4.1 Word Accent and Rhythm in Connected Speech.pptx

The presentations forms the basis for understanding Word Accent, Rhythm, Stress and Intonation.

1. Accent and Rhythm in Connected Speech Dr. Dinesh Kumar G Assistant Professor PG & Research Department of English

2. Word-Accent Word accent refers to the relative prominence or emphasis placed on a particular syllable within a word, distinguishing it from other syllables. This prominence can be realized through variations in pitch (intonation), loudness, duration, or a combination of these features. 22-08-2024 2 23MAE303

3. Stress Stress in linguistics is the emphasis placed on certain syllables within words or certain words within sentences. It can manifest through increased loudness, higher pitch, longer duration, or greater articulatory effort. For example, stress patterns can distinguish between nouns and verbs, such as in "record" (noun: RE-cord) versus "record" (verb: re-CORD). Stress is a key prosodic feature that contributes to the rhythm and intonation of speech. 22-08-2024 3 23MAE303

4. Pitch Pitch refers to the perceived frequency of sound, which determines whether a voice sounds high or low. Pitch is a crucial element of prosody and plays a significant role in intonation (the rise and fall of pitch across phrases and sentences) and in tonal languages, where different pitches can change the meaning of a word (e.g., Mandarin Chinese). Pitch variation is essential for conveying different meanings, emotions, or grammatical structures in speech. 22-08-2024 4 23MAE303

5. Rhythm Rhythm in linguistics is the pattern of sounds and silences, or stressed and unstressed elements, within speech. It is the temporal structure of spoken language, often described in terms of timing and the regularity of syllables and pauses. Rhythm contributes to the natural flow of speech and varies significantly across languages. English is often characterized by its stress-timed rhythm, where the intervals between stressed syllables are roughly equal, while languages like Spanish are syllable-timed, with more regular intervals between syllables. 22-08-2024 5 23MAE303

6. One syllable in each word is prominent 22-08-2024 6 23MAE303

7. The syllable that is prominent is called the accented syllable or the syllable that receives the accent 22-08-2024 7 23MAE303

8. Words of three syllables or more receive the accent on two syllables i.e. primary and secondary 22-08-2024 8 23MAE303

9. In connected speech made up of a few words, some words stand out from the rest. Ex: I think so. She kicked the ball . 22-08-2024 9 23MAE303

10. In a sentence, two or more than two syllables take stress, only one of them will take a primary stress and it is usually the LAST STRESSED SYLLABLE in the sentence and we effect a pitch change when we say that syllable. Ex: I ‘think so. He ‘came by ‘bus. ‘Meet the ‘dean at ‘ten. 22-08-2024 10 23MAE303

11. In the case of polysyllabic words, we have to choose one syllable from each such word to be made prominent. The SAME SYLLABLE which is PROMINENT when we pronounce the word in ISOLATION . ‘Peter and ‘Mary have de’cided to ‘visit their ‘relatives this ‘summer. 22-08-2024 11 23MAE303

12. Syllables in a polysyllabic word that do not receive the accent when it is produced in isolation, do NOT have the potentiality of receiving the accent in when it forms part of connected speech. 22-08-2024 12 23MAE303

13. I’m disGUSTED with your beHAVIOUR . Can I ‘book a ticket to ‘LONDON? Isn’t it a reMARKable aCHIEVEMENT ? 22-08-2024 13 23MAE303

14. Difference between connected speech and individual words in isolation. subMIT reMEMber Never SUBmit and REmember or remebBER In connected speech, the sentence “He came.” can be He ‘came. ‘He ‘came. But never as ‘He came. 22-08-2024 14 23MAE303

15. I ‘miss you ‘ I ‘miss you. I ‘ miss ‘ you . 22-08-2024 15 23MAE303

16. The choice of the syllable receiving primary stress depends upon the meaning the speaker wants to convey to the listener. 22-08-2024 16 23MAE303

17. The words that are normally stressed whether or not any special emphasis is intended by the speaker are CONTENT or LEXICAL words. 22-08-2024 17 23MAE303

18. The words that are not normally stressed but are stressed when the speaker wants to give any special emphasis to any word in the utterance are GRAMMATICAL or FORM words. 22-08-2024 18 23MAE303

19. Content or Lecixal Words are: Nouns Main verbs Adjectives Adverbs Demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those) and Interrogative words (the wh -words and how) 22-08-2024 19 23MAE303

20. Form or Grammatical words are: Auxiliary or helping verbs without the negative marker “ n’t ” Articles Prepositions Conjunctions Personal pronouns Relative pronouns 22-08-2024 20 23MAE303