cach ma bo nao
cl a ngudi nghe nhan biet nht ng gi ma
no tiep nhan tu tai (Giai doan 4 va 5).
Nhieu cuoc tht nghiem da cho tha'y con
ngudi nhay cam nhu the no vdi nhang
khac biet rat nho v am cung nhu linh
hoat nhu the no trong viec dieu chinh
sao cho phu hop voi nhung ngudi noi ra't
khac nhau. Chung ta crJng bi anh hung
manh me bdi nh@ng dieu k vong ci a
chung ta: neu chu ng ta nghe va hie\ ,
duoc nda cau, du' ng nhu bo nao cl a
 260
passive way like a simple machine. To help
in discovering the organisation a and the
capabilities of our ability for perceiving
speech, we need to be able lo produce very
small and finely-controlled differences in
speech sounds. Experimental phonetics has
made much use of speech produced through
the technique of s peech s y nthes i s . The best
speech synthesis is capable of producing
speech of such high quality that only an
expert can distinguish it from a recording of
a human being' s speech; less sophisticated
synthesisers are now often provided at no
cost with ordinary personal computers. It is
possible that synthetic speech may have a
useful role lo play in testing language
learners' ability to perceive important
segmental and suprasegmental distinctions
in the language they are learning. We can
also make many discoveries about
perception by modifying and manipulating
recordings of real speech. Tricks such as
cutting sounds out of words, playing sounds
backwards, lengthening or shortening
syllables and modifying the intonation of a
sentence are all relatively easy to do and
can provide surprising results.
One of the major problems in the
experimental study of speech is the
enormous amount of v a ri a bili ty found both
within the speech of an individual and among
different speakers. This means that if we
study only one or two speakers, it is likely
that our results will not be typical of other
speakers. Much modern speech research
makes use of collections of very large
amounts of spoken data stored in digital form
on computers in a form which allows the
computer to search and process examples of
particular types of phonetic data. Such
collections are known as s peech da ta ba s es .
Examples from my own research include
searching for all fall-rise intonation
patterns in six hours of BBC speech
(producing several thousand examples), and
comparing the durations of different types
chu ng ta da doa n ra duoc phan con lai
la gl tru'c\'c khi nghe het, va chiic chiin
la kh6 ng tlw di;> ng n htt m(>t ca i ma Y· ddn
gian. De giip kham pha cach to' chlfc
va kha nang tiep nhan loi noi, chung ta
can phai c6 kha nang tao ra nhCtng kha c
biet ra't nho va d u' q c kie'm soat tinh te
ve mat n gCt am. Ngu am hoc thuc nghiem
da dung nhiu am phat ra boi ky thuat
"tong hp tieng n6i" . Ky thuat tong hQ'p
ting noi tot nhat c6 kha nang tao ra am
c6 chat lu'Q'ng cao den n6i ch1 c6 chuyen
gia moi co the phan biet no voi am ghi
lqi lc'Ji noi cda con nguoi; cac cong cu
t6ng hqp tieng n6i it tinh vi hdn hien nay
tlntong dL(Q'C cung cap mien phi cCing voi
cac may tfnh ca nhan binh tlntong. Co
the' loi 116i nhan tc)O dong mc)t vai tr6
h Ct u fch de kiem tra kha nang cua ngudi
nghe trong viec tiep nhan nhung khac
biet doan tinh va sieu doan tinh quan
trong d ngon n gCt ma ho dang hoc. Chung
ta cling c6 the co nhieu kham pha ve su
n]an th&c bang cach chinh sta va xt ly
cac am thanh ghi lai loi noi that su. Cac
ky thu~t nhtt dt am khi loi noi, phat
am nguoc, keo di hay rut ngan cac am
tiet vi thay doi ngd dieu cla mot cau
tat ca de LI c6 the c1Lfc/C thuc hien me) t
each de dang va c6 the tao ra cac ket
qua dang ngac nhien.
Mc)t trong nhung van de chfnh trong
viec nghin ctu loi noi bang thuc nghiem
la lu'Q'ng b ien d6i Ion du'Q'c tim thay trong
li noi ca mot ca nhan va gillcl nhung
nguoi noi khac nhau. Dieu nay co nghfa
la neu chung ta ch1 nghien ecru mot hoac
hai nguoi noi, co the ket qua cia chung
ta se khong phai la dac thu cia nhung
nguoi n6i khac. each nghien c(t u lai n6i
hien dai hon nhieu st dung cac tap hop
g6m de lt/qng ra"t Ion dt7 lieu n6i It/LI Cl
dang ky thuat so tren may tfnh theo mot
dang ma cho phep may tfnh tim kiem va
xd ly cac mau dt lieu ngd am thuoc
cac loai dac bi@t. Cac tap hop nhu the
goi la co so du lieu loi noi. Cac mau tt
nghien cuu cda rieng toi bao gom viec
tim kiem cac mo hlnh ngu dieu xuong­
len trong sau gio ph.it 5m giong BBC (tao
 261
o f s oun d i n a d at ab as e co mp ri s i n g a n u mb er
o f d i fferen t l ang u ag es t o l " o k fo r cro s s­
l an g u ag e d i fferen ces and s i mi l ari t i es .
20. 2 T he stu d y of var ie ty
T h e p rev i ou s s ecti on end ed w i t h a b ri ef
i n t ro du ct io n t o t h e s u b j ect o f v ari ab ili t y i n
s p eech . O n e t y p e o f v ari ab i l i t y i s s een i n
t h e d i fferen ces amon g accen t s o f En g li s h ,
an d t h i s i s a s ubj ect t h at man y s t u d ent s o f
En g l i sh fi nd i n t eres tin g an d w i s h t o k n o w
mo re abou t. Fo r a l o n g t i me, t h e s tu d y o f
accen t s w as p art o f t h e s u b j ect o f
di a l ecto log y , w h i ch ai med t o i d en ti fy all t h e
w ay s i n w h i ch a l ang u ag e d i ffered fro n1 p l ace
t o p l ace. D i al ect o l o g y i n i t s t rad i t i o n al fo rm
i s t h erefo re p ri n ci p ally i n t eres t ed i n
g eo g raph i cal di fferen ces ; i t s b es t-k no w n
d at a-g at h eri n g t ech n i q u e w as t o s en d
res earch ers (u s u ally called "fi eld -w o rk ers " )
mai n l y i nt o ru ral areas (w h ere th e s p eak ers
w ere b eliev ed t o b e l es s lik el y t o h av e b een
i nflu en ced b y o t h er accen t s ), t o fi n d el d erl y
s p eak ers (w h o s e s p eech w as b eliev ed t o
!rav e b een l es s i n fl u en ced b y o t h er accen t s
an d t o p res erv e o l d er fo rms o f t h e d i al ect )
an d t o u s e lis t s o f q u es t i on s t o fi nd
i n fo rmat i o n ab ou t v o cabu l at y an d
p ro nun ci at i on , t h e ~u es ti o n s b ei n g ch a.s en
t o co n cen t rat e o n i t ems k no w n t o v ery a l o t
fro m reg i o n t o reg i o n . Su rv ey s o f t h i s k i n d
can p ro v i d e t h e b as i s fo r man y
g en eralis at i o n s abou t g eo g rap h i cal
v ari at i o n, b u t t h ey h av e· s eri o u s w eak n ess es .
D i fferen ces b et w een accent s are o f t w o
mai n s o rt s : pho neti c an d pho no l o g ic al.
W h en t w o accent s d i ffer fro m each o t h er o n l y
p h o n et i cally , w e fi n d t h e s ame s et o f
p hon emes i n b ot h accen t s , b u t s o me o r all o f
t h e p h o n emes are real (s ed d i fferen t l y . T h ere
may al s o b e d i fferen ces i n s t res s o r
i n to n at i on . b u t n o t s u ch as w ou l d cau s e a
ch an g e i n mean i n g ' . A s an ·ex amp le o f
p h o n et ic d i fferen ces at t h e s eg men t al l ev el ,
i t i s s ai d t h at A u s t ralian En g lis h h as t h e s ame
s et o f p h o n emes ' and p hon emi c co n t rast s as
ra v at ngan m au), v a s o s anh do di c la
ca c lo;,t i am k hac nhau t rong m c) t C d s o
du lieu gom c o m ot s o ngon ngt k hac
nhau d€ t lm nhung s u k hac bit v a llf ong
d6ng giua cac ng6n ngu.
2 0 .2 N ghie n cuu ve sg bien doi
Phan t ruoc d kt t huc bang c ac h gioi
t hiu v an t at c hi de v e st bien d6i t rong
loi noi. N guoi t a t hay m ot loai bien d6i
cJ nhung Sl/ k hac biet giua c ac giong n6i
t ieng Anh, v a day la c hi de m a nhieu
hoc v ien Anh nga t hy t htu v i v a m uo' n
biet nhieu hon. T rong m <;\t t hoi gian dai, .
_v iec nghien cCtu giong n6i la m ot phan
c la c hi de "phuong ng u ho c", nham x ac
dinh t at ca nhC(ng k hf a C i)nh m a m <;\t ng6n
ngu k hac nhau gida c ac ndi. D o d6, t heo
dang t ruy en t hong, phuong ngt hoc v e
nguy en t i'ic lien quan den Sl/ k hac biet
ve dja ly ; k y t huat t hu thap du lieu pho
bien nhat la gcJi c ho c ac nha nghien c Ctu
(t hLt ong goi la ."nha nghien cCtu t ren t huc
dia") c hi y eu & c ac v ung n6ng t han {noi
m a ngudi t a t in rang ngudi noi f t c6 k ha
nang bi anh hucJng bcJi c ac giong k hac ),
tl m ra nhung nguoi n6i Ion t u6i (tCtc la
nguoi c6 loi n6i m a nguoi t a t in la ft bi
anh hudng bdi cac giong k hac v a baa
t on c ac hinh thai phuong ngu C Li hon) v a
dung danh s ac h c ac c au hoi de t lm t hong
t in Ve tu Vt.m g v a c ac h phat am , c ac ca u
hoi dugc c hon t ap t rung v ao nldng noi
dung m a nguoi t a biet la t hay d6i t t'1y
t heo v ing. C ac c uoc k hao s at k ieu nay
c6· t h€ lam c o s d c ho nhiu dieu k hai
quat v e s u t hay doi dia ly , nhung c hung
c ung c 6 nhung y eu diem he t rong.
Su k hac biet gila c ac giong noi gom
hai loai c hinh: ve mat ngu am v a ve mat
am vj. Khi hai giong k hac nhau c hi v e
m at ngu am hoc , c hung t a thay c ac tap
ht1 p, am vi giong nhau· c3' ca hai giong.
nhung nguoi t a nhn t hay m ot s o hoc
t at ca c ac am v i k hac nhau. C L1n.g c6
t he'co s u k hac nh,au· a t rong am hoac
ngt dieu, nhung nhung k hac biet nhu t he
k h6ng lam t hay tj6 i y nghia . .V f d~1 ve s~t
k hac biet ng@ am u cap doan t inh la ngudi
t a noi rang t ieng Anh giong ' c co t ap

BBC pronunciation, yet Australian
pronunciation is so different from that accent
that it is easily recognised. A word of caution
should be given here: it is all too easy. to
talk about such things as "Australian English" ,
"American; English" and so on, and to ignore
the variety that inevitably exists within a
large community of speakers. Each
individual' s speech is different from any
other' s; it follows from this that no one
speaker can be taken to represent a particular
accent or dialect, and it also follows that the
idea of a standard pronunciation is a
convenient fiction, not a scientific fact.
Many accents of English also differ
noticeably in intonation without the
difference being such as would cause a
difference in meaning; some Welsh accents,
for example, have a tendency for unstressed
syllables to be higher in pitch than stressed
syllables. Such a difference is, again, a
phonetic one. An example of a phonetic
(non-phonological) difference in stress
would be the stressing of the final syllable
of verbs ending in ' -ise' in some Scottish and
Northern Irish accents (e.g. ' realise' na'la1Z).
Phonological differences are of various
types: again, we can divide these into
segmental and suprasegmental. Within the
area of segmental phonology the most
obvious type of difference is where one
accent has a d:fferent number of phonemes
(and hence of phonemic contrasts) from
another. Many speakers with Northern
English accents. fu example, do not have a
contrast between A and u. so that ' luck' and
' look' are pronounced identically (both as
luk ) ; in the case of consonants, many accents
do not have the phoneme h. so that there is
no difference in pronunciation between 'art'
and ' heart' . The phonemic system of such
accent~ 1s therefore different from that of the
BBC accent. On the other hand, some accents
differ from others in having more phonemes
and phonemic contrasts. For example, many
262
h<;ip cac am vi va su khac biet ve am vi
giong nhu cach phat am giong BBC,
nhung cach phat am giong Uc khac voi
giong do den n8i d@ nhan ra. Mt)t ti::1 dn
luu y nen duoc dua ra a day: ta qua de
dang noi ve nhung dieu nhu "tieng Anh
giong Uc", "tieng Anh giong My" va v.v.,
va bo qua s u bien di chac chan co trong
111Qt cqng d6ng Ion nht7ng ngLlo'i n6i. Loi
noi cia moi ca nhan khac voi loi noi
cua nglloi khac; tu do suy ra rang khong
mot nguoi noi nao co the duoc cho la
dien hinh cla mot giong hay phllong ngCI
dac bi@t, va cuing suy ra rang y niem ve
cach phat am chucln la dieu noi ra cha
tien, cht khong phai la s u kien mang
tfnh khoa hoc.
Nhi&u giong ting .Anh cung khac
nhau dang ke o ngu dieu ma khong khac
nhau den muc gay ra khac biet ve mat
nghia; tnQt so giong XLr Wales ch~ng
han, co khuynh huong doc cac am tiet
khong nha'n voi cllong dQ cao hon cac
am tiet du;c nhan. Su khac bi@t nhu the
la khac bi@t ve mat ngd am. Mot vi du
v su khac biet ngd am (khong phai am
vi) o trong am la cach dat trong am cla
am tiet sau cung cia cac dong tt tan
cung bang '-ise' a cac giong Xlf Xcc5't­
len va Bae Ai Len (vi d~1: 'realise' na'laiz).
Su khac bi@t ve am vi hoc gom cac
loai khac nhau: mot lan nta chung ta co
th€ chia nhung SL_/ khac biet nay thanh
cac cap do doan tinh va sieu doan tinh.
Trong pham vi am vi hoc doan tinh, loai
khac biet ro rang nha' t la khi cac mc)t
giong c6 mc)t so ILIQ'ng am vi khac nhau
(do d6 co nhung net tLICing phan am vi)
khac nhau. Nhieu ngui n6i v6'i giong Bae
Anh, chang han, khong c6 net tuong phan
giua A va u, vl the 'luck' va 'look' dLl(Jc
phat am giong nhau (ca hai deu phat am
la luk ); trong truong hop cla cac phu am,
nhieu giong khong co am vi h , vl the kh6ng
co s u khac biet & cach phat am gila 'art'
va 'heart' . H~ thong am vj cua cac giong
nhu· the do do khac v6' i he thong am vi
cia giong BBC. Mt khic, mot so giong
khac voi cac giong khac vl co them cac
 263
Northern English accents have a long e:
sound as the realisation of the phoneme
symbolised eT in BBC (which is a simple
phonetic difference); but in some Northern
accents there is both an er diphthong
phoneme and also a contrasting long vowel
phoneme that can be symbolised as e:. Words
like ' eight' and ' reign' are pronounced et,
rem, while ' late' , ' rain' (with no ' g' in the
spelling) are pronounced le:t, rc:n.
A more complicated kind of difference
is where. without affecting the overall set of
phonemes and contrasts, a phoneme has a
distri- bution in one accent that is different
from the same phoneme' s distribution in
another accent. The obvious example is r,
which is restricted to occurring in pre-vocalic
position in BBC pronunciation. but in many
other accents is not restricted in this way.
Another example is the occurrence of j
between a consonant and u:, o or ua ; in BBC
pronunciation we can find the following:
'pew' pju:, 'tune' tju:n, 'queue' kju:. However,
in many American accents and in some
English accents of the South and East we
find that, while 'pew' is pronounced pju: and
'queue' as kju:, ' tune' is pronounced tu:n; this
absence of j is found after the other alveolar
consonants, hence: 'due' du:; 'new' nu:.
We also find another kind of variation:
in the example just given above, the
occurrence of the phonemes being discussed
is determined by their phonological context;
however. sometimes the determining factor
is lexical rather than phonological. For
example, in many accents of the Midlands
and North-Western England a particular set
of words containing a vowel (represented by
'o' in the spelling) is pronounced as A in BBC
but as o in these other accents; the list of
words includes ' one', ' none' , ' nothing' ,
'tongue' , 'mongrel' and 'constable' . One result
of this difference is that such accents have
different pronunciations for the two members
of pairs of words that are pronounced
identically (i.e. are hom opho nes ) in BBC,
e.g. ' won' and ' one' , ' nun' and ' none' . For
ain vi va nhung net tuong phan am vi. Vi
du, nhieu giong Bae Anh c6 am e: dai
nhu dang the hien cua am vi ky hieu er o
giong BBC (l a stJ khac bie t ngt am don
gian); nhung o mot so giong mien Bac co
ca am vi nhi trung am er va cung co am
vi nguyen am dai tuong phan c6 the k y
hieu la e:. Cac tt nhtl 'eight' va 'reign'
dt(Q'C phat am e1t, rem, trong khi 'late' ,
'rain' (khong c6 'g' o dang chinh ta) d u o
phat am la l e:t, re:n.
Mot loai khac biet phuc tap hon la
khi mot am vi c6 each phan boa 11191
giong khac voi cach phan b6 cua cung
mot am vi d6 o mot giong khac ma khong
anh huong den toan bo tap hop cac am
vi va cac net tuong phan. Vi du ro rang
nhat la r, am nay xuat hen han che o vi
tri truoc nguyen am trong cach phat am
BBC, nhung a nhi~u giong khac n6 kh6ng
bi han che nhu the nay. Mot vi du khac
la su xut hi@n cua j gia mot phu am
va u:, u hoac ua ; e1 cach phat am BBC, ta
c6 the thy nhung trui ng hop sau: 'pew'
pju:, 'tune' tju:n, 'queue' kju:. Tuy nhien,
o nhieu giong My va mot so giong Anh
o mien Nam va Dong, ta thay rang, trong
khi 'pew' duoc phat am la pju: va 'queue'
la kju:, 'tune' duoc phat am la tu:n, ngttoi
ta thay su thieu vang j sau cac phu am
lc;1i khac, do d6 'due' dLIQ'C phat am la
du: ; 'new' la nu: .
Chung ta cung thay mot loai bien doi
khac: trong vi dt_l vt a duoc cho 8 tren,
su xuat hien ca cac am vi dang duoc
tho luan duoc quyet dinh boi ngt canh
am vi hoc cda chung; tuy nhi n, doi khi
yeu to quyet dinh la tu vung ch& khong
phai am vi, Vi du, nhieu giong o vi ng
trung du va Tay Bac Anh, mot tap hop
dac biet gom cac tu ch(a mot nguy@n
am (viet o dang chinh ta la 'o') dtl(IC
phat am la A theo each phi t am BBC
nhung la o a nhung giong khac nay; danh
sach cac tt la 'one', 'none', 'nothing',
'tongue', 'mongrel' va 'constable' Ket
qua ci a su khac biet nay la cac giong
nhLI the co cac cach phat am khac nhau
cho cac cap tu von duoc phat am giong
nhau (tt c la, d6 la nhCtng tu d cing am) r1

ex amp le, in my o wn p ron u n ciatio n wh en I
was y o u n g , I h ad D in s tead o f A in th es e
wo rd s, s o th at 'wo n ' was p ronou n ced WA D an d
'o n e' as wn n 'n u n ' as n An and 'n o n e' as n on
It wo u ld b e s atis fy in g to b e ab le to lis t
ex amp les o f p ho n o log ical d ifferen ces
b etween accen ts in th e area o f s tres s an d
in ton ation bu t, u n fortu n ately, s traigh tforward
ex amp les are n o t av ailab le. We do n o t y et
k no w en o u g h abo u t th e ph ono lo g ical
fun ctio n s o f s tres s an d in to n ation , an d n o t
en o u g h wo rk h as b een d o n e o n co mp arin g
accen ts in terms o f th es e facto rs . It will b e
n eces s ary to s h o w h o w o n e accen t is ab le to
mak e s o me d ifferen ce in mean ing with s tres s
o r in to n atio n th at ano th er accen t is u n ab le to
mak e. It is v ery p rob ab le th at s u ch d ifferences
d o ex is t, an d th at th ey will in d u e co u rs e b e
id en tified by s u itab le res earch wo rk .
It was men tio n ed earlier in th is s ection
th at th ere were weak n es s es in th e d es crip tion
o f accen ts in terms o f g eo g rap h ical v ariatio n
alo n e; th e s tu dy o f s o cio lin g u is tics h as
s ho wn th e impo rtan ce o f con s id ering o th er
s o u rces o f v _ariatio n . We can fin d d ifferen ces
in p ronun ciation (as well as in o th er field s o f
lin g u is tic an aly s is ) res u lting fro m v ario u s
facto rs th at we co u ld call "s tatic" in flu en ces
in clu d in g (in ad d itio n to g eo g rap h ical
o rig in ) o n e' s ag e an d s ex , s o cial clas s,
ed u cation al b ack g rou n d , o ccu p atio n an d
p ers o n ality . In add itio n , v ario u s s itu atio n al
facto rs in flu en ce p "ro n un ciatio n , s u ch as th e
s o cial relatio n s h ip b etween s p eak er an d
h earer, wh eth er o n e is s p eak ing p u b licly
p rivately an d th e p u rp o s es for wh ich on e is
u s in g lang u ag e. So me p eo p le (Wh o u s u ally
tu rn o u t to do \vell iri p h o n etic train in g ) fin d
th at in s p eakin g to wmeo n e •with a d ifferen t
acce·n t th eir p ro n u n ciatio n g ets
p rog ress iv ely mo re lik e th at· o f th e p ers o n
th ey are s p eak in g to , lik e a ch ameleo n
ad ap tin g its co lo u r to its en v iron men t.
264
giong BBC , v i du: 'w on' v a 'one' , 'nun'
v a 'none' . Vi dv , t heo eac h phat am c ua
t 6i k hi t 6i c on t re, t 6i dung 4 c hu k h6ng
phai t rong nhung tu nay , v i t he 'w on'
dugc phat am la w "n va 'one' duc phat
am la w 4n, 'nun' la n"n v a 'none' la n4n.
Se rat t hoa dang k hi c o t he liet k
c ac v i du v e nhung s u k hac bi@t am v i
giua ca c giQng a pham vi t rong am va
ngu di~u, nhLtn g t iec la k h6ng c 6 c ac v i
du don gian; c hung t a v an c hua biet du
v e c ac c h&c nang am v i ca
t rong am
va ngu di@u v a c hua t huc hien dugc nhieu
v iec k hi s o s anh c ac giong t heo nhung
y eu t o nay . C an phai c hung m inh lam
t he nao m ot giQng c o t he t ao ra s l)' k hac
bi@t v e y nghia v oi t rong am hoac ngd
dieu m a m ot giong k hac k hong t he t ao
ra. C 6 t he nhung s u k hac biet nhu t he
t 6n t ai v a v iec nghien c uu t hf c h h<;1p s e
x ac dinh dlfQ c nhung s l)' k hac biet d6.
T rong phan t ruoc day c o de c ap rang
c o nhung k huy et diem t rong v iec m ieu
t a c ac giong c hi t heo s u bien d6i dia ly ;
v iec nghien c &u ngon ngu x a hoi hoc
da c hung m inh t am quan t rong c ia v iec
x em x et c ac nguon bien d6i k hac. C hung
t a c o t he t hay duoc s u k hac bi@t o c ac h
phat am (cung nhu' (j ca c linh v uc phan
ti ch ng6n ngu hQc k hac ) do ca c y eu t o
k hac nhau m a c hung t a goi la nhung anh
huang "H nh" baa g6m (ngoai nguon goc
dia ly ) t u6i t ac v a gidi t inh, t .j ng lop xa
hoi, _t rln h do hoc v an, ngh€ nghiep v a
ti nh eac h c ua. m qt ngu'oi. N goa i ra, c ac
y eu t o t inh huong k hac nhau anh huong
den c ac h phat am , nhu m oi quan he xa
hoi gida ngudi noi v a ngudi nghe, du
ngu'cfr t a dang n6i t ru'dc c ong c hung hay .
n6i rieng v a m v c dic h m a nguoi t a SL/
dv ng ng6n ngu. M ot s o ngu'oi (t huong t o
ra rat gioi k hi duoc dao t ao ngu am ) t ha'y
ra n g k h i n o i c h u y e n v o i m o t n g u d i n a o
do bang m ot giong k hac t hi c ac h phat
- am c ua ho ngay c ang tr& nen giong v di
giong c ua ngudi m a ho dang noi c huy en,
giong nhu c on t ac k e t hay doi m au s ac
de t hfch nghi v di m oi truong ca n o.
 265
Amo n g th e s itu atio n al facto rs
in flu en cin g v ariatio n . it is p o ss ib le to p ick
o u t s o me wh ich co u ld b e d es crib ed as
s ty lis tic, an d many lin g u is ts h av e attemp ted
to p ro du ce framewo rk s for _th e an aly s is o f
s ty le in lan g u ag e. Th ere is n o t s p ace for u s
to co n s id er th is in d etail, b u t we s h o u ld n o te
th at, for foreig n learners , a ty p ical s itu atio n
-reg rettab ly , an almo s t in ev itab le o n e -
is th at th ey learn a s ty le o f p ron un ciation
wh ich cou ld b e d es crib ed as careful an d
formal. Prob ab ly th eir teach ers s p eak to th em
in th is s ty le. alth oug h wh at th e learners are
lik ely to en cou n ter wh en th ey jo in in
co n v ers ation s with n ativ e s p eak ers is wh at
we h av e referred to p rev io u s ly as a "rap id ,
cas u al" s ty le. An ad d ition al p rob lem is th at
yo u n g foreig n s tu d en ts ten d to b e tau g h t th e
p ron u n ciatio n o f an o ld er g en eratio n ; ev en
if th ey s h o u ld learn to s p eak lik e y oun g
En g lis h p eop le, it is lik ely th at th ey will fae
th e p rob lem o f b eing ev alu ated b y
ex amin ers who s e s tan d ard is th at o f an o ld er
g en eration .
Youn g ch ild ren h av e an env iab le ab ility
to acq u ire th e rap id , cas u al p ronu n ciation o f
a langu ag e app aren tly with o u t effort if th ey
are p mv id ed with th e n eces s ary s o cial
con tact with n ativ e s p eak ers an d mean in g ful
co mmu nicatio n s itu atio n s. It h as b een
claimed th at ad u lts can als o "p ick u p " s p o k en
lan gu ag e in th is way (s eco n d lan gu ag e
acq u is ition ) b etter th an b y th e trad itio n al
clas s roo m app roach (s eco n d lan g u ag e
learnin g ) if th e co n d itio n s are s imilar to
thos e ex p erien ced b y y o un g ch ild ren . Th is
is an attractiv e id ea, b u t for mo s t ad u lts th e
g o al o f learnin g th rou g h co mmun icatin g
n atu rally in th e langu ag e th rou g h o u t th e d ay
will, s ad ly , n ev er b e a p ractical o n e. We h av e
to co n tin u e to mak e u s e o f .s o meth in g lik e
formal clas s roo m teach in g b ecau s e o f th e
limited time an d reso urces av ailab le.
It s h ou ld n o w b e clear th at th e
p ronu n ciatio n d es crib ed in th is cou rs e is o n ly
on e o f a v as t n u mb er o f p o ss ib le, v arieries .
Th e ch o ice o f a ~lo w, careful s ty le is mad e for
th e s ak e o f·co nv en ien ,;e an d s i..'Ilp licity ;
T rang s o c ac y eu t 6 t inh huong anh
hu' dng den s u bien d6i, c6 t he c hon ra
m ot v i y eu t o m a c o t he duoc m ieu t a
la m ang t f nh phong c ac h, v a nhieu nha
ngon ngtJ hoc da c o' gang t ao ra ca c
k huon k h6' de phan ti c h phong c ac h ngon
ngu. Khong c 6 c ho de
c hung t a phan ti c h
v an de nay , nhung ch ung t a nen IL t u y
rang, doi v oi nguoi hoc ngoai ngu, m ot
tl nh huong t ieu bie' u - dci ng t iec day la
di&u k hong t he t ranh k hGi - la ho hoc
c ac h phat am c6 t he dttqc m ieu t a la
c an than v a t rang t rong. C 6 le giao v ien
c ua ho noi v oi ho t heo phong eac h nay,
m ,) c du dieu m a ho c6 t he g<) p k hi ho
t ham gia c uoc t ro c huyen v oi nguoi ban
ngu la dieu m a c hung t a da de c ap t r u o c
day la phong eac h "nhanh, k hong t rang
t rong". Mot v an de nla la hoc v ien t r
t huong hay duoc day c ac h phat am c ua
t h he c u hon; t ham c hi neu ho hoc noi
giong nht t ngt t oi Anh t re, c6 t he ho s e
gap phi v an de la bi danh gia boi nht ng
ngudi c ham t hi c o t ieu c hun t huoc t he
he cu hdn.
T re em nho c o k hi nang linh hoi t ai
t inh eac h phat am nhanh, k hong t rang
t rong c ua m qt ngon ngu m a k hong dn
n 6 lu c n e u c h u n g c o d i p g i a o t i e p v o i
ngudi ban ngd va v oi nhung huong giao
tiep co y nghia. N gudi t a c ho rang nguoi
lon c ung co t he "nam bat " ngon ngd noi
t heo eac h nay (t iep t hu ngon ngc, t hCf hail
t o't hon phuong pha p t ruy e n t hong neu
ca c dieu k ien giong v oi nht ng dieu k ien
m a t re em nho t rai qua. D ay la mot y ly
t hu, nhung doi v oi hau het nguoi lon m uc
t ieu hoc t hong qua v iec giao t iep bang
ngon ngd t u nhien s uot ngay bun t hay
c hang bao gio la c ac h t huc t e. C hing t a
phi t ip t uc st dung phuong phap nhu
phuang pha p giang dc_1y t rang t rong t rong
lop hoc v i th&i lugng v a t ai lieu gii han.
Bay giu c ung nen t hay ro la eac h phat
am du@c mi?u t a trong giao t rinh nay c hi
la n g v v an nliung k i€u phat am
c 6 t he c o. Vi±c lf a c hon k i&u c ham , can
t han la nhem m uc dic h ti@n l; i va don gian,
 26 6
le arne r s of English nee d to be a w a r e of the nguoi hoc ting Anh c an phai bit rang
fa c t tha t this style is fa r fr om be in g the only k ieu phat am nay k hong phai la k ieu duy
one the y w ill m e e t, a nd te a c he r s of Engli sh nhat ma ho s e gap, v a giao v ien tieng Anh
to fo r e igner s should do the ir be st to e xpose nen c o gang het s tc de trinh bay c ho hoc
the ir pupils to othe r va r ie ties. v ien c ia ho biet nhmng k ieu k hac.

Notes on problems and further reading

2 0 .l The r e a r e f e w sa tisfa c tor y books tha t e xpla in the pr inc iple s of e xpe r im e nta l phone tic s,
mn the sense of how to de sign a nd c a rr y out e xpe rim e nts a nd to inte r pr e t the r esults in te r m s
tha t a r e m eaningfu l to othe r phone tic ia ns. I would r e c om m e nd La ss (1996), a lthough som e
of it is diffi c ult. Ther e is a usef ul r e vie w of m ode rn instru m e nta l te c hnique s. in B a ll a nd
C ode (1997) or , m or e br ie fly, in C ha pte r 12 of B a ll a nd R a hill y (1999). A r e c ent a ddition to
the list is Ha yw a r d ( 2000 ) .

The r e a r e som e good books tha t e xpla in the spe e ch c ha in a nd the a spec ts of spee ch tha t
a r e m ea sur a ble . The Speech Chain by D e ne s a nd P inson (1993) is cl ea r a nd inte r e sting.
B a sic intro duc tions to ac ousti c phone tic s a r e give n in m any phone tic s te xtbooks including
La de fo ged ( 1993). C la r k a nd Ya ll op (1995) a nd B a ll a nd R a hill y (1999). F uile r tr ea tm ent is
give n in Johnson (1996), B or de n a nd H a r m (1994) a nd Lie be r m a n a nd B lum ste in ( 1988).

2 0 .2 On the study of a c c ent va rie ty, the list of r e f e r e nc e s c ould be c om e e nor m ous. Those
give n in the sec tion "R e c om m e nda tions fo r ge ner a l r e a ding" ( pp. 2 7 0 ) should be e nough
fo r m ost r ea de rs. The sa m e is tru e fo r soc iolinguistic s, but I f e e l tha t a ny r ea ding be yond
basic intro duc tor y m a te r ia l ought to incl ude som e w or k by La bov, w hose influe nc e on the
subje c t ha s be en profo und; se e . fo r e xa m pk. La bov ( 1972).

Note for teachers

Audio U nit 2 0 is skull a nd inte nsive . I t is m e a nt prim a r ily to give a fina l r e m inde r tha t
English spoken a t som e thing like full c onversa tiona l spe e d is ver y diff e r e nt fr om slow ,
c a ref ul pronunc ia tion of the e a r ly A udio U nit. If ther e is tim e , students should now be
e nc oura ged to go bac k to som e of the m or e diffi c ult Audio U nits de a li ng with c onne c ted
spee ch ( sa y f ro m Audio U nit 1 2 onw a rds, m issing out A udio U nit 1 5 ) ; they w ill pro ba bly
disc ove r a lot of things they did not notic e be fo r e .

Written exercises Bai tap viet

P honologic a l diff e r e nc e s be tw ee n
a c c e nts a r e of va r ious type s. F or each of the
fo ll ow ing se ts of da ta , ba se d on non- B B C
a c c e nts, sa y w hat you c an c oncl ude a bout
the phonology of tha t a cc e nt.
Su k hac bit ve mat am v i hoc gila
c ac giong thuoc nhieu loai k hac nhau.
D6i v di moi tap hop da lieu s au day ,
dua tren ca c giong k hong phii la giong
c da dai BBC, ban co the k et luan dieu
gi v e am v i hoc c ua giong d6.

' sing' sm ' finger ' f1oga

' sung' SAU ' ru nning' r An mn

' singing' s1om ' r ing' no

2 ' da y' de: 'y ou' ju:
' buy' bm 'm e ' mi:
 267

'g o ' go: 'mo re' m:

' no w' nau 'fur' fa:
3 'mo th er' mAva 'fath er' fa:va
' thin k ' fink 'b reath ' bref
'lip ' hp 'p ill' prw
'h elp ' ewp ' h ill' IW

4 ' mo th er' ma0ar 'fath er' fa:0r

'car' ko:r 'cart' ko:rt
'area' E:rial ' aerial' E:rial
'id ea' a1dal 'id eal' a1dial
'Ind ia' mdial 'No rma' nJ:rmal
5 'cat' kat 'p las ter' pla:star
'cart' ko:rt ·g ras s ' gra:s
'calm' ko:m 'g as ' gas
 268
Recorded exercises
Cac bai tap dugc ghi am
These exercises are mainly intended for
students whose native language is not
English; however, those exercises which
involve work with transcription (exercises
2 .2. 3 .3 , 3 .5 , 3 .7 , 4.5. 5 .3 , 5 .4 , 6 .2 , 7 .6 , 9 .5 ,
IO.I. 10.2 . 1 0 .3 , 1 1. 5 . 1 2 .3 , 1 3 .1 , 1 3 .2 , 1 3 .3,
all of Audio Unit 1 4 and exercise 2 0 .2 ) and
those which give practice in intonation
(Aud10 Units 1 5 , 1 6 . 1 7 , 1 8 and 1 9 , and
exercise 2 0 .3 ) will' be useful to native
speakers as well.
Each Audio Unit corresponds to a chapter
of this book, with the exception that there is
no Audio Unit I to correspond to Chapter I.
As far as possible, I have tried to relate the
contents of each Audio Unit to the subject
matter of the chapter; however, where the
chapter is devoted to theoretical matters I
have taken advantage of this to produce
revision exercises going back over some of
the subjects previously worked on.
The best way of listening to the tapes is
in a language laboratory, where you can
record your voice and later listen to it, if
possible with the assistance· of a tutor.
However, if this is not possible, you can use
the tapes on an ordinary domestic cassette
recorder. If it is possible for you to use
headphones you will find the sound quality,
even on a cheap machine, very much better
than that of the loudspeaker.
In some of the exercises you are asked to
put stress or intonation marks on the text. It
would obviously be sensible to do this in a
" a:1 that ,vill make it possible for you, or
,-.:,m-~one else, to erase thes~ marks and use
:he ,:xercise again.
As with the chapters or the book. the CDs
or tapes are intended to be worked through
Nhung bi tap nay chi yeu dnh cho
cac hoc vien co ngon ngu ban x (( khilng
phai la tieng Anh; tuy nhien, nhung bai
tap d6 lien quan den phien am (bai tap
2.2, 3.3, 3.5, 3.7, 4.5, 5.3, 5.4, 6.2, 7.6,
9.5, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 11.5, 12.3, 11.5,
12.3, 13.1, 13.2, 13.3, ta't ca deu· cua
Audio Unit 14 va bi tap 20.2) va nht ng
bi tap ren luyen ngu dieu (Audio Unit
15, 16, 17, 18 va 19, va bi tap 20.3)
cling se co ich d6i voi nguoi noi ban
nga.
Mi Audio Unit tt!dng ung VOi mqt
chuong ci a sach, ngoai trt truong hop
khong co Audio Unit 1 tlldng Crng v<1i
chuong 1 . Bang het kha nang, to i da co
ga"ng lien ket noi dung ci a mi Audio
Unit ve1i chu de cua chLID'ng; tuy nhien,
i:f noi chuong danh cho van de ly thuyet
toi da tan dung dieu nay d& dua ra cac
bi tap on lai mot so chi de da lam viec
tn l d c do.
Cach to't nhat de nghe bang la o trong
phong Lab, o do b<)n co the thu giong
noi cua minh va sau do nghe lai no, neu
co the' co Sl ./ giLip do Cll il ngLloi ln(ong
dan. Tuy nhien, neu khong the thi ban
co th& dung bang o mot may cat-xet binh
thuong. Neu bc)n c6 the dung headphone
ban se thay chat ILlc;fng am ,thanh ngay
ca tren mot may re tien, tot hon rat nhieu
so ve1i chat illqng CLla loa.
o mt so bi tap, ba duoc yeu cau
phai di t dau nhan hay ngt di?u len text.
Hien nhien ban se biet cach lam viec
nay theo each ma ban ho~c ngLloi khac
c6 the xoa cac dau nay va st dung lai
cac bi tab,
Gio'ng nlnl vdi cac chtiang Clla sach,
co cac C D va bang de s dung tu di
 269
from first to last. Those at the beginning are
concerned with individual vowels and
consonants, and the words containing them
are usually pronounced in isolation in a slow,
careful style. Pronouncing isolated words in
this way is, of course. a very artificial practice,
but the recorded exercises are designed to
lead the student towards the study of
comparatively natural and fluent speech by
the end of the course. In some of the later
exercises you will find it necessary to stop
the CDs or tape in order to allow yourself
enough time to write a transcription.
After Audio Unit 20. there is an answers
section. Two symbols are used throughout
the Audio Units: II means "Stop your tape"
►
and means "Start your tape" .
den c u6i. N hang C D hoac bang o phan
dau lien quan de' n ca c nguy en m v a
phu am rieng bit , v a nh@ng tu c ht'la
c hung thuong du; c phien am rieng theo
k ieu c ham v a c an t han. Di nhien, v iec
phat am ca c tu rieng biet theo eac h nay
la mot c ac h gii t ao, nhung c ac bi t ap
t hu am duc t hiet ke de dan hoc v ien
den phan nghien c u loi noi luu loat v a
t uong doi t u nhien o gan c uoi s 4c h.
m o t s o bai t ap phia s au, ban s e c an phai
dung C D hoac bang d c ho m lnh c 6 dC1
t hi gian de vi&t phien am .
Sau Audio U nit 2 0 , c o phan D ap a n.
H ai k y hieu duoc dung x uyen s uot c ac
Audio U nit : II nghia la "T am dung CD
hoac bang" v a nghia la "Bat dau CD
hoac bang".

Ta pe Unit 2 Eng lish sho rt vo wels
The exercises in this Audio Unit practise
the six short vowels introduced in Chapter
2. When pronouncing them, you should take
care to give the vowels the correct length
and the correct quality.
E xercise I R epetition
Listen and repeat:
I
Audio Unit 2 Cac nguyen am ngi'in
trong tie'ng Anh
C ac bai t ~p t rong Audio U nit ren luyen
s au nguy en am ngan da duoc gioi t hieu
t rong cl 1u'dng 2. Khi phat am c hung, ban
nen cn t han c ho c ac nguy en am mot
do di t hic h hop v a dung c hat luong.
B a i ta p 1 La p la i
N gh e v a lap le) i

bit bit bid bit him him miss mis

C

bet bet bed bed hen hen mess mes

re
bat bret bad bred ham hrem mass mes
A

cut kAt bud bx d bun bA n bus bA s

D

pot po t cod ko d Tom to m loss Ins

u
put put wood wud pull pul push puJ

Exercise 2 Iden tificati on Bai ta p 2 Xac dinh

Write the symbol for the vowel you hear Viet k y hie@u danh c ho nguyen am ban
in each word. (1 ... 10) nghe d 1116 i tu (1.. .1 0).
Check your answers. II Ki&m t ra dap an c da ban II
 27 0
Exercise 3 Produ ction
► B ai ta p 3 P hat am ►
W hen you he a r the numbe r , pro nounc e the Khi ba n nghe c on so,
ha y pha t tt am
wor d ( w hic h is give n in spe llin g a nd in phonetic ( duoc c ho o dang c hinh ta v ba ng k y
symbols) . Repe at the c or r ec t pro nunc ia tion hie u ngu a m) . La p la i c a c h pha t am
d un g
when you he a r it. Example: 1. 'Ma d' khi ba n nghe no. Vi du: 1. 'ma d'.
1. mad mad 7 . p ul p u t
2. mud mad 8. pot pod
3. bit brt 9. me n men
4. bet hct 10. ma n men
5. c ut kAd 11. f un fAn
6. c ot kd 12. fan faen

Exercise 4 Sh ort vow els con trasted B a i tap 4 Cac ng uyen am nga n trai
ng ug c
Liste n a nd r e pe a t ( wor ds give n in
spe lling) : Nghe va lap la i ( cac tu du o c c h o o
da ng c hinh ta) :
1 a nd C e a nd e e a nd A
bit bet he m ha m la ck luck
tin te n se t sat ba d bu d
fi 11 f e ll pe c k pack fan fu n
built be lt se nd sa nd stamp stump
lif t le f t wr e c k rac k flash flush

A a nd D n a nd u
du g do g loc k look
c up c op c ocf c ould
rub rob po l p ut
stuc k stock shoc k shook
luck lock c ro ck c ro ok

Audio Unit 3 Long owels, Audio Unit 3 Nguye n a m da i, nhi

diphthongs and triphthongs: tru n g am va tam trun g am
Lon g vow els Nguyen am da i
Exercise I R epetition
B a i ta p 1 L a p l a i
Liste n a nd r e pe a l:
Nghe va la p la i:
 271
i:
be a t bi:d be a d bi:d be e n bi:n bee f bi:f
a:
he a r t ho:t ha r d ho:d ha r m ho:m hea rth ho:11

3:
c a ught k:>:t c or d- k:>:d c orn kon c our se k:>:s

u:
ro ot ru:t ru de ru:d ro om ru:m ro of ru:(

3:
hur t h3:t he a r d h3:d e a rn 3:n e a r th 3:0

Exe rc ise 2 Produ c tion B ai tap 2 Phat am

W he n you he a r the num be r. pro nounce Khi ban nghe con so, hay phat am tCI.
the w or d. R e pe a t the c orr e c t pro nunc ia tion Lap lai cach phat am dung khi ban nghe
w he n you he a r it. no.

I . he a r d ha:d 6. he a rt ho:d
2. be e n bi:n 7. c or d k:>:d
3. ro ot ru:t 8. be e f hi:f
4. hear th ha:0 9. ru de ru:d
5. c a ught ko:t 10. e a rn 3: n

E xe rc ise 3 Tran sc ription B ai tap 3 Phi@n am

W r ite the sy111 11(1] fo r the vnw e l you he a r V i e t k y hueu danh cho phien am ban
in e ac h wor d. ( I .. I 0) nghe & moi tu . (1 ... 10)
C he c k your a nsw ers. II Ki&m tra dap an cla ban. II
Exe rc ise 4 Lon g-sh ort v ow e l B a i tap 4 C a c nguy e n am
c on trasts dai-ngan trai ngugc ►
Listen a nd r e pe a t ( wor ds in spe ll ng) · Nghe va lap lai (cac tu duoc cho o
dang cl fnh ta) .
,
: a nd a: a nd A Ill\ and e
re e l f ill ca lrn c om e pa rt pa l
hea d hid can c ul la r d la d
ste e l still ha ir huff c a lm Cam
re c d r id lar k luc k hea r t ha t
bc c n bin m 1st m ust ha ·m s ha m s

3: a nd D u: an,1 u :r a nd A a' a nd D

c a ught c ot pool pull hut hu t dark dock

stor k stoc k sui1 soot turn L on pa r t pol
 272
short shot Luke look curt cut lark lock
cord cod wooed wood girl gull balm bomb
port pot fool full bird bud large lodge

Exe rc ise 5 Trall sc ription Bai tap 5 Phi@n am

Write the symbol for the vowel (long or Viet ky hieu cua nguyen am (dai hoc
short) you hear in each word. ( I ... 10) ngan) ban nghe o moi tr . (1 ...1 0 )
Check your answers. II Ki&m tra dap an cua ban. II

E xe rc ise 6 R epe ti tion M» Bai tap 6 Lap lai ►

Listen and repeat. making sure that the Nghe va lap lai, bao dim rang phan
second part of the diphthong is weak. tht hai ca nhi trung am la am yeu.

fl

mate mert made merd main memn mace meIs

aI
right ra1t ride rad rhyme ram rice ra1s
Jl
quoit krt buoyed bJTd Boyne bJm Royce rIs
au
coat kaut code kaud cone kaun close kaus
au
gout gaut loud laud gown gaun louse Jaus
10

feared frad Ian 1an fierce f'ras

ea
cared kead cairn kean scarce skeas
ua
moored muad fuel (jual

Exercise 7 Tran sc ription Bai tJp 7 Phien am

Write the symbol for the diphthong you Viet ky hieu cua nhi trung am b an
hear in each word. (I ... 12) nghe c'1 m6i ILi (1 ... 1 2 )
Check your answers. II Ki&m tra dap an cla b an . II
Triphthongs Tam trung am
E xe rc ise 8 R epe tition
► Bai tap 8 Lap lai ►
Listen and repeat: Nghe va lap lai:
e1a layer lera 000 lower laua
a1a liar la1a aua tower taua
Jl;) loyal bnl
 2 73
Audio Unit 4 Plosives Audio Unit 4 Am b~t

E xercise 1 R epetition of in itial plosives Bai tap 1 Lap lai cac am bat a vi tri dau
INITIAL FORTIS p, t, k AM BT MANH DUNG DAU p, t, k
Each wo rd b eg in s with a fortis p lo s iv e; Moi tu bat dau bang mot am bat m anh;
n o tice th at th e p lo s iv e is as p irated . Lis ten luu y rang am bat nay bat hoi. Nghe va
an d rep eat: lap lai:
p aw p: ca re kea :
tea ti : two tu :
car ka : k ey kT:
p ie pa l tar ta:
to e ta u p ay p el

INITIAL LENIS b, d, g AM BAT YEU DUNG DAU b, d, g

Each wo rd b eg in s with a len is p lo s iv e; Mi tr bat dau bang mot am bat yeu;
n o tice th at th ere is p racticaJly no v o icing o f luu y rang tren thuc te am bat yeu khong
th e p lo s iv e. Lis ten an d rep eat: c6 tieng. Nghe va lap lai:
b ee bi: g ea r gu
door d»: boy bJ T
go 900 d ear d1a
b ear bea b ough ha u
do du: d ay dc 1

INITIAL s p, st, s k s p, s t, s k DUNG DAU

Th e p los iv e mus t b e u n asp irated . Lis ten Am bat khong dugc bat hoi. Nghe va
an d rep eal: · lap lai:
sp y s pa s co re sk:
s to re stJ: s p ear sp1a
sk i s ki : s tay ster
s p are spea sk y s ka r
s teer st1a s p ar s pa :

E xercise 2 R epetiti on offin al plosives
In th e p airs o f wo rd s in th is ex ercis e o n e
wo rd en d s with a fortis p lo s iv e an d th e o th er
en d s with a len is p lo s iv e. No tice th e len g th
d ifferen ce in th e v o wel. Lis ten to each p air
an d rep eat:
FORTIS FOLLOWED BY LENIS
B ai tap 2 Lap lai cac am bat d vi tri
cu6i
Trong cac cap tu trong bi tap nay,
moi tr ket thuc bang mot am bat manh
va cac tt con lai ket thuc bang mot am
bat yeu. Luu y su khac nhau ve do di o
nguyen am. Nghe moi cap tu va lap lai:
AM BAT MANH THEO SAU LA AM
BAT u Y :
 274
mate made mert merd
rope robe raop raob
leak league li:k li:g
cart ca rd ka:t ka:d
back bag brek breg

LENIS FOLLOWED BY FORTIS AM BAT YEU THEO SAU LA AM BAT

MA NH
code coat kaod kaot
bid bit bd bt
lobe lope laob laop
heard hurt ha:d ha:t
brogue broke braog braok

Exercise 3 Identi.fi.cation offinal plosives Bai tap 3 Xac dinh ca c am bat & vi
tri cuoi
You will hear the twenty words of Ban se nghe hai muoi tt cla bai tap
Exercise 2. Each will be one of a pair. You 2. Mai ti se la mot tu cia mot cap. Ban
must choose whether the word is one ending phi chon de cho biet tr d6 la tt tan cung
with a fort is p · osive or the one ending with a bang mot am bat manh hay tu tan cung
lenis plosive; when you hear the word, say bang am bat yeu; khi ban nghe tt , hay
"fortis" if you heard the word on the left, or n6i " am manh" n&u ban nghe tu & ben
"lenis" if you heard the word on the right. trai, hoac " am yeu" neu ban nghe tt o
You will then hear the correct answer and ben phai. Sau d6 ban nghe dap an dung
the word will be said again for you to repeat. va tu se d u o c noi lai de ban lap lai.
Example: 'coal' v r d tJ: 'coat'
Fortis Lenis Fortis Lenis
coat kaot code kaod mate mert made merd
leak li:k league li:g coat kaot code kaud
hurt h3:t heard h3:d leak li:k league li:g
hit b1t bid bid rope raop robe rub
mate mert made merd hurt ha:t heard h3:d
lope laup lobe laob broke braok brogue braug
back brek bag beg lope Jaop lobe lauh
cart ka:t card ka:d bit b1t hid bid
broke brauk brogue b:raug back baek hag b::cg
rope raup robe raob cart ka:t card ka:d

Each of the words which follow ends with M6i mot tu theo sau tan cung bang
a plosive. Write the symbol for each plosive mot am bat. Viet k hi u cho moi am
when you hear the word. Each will be said bat khi ban nghe tu. Mai t se duoc noi
twice. (I ... 1 0 ) hai lan. (1 ... 1 0 )
Check your answers. II Ki&m tra dap an cda ban. II
 275

Exercise 4 R epeti tion ofw ords con tain ill g Ba i ta p 4 La p la i c a c tu c o c h&a c a c

plosives am bat
The following words contain several Cac tt sau day co mot so a Ill bc'it.
plosives. They are given in spelling and in Chung duoc cho o dang chinh ta va dang
transcription. L1sten and repeat: phi&n am. Nghe va lap lai:
potato p at e 1t au carpeted k a: p t d
topic t n p 1k bodyguard b d r ga: d
petticoat p c tik au t tobacco t ab rek au
partake p a:t e r k doubted d au tTd
cupboard kA b ad decode d i: k au d
decapitated d 1k rep 1t e 1trd bigoted b 19atTd
pocket p nk ,t about ab au t

E xercise 5 R eading of w ords in Ba i ta p 5 Doc c a c tu o dang phien

trall scription am
When you hear the number, pronounce Khi ban nghe con so, hay phat am W ­
the word given in transcription taking care du; c cho o dang phien am, can than phat
to pronounce the plosives correctly and am dung cac am bat va dat trong am
putting the strongest stress on the syllable ma nh nhat len am tit dung truoc dau
preceded by the stress mark '. You will then nha'n '. S a u do ban se nghe cach phat
hear the correct pronunciation, which you am dung ma ban nen lap lai.
should repeat.
I. d r 'b e n t 6. 'ga: d id
2. 'k n p 1d 7. 'd c d 1k e 1tid
3. 'h At ak Ap 8. 'p red ak
4 'k u k u : 9. b u : 't i: k
5 . d r 'k e r d 10. 'ae p t ar t

(You will find these words in spelling (Ban se thay cac tu nay o d;:ing clifnh
form in the answers section.) ta trong phan dap an.)

A u d io U n it 5 R evision Audio Unit 5 On ta p

Exercise I Vow els an d diph th on grs Ba i ta p 1 Nguyen am va nhi trung am
Listen and repeat (words given in Nghe va lap lai (cac tu dt/<;lc cho a
,pclltng ,· dang chinh ta).
a: and 3: CT and e ar and a:
barn burn rade fe d life laugh
are err ale sell tight tart
fast first laid led pike park
cart curt paste pest hide hard
lark lurk late let spike spark
 27 6
:n and 3: :,u and J: 10 and I:
toy tore phone fawn fear fee
coin corn boat bought beard bead
boil ball code cord mere me
boy bore stoke stork steered steed
foil fall bowl ball peer pea

ea and el CJ and J;) ua and 3:

dare day fare fear poor paw
stared stayed pair pier sure shore
pairs pays stare steer moor more
hair hay a1r ea r dour door
mare may snare sneer tour tore

Exe rcise 2 Triph tlz oll gs Bai tap 2 Ta m trung a m

Listen and repeat: Nghe va lip lai
e 1a player p le 1a 000 mower maua
a1o tyre ta1a aua shower Jaua
JIJ loyal b 1al

Exe rcise 3 Tran sc ription of w ords Bi tap 3 Phi@n am ca c tr

You should now be able to recognise all
the vowels. diphthongs and triphthongs of
English, and alt the plosives. In the next
exercise you will hear one-syllable English
words composed of these sounds. Each word
will be said twice. You must transcribe these
wot·ds using the phonemic symbols that you
have learned in the first three chapters. When
you hear the word, write it with phonemic
symbols (l...20).
Now check your answers.
Bay gio ban phai c6 kha nang nhn
biet tat ca cac nguyen am, nhi trmng am
va tam trmng am rong tieng Anh, va tat
ca cac am bat. Trong bi tap tiep theo,
ban se nghe cac tu tieng Anh mot am
tiet duoc tao thanh tu cac am nay. Moi
tu se dL((;IC n6i hai lan. Ban phi phien
am nhmng tu nay bang cach dung ky hi@u
ngCI am ma ban da hoc o ba chuong dau.
Khi ban nghe tt, hay viet no voi cac ky
hieu ngL7 am (1 ... 20).
II Bay gio hay kiem tra dap an
cua 6<;111. 11

Exe rc ise 4 Produ c tion

► Bai tap 4 Ph at am ►
The following are all English words: they Sau day la tat ca cac tu ti&ng Anh;
are given only in phonemic transcription. chung chi duoc cho o dang phien am
When you hear the number you should say theo am vi hoc. Khi ban nghe con so',
the word: you will then hear the correct ban nen noi tt; sau do ban se nghe cach
pronunciation. which you should repeat. If phat am dung ma ban nen lp lai. Neu
you want to see how these words are spelt ban muon xem cac tt nay du o c hat am
 277
when you have finished the exercise, you nhu the no k hi ban hon thanh bai tap,
ban se tim thay c hung trong phan dap
will find them in the answers section.
an.
6. keb I1. dAk 16. ta1d
1. ki:p
12. kaop 17. b1ad
2. baot 7. gert
:8. kead 13. dog 18. pot
3. kAp
9. ta1ad 14. kauad 19. bAg
4. dat
10. b3:d 15. be1k 20. daot
5 . baik

E xe rc ise 5 F ortis!lenis discr imin ation
When you hear the word, say "fortis" if
you. hear it as ending with a fortis consonant,
and "lenis" if you hear it as ending with a
lenis consonant. You will then hear the
correct answer and the word will be said again
for you to repeat.
Bai tap 5 Phan biet am man h/am yeu
Khi ban nghe tu, hay n6i "am lllc)l1h"
neu ban nghe no giong nhu no tan c ung
bang mot phu am manh, v a n6i "am y eu"
neu ban nghe no nhu no tan c ung bang
mot phu am y eu. Sau do ban se nghe
dap an dung va tu se duoc noi lai de
ban lap lai.

Lenis Fortis Lenis

Fortis
ride ra1d 5. right rart ride rard
1. right rat
bad bred 7. tack trek tag treg
2. bat bret
bed bed 8. rope roup robe ra b
3. bet bet
league li:g 9. mate mert made me1d
4. leak li:k
feed fi:d 10. beat bi:t bead bi:d
5. feet fi:t

Audio Unit 6 Fricatives and affricates A u dio U n it 6 Am x at v a am tac xat

E xe rcise 1 R e pe tition of w ords Bai tap 1 Lap lai ca c tu chua am

c on tain in g fric ative s xat
Listen and repeat (words given in spelling Nghe v a lap lai (ca c tu duoc c ho o
and transcription): dang c hinh ta v a dang phi@n am):

f fin fm offer ofa laugh la:f

V vat vret over ;:,ova leave li:v
II thing llm method mellad breath brell
0 these oi:z other AO.J breathe bri:i)
s sad sred lesset lesa moss mos
z zoo zu: lazy lerzi lose lu:z

J show .fau washing wo.f1u rush rf

measure me3o rouge ru:3
3
h hot hot beehive bi:ha
 278
Exercise 2 Identification Bai tap 2 Xac dinh
Write the symbol for the fricative you
Viet ky hi@u danh cda am xat ban
hear in each word.
nghe a m 6 i W .
a) initial position: ( l 5)
a) vj tri d.:iu: (1 ... 5)
b) medi.- I position (6 l 0) b) vi tri giCla (6 ... 10)
c) final position ( 1 1...1 5 ) c) vi tri cuoi (11...15)
Now check your answers. II Bay gio kiem tra dap an cl a ban. II

Exercise 3 Production
► Bai tap 3 Phat am
►
When you hear the number, pronounce
Khi ban nghe con so, hay phat am tu,
the word. giving particular attention to the
dac bi@t chi y den cac am xat. Sau d6
fricatives. You will then hear the correct
ban se nghe cach phat am dung ma ban
pronunciation. which you should repeat. nen lap lai.
1. d i: z these 6. fdft fifth
2. fe ,ft faith 7. .f1vaz shivers
3 . heoa heather 8. bherv behave
4. si:J;i: seashore 9. si: Ja seizure
5. fe 0oz feathers 10. lreJ,z las he~

Exercise 4 Repetition offricative and

affricate pairs
Bai tap 4 Lap lai cac cap am xat va
am tac xat
Listen and repeal:
Nghe va lap lai:
a) Initial J and tJ
a) fvatf i'1 vj tri dau
Jop t.fop (shop, chop)
Jop tJop (shop, chop)
Ji:t t.fi:t (sheet, cheat)
Ji:t tfi :t (sheet, cheat)
fu:z tJu:z (shoes, choose)
fu:z tJu:z (shoes, choose)
b) Medial J and tJ
b) .f vii (f i'1 vj tri giii'a
li:J,z li : tJ1z (leashes, leaches)
Ii:JJZ li:tJ,z (leashes, leaches)
w oJ,n w ot.f10 (washing, watching)
woJT !J w otJT !J (washing, watching)
bre.f,z bretJ,z (bashes, batches)
bafiz baetfrz (bashes, batcho·)
c) Final J and tJ
c) J va tf a vj tri cuoi
mreJ mretJ (mash, match)
mreJ mret.f (mash, match)
kreJ kretJ (cash, catch)
kaef kaetf (cash, catch)
w ,J w ,(f _( w ish , witch)
w,J w1tJ (wish, witch)
d) Medial 3 and d 3
d) J va d 3 vj tri giii'a
le3a le d :t a (leisure, ledger)
le3a le d 3a (leisure, ledger)
p le 3a p le s5a (pleasure, pledger)
p le3o p le s3a (pleasure, pledger)
li:3an li : d :, an (le sion , legion)
li:3an li:d3an(lesion, legion)
 27 9
E xe rc ise 5 Disc rimin ation be tw e en Bai tJp 5 Phan bi@t gi@a cac am xat
fric ativ es an d affric ate s va am tiic xat
Y ou w i ll h ear s o me o f t h e w o rd s fro m B,,rn se nghe mot so tu cl a bai tap 4.
E x erci s e 4 . W h en you h ear t h e w o rd, s ay "A " Khi ban nghe tu, hay n6i "A" ne' u ban
i f y ou h ear t h e w o rd on t h e l eft o r "B" i f y o u nghe W a ben trai, ho;')c "B" ne' u ban
h ear t h e w o rd on t h e rig h t. Y o u w ill t h en nghe W cJ ben phai. Sau d 6 ban se nghe
h ear t h e co rrect an s w er an d t h e w or d w i ll b e dap an dung va tu se duqc n6i lc)i de'
s ai d ag ai n fo r y o u t o rep eat. b a n la p la i .
A B A B
Jop tJop ji:t tji:t
k reJ kretJ le3a led3
wfr wotJ,u li:J1z li:tJ1z
Ju:z t.fu:z wf wtf
li:3an li:d3on ple3a pled3a
befrz bretJ1z mreJ mret.f

Audio Unit 7 Further consonants Audio Unit 7: Cac phu am khac

Exe rc is e 1 R epe ti tion ofw ords c on tain in g Bai tJp 1 Lap lai cac tu chu a am
a v e lar n asal mi vo m m em
Li s t en an d rep ea-,t ; t ak e care n o t t o Nghe va lap lai; can than khong phat
p ro n o u n ce a p l o s i v e aft er t h e v el ar n as al. . am am bat sau am m ui v om m em .
hreo hreoa
s1 rDD
uo be pr
!h o no

E x e r c is e 2 n w i th an d w ith ou t g Bai tJp 2 n co va khong co g

WORDS OF ONE MORPHEME cAc TU GOM c6 MOT AM V!
Li s t en an d rep eat : Nghe va lap lai:
fr 9 a fi n g e r hAn9a h un g er
reo g a an g er reogl an g l e
breoga .. Ban go r

WORDS OF TWO MORPHEMES cAc TU GOM c6 HAI AM V!

Li s t en and rep eat : Nghe va lap lai:

s1 a s i n g er rI O ID ri n g i n g
hreoa h an g er breoa b ang er
I nn l o ng i n g
 280
Exercise 3 "Clear" and "dark" l Bai tap 3 l "trong" va "duc"
'.' CLEAR L " BEFORE VOWELS L TRONG" TRUdc c Ac NGUYEN AM
Listen and repeat: Nghe v a la p la i :
la I lie tao low Ia, lie lao low
lu:s loose laud loud lu:s loose laud loud
li:k leak b: law Ii:k leak b: law

"DARK L" BEFORE PAUSE L DUC" TRUOC KHONG DUNG

Listen and repeat: Nghe v a la p la i :
frl fill pert pale fl fill perl pale
bel bell marl mile bel bell marl mile
ni: I kneel k II kill ni: I kneel kl kill

"DARK L" BEFORE CONSONANTS "L E)l)C" TRUdc c Ac PHU AM

Listen and repeat: Nghe v a la p la i :
help help fedd failed help help felld failed
fl0 filth milk milk fdft filth milk milk
belt belt we rf Welsh belt belt wef Welsh

Exercise 4 The consonant r B a i tap 4 : P hu am r

Listen and repeat, concentrating on not Nghe v a lap lai, tap trung v ao v ie c
allowing the tongue to make contact with khong cho luoi tiep xic voi vom mieng
the roof of the mouth in pronouncing this khi phat am am nay:
consonant:
eanu airing rera rarer teranst terrorist m1ra mirror
ri:rart rewrite her herring lrrao arrow r:rm roaring

Exercise 5 The consonants j and w Bi tap 5 P hu am j va w

Listen and repeat: Nghe v a la p la i :
ju: you w e 1 way j 1a year wm win
jo:n yawn w :, : war juo your w ea wear

Exercise 6 Dictation of words B ai tap 6 Doc chinh ta ca c tu

When you hear the word, write it down
using phonemic symbols. Each word will be
said three times; you should p:rnse your CD
or tape if you need more time for writing.
( J . .. 12 )
Check' your answers.
Khi ban nghe tu, hay ghi no ra bang
cach dung cac ky hieu am vi. Mai tl se
duoc noi ba lan; ban nen dung CD hoac
bang neu ban can them th' i gian de viet.
( 1 ... 1 2)
II Ki€m tra clap an cua b,:1n. II
 281
Audio Unit 8 Consonant cluster s Audio Unit 8 Cac cum phu am

Exercise I Devoicing of I, r, w, j Bai tap 1 Su vo thanh hoa cua l, r, w, j

Wh en 1, r, w, j follo w p , to r k in s y llab le­ Kh i I, r, w , j th eo s au p , t h o~c k d v i
in itial p o s itio n th ey are p rod u ced as tri d au cu a am tiet, ch un g d u o c tao ra o
v o iceless, s lig h tly fricativ e s ou n d s . d an g am v 6 th an h , h o i x at.
Lis ten an d rep eat: Ng h e v a lap lai:

p i e, p lay trc, tray kha clear

p re, p ray twm twin kra, cry
pju: p ew tju:n tu n e kju: q u eu e

Exercise 2 Repetition of initial clusters Bai tap 2 Lap lai cac cu m d vi tridau
TWO CONSONANTS HAI PHL) AM
Lis ten and rep eat: Ng h e v a lap lai:
spot s p o t plao p lo u gh smaII s mile flc1m flame

staon s to n e twist twis t snau s n o w Jriok s h rink

skert s k ate kri:m cream slrem sla m vju: v iew
sf1a s p h ere pjuo p u re s w tf s witch llwa:t th wart

THREE CONSONANTS BA PHL) AM

Lis ten an d rep eal: Ngh e v a lap lai:

spic, s p lay stre, s tray skru: s crew

spre, s p ray stju: s tew skwnJ s qu as h
spju: s p ew skju: s k ew

E xe rc ise 3 F in al plosive -plu s-plosive Bai ta p 3 Cac c um am ba t cong am

clu ste rs b a t d vi tri cuoi
a) Wh en o n e p lo s iv e is follo wed b y a) Kh i mo t am b at d uo c th eo s au b i
ano th er at th e en d o f a s y llab le, th e s eco nd mo t am b at k h ac d cu o i mo t am tiet,
p lo s iv e is u su ally th e o n ly o n e th at can b e am b at th t h ai th u on g la am b at d u y n h at
clearly h eard . In th is ex ercis e, tak e care n o t c6 th e n g h e ro . Tron g b ai tap n ay , can
to mak e an au d ib le releas e o f th e firs t p lo s iv e. th an k h on g ph at am ro am b at d au tien .
Lis ten an d rep eat: Ng h e v a lap lai:
prekt p ack ed ngd rig g ed drpt d ropp ed lcpt leap t
begd b ag g ed dkt d u ct rnbd rob b ed grrebd g rabb ed
 282
b) It is difficult to hear the difference b) That kh6 de
nghe duoc su khac biet
between, for example, ' dropped back' and giua, chJng han, 'dropped back' va 'drop
'drop back' , since in the normal pronunciation back' , vl cach phat am binh thuong chi
only the last plosive of the cluster the b of la am bat cuoi cua cum (b cia be k ) dudc
brek) is audibly released. The main difference phat am nghe ro. Su khac biet chinh la
is that the three-consonant cluster is longer. cum ba phi) am dai hon.
Listen and repeat: Nghe va lap lai:

A B
grrebd baull grabbed both grreb baull grab both
la1kt 3am liked them la1k 3am like them
hnpt brek hopped back hnp brek hop back
lukt fa:wad looked forward luk fa:wad look forward
pcgd daun pegged down peg daon peg down
wrpt kri:m whipped cream Wip kri:m whip cream

Exercise 4 Recognition Bai ta p 4 Nha n da ng

Look at the items of Exercise 3(b) above.
When you hear one of them, say "A" if you
hear an item from the left-hand column, or
"B " if you hear one from the right-hand
column. You will then hear the correct
answer and the item will be said again for
you to repeat.
( 1 ... 6)
Xem cac muc cla bai tap 3(b) o tren.
Khi ban nghe mot trong ba muc, hay n6i
"A" neu ban nghe mot muc td co t trai,
hoc n6i "B" neu ban nghe mot muc tu
cot phai. Sau d6 ban se nghe dap an
dung va muc do se duoc noi lai ba n de
la p la i .
( 1... 6)

Exercise 5 Final clusters of three and Bai ta p 5 Cac c um c uoi gom ba va

four consonants bo'n phlJ a'm
Listen and repeat: Nghe va lap la i :
helps helps nekst next sd3d edged ri:t.ft reached
s1ksll sixth remd3d ranged twelflls twelfths teksts texts
0aenkt thanked nsks risks

Exercise 6Pronouncing consonant Bai tJ p 6 P hat a m c ac c um phu a m

clusters
When you hear the number, say the word. .Khi ban nghe con so, hay rr6i W . Sau
You will then hear the correct pronunciation do ban se nghe cach phat am dung ma
which you should repeat. ban nen lap lai.
1. skre1pt 3. klaul'Jz 5 . krAnft 7'. plAndJd
2. grad3d 4. :;knpts 6 . llraunz 8 . kwen.f

(The spelling of these words is given in (Dang vi et chinh ta cda cac t u nay
the answers section.) II dugc cho trong phan dap an.) II
 283
Audio Unit 9 Weak syllables Audio Unit 9 Ca c a m tie't y e'u
Exercise 1 'Schwa" a Bai t,f e.p 1 Schwa" a
TWO-SYLLABLE WORDS WITH CC T' HAI AM TIET AM TIT Co
WEAK FIRST SYLLABLE AND STRESS ON THU NHAT YEU VA TRONG AM NAM
THE SECOND SYLLABLE TREN AM TIET THU HAI

Lis ten an d rep eat: N ghe va la p lai:

Weak s y llab le s p elt ' a' - A m tie't ye'u dU(IC Fie't la 'a '
ab o u t a'baut ah ead a'hed ag ain a'gen

Sp elt ' o ' - Du ri e Fie't ' o '

o b tu s e ab'tjms o p p o s e a'pauz o ffen d a'fend

Sp elt ' u ' - Duri e Fie't ' u'

s u ppos e sa'peuz s u p p o rt so'p:t s ug g es t so'd3est

Sp elt ' o r' - Du g c v i&t ' o r'

forg et fa'get fors ak e fa'se1k forb id fa'b1d

Sp elt ' er' - Du qc v iet ' er'

p erh ap s pa'hreps p ercen t pa'sent p erceiv e pa'si:v

Sp elt ' u r' - Du gc v i&t ' u r'

s u rv iv e sa'va,v s u rpris e sa'pra,z s u rv ey (v erb ) sa've,

TWO-SYLLABLE WORDS WITH c Ac TU HAI A,v1 TIET c 6 AM TIET

WEAK SECOND SYLLABLE AND STRESS THU HAI YEU VA TRONG AM NAM 6
ON THE FIRST SYLLABLE AM TIT DAU
Lis ten an d rep eat: N gh e va la p lai:
Weak s y llab le s p eit ' a' - A m tie't ye'u dU<Jc Fi€t la 'a '
b allad 'brelad Alan 'relan n eck lace 'neklas

Sp elt ' o ' - DLf(l c vie't 'o'

melo n 'melan p ad d o ck 'predak p urp o s e 'p3:pas

Sp elt ' e' - DU(lc vie't 'e'

hu n d red 'hAndrad s u llen 'sAlan o p en 'aupan

Sp elt ' u ' - Dlf(IC vie't 'u'

circu s 's3:kas Au tumn 'J:tam alb u m 'relbam

Sp elt ' ar' - DLf(l c vie't 'ar '

tan k ard 'tregkad cu s tard 'kAstad s tan d ard 'standad

Sp elt ' o r' - Duge viet 'or'

ju ror 'd3uara majo r 'merd3o man o r 'mrena

Sp elt ' er' - D11r1 c vie't 'er'

lo ng er 'lugga · eas tern 'i:stan mo th er 'mAila
 284
Spelt ' ure' - Dti (I C v ie'( 'ure '
nature 'n e r ( fa poslure 'p n stf a creature .'k r i: tf a
Spelt ' ous' - Du(IC Fie't 'ous'

ferrous 'fe r as vicious 'v1Jas gracious 'grc rf as

Spelt ' ough' - Du1/c v ie't 'ough'

thorough 'flAr a borough 'b Ar a

Spelt ' our' - Du(l c v ie't ' our'

saviour 'ser vj a succour 'sAk a colour 'kAl

THREE-SYLLABLE WORDS WITH c Ac TU BA AM TIET c6 AM TIET

WEAK SECOND SYLLABLE AND STRESS TYO HAI YEU VA TRQNG AM NAM
ON THE FIRST SYLLABLE TREN AM TIET THU NHAT:
Listen and repeat: Nghe va lap lai :
\;Veak syllable spelt ' a' - Am tie't y e'u du(J c v ie't Iii ' a'
workaday 'w3: k ad e r roundabout 'r au n d ab au t
Spelt ' our' - Dtl (fc v ie't 'o'
customer 'k Ast am a pantomime 'p ren t am a1m
Spelt ' u' - Dtl(lc viet ' u'
perjury 'p a: d 3r i venturer 've n tJar a
Spelt 'ar' - Dll(fc v ie't 'ar'

standardise 'st ren d ad ar z jeopardy 'd 3e p ad i

Spelt ' er' - Dtl(J C v ie't 'e r'
wonderland 'wAn d alren d yesterday 'j e st ad c r

Exe rc ise 2 Close fron t v ow e ls Ba i tap 2 Ca c ng uyen a m do ng o

ha ng truo c
WEAK INITIAL SYLLABLES CAC AM TIET YU o V TRi DAU
Listen and repeat: Nghe va lap lai:
excite r k 'sar t resume n 'zj u : m inane r 'n e m effect 1'fc k t
exist r g'z ist relate n 'le r t device d r 'var s ellipse 1'h p s

WEAK FINAL SYLLABLES c Ac AM TIT EU d V TRi CUo

Listen and repeat: Nghe va lap lai:
city ·s,t i many 'meni easy 'r: zi only 'au nli
funny 'f'An i lazy 'lc1zi busy 'bzi lady 'lc1di
 285

Exe rcise 3 Sy ll abic ] Bai tap 3 1 co am tilt tinh

Listen and repeat: Nghe va h\ip lc)i:

bottled 'bn t lI d bottling 'b n }1u

bottle 'b n t l
muddle 'm xd l muddled 'mxdld muddling 'm Ad \10

tunnel 't an lI tunnelled 'tAnlI d tunnelling 'tan]

wrestle 'reslI wrestled 'reslI d wrestling 'res]

Exe rt;ise 4 Sy ll abic IJ­ Bai tap 4 n co am tie't tinh

Listen and repeat: Nghe va lap lai:

burden 'b3:d1?, burdened 'b3:dnI d burdening 'bs:dnn

frighten 'frartn frightened 'frartnd frightening 'frartn1

listen 'hsnI listened 'hsnI d listening 'Isn

Exe rcise 5 Tran sc ription Bai tap 5 Phien am

Transcribe the following words when you
hear them, giving particular attention to the
weak syllables. Each word will be said twice.
If you need more time for writing, pause your
CD or and restart it when you are ready for
the next word.
Phien am cac tu sau day khi ban nghe
chung, dac biet cha y den cac am tiet
yu. Mai tu se duoc noi hai Ian. Ne'u
ban can them thoi gian de viet, hay tam
dung CD hoc ban, va bat dau lai no
khi ban san sang vi t tu ke tiep.

( 1...10) ( 1 ... 1 J)

Now check your answers. II By gi& ki&m tra dap an ci a ban. II

Audio Unit 10 Word stress Audio Unit 1 O Trc,>ng am tu

E xe rc is' 1 S tre ss markin g Bi tap 1 Danh da'u nha'n
When you hear the word, repeat it, then K hi ban 11 g he tu, hay lap lai no r6 i
place a stress mark (') before the stressed dt dau nhan (') truoc am ti&t nhan.
syllable.
1) e m m i enemy 6) sabtrrekt subtract 2) kalekt collect

7) ehfanl elephant 3) k pt l capital 8) abZ3:va observer

4) k a: n e 1JI?, carnation 9) profit profit

5) prerada1s paradise L O) entatem entertain

Now check your marking with the correct Bay gio kiem tra viec danh du ci a
version. II ban voi dang dung. II
 286
E xe rcise 2 Pron ou n c in g from Bai tap 2 Phat a m tit phan phien a m
tran sc ription
The following are British place-names. Sau day la cac ten dja danh r'J Anh.
When you hear the number, pronounce them Khi ban nghe con so , hay phat am chC,ng
with the stress as marked. You will then hear voi trong am nhu duoc danh dau. Sau d6
the correct pronunciation. which you ban se nghe cach phat am dung ma ban
should repeat.
nen lap lai.
I. '[ro wzbri 5 . reba 'ris twa ff 8 . dx n'di:
2. po l'pcra u 6. 'b3 mom 9. 'kaenta bri
3. ::cbJ 'di:n 7 . nJ :ffrempta n 10. 'be,zro s ta uk
4. wulv a 'hrempta n

(The spelling for these names is given in (Dang chinh ta ci a cac ten nay duoc
the answers section.)
cho trong phan dap an.)

E xe rc ise 3 Plac in g stre ss on v e rbs, Bai tJp 3 Dij.t da'u nha'n Jen dgng tit,
adj e c tiv e s an d n oun s tinh tu va danh tit
When you hear the number. pronounce Khi ban nghe con so , hay phat am W
the word with the appropriate stress. You will
voi trong ar thich hop. Sau do ban se
then hear the correct pronunciation. which
nghe cach phat am dung ma ban nen
you should repeat. lap lai.
TWO-SYLLABLE WORDS
c A c TCJ HAI A M TIET
VERBS - DON G T U
I. drs i:v deceive 'i knp• copy 8 nk:1:d record
2. Ju: p,111 sharpen 6. bekt object 9. phf polish
3. k,1 lekt co1lect
7. knko conquer IO drpcnd depend
4. pr,1 na uns pronounce

ADJECTIVES - TiNH TU
I. i: zi easy
5. h1 hu hclmv 8 . s ,1 hla rm suhl r 111c
2. k.1rnpli: f complete Ci. jclau yellow 9. hcvi heavv
3. rncrd:p major 7. t:l i ear l y 10. a la rv ·il1\'l'
4. ahun a lone

NO U N S - DAN H T(/
1. h1J,1p lmhop 'i chli.t cl le.it 8 Jl,l l r.i o J p.i ;11

2. a:sp c k l aspect 6 f1s 0lf c e 9. dentist de n ts

3. f e affair 7 ,l f"C'l 'JI TI Y
IQ. :l ;f:, m i \ U 11111
4. ka :p1 t carpel

THREE-SYLLABLE WORDS
VERBS - DONG TU
1. cntatcm entertain
2. rczarckt resurrect
3. bendan abandon
4. d,hva deliver
28 7
CAC T' BA AM TIET
5. mntorApt interrupt 8, 1med3mn imagine
6. IIISlt elicit 9, drta:mm determine
7. kumand,a commandeer 10. scparc1t separate

ADJECTIVES - TfNH TU
l. mmpo:tnt important
2. 1n:mas enormous
3. dcnhkt derelict
4. dcs,mt decimal
5. 'bn:ml abnormal 8. ncgatJv negative
6. mslant insolent 9. rekjarat accurate
7. frentrestJk fantastic 10. Anla1kli unlikely

NOUNS - DANH TU
1. fa:mt.fa furniture
2. drza:sta disaster
3. drsa1pl disciple
4. rembjalans ambulance
5. kwnttri quantity 8. trrenz,sta transistor
6. ka&i:dral cathedral 9, eks1dnt accident
7. hnlakJ:st holocaust 10. t.Jma:tao tomato

Audio Unit 11 Complex word st ress Audio Unit 11 T ro ng a m tu phuc ta p

Exe rc ise 1 S tre ss-c arry in g suffixe s
When you hear the number, pronounce
the word with stress on the suffix. You will
then hear the correct pronunciation which
you should repeal.
1. -ain: entertain cnta'tcm
2. -ee: refugee ,refj'd3i:
3. -cer: mountaineer ,maontJ'ma
B a i tJ_p 1 HJ_u to' mang trqng am
Khi ban nghe con SO, hay phat am w
voi trong am nam tren hau to. Sau do
ban se nghe cach phat am dung ma ban
nen lap lai.
4. -ese: Portuguese ,p;i:tJagi:z
5. -ette: cigarette ,s1ga'rct
6. -esquc: picturesque ,p1kt.fa'rcsk

When you hear the stem word, say the Khi ban nghe tu goc, hay noi tt voi
word with the given suffix. putting the stress hau to da cho, dat trong am l n hu to
011 that suffix. Jn these examples, a secondary do. Trong cac vi du nay, trong am phu
stress comes 011 the penultimate syllable of roi vao am tiet ap chot cl a goc t u .
the stern.
employ +-ce absent + -cc Sudan +-ese Pekin+ -cse
engine + -cer profit + -eer usher+ -ettc statue + -ettc (statuette)
 288

Exe rc ise 2 Ne u tral suffixe s Ba i ta p 2 Ca c ha u to trung la p

When you hear the stem word, acid the Khi ban nghe goc tu , hay them hau
suffix without changing the stress. t6, khong thay d6i trong am.
1. comfort + -able 9. power+ -less 2. anchor + -age
10. hurried + -ly 3. refuse + -al (refusal) 11. punish + -ment
4. wide+ -en (widen) 12. yellow + -ness 5. wonder+ -ful
13. poison + -ous 6. amaze + - i ng (amazing) 14. glory + -fy (glorify)
7. devil + -ish 15, other + -wise
8. bird+ -like 16. fun +-y (funny)

E xe rcise 3 S tre ss-mov in g suffixe s Ba i ta p 3 Ca c hju to chuyen d ich

tro ng am
When you bear the stem word, say it with Khi ban nghe tu goc, hay noi no voi
the suffix added and put the stress on the hau to duoc them vao va dat trong am
last syllable of the stem. len am tiet cuoi cua goc tu .
advantage+ -ous injure + -ious (injurious)
photo + -graphy tranquil + -ity (tranquillity)
proverb + -ial hurried+ -ly
climate + -ic (climatic) reflex + -ive
embryo + -logy

Exe rc ise 4 C ompou n d w ords Ba i ta p 4 Ca c tu g hep

When you hear the number, say the item. Khi ban nghe con so, hay noi tt.
a) First element adjectival, stress on a) Thanh phan th@ nhat Ia tinh tt ,
second element. trong am nm o thanh phan tht hai.
I. loudspeaker 3. headquarters 5. three-wheeler
2. bad-tempered 4. second-cl.:iss

b) First clement nominal. stress on first bl Thanh phan th& nhat la danh tu ,
element. trong am nam o thanh phan th& nhat.
1. typewriter 3. sunrise 5. tea-cup
2. car-ferry 4. suitcase

c) Mixture of type (a) and (b). c) Ket hop loai a) Vil bl

I. long-suffering 3. shoelace 5. gear-box
2. gunman 4. red-blooded 6. overweight
 306
. d ) All are v o iceles s . d ) Tat ca d eu la am vo th an h .

e) All are roun d ed o r en d with lip - e) Tat ca d eu d uo c d o c tr0 n mo i h o ac

rou nd in g . k et thu c v o i mo i tro n .

f) All are ap p rox iman ts (th ey create fl Tat ca d eu la am can (chu n g it can
v ery little o b s tructio n to th e airflo w). tro lu 6 n g k h O.

Chapter 1 4
1 . a) A I b ird in th e I h an d is wo rth I two in th e I b us h

b ) I Ov er a I q u arter o f a I cen tu ry h as e I lap s ed s in ce his I d eath

c) Co rn I p u ters co n s u me a co n I s id erab le a I mo u n t o f I mo n ey an d I time
d ) I Mo s t o f th em h av e ar I riv ed o n th e I b u s
e) I News p ap er I edito rs are in I v ariab ly I u nd er I wo rk ed

2.
a) b) ~
~ w s
s w
· Roils Ro y ce
~
S W
/~
s w
Ch ris t m as p re s en t

C) (Th e s tres s lev els o f 'Ro lls ' an d 'Ro y ce'

are ex ch an g ed to av o id "s tres s clas h "
s
b etween 'Ro y ce' an d 'ra-' .)

s w s w
(Cap do trong am ci a 'Rolls' va
Royce' duoc trao d6i de tranh "dung trong
p et foo d d ea ler
am" gil a 'Royce' va 'ra-'.)
d)

­
w

s w
Ro lls Royce ra lly e v en t

a ) wAn ko :z a v a s m a rs s po us ta bi l a d3 i z

b) wt di a :bm ppjo l er[n ka d3 u:z rz beat trem z

c) Ji ae ks pa t1 kjo li w el i npa fs :s s i:n

(Th e abo v e rep res en t ju s t o n e p o ss ib le (Tr@n d ay ch i trin h b ay mo t cach ph at

p ron u n ciatio n : man y o th ers are p o s s ib le.) am c6 th € c6 : con c6 th e co n h ieu k h a
n an g k h ac.)
 30 5
Chapter 12
l. ar wnt a ta po:k ilret ka:r auva 0ea
2. a v ;,:I ifa prapaoz!z Oa WAD Oat ju: me1d 1z Oa sdiast
3 . d3em an bJI kad av drrvn 0am tu: an frum <la po:ti
(kod is also suitable)
4 . ta kAm ta 0a pmt wot.Jl wi du: fa 0a rest av dc wi:k
5 . haz emwAn gt an ardra wear 1t kemm frm
6 . padestr1anz mast a:lwz ju:z 0a krsrz provardrd
7. i:tf wan waz a pa:frkt 1gza:mp! av Di a:t 0at ad bi:n drvelopt 0ea

Chapter 13 Chu'e1ng 13
1. In this data there is no evidence of u 1. Trong du lieu nay,khong co chung
contrasting with n. since n never occurs cu n trai voi n, vl u khong bao gio
except before k and g. So all phonetic n xuat hi@n ngoai tru truoc k va g. Vi
consonants are phonemic n. vay tat ca
cac phu am ngu am m deu
la am vi n.
a) lhng c ) lhnkmg e) srnga
b) lhnk d) fmga f) srngmg

2. a ) saond c ) ko:nt e ) bond

b) regga d) krempa

3. /ti is realised as [.r] when it occurs 3. /t/ duoc nhn ra la [r] khi no xuat hi@n
between vowels if the preceding vowel gila cac nguyen am neu nguyen am
is stressed and the following vowel is dung truoc du;c nhan va nguyen am
unstressed. dung sau khong duoc nhan.

4.
p d s 111 z

Continuant (A m xa t) - - + + +
Alveolar (A m /qi) - + +, - +
Voiced (HL7u tha nh ) - + - + +

5. a) All the vowels are close or close mid
(or between these heights).
'I
b) All require the tongue blade to be
raised for their articulation, and all are
in the alveolar or post-alveolar region
c) None of these requires the raising of
the tongue blade - all are front or
back articulations.
5. a) Tat ca cac nguyen am du la am
dong hoac nda dong (hoac gi@a
hai d<;\ cao nay).
b) Tat ca deu doi hoi song luoi phai
nang len de tao ra chung, va tat ca
deu nam & vmng loi hoc sau loi.
c) Khong co am nao trong so nay doi
hoi phai nang song luoi - tat ca
deu la thanh phan cu am o hang
truoc hoac hang sau.