elt phonology week 5-6

7/30/2019 ELT Phonology Week 5-6

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Do you ever wonder

Why is it that Chinese speakers have difficultyin pronouncing /l/?

Why is it that Arabic speakers have difficulty in

pronouncing /p/? Why is that Malay speakers have difficulty in

pronouncing /q/?

Why is it that English speakers have difficultyin pronouncing // at the beginning of aword?


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What is Phonology?

Lets look at what native English speakers

know about their language in terms of

phonology!

Question in mind: How is this knowledge

useful to you as a teacher?


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A noun that ends with a voiceless sound will have a voiceless

ending =/s/.

E.g.: caps, cats, backs, faiths

A noun that ends with a voiced sound will have a voiced

ending =/z/

E.g.: cabs, bags, loves, calls, boys

A noun that ends with any of these:/s,z,, t,d/ will endwith /z/

e.g buses, buzzes, bushes, garages, matches, badges

1) Sound Ending for Plural Nouns


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2) Vowel Nasalisation

A vowel becomes nasalised before a nasalsegment (within the same syllable).

Examples:

Bean

Roam

Rome

Been


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3) Allophones of /t/

/t/ becomes aspirated when it occurs before a

stressed vowel.

E.g: tick/tape/talk

But not in words like these:

Thoughts/hits


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4) Vowel Stress

The vowel sound can reveal a different meaning.

Listen to the pronunciation:

compete to competitionmaintain to maintenance

telegraph to telegraphy

The vowel that is stressed in one form is reduced in a different form

and is therefore pronounced as schwa //.

Note: Check the dictionary for the transcription to help you with thepronunciation!


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Say the word subject differently by stressing

on the vowel underlined:

subject (verb): Lets change the subject.

subject (noun): The teacher will subjectus to criticism


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5) Word, Sentence and Phrase Stress

In a phrase or a sentence, one syllable

receives greater stress than all others.

E.g: Say the word hot dog differently by

stressing on the word underlined:

Hotdog (frankfurter)

Hotdog (an overheated dog)


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a) Word Stress

In English, one or more syllables in every

content word are stressed.

Refer to a dictionary to see how the stress is

marked () in a word.

How to pronounce stressed syllables?

raise the pitch, make the syllable louder (raise

your volume), or make the syllable longer!


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Content Words vs. Function Words

Why do teachers need to know this?

Can help you to speak clearly Can help you to read aloud clearly .


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Content Words

Nouns

Adjectives (big, small)

Verbs (grow, grown) Adverbs (slowly, widely)


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More Content Words

Numbers (2, 100, first)

Question words (what, how, why) Long prepositions (with more than one-

syllable: against, over)

Demonstratives (this, that, these, those) Interjections (Ow! Ouch!)


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Function Words

Most pronouns (personal: I, you; object: me,

them )

Forms of to-be

Modal verbs (can, should)

Auxiliary verbs helping verbs (had been)


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More Function Words

Short prepositions (one-syllable prepositions:

on, of, to)

Possessive adjectives (your, his, their, our)

Articles (a, an, the)

Conjunctions (and, but, so)


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Again: How to Make a Stress Sound?

We stress on Content Words:

-more loudly, longer, and at a higher pitch.

For content words with more than one-syllable?

The stressed syllable is more stressed!

E.g: interesting, important, terrible, sofa


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Listen and Repeat

Example:

I choose to see all that is interesting and

beautiful

Note: all words bolded are stressed, but

where there is an underline in a long word,

the underlined syllable is more stressed.


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Answer:

The caterpillaranswered in a boredtone.

I love to see the shining moon.

If you want a better view, climbupward. The climb had been exhausting.

The caterpillarfound itselfbeingliftedinto

the wind.


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b) Phrase Stress

Example

I see the same worldas you,/ but I am able

to seepast,/all that is saddening and

horrifying. //

The final content words in black bold and

italics receive the MOST STRESS in the

phrase.


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Stress in Fast Speech


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In Fast Speech

Example:

The bee grew annoyed

Dont need to stress on grewthere is

roughly regular intervals of stress (a stress-rhymed rhythm) or a hum-tee-tum.


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Try: Slow Reading vs. Fast Reading

The ground grows hard, and the wind grows

cold.


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Practise: Stress-Rhymed Rhythm

Move those massive mounds of mud.

Many men have mournful memories of the

magnificent Major.

The singing and the shouting were ringing out.


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Therefore:

In English we stress important words (words

that have content)!


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6) Intonation

Pitch or intonation refers to the falling/rising

of the voice.

There are high notes, low notes, middle notes.

Helps create music in your language.

We can understand feelings, attitude,

whether it is a question, and whether theyhave finished speaking (and you need to

respond).


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Two Types of Intonation

Two common types of intonation:

1) Falling Intonation

2) Rising Intonation


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Falling Intonation

What does it communicate

= Certainty. You are telling a fact and/or you

believe you are right.

=Completion. You are done speaking. Your

listener can now respond.


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Example

Ali loves going to school. His favourite subject

is English. He enjoys learning grammar the

most.

Where should the intonation fall?


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Teachers Phrases

Try these with a falling intonation.

Are you listening?

Pass me the book.

Come and sit at the front.

Stop talking now.

I have marked your homework.


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Falling versus Rising

Examples:

Ali is going =falling pitch at the end. This is a

statement.

Ali is going =high pitch at the end. This is a

question.


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Mandarin Chinese

Ma:

High level = mother

High-rising tone = hemp (a plant)

Low-falling-rising tone = horse

High-falling tone = scold


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How Do we Vary our Tone of Voice?

We vary our tone of voice when we.

1) Express emotion

(boredom, excitement, surprise, friendliness)

2) Organise grammar

(question/statement/pause)


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3) Give shape to words (primary stress,

secondary stress, unstressed)

E.g: photograph

4) Draw attention to meaning!


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Read the handout text given to see how

Native Speakers of British English use stress of

other types of words.


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7) Pronunciation Problems:

Nasal sounds of Malaysian speakers are

caused by too much air coming through and

vibrating in the nasal cavity.

Say /i/

Test yourself if you are nasal by placing a

fingertip on each side of your nose and say the

word he.

Do you feel vibration? You shouldnt though!


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Tips:

Drop your jaw and open the back of the

throat, lowering the voice box.

Try again:

Dont

Even Think


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Homework

Be a teacher to somebody who would benefit inyour teaching.

1) Before you teach them about stress, have theperson read aloud a paragraph (or more).

2) Tape-record the reading.

3) Then, you teach this person about stressingcontent words (and demonstrate).

4) Have the person re-read and tape record.5) Are there any improvements? Jot your findingsand share in class later!

elt phonology week 5-6

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