ENGLISH PHONETICS PHONOLOGY BY NGUYEN HUY KY (unpublished)

NGUYỄN HUY KỶ, PhD ENGLISH PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY SOME ESSENTIALS OF SEGMENTAL AND SUPRASEGMENTAL ELEMENTS For major students of English at Hanoi College of Education and those who are interested in the field Collated by Nguyễn Huy Kỷ, PhD, a senior lecturer of English from Hanoi College of Education Tapescripts presented by Sonia Mc Cann, an English specialist HANOI – 20… CONTENTS Chapter 1: * Essentials of English Phonetics and Phonology * The Production and Analysis of speech Unit - Introduction to English phonetics and phonology - Speech organs Unit - The consonants of English and their classification (to be continued) Unit - The consonants of English and their classification (continued) Unit - The vowels of English and their classification Unit - Allophones Chapter 2: Essentials of stress, rhythm and intonation Unit - Word stress Unit - Sentence stress Unit - Strong forms and weak forms - Degrees of stress Unit - Rhythm and rhythm units/ groups - Assimilation Unit 10 - Elision and linking - Intonation: Functions of intonation (to be continued) Unit 11 - Some basic functions of English intonation (continued) - The basic tunes and their uses Bibliography CHAPTER *Essentials of English Phonetics and Phonology *The production and analysis of speech UNIT 1.1 Introduction to English Phonetics and Phonology: One of the most important purposes of the course is to explain how English is pronounced in the accent normally chosen as the standard for people learning the English spoken in England However, at the comparatively intermediate level at which this course is aimed it is usual to present the information in the context of a general theory about speech sounds and how they are used in language This theoretical context is called phonetics and phonology The nature of phonetics and phonology will be explained as the course progresses, but one or two basic ideas need to be introduced here In any language, we can identify a small number of regularly used sounds (e.g vowels and consonants) that we call phonemes (e.g the vowels in the word ‘pond’ and ‘pen’ are different phonemes, and so as the consonants at the beginning of the words ‘pet’ and ‘bet’.) What is phonetics? It is the study of speech sounds (i.e concrete but unlimited in number) and their production In other words, it is the study of the way humans make, transmit, receive speech sounds, and how speech sounds are made In the field of phonetics, we usually use square brackets ([ ]) for phonetic transcription It is divided into main branches corresponding to the three distinctions: +Articulatory phonetics is the study of the way the vocal organs are used to produce speech sounds +Acoustic phonetics is the study of the physical properties of speech sounds +Auditory phonetics is the study of the way people perceive speech sounds What is a speech sound? It is a concrete sound from a similar phoneme articulated by a speaker and phonetically it is said to be unlimited in number What is phonology? It is the study of the system of speech sounds, especially in a particular language Its object of study is a phoneme In the field of phonology, we usually use slant brackets (/ /) for phonemic transcription What is a phoneme? It is any one of the set of the smallest distinctive speech sounds in a language that can distinguish one word from another and it is abstact but limited in number In English, the ‘s’ in ‘sip’ and ‘z’ in ‘zip’ represent two different phonemes (/s/≠ /z/) or ‘cat’ is different from ‘fat’ because /k/ ≠ /f/ As we all know that language can perform its function as the most important means of human intercourse only as a language of sounds because spoken words consist of speech sounds, and speech without words is impossible Letters serve to represent spoken words in writing As a means of communication by word of mouth, language is used in oral speech and in reading aloud Therefore , we must be able to pronounce isolated words in the sentences in that language correctly One must also have a good pronunciation to understand other people easily when they speak or read aloud This is proved by the fact that the better we pronounce a foreign language the easier we understand it when we hear it Thus, one of the principal aims of would- be teachers of a foreign language is to master both the pronunciation of the language they are going to teach and the methods of teaching the pronunciation To achieve this aim, they should have a clear idea of what a good pronunciation is, what the difficulties in acquiring it are, and how these difficulties can be overcome, i e, to articulate correctly all the speech sounds and their combinations (not only in isolated words, but also in sentences); to pronounce sentences fluently at the speed required by the situation with correct stresses, rhythm, intonation , to know what to with the organs of speech to produce the necessary speech sounds This involves a great deal of memory work, i e, the language student must remember the articulation of each speech sound of the foreign language For example, to pronounce the English consonant /ŋ/ correctly, the language student/ learner must remember to presss the back part of his tongue against the soft palate To acquire a memory of foreign speech sounds, the language student must learn to hear the difference between the various sounds of the foreign language, and between the foreign sounds and the sounds of his mother tongue This ability to distinguish between speech sounds and recognize foreign sounds can be acquired by systematic practice in listening or by ear training There is an effective exercise for this purpose, i e, writing down in phonetic transcription separate sounds, words and sentences pronounced either by the teacher in class or recorded on magnetic tape Another kind of exercise for the development of automatic pronunciation habits is to train the student’s organs of speech (or speech organs) to articulate the foreign sounds and intone sentences correctly at the required speed For this purpose, special articulation and intonation exercises must be used (because imitation is also of great help) and the language students must acquire some theoretical knowledge (both general and language studied); master the norms of the language in the matter of its phonemes, stress, rhythm, intonation ; learn how to diagnose, prevent nad correct all sorts of pronunciation mistakes; learn those phonetic terms both in their native language and in the language they are studying In short, what we have mentioned above are the matters of phonetics- the comparatively straightforward business of 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 phonology 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 (Note: The type of English pronunciation described in the material is known as Received Pronunciation (R P) which is easily understood in all the English speaking countries: Great Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada and most other countries ) 1.2 Speech organs: 1.2.1 General description: In all languages, we speak with air from the lungs We draw it into the lungs quickly and we release it slowly through the nose and mouth The prats of the body that are used to modify the stream of air to produce different sounds are called the speech organs or articulators E.g Sounds such as /t/ or /d/ are made with the tongue touching the alveolar ridge 1.2.2 Specific description: Figure is a diagram that is used frequently in the study of phonetics It represents the human haed seen from the side, displayed as though it had cut in half Upper lip Upper teeth Tooth ridge or Alveolar ridge Hard palate Soft palate or Velum Lower lip Lower teeth Pharynx Figure 1: Diagram of the speech organs (or organs of speech) Figure 2: Sub-divisions of the tongue a) The Pharynx is a tube which begins just above the Larynx It is about 7cm long in women and about 8cm long 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 open your mouth and look in your mirror, you can see the part of pharynx marked X on the diagram (Figure 1) b) The Soft palate or Velum is seen in the diagram (Figure 1) in a position that allows air to pass through the nose and through the mouth But often in speech it is raised so that air cannot get/ 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 in contact with the lower side of the velum, so we call these velar consonants c) The Hard palate is often called ‘the roof of the mouth’ You can feel its smooth curved surface with your tongue (See Figure 1) d) The Tooth ridge or Alveolar ridge is between the top front teeth and the hard palate Sounds made with tongue touching here (such as /t/ and /d/) are called alveolar (See Figure 1) e) The Tongue is a very important articulator and it can be moved in to many different places and different shapes The tongue is usually divided into different parts though there are no dividing lines within the tongue Sub-divisions of the tongue can be shown in Figure 2: Tip, Blade, Front, Back and Root f) The Teeth (upper and lower) are clearly shown in Figure They are only at the front of the mouth, immediately behind the lips (upper and lower) Sounds made with the tongue touching the teeth are called dental g) The Lips are important in speech They can be pressed together to produce the sounds /p/ and /b/ Sounds in which the lips are in contact with each other are called bilabial, while those with lip- to- teeth contact are called labiodental The seven articulators described above are the main ones used in speech, but there are other things for us to remember: the larynx, the jaws and the vocal apparatus 1.3 Homework: 1) Briefly write a short paragraph (about 20 lines long) about English Phonetics and Phonology you have learnt so far 2) Draw the speech organs and point out their names UNIT The consonants of English and their classification (From this unit, we begin to basically deal with speech sounds and their classification So we need 10 class hours to go.) 2.1 The consonants of English: There are reasons to begin with English consonants rather than its vowels: - Consonants contribute more to making English understood than vowels - Consonants are generally made by a definite interference of the vocal organs with the air stream, and so are easier to describe and understand Let’s take examples for illustration: The sentence ‘C- - ld y- - p- ss m- - p- - c- -f str-ng, pl- -s-?’ is easy for us to understand even though all of the vowel letters have been left out But look at the same sentence with all the consonant letters left out: ‘-ou- - -ou –a- - -e a –ie-e o- - - -i- -, - -ea-e?’ It is impossible to make any sense, and the same would be true in speaking, because the consonants form the bones, the skeleton of English words and give them their basic shape In dealing with the consonants, you must first learn how each one is mainly distinguished from the others so that it will not be mistaken for any other consonant In general, a consonant is produced with an obstruction or constriction of the air stream formed in the mouth by the speech organs.The air stream from the lungs is stopped or obstructed somewhere in the mouth before getting out, which forms different consonants In English, there are 24 consonants that we are going to study 2.2 Classification of the English consonants: 2.2.1 According to the articulators/ place of articulation: - Labial: lips are used + bilabial: e.g /p/, /b/, /m/, /w/ + labiodental: lower lip + upper teeth: e.g /f/, /v/ - Dental: Tip of tongue + upper teeth: e.g /θ/, /ð/ - Alveolar: Tip of tongue + alveolar ridge or tooth ridge: e.g /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /n/, /l/ - Palato- alveolar: Tip and front of tongue + alveolar ridge and palate: e.g /∫/, /3/, / t∫/, /d3/, /r/ - Palatal: Tongue + hard palate: e.g /j/ - Velar: Back of tongue + soft palate or velum: e.g /k/, /g/, /ŋ/ - Glottal: Epiglotis: e.g /h/ 2.2.2 According to the manner of articulation: - Plosive: The air is stopped, then rushes out with an plosive - Fricative: The air is constricted and causes friction when passing through the speech organs - Affricative: Combination of plosive and fricative consonants - Nasal: The air passes through the nasal cavity - Lateral: The air passes out at one or both sides of the tongue - Approximant or Glide or Semi- vowel: A glide from one vowel to another In short, the following table will help you know more about the English consonant phonemes: Articulators Manner of articulation Plosive/stop Fricative Affricative Nasal Lateral Approximant Labial Bilabial p, b Dental Velar Glottal Labiodental f, v m Alveolar PalatoPalatal alveolar (postalveolar) θ, ð t, d s, z k, g h ∫, t∫, d3 n l w ŋ r j 2.2.3 Specific description: 2.2.3.1 Fricative/ Friction consonants: (9) There are consonant phonemes whose main sounds all have friction as there most important feature They are /f, v, θ, ð, s, z, ∫, 3, h/ For all of them, the lungs push air through a narrow opening where it causes friction of various kinds a) /f/ and /v/ For both /f/ and /v/, the speech organs are in the position shown in figure 3: Figure 3: /f/ and /v/ Notice: - The soft palate is raised so that no air goes through the nose and it is all forced through the mouth - The bottom lip (or the lower lip) is very close to the upper front teeth: This forms the narrowing and when the air is pushed through this narrowing, it causes slight friction - The tongue is not directly concerned in making those sounds, but it does not lie idle; it takes up the position necessary for the following sound The difference between /f/ and /v/ is mainly one of strength: /f/ is a strong, voiceless consonant; /v/ is a weak, voiced one /f/ is rather longer than /v/ Now say the word ‘fast’ /fa:st/ with strong friction for /f/, and ‘vast’ /va:st/ with very short, weak friction for /v/ Alternate /fa:st/, /va:st/, and be sure that there is very little, very weak friction for /v/, but also be sure that it is the lip and the teeth which are causing the friction, not the two lips Now practise the following lists of words, with long, strong friction for /f/, and short, weak friction for /v/: T1 Feel /fi:l/ Ferry /’feri/ Fan /fæn/ Fat / fæt/ Few /fju:/ Fear /fiə/ File /fail/ Fail /feil/ Veal /vi:l/ Very /’veri/ Van /væn/ Vat /væt/ View /vju:/ Veer /viə/ Vile /vail/ Veil /veil/ Now try these sounds between vowels: Suffer /’sΛfə/ Sniffing /’snifiŋ/ Proofing /’pru:fiŋ/ Rougher /’rΛfə/ Sofa /’soufə/ Offer /’Ɔfə/ Refuse /ri’fju:z/ Cover /’kΛvə/ Giving /’giviŋ/ Proving /’pru:viŋ/ Lover /’lΛvə/ Over /’ouvə/ Hover /’hƆvə/ Reviews /ri’vju:z/ In phrases, we exactly the same: long, strong friction for /f/, and short, weak friction for /v/: e.g very fast /’veri fa:st/, very vast /’veri va:st/, I feel fine /ai fi:l fain/, I feel vile /ai fi:l vail/, four fans /fƆ: fænz/, four vans /fƆ: vænz/ When /f/ and /v/ occur at the end of words, after a vowel, they have an effect on the length of the vowel The strong consonant /f/ makes the vowel shorter, the weak consonant makes the vowel longer, e.g in the words ‘safe’ /seif/, and ‘save’ /seiv/, /f/ is stronger and longer, /v/ is weaker and shorter, but the vowels are of very different lengths; in /seif/, /ei/ is quite short and in /seiv/, /ei/ is really long Now the same with the following words: Leaf /li:f/ Calf /ka:f/ Proof /pru:f/ Surf /sə:f/ Half /ha:f/ Leave /li:v/ Carve /ca:v/ Prove /pru:v/ Serve /sə:v/ Halve /ha:v/ Sometimes when you are listening to English, especially these words mentioned above (and others containing /f/ and /v/, try to fix the sounds in your mind) b) /θ/and /ð/ /θ/ is strong, long and always voiceless, but /ð/ is weak, short and always voiced Notice: Both /θ/and /ð/ have the position of the speech organs shown in figure 4: Figure 4: /θ/and /ð/ - The soft palate is raised so that all the breath is forced to go through the mouth - The tip of the tongue is close to the upper front teeth to create the narrowing where the friction is made - The noise made by the friction for /θ/and /ð/ is not very great, much less than for /s/ and /z/ Now try the words supplied below: Thin /θin/ Think /θiŋk/ Thank /θæŋk/ Thought /θƆ:t/ Thief /θi:f/ Then /ðen/ This /ðis/ That /ðæt/ (stressed) /ðət/ (unstressed) Those /ðouz/ These /ði:z/ Notice: Be sure that for /f/ and /v/, you use a lip- teeth action, and for /θ/and /ð/- a tongue - teeth action Now try the following words: 10 10.1 Elision and linking 10.1.1 What is elision in English? In rapid colloquial speech, certain notional words may lose some of their sounds (vowels and consonants) This phenomenon is called elision Elision occurs both within words and at word boundaries, e.g.: T20 phonetics /fou'netiks/ /f 'netiks/ mostly /'moustli / > /'mousli/ all right /'Ɔ:l rait / > /'Ɔ:rait/ next day / nekst dei/ > /'neks dei/ It is necessary to know all the forms of elision described above So we should aim at careful colloquial style in speech Producing elisions is something which foreign students 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 foreigners might expect to hear are not actually pronounced 10.1.2 What is Linking in English? In our hypothetical ‘mechanical speech’, all words be separate units placed next to each other in sequence In real connected speech, we sometimes link word together The most familiar case is the use of linking /r/ The phoneme /r/ cannot occur in syllable – final position in R.P (Received Pronunciation), but when a word's spelling suggests a final /r/, and a word beginning with a vowel follows, the usual pronunciation for R.P speakers is to pronounce with /r/, e.g.: T21 ‘here' /hi/ , but ‘here are’ /hir/ ‘four’ /fƆ:/ , but ‘four apples’ /fƆ: ræplz/ Linking /r/ is a special case of juncture, which refers to the relationship between one sound and the sounds that immediately precede and follow it, and has been give some importance in phonological theory If a difference in meaning is caused by the difference between aspirated and unaspirated /t/ , how can we avoid the conclusion that English has a phonemic contrast between aspirated and unaspirated /t/ ? The answer is that the position of a word boundary has some effect on the realization of the /t/ phoneme Mary ingenious minimal pairs have been invented to show the significance of juncture, a few of which are given below: 51 T22 ‘might rain’ /main rein/ ( /r/ voiced when initical in ‘rain’, /ai/ short) ‘might train’ /mai trein/ ( /r/ voiceless following /t/ in ‘train’) ‘all that I'm after today’ /Ɔ:1 t aim a:ft tdei/ ( /t/ unaspirated when final in ‘that’) ‘all the time after today’ /Ɔ:1 t taim a:ft tdei/ ( /t/ aspirated when initial in ‘time’) 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 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 And it clearly valuable to exercises related to rhythm and linking Perhaps the most important consequence of what has been described here is that students of English must be made very clearly aware of the problems that they will meet in listening to colloquial, connected speech 10.2 Intonation: 10.2.1 What is intonation? Every language has its own melody No language is spoken on the same musical note all the time The voice goes up and down and the different pitches of the voice combine to make tunes (i.e series of notes with or without harmony forming a melody, especially well- marked ones) In some languages, the tune mainly belongs to the word, being part of its shape, and if the tune of the word is wrong, its shape will be spoiled In many other languages, of which English is one, the tune belongs not only to the word but to the word group If we say the English word ‘No’ or ‘Yes’ with different tunes it is still the same word, but nevertheless tune plays an important part in English We can say a word group definitely or hesitantly, we can say it angrily or kindly, we can say it with interest or without interest These differences are largely made by the tunes we use: the words not change their meanings but the tune we use adds something to the words, and what it adds is the speaker’s feelings This way of using tunes is called intonation 10.2.2 What is English intonation? English intonation is English It is not the same as the intonation of any other language Some people imagine that intonation is the same for all languages, but it is not true We must learn the shapes of the English tunes, and they may be different from the normal tunes of other languages We must learn the meanings of 52 the English tunes, too, because they are so important For example, ‘thank you’ may be said in ways: in the first way, the voice starts high and ends low and it shows real gratitude; in the second, the voice starts low and ends high and it shows a rather casual acknowledgement of something not very important A bus conductor will say ‘thank you’ in the second way when he collects a passenger’s money and it is quite reasonable because he does not feel any gratitude at all But if an English friend invites you to spend a weekend at his home and you reply with the second ‘thank you’ instead of the first, your friend will be offered because you don’t sound really grateful You may have made an honest mistake, but it is difficult for him to realize that because he thinks that you are not so polite 10.2.3 Some basic functions of English intonation: a) The attitudinal function of English intonation b) The accentual function of English intonation c) The grammatical function of English intonation d) The discourse function of English intonation We will move on to look more closely at its functions in Unit 6, Chapter 10.3 Homework: 1) What is elision in English? 2) What is linking in English? 3) What is intonation? and What is English intonation? 4) What are some basic functions of English intonation you have known? UNIT 11 * Some basic some basic functions of English intonation (continued) * The four basic tunes and their uses 53 11.1 Some basic functions of English intonation: 11.1.1 The attitudinal function of English intonation: English intonation can enable us to express emotions and attitudes as we speak, and it adds a special kind of meaning to spoken English This is what we call the attitudinal function of English intonation 11.1.2 The accentual function of English intonation: English intonation helps to produce the effect of prominence on syllables that need to be perceived as stressed, and in particular the placing of tonic stress on a particular syllable marks out the word to which it belongs as the most important in the tone unit This often called the accentual function of English intonation 11.1.3 The grammatical function of English intonation: The listener can easily recognise the grammar and syntactic structure of what is being said by using the information contained in the intonation, e.g., such things as the placement of boundaries between phrases, clauses or sentences, the difference between questions and statements and the use of grammatical surbordination may be indicated This has been called the grammatical function of English intonation 11.1.4 The discourse function of English intonation: Looking at the act of speaking in a broader way we can see that English intonation can signal to the listener what is to be taken as ‘new’ information and what is already ‘given’, can suggest when the speaker is indicating some sort of contrast or link with material in another tone unit and, in conversion, can convey to the listener what kind of response is expected This is what we call the discourse function of English intonation Experiences show that functions of English intonation are best acquired through talking with and listening to English speakers This course aims simply to train language students to be more aware of and sensitive to the way English speakers use intonation 11.2 The four basic tunes and their uses: 11.2.1 The falling tune (The glide- down): ( \ ) a) Some features: The falling tune consists of a fall in the voice from a fairly high pitch to a very low one The fall is on the stressed syllable or from the stressed syllable to a following one: e.g `No /nou/ `Definitely /`definitli/ 54 Notice: + Stressed syllable: — (long) + Unstressed syllable: – (short) + On a single syllable, the voice falls within the syllable + On more than one syllable, the voice either falls within the stressed syllable or it jumps down from that syllable to the next + Unstressed syllables at the end are as low as possible Now try ‘No’ /nou/ Sing it on notes: the high one, then the low one as if it had syllables Then increase your speed, but keep the same tune Be sure that you finish with pitch as low as possible Do the same with ‘Definitely’ / `definitli/ When there is more than one important word in the group, the last one has the fall but the others are treated differently, e.g.: 'What’s `that? /'wƆts ` æt/ 'What was `that? /'wƆt wz ` æt/ 'What was the 'matter with `that? /'wƆt wz  'mæt wi ` æt/ Notice: + The stressed syllable of the first important word is high and any unstressed syllables following it are on the same pitch + The stressed syllable of the second important word is a bit/ little lower and any unstressed syllables following it are on the same pitch + The fall starts at the same pitch as the syllable just before it In groups with more than important words, the stressed syllable of each one is a bit lower than the one before This is why we call The glide- down, e.g.: 'How can I 'possibly 'pay him '3 'thousand `pounds? 55 /'hau kn 'pƆsbli 'pei im 'ri: 'auznd `paundz/ If there are any unstressed syllables before the stressed syllable of the first important word, they are all said on a rather low pitch (as low as you can), e.g.: I was `sad /ai wz `sæd/ I was 'very `sad /ai wz 'veri `sæd/ It was im`portant /it wz im`pƆ:tnt/ Also, any stressed syllable near the beginning which belongs to a word that is not important is said on this same rather low pitch, e.g.: He ‚seems 'very `glad /hi ‚si:mz 'veri `glæd/ (If there is a low- pitched stress near the beginning, it is marked by (‚) as in ‘He ‚seems ’) And the same mark is used for stressed syllables that come after the fall, e.g.: He was in an ex`tremely ‚bad ‚temper /hi: wz in n iks`tri:mli ,bæd ,temp/ With a few remarks, we can show all the features of the glide- down Be careful to use it in the right way 56 b) Its uses: T23 1) In general, we use the falling tune (or the glide- down) for statements which are complete and definite, e.g.: He 'liked it 'very `much /hi 'laikt it 'veri `mʌʧ/ 2) The falling tune is commonly used in Wh- question or special question, the type which has interrogative word like Who, What, Why , e.g.: Why did he change his mind? /'wai did hi 'ʧeinʤ hiz `maind/ 3) For short questions used as responses, like ‘Did you?, Has he?’ , we use the falling tune, e.g.: S1: I went to the cinema yesterday evening S2: `Did you? /`did ju:/ 4) Use the falling tune to expect the other person to agree with you, e.g.: It’s `hot to,day, `isn’t it? /its `hƆt tə,dei `iznt it/ 5) The falling tune is often used for strong commands: 'Don’t 'open the `door /'dount 'oupən ðə `dƆ:/ 6) We also use the falling tune for strong exclamations: 'What a 'very 'handsome `man! /'wƆt ə 'veri 'hændsəm `mæn/ 11.2.2 The first rising tune (The glide- up): (‚) a) Some features: 57 The glide - up is just like the glide - down except that it ends with a rise in the voice instead of a fall Both important and unimportant words before the rise are treated exactly as in the glide – down, e.g.: Is it 'true that he is 'changing his ‚job? /iz it 'tru: ðət hi iz 'ʧeinʤiη hiz ‚ʤƆb/ The last important word is ‘job’ and here the voice rises from a low pitch to one just above the middle of the voice There may be stressed words within the rise, but they are not felt to be important, e.g.: ‚Forty? /‚fƆ :ti/ ‚Forty of them? /‚fƆ :ti əv ðəm/ ‚Forty of them were 'there? /‚fƆ :ti əv ðəm wə 'ðeə/ The first syllable must be low, and the last syllable fairly high How you get from the low to the higher note at the end doesn’t matter, but be sure that you start low and end fairly high b) Its uses: T24 7) We use the glide-up if the statement is intended to be soothing or encouraging, e.g.: I 'won’t 'drive 'too ‚fast (so don’t worry) /ai 'wount 'draiv 'tu: ‚fa:st/ 8) The glide-up can be used if the statement is intended as a question, e.g.: You ‚like it? /ju: ‚laik it/ 58 You 'can’t ‚go? /ju: ka:nt ‚gou/ 9) If we want to show as much interest in the other person as in the subject, use the glide-up, e.g.: 'How’s your ‚son? /'hauz jƆ: ‚sʌn/ 'When did you get 'back from ‚holiday? /'wen did ju: get 'bæk frm ‚hƆlədei/ 10) Use the glide-up for Yes-No questions, e.g.: Can I ‚see it? /kən ‚si: it/ 11) The glide-up is used for greetings and saying good-bye, e.g.: 'Good ‚morning /'gud ‚mƆ:niη/ 'Good ‚bye /'gud ‚bai/ 12) We can also use the glide-up for exclamations which refer to something not very exciting or unexpected, e.g.: ‚Good /‚gud/ ‚Thank you /‚θæη kju:/ 11.2.3 The second rising tune (The take-off): ( a) Some features: ) 59 After the falling tune (or the glide-down) and the first rising tune (or the glide-up), now we have the second rising tune It also ends with a rise in the voice, like the glide-up, but any words and syllables before the rise are low, e.g.: She was ,trying to help /ʃi wəz ,traiiη tə help/ We call it the take-off because it starts by running along at a low level and finaly rises into the air, like the plane taking off The rise in the take-off either takes place on one syllable, like ‘help’ mentioned above or it is spread over several syllables, e.g.: She was ,trying to help him with it /ʃi wəz ,traiiη tə help him wið it/ All the syllables befor the rise are said on the same low pitch as the beginning of the rise They must not be higher than this, or you will have a glide-up instead of a take-off b) Its uses: T25 13) We can use the take-off if the statement is a grumble, e.g.: You ,can’t ,possibly ,do that (You ought to know better) /ju: ,ka:nt ,pƆsəbli ,du: ðæt/ I ,didn’t hurt you (So why you make all that fuss?) /ai ,didnt hə:t ju:/ 14) The take-off can also be used for repetition – questions when you are repeating someone else’s question or when you want the other person to repeat some information, e.g.: When did I ,go? (Or where?) /wen did ,gou/ What? /wƆt/ (Because I want to know) 60 She arrived at ten When? /wen/ Notice: In the example mentioned above, where the other person is being asked to repeat information, the rise begins on the wh-word 15) The take-off is usually used for tag questions after commands/ requests, e.g.: Come over here, will you? /kʌm ouvə hiə wil ju:/ 16) We can use the take-off if both the statement and the tag question have ‘not’ in them, or if ‘not’ is missing from both, e.g.: They haven’t arrived, haven’t they? /ðei hævənt əraivd hævənt ðei/ You like it, you? /ju: laik it du: ju:/ 17) Use the take-off when you don’t want to force the other person to agree with you, but to give his/ her opinion, e.g.: He didn’t look tired, did he? /hi dint luk taiəd did hi/ 18) The take-off is also used if the exclamation is questioning, e.g.: Really? /riəli/ 11.2.4 The falling-rising tune (The dive) (٧): a) Some features: The dive is one of the most difficult tunes that you must learn It consists of a fall from rather high to low and then a rise to about the middle of the voice, e.g.: ٧Ten /٧ten/ The fall-rise is connected with the stressed syllable of the last important word, like the fall and the rise of the other tunes But it is only completed on one syllable if that syllable is final in the group If there is one or several syllables following, the fall and the rise are separated, e.g.: ٧Fifty /٧fifti/ ٧ Seventy /٧sevənti/ 61 The fall is on the last stressed syllable of the last word and the rise on the last syllable of all, e.g.: `That was ‚nice /`ðæt wəz ‚nais/ If there are stressed (but not important) words following the fall, the rise at the end will be from the last of the stressed syllables, e.g.: `That ,wasn’t ,very ‚friendly /`ðæt ,wəznt ,veri ‚frendli/ Words or syllables before the fall are said in the same way as for the glide-down and glide-up, e.g.: He was 'quite ٧nice /hi wəz 'kwait ٧nais/ I 'may be 'able to 'come on ٧Friday /ai 'mei bi 'eibl tə 'kʌm Ɔn ٧fraidi/ Notice: The fall of the fall-rise is always from a fairly high note, somewhere before the middle But if the fall is followed by one or more stressed syllables, we mark the fall with (`) and the rise with (‚) before the last stressed syllable of all; any other stressed syllables have (,) before them, e.g.: `That ,wasn’t ,very ‚friendly /`ðæt ,wəznt ,veri ‚frendli/ b) Its uses: T26 19) We can use the dive if the statement is not complete but leading to a following word group, e.g.: I ٧looked at him (and recognized him at once) /ai ٧lukt ət him/ 20) The dive can also be used for statements that show reservations on the part of the speaker and that may be followed by ‘but’ or by ‘you must admit’ or ‘I must admit’, e.g.: She’s ٧pretty (I must admit) /ʃiz ٧priti/ 62 It 'wasn’t a 'very 'nice 'thing to ٧do (You must admit) /it 'wəznt ə 'veri 'nais 'θiη tə ٧du:/ 21) Use the dive if the statement is a correction of what someone else has said, e.g.: A He’s forty-four B He’s forty-٧eight /hiz fƆ:ti ٧eit/ The dive is used here to express the idea ‘I don’t think he’s forty-four, but I think he’s forty-eight.’ 22) We also use the dive if the statement is a warning, e.g.: He’ll be ٧late /hil bi ٧leit/ A I like him a lot B You `used to ‚like him /ju: `ju:stə ‚laik him/ 23) Use the dive with the fall at the end of the first part and the rise at the end of the second if the statement has parts of which the first is more important to the meaning than the second, e.g.: I 'went to `London on ‚Sunday /ai 'went tə `lʌndən Ɔn ‚sʌndi/ I’m 'very `comfortable ‚thank you /aim 'veri `kʌmfətəbl ‚θæηk ju:/ 24) If you want the command to sound like a pleading request, use the dive, with the fall on ‘Do’ or ‘Don’t’ if they occur or on the main verb, if not, and the rise at the end, e.g.: `Shut the ‚door /`ʃʌt ðə ‚dƆ:/ `Do ,have some ,more ‚wine /`du: ,hæv səm ,mƆ: ‚wain/ `Don’t ,make me ‚sad /`dount ,meik mi: ‚sæd/ 63 11.3 Homework: 1) Say a few words about each of the basic functions of English intonation and give examples of your own for illustration 2) Practise again all the examples with English intonation given in the Unit Then, for further practice, supply more examples of your own 3) Using the rules supplied, mark the English intonation of each word group by yourself 4) Set up a certain situation and give example for illustration for each use, then mark its intonation BIBLIOGRAPHY IN ENGLISH Antipova E Ya., 1974, English Intonation, Leningrad Cook V J., 1971, Active Intonation, London Coulthard M., 1995 (reprinted), Advances in Spoken Discourse Analysis, London and New York Gimson A C., 1975, An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English, London Gleason H A., 1961, An Introduction to Descriptive Linguistics, New York Halliday M A K., 1978 (reprinted), A course in Spoken English: Intonation, Oxford University Press Hutchinson T., 1999, The Lifelines series, Oxford University Press John and Liz Soars, 1991 (5th impression), Headway series, Oxford University Press Jones D., 1975 (9th edition), An Outline of English Phonetics, Cambridge University Press 10 Kingdon R., 1960, English Intonation Practice, London 11 O’Connor J.D., 1970, Stress, Rhythm and Intonation, Madrid 12 O’Connor J.D and Arnold G.F., 1973 (2nd edition), Intonation of Colloquial English, Longman 13 O’Connor J.D., 1977 (reprinted), Better English Pronunciation, Cambridge University Press 64 14 Roach P., 1990 (10th printing), English Phonetics and Phonology A Practical Course, Cambridge University Press 15 Vassilyev V.A., 1970, English Phonetics A Theoretical Course, Moscow 16 Yegorov G.G., 1967, Suprasegmental Phonology, Moscow IN VIETNAMESE 17 Nguyễn Huy Kỷ, 2000, Ngữ điệu Anh - Ngữ điệu Việt, nhìn từ góc độ ngơn ngữ học đối chiếu, Tạp chí Khoa học số 3, trang – 13, Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội 18 Nguyễn Huy Kỷ, 2002, Trọng âm từ, xuất phát điểm việc nghiên cứu nhịp điệu tiếng Anh, Tạp chí ngơn ngữ số 13, trang 42 – 49, Viện Ngôn ngữ học 19 Nguyễn Huy Kỷ, 2003, Một số vấn đề Âm vị học Ngữ âm học, Thông báo Khoa học số 9, trang 98 - 101, Cao đẳng Sư phạm Hà Nội 20 Nguyễn Huy Kỷ, 2004, Ngữ điệu tiếng Anh chức năng, Tạp chí Khoa học số 4, trang 36 - 48, Đại học Ngoại ngữ, Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội 21 Nguyễn Huy Kỷ, 2006, Ngữ điệu tiếng Anh người Việt, Nhà xuất Văn hố - Thơng tin, Hà Nội 22 Nguyễn Huy Kỷ, 2007, Tìm hiểu số quan hệ ngữ điệu phương tiện khác có liên quan, Tạp chí Ngơn ngữ & Đời sống số 1+2, trang 72- 75, Tạp chí Hội Ngơn ngữ học Việt Nam 23 Nguyễn Huy Kỷ, 2008, Những vấn đề cốt yếu Ngữ âm học Âm vị học, Tạp chí Khoa học số 1, trang 59 - 68, Đại học Ngoại ngữ, Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội 24 Nguyễn Huy Kỷ, Bùi Thị Đào, 2008, Một số khó khăn người Hà Nội thể ngữ điệu tiếng Anh: nguyên nhân cách khắc phục (Dựa liệu khảo sát sư phạm điều tra điền dã), Tạp chí ngơn ngữ số 8, trang 68 – 75, Viện Ngôn ngữ học 25 Nguyễn Huy Kỷ, Ngữ điệu Anh Việt ngữ điệu Anh Anh, nhìn từ góc độ ngơn ngữ học đối chiếu, Tạp chí Khoa học ĐHQG Hà Nội, Ngoại ngữ 26, số (2010) 130-140 DICTIONARIES 26 Hornby A.S., 1989 (4 edition), The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, London 27 Jones D., 1957, An English Pronouncing Dictionary, London 28 Kenyon J.S and Knott T.A., 1953, A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English, the United States of American 29 Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, 1992 (new edition), Encyclopedic Edition, Oxford University Press th 65 ... Essentials of English Phonetics and Phonology * The Production and Analysis of speech Unit - Introduction to English phonetics and phonology - Speech organs Unit - The consonants of English and... call phonology 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 (Note: The type of English. .. and analysis of speech UNIT 1.1 Introduction to English Phonetics and Phonology: One of the most important purposes of the course is to explain how English is pronounced in the accent normally chosen