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Content and Function Words Weak and Strong Forms
Content and Function Words Weak and Strong Forms
On the other hand, the remaining words are grammatical or structural, often
called function words and even though they, too, have a weight in the
discourse, they are unstressed in connected speech to sort of stand back and
allow the lexical choices be the protagonists. They are conjunctions, pronouns,
prepositions, auxiliary verbs and articles. This obscuration in their
pronunciation impacts mainly on the quality of the vowel sounds in them.
Below is a list of the main function words in the English language which have a
weak pronunciation. Some function words such as “on” haven´t got a weak
pronunciation.
a ə eɪ
am əm æm
an ən æn
are ə ɑ:
as əz æz
at ət æt
be1 bi bi:
do (aux.) du du:
for fə fr f fɔ:
he hi hi:
her hə ɜ: ə hɜ:
me mi mi:
1
The verb TO BE in all its forms is almost always weak, regardless of whether it functions as an auxiliary or
as a main verb.
The negative forms can´t /kɑ:nt/ and cannot /ˈkænɒt/ have no weak forms, like all contracted negative
2
forms.
must məst məs mʌst
of əv ə ɒv
she ʃi ʃi:
us əs ʌs
we wi wi:
were wə wɜ:
who hʊ hu:
you ju ju:
Notice that even though most of the times these function words are used in
their weak form, in certain contexts, the strong form is needed. When?
in instances of contrastive focus, citation or emphasis;
when prepositions or auxiliary verbs are stranded;
in negative contractions;
when buttressing prepositional phrases in final position in the clause.
Let’s think of examples of each of the above. The last one is probably
new to you, for that one please read on.
Buttressing
Buttressing is the optional use of the strong form for an unaccented
preposition with a pronoun complement, after the nucleus. In the following
sentences, transcribe both optional readings:
I had a letter from him
..........................................................................
..........................................................................
Give it to me.
..........................................................................
..........................................................................
English as a language has its own distinctive rhythm. In this section, we are
going to explore certain tendencies in word stress so that you will be more
likely to sound both natural and fluent.
Although we can´t say there are fixed rules, there certainly are some patterns
in word stress. Here are some general tendencies for word stress in English.
Let´s first look at the case of bisyllabic or two-part words.
event
bookshelf
He´s bad-tempered
OoO
understand
The words in the first group (Ooo) are all stressed on the first syllable, thus
admitting a succession of weak syllables afterwards. That sounds English.
The words in the second group (oOo) are stressed on the second or middle
syllable, thus being well-balanced. They take weak syllables in initial and final
position. That sounds English.
Now, those in the third group (OoO) which are stressed in the third (or
sometimes fourth) syllable require a secondary stress two syllables before
which is less prominent than the primary stress but necessary for word
balance. Without that secondary stress, these words wouldn´t sound English.
Finally, negative prefixes such as un- or de- also carry a secondary stress (e.g.
uncertain, deforestation).
In word families, there are useful patterns such as in the following examples:
Oo o O oo Ooo oooOo
equal equality equalise equalisation
final finality finalise finalisation
neutral neutrality neutralize neutralisation
Let´s practise!
1. Read these words. Which are the stressed syllables? What happens to
the unstressed syllables in terms of sound quality?
personality
analytical
pharmacology
pathogenic
metabolic
2. Read the following pairs of words. Are the stress patterns in both words
the same or different?
under over
question answer
require offer
certificate delivery
considerably manufacturer
absolutely recovery
specify separate
open around
3. Now practise saying the following words, making the difference in stress.
What seems to be the tendency?
NOUN VERB
a set-up to set up
4. Where does the stress go in each of these words? Is that the default
position or is it an exception?
Guitar
Holdup
Event
Prefer
Immigration
Education
Politics
Wake up
Consequently
Shotgun
5. Let´s think of words which we often mispronounce and let’s discuss why
that might be so.