Phonetics

CONTENTS
Page
1 SUPRASEGMENTALS…………………………………………………………… 1
Exercises
I. Recognition…………………………………………………………… 4
II. Listening Discrimination…………………………………………….. 4
III. Control Practice and Feedback……………………………………... 4
IV. Communicative Practice……………………………………………. 6
2 STRESS…………………………………………………………………………… 7
Exercises
I. Recognition…………………………………………………………… 9
3 REFERENTIAL STRESS: AFFIXES…………………………………………….. 10

Exercises
I. Orthography………………………………………………………….. 13
IV. Guided Practice and Feedback……………………………………… 15
V. Communicative Practice…………………………………………….. 16
4 REFERENTIAL STRESS: NUMBERS………………………………………….. 17

Exercises
I. Listening Discrimination…………………………………………….. 18
II. Control Practice and Feedback……………………………………... 18
5 DIFFERENTIAL STRESS: NOUN/VERB & ADJECTIVE/VERB…………….. 19

Exercises
I. Orthography………………………………………………………….. 22
V. Communicative Practice…………………………………………….. 26
6 DIFFERENTIAL STRESS: NOUN COMPOUNDS…………………………..… 27

Exercises
I. Listening Discrimination……………………………………………... 30
II. Control Practice and Feedback………………………………………. 30
III. Guided Practice and Feedback……………………………………… 31
7 DIFFERENTIAL STRESS: PHRASAL VERBS………………………………… 33
Exercises
I. Listening Discrimination……………………………………………... 34
II. Control Practice and Feedback………………………………………. 35
8 RHYTHM AND PHRASE STRESS……………………………………………… 37

Exercises
I. Recognition…………………………………………………………… 45
V. Communicative Practice……………………………………………... 53
9 ADJUSTMENTS IN CONNECTED SPEECH…………………………………… 54

Exercises
I. Listening and Orthography……………….…………………………… 56
II. Control Practice and Feedback…………….……………………….... 57
10 PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSES………………………………………………… 58
Exercises
I. Recognition…………………………………………………………... 62
II. Control Practice and Feedback…………………………………….... 63
11 INTONATION……………………………………………………………………. 65
1 SUPRASEGMENTALS
You have studied the consonantal and vocalic sounds in English (the segmentals). The segmentals
are the units into which the speech is separated for analysis. Apart from those individual units there
are other elements that determine the meaning of what a speaker says. These elements are the
SUPRASEGMENTALS (it means superimposed on the segmentals), which may be defined as
qualities such as:
1. Stress
2. Rhythm
3. Intonation
Definition of syllable
It is usually agreed that a syllable is not easy to define although it is easy to identify. There are two
types of theories attempting to define a syllable. The first one looks for a universal definition of it
in phonetic terms. That is, it tries to define the syllable either in auditory or articulatory terms. The
second theory, the linguistic or phonological one, seeks a specific functional definition of a
syllable in terms of a particular language (Gimson, 1970).
The Phonetic Approach tries to define the syllable through these two theories: the Prominence
Theory and the Chest Pulse Theory.
a. The Prominence Theory. This theory tries to define the syllable in auditory terms. It looks
at the inherent sonority or peaks in prominence of each sound. Gimson (1970) states that
“In any utterance some sounds are considered to be more ‘prominent’ or ‘sonorous’ than
others, i.e. they are felt by listeners to stand out from their neighbors” (p. 51).
b. The Chest Pulse Theory. This approach seeks to define the syllable in production terms
(from the point of view of the speaker). It is concerned with the muscular activity
controlling the lung movement which takes place during speech…” (Gimson, 1970, p. 52).
This theory states that “every syllable is initiated by a chest pulse - a contraction of the
muscles of the rib cage that pushes more air out of the lungs” (Ladefoged, 1975, p. 221), in
other words, the number of syllables in an utterance are determined by these chest pulses.
The Linguistic Approach. This approach deals with the particular way in which phonemes are
found to combine in a language, in other words, to the distribution of phonemes. “The phonemes of
a language usually fall into two classes, those which are typically central (or nuclear) in the syllable
and those which are non-central (or marginal). The term ‘vowel’ can then be applied to those
phonemes having the former function and ‘consonant’ to those having the latter” (Gimson, 1970,
p. 53)
Phonotactic Rules
Wolfram and Johnson (1982) mention that sounds of English are not combined in random order but
that these follow regular patterns of permissible sequences. “The regular patterns for combining the
sounds of a language in a sequence are called the phonotactics of the language” (p.75). So, each
language has its own set of restrictions (particular constraints) on how sounds may combine.
Consonant Clusters
The phonotactic rules that cause most trouble to language students may be those that govern
consonant clusters. These are defined as sequences of two or more consonants in syllable-initial or
syllable-final position.
Kukanauza & Allegra (2008) 1

Syllable Division
Quintana de Laya and Laya (1988) state that “Each syllable centers around one prominent segment,
typically a vowel or sonorant, which may be preceded and/or followed by other less prominent
segments. This central most prominent part of the syllable is called the syllabic segment” (p.131).
Vowels are the most commonly occurring syllabic segments. Consonants are usually non-syllabic
but certain consonants in English such as nasals and liquids can be syllabic. Syllabicity is shown by
placing a diacritic [ ֶ ] below them.
Structurally the syllables may be divided into 3 parts:

The peak: the most prominent part of the syllable. (vowels or syllabic consonants)
The onset: the segment(s) [consonant(s)] that precede the peak within the same syllable.
The coda: the segment(s) [consonant(s)] that follow the peak within the same syllable.
Open syllable: a syllable with no coda. For example: see.

Closed syllable: a syllable with a coda. For example: car.
Syllable Syllable
Core Core
Onset Peak Coda Onset Peak
“Car” [ k a: r] “See” [ s i: ]
Closed syllable Open syllable

( with coda) (with no coda)
Syllabic Structure of English and Spanish
Minimal Syllable Structure Maximal Syllable Structure
V CCCVCCCC
( The sequence: a vowel followed by four consonants

is extremely rare. Nonnative speakers ten to simplify
such configuration into three syllables)
(Taken from Celce- Murcia et al, 1996)
Initial Clusters
a. Clusters of two consonants are common in English and Spanish but they are more restricted
in Spanish. Spanish syllables may have a maximum of two consonant clusters in the onset.
Look at the possible combinations in the following chart:

English Spanish
1. / p,b,f / + / l,r,j / : play, brief, few. 1. /p,t,b,k,g,f / + / l,r /: brisa, cree, frío.
2. / t,d,ө / + / r, j, w / : through, tree, dune.
2. /d / + /r/: drenar.
3. / k,g / + / l,r,j,w /: clown, great, cute.
4. / h,v,m,n,l / + / j/ : humor, view, mute, nude.
5. / s /+ / l,j,w,p,t,m,k,n,f / : slate, swim, spin,

school, small, spa.
6. / ∫ / + / r / : shrimp.
b. Clusters with three consonants are common in English but they do not exist in Spanish.
This structure consists of an initial /s/ followed by a voiceless stop sound and finally
followed by liquids or semi-vowels. We can find the following sequence:
1. / s / + / p / + / l, r, j /: splash, spray, spew.

2. / s / + / t / + / j, r / : stew, string.
3. / s / + / k / + / w, j, l, r / : square, skew, sclerosis, scream.
(Taken from Prator & Robinett, 1985)
Final Clusters
In English, the peak of a syllable can be followed by up to 4 consonants, while in Spanish it is not
frequent to find consonant clusters at the end of a syllable. The syllable in Spanish is usually closed
by one consonant. Only in loan words, we can find consonant clusters in final position, for instance:
golf, vals, zinc.
For a detailed list of the final consonant clusters permited in English, there is a table list in Prator
and Robinet, 1985.
Simplification of Final Clusters
Native speakers employ ways to simplify consonants clusters. The most common ones are:
1. Phonetic syllabication or resyllabification. This strategy involves breaking up a final consonant

cluster when it is followed by a word beginning with a vowel sound. In this case, the final
consonant of the cluster is moved over to the next syllable (Celce-Murcia, et al., 1996, p. 83)
Example: She moved it --- She move/d it.
2. Cluster reduction or Omission ( elision, deletion): This strategy consists in omitting one of the
consonants in order to make a consonant easier to pronounce.
a. The middle consonant of a three or four consonant cluster is usually deleted.

Example ‘lifts’ -- /lɪfts/ becomes /lɪfs/
b. Loss of /t/ when /nt/ is between two vowels or before a syllabic l [ ļ ]: winter, Toronto,
sentence, international, internet, etc.

Exercises
I. Recognition
A. Identify the number of syllables these words have. Write your answer in the space next to
each word.
Example: 0. vegetable 3
1. furniture ___ 2. brought ___ 3. pleased ___

4. impossible ___ 5. police ___ 6. checked ___
7. chocolate ___ 8. interesting ___ 9. priority ___
B. Identify the syllabic structure of the following monosyllabic words. Write your answer in
the space next to each word.
Example: 0. Barb CVCC
1. texts _____ 2. films _____ 3. thirsts _____

4. stew _____ 5. scratch _____ 6. shrinks _____
7. laughs _____ 8. once _____ 9. changed _____
II. Listening Discrimination
Listen carefully to each word. Circle the number of syllables you hear
Example: 0. 1 2 3 4 5
a. 1 2 3 4 5 f. 1 2 3 4 5
b. 1 2 3 4 5 g. 1 2 3 4 5
c. 1 2 3 4 5 h. 1 2 3 4 5
d. 1 2 3 4 5 i. 1 2 3 4 5
e. 1 2 3 4 5 j. 1 2 3 4 5
III. Controlled Practice and Feedback
A. Read the following sentences aloud. Pay special attention to the words with the consonant
clusters.
1. She said thanks for the Christmas Card.
2. The skirt and blouse matched each other perfectly.
3. He asked for the test to be postponed until Friday.
4. They excused themselves and quickly left the room.
5. He made several attempts to rearrange the desks.
6. Stewart likes fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast.
7. The wasps flew against the window.
8. It´s about the twelfth time he calls in!
(Taken from Handschuh & Geigel, 1989)

B. Read the following dialog silently. Underline the words that have initial and final consonant
clusters. Read the dialog aloud with your partner.
A Trip to the Veterinarian
X: What seems to be the problem with Splash?
Y: Well, he just isn´t very happy, Doc. He acts so tired all the time. He just lifts his
head up and sighs.
X: And this started two months ago? Can you give me some more facts?
Y: Sure. One of Splash´s big strengths as a guard dog are his bursts of energy. I asked
him to fetch the newspaper yesterday and he left ¾ ( three-fourths) of it on the
doorstep. What does your medical book say about that?
X: Well, let me look it up under “listless dogs”. It says here that “4/5 (four-fifths) of all
Listlessness in dogs is due to poor diet”. Why don´t I give you some pep pills? Feed
him one every day and we´ll see how he acts next week.
(Taken from Celce- Murcia et al., 1996)
C. Work in pairs to ask and aswer questions using the calendar page for the current year in
order to practice final consonant clusters in ordinals:
first
A: What is happening on the second day of ________?
third (month)
fourth
etc.
B: It is the Labor Day.
A: What is taking place on the fifth?

twenty-fourth?
thirty-first?
etc.
B: It is Carmen´s birthday.
(Taken from Celce- Murcia et al., 1996)

IV. Communicative Practice
Work in pairs. Read the situation and the roles you are going to take before working on the task.
Use at least 8 words from the list.
Situation:
Your best friend and you have just finished high school. You are going to attend different colleges
next spring. You are both very excited about your colleges and are sharing information about them.
Student A: You are planning to attend the UCV. Share information regarding this college with your
best friend.
Student B: You are planning to attend the UC. Share information regarding this college with your
best friend.
tasks, tests, schedules, special requests, months, speakers, students, study, stay, small, spend,
start, structures, marks, strict, fifth, sixth, special scheme, great, close, instructions, spring,
instructors, handouts, statistics

2 STRESS
Definition of Stress
It is the degree of force or loudness with which syllables are spoken in English. (Quintana de Laya
& Laya, 1994, p. 140).
Stress from the point of view of the speaker and from the point of view of the listener.
From the point of view of the speaker we are referring to production, in other words to the muscular
energy used by the speaker to produce the stressed syllable. However, in terms of perception that is
from the point of view of the listener, the stressed syllable is recognized by its prominence.
This prominence is characterized by four main factors which usually work together. These are pitch,
length, loudness, and vowel quality (Roach, 1983)
According to Bolinger (1958) and Fry (1955), three signals can be used for indicating stress in
English. These are:
1. Pitch change
2. Length of vowel
3. Clarity of vowel
Of these three, pitch on the vowel is the most important one because English speakers use it to
identify words. Pitch is higher on the stressed syllable: “above” /əbʌv/
Length is another relevant signal. In some languages, vowel length makes a difference in meaning.
Japanese example: oba-san = aunt

obaa-san = grandmother
In other languages every syllable may have the same length and in others like English, some
syllables are short and some are long. Gilbert (1984) states that “Syllables are extra long when they
are stressed. The extra length of the vowel gives time to hear the pitch change, showing stress” (p.
16).
Clarity of vowel. Every sound is not clearly pronounced in English. English has two kind of vowels:
clear and unclear vowels. The difference between these two types of vowels is crucial. Stressed
syllables always have clear vowels while unstressed ones usually have unclear vowels.
Stressed Syllables Unstressed Syllables Example
- have clear vowels - have mostly unclear vowels registration (to the station)
- have a higher pitch - don`t have a high pitch record (N-V)
/ • • / • • / •
- are longer - are shorter (atom - atomic - banana)

Word Stress
Types of Stress
When words are said in isolation, there are usually three different types of stress used:
1. “Primary Stress” ( / ) which is carried by the full/clear vowel sound with the highest
pitch.
2. “Tertiary Stress”( - ) which is carried by the full/clear vowel sound which does not have
the primary stress.
3. “Weak Stress” (•) the one carried by the weak/unstressed vowel sound within the
word.
The arrangement of the stress on the syllable of a word is its “Stress Pattern”. Examples:
/ • / - • / ••
apple cat university
Reduced vowels in unstressed syllables occur in many words of two or more syllables. The
unstressed vowel sounds are reduced to / /, //, //, //. When // and /ə/are used in unstressed
syllables, they sound very similar and may sometimes be interchangeable. This weakening of vowel
sounds in syllables is extremely important because it helps to form the rhythmic pattern of
English. Example:
hello  rebel 

again  good-bye 
(Taken from Orion, 1997)
Roach (1983) emphasizes that for deciding the location of stress, it is important to take into account
the following aspects:
a. The morphology of the word, that is, if it is simple, complex (with prefixes and/or
suffixes) or compound.
b. The grammatical category of the word (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc.)
c. The number of syllables in the word.
d. The phonological constitution of the syllables of the word.
English vs. Spanish Word Stress

Finch and Ortiz (1994) state that stress in English and Spanish varies a lot, that is, both languages
can be considered to have “free accent”. However, English stress seems to be more variable than
Spanish one. The next chart shows the relationship between place of word stress and number of
syllables in a word:
Languages Two-syllable Three-syllable word Four-syllable word

word
st
1 2nd 1st 2nd 3rd 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
English 74 % 26 % 55 % 39 % 6% 33 % 36 % 29 % 2%
Spanish 78 % 22 % 6% 74 % 20 % 0% 11 % 80 % 9%

The chart reveals that the major differences in stress are concentrated in three-syllable and four-
syllable words. Besides, Spanish has a tendency on placing the major stress towards the
penultimate syllable while English tendency is towards the antepenultimate or the first syllable
of words (Finch & Ortiz, 1994)
Stress Functions
Stress has both “referential” and “differential” functions. The “referential” stress indicates the
way in which each syllable in a word is pronounced. The “differential” stress indicates the
difference between two words that are similar but belong to different grammatical categories
(Quintana de Laya & Laya, 1994)
Differential stress marks difference in:
1. Noun / Verb. Examples : REcord (n.), reCORD (v.)

PROduce (n.), proDUCE (v.)
2. Adjective / Verb. Examples: LEARned  (a.) LEARNED  (v.)

GRAduate  (a.) GRAduate  (v.)
3. Noun-compound / Adjective + Noun. Examples: WHITE house (n.), white HOUSE (a.+ n.)
COLD cream (n.), cold CREAM (a.+ n.)
4. Phrasal verb / noun. Examples: show OFF (v.), SHOW off (n).
make UP (v.), MAKE-up (n.)
5. Phrasal verb / Adjective. Example: get AWAY (v.), GETaway (n., a)
Exercises
I. Recognition
Listen carefully to the five-word series your teacher will produce. Then, circle the letter
corresponding to the word with a different stress pattern:
Stress Pattern
0. / • a b c ⓓ e
1. • / a b c d e
2. / • a b c d e
3. • / • a b c d e
4. / • • a b c d e
5. -- • / • a b c d e
6. / • • • a b c d e
7. • /• • a b c d e
8. • / •• a b c d e

3 REFERENTIAL STRESS: AFFIXES
Prefixes
A prefix is a particle added to the beginning of a stem changing its meaning. When prefixes are
added, they do not affect the primary stress of the stem or root. They may have a lighter stress
(tertiary) or a weak stress. For example:
• / _ / • _ /
propose unhealthy misprint
display outstanding outweigh
complain abnormal unclean
impart bimonthly
Exception: an exception to the general pattern (tertiary or weak stress on the prefix + primary stress
on the stem) occurs when a word with a prefix functions as a noun having the same pattern as a
noun compound. In this case, the prefix tends to carry primary stress, with noun only receiving
tertiary stress:
fore- out- over- under- up-

/ _ / _ / • _ / • _ / _
FOREarm OUTlook OVERalls UNDERwear UPshot
FOREsight OUTcry OVERdose UNDERbrush UPspeak
FOREcast OUTcast OVERcoat UNDERtow Uproar
(Taken from Celce-Murcia et al., 1996)
Suffixes
A suffix is a particle added to the end of a stem deriving a new word, with different meaning
(sometimes) and grammatical category. Suffixes affect stress in one of three ways:
1. They may have NO effect on the stress pattern of the stem (neutral suffixes).
2. They may receive strong stress themselves.
3. They may shift the stress pattern from one syllable to another.
1.a.- Neutral suffixes (Germanic origin)

Examples
-en threaten widen, lengthen, shorten, harden.
-er teacher baker, reporter, writer, leader, owner.
-ful tactful cheerful, mouthful, thoughtful, fearful, hopeful.
-hood brotherhood sisterhood, childhood, adulthood, neighborhood.
-ing opening closing, setting, amazing, repairing.
-ish childish yellowish, devilish, stylish, tarnish.
-less fearless groundless, powerless, thoughtless, careless.
-ly happily friendly, angrily, hurriedly, aggressively.
-ship friendship scholarship, apprenticeship, membership.
(Taken from Kingdom, 1958 & Celce-Murcia et al., 1996)

1.b.- Neutral suffixes
Examples
-able taxable capable, comfortable, vegetable.
-al proposal refusal, seasonal, consonantal*.
-dom wisdom boredom, freedom, dukedom.
-ess hostess actress, waitress, mistress.
-ed marked wished, covered, naked, waited.
-ist Baptist altruist, humanist, vocalist, communist.
-ize agonize colonize, idolize, authorize, metabolize.
-ment segment development, agreement, document.
-or actor doctor, constrictor, moderator.
-ness sickness tenderness, illness, kindness.
-some lonesome gruesome, awesome, wholesome.
-wise lengthwise otherwise, likewise, flat wise.
-y milky funny, sunny, foggy, itchy.
2.- Suffixes that receive stress (French origin)
-aire -ee -eer -ese

doctriNAIRE trustEE enginEER PortuguESE
questionNAIRE employEE voluntEER SiamESE
commissioNAIRE chimpanzEE carEER SudanESE
pensioNAIRE addressEE pionEER journalESE
millioNAIRE * mountainEER TaiwanESE
-esque -ique -eur/-euse

gigantESQUE cacIQUE massEUSE
grotESQUE bouTIQUE chauffEUR *
picturESQUE techMIQUE chantEUSE
RomanESQUE critIQUE coiffEUR
HumorESQUE unIQUE entreprenEUR
-oon -ette -et 

ballOON vinaigrETTE ballET *
salOON kitchenETTE bouquET *
typhOON brunETTE valET *
lagOON cigarETTE * berET
cocOON silhoueTTE buffET
* “As a general tendency, the longer the word remains as part of the English vocabulary system, the
greater the tendency for stress shift toward the beginning of the word, for instance, OMelette. Note
the tendency today, for example, for the pronunciations cigaRETTE and millioNAIRE (stress on the
final element) to coexist with CIgarette and MILLionaire (stress on the first element)” (Celce
Murcia et al., 1996, p.136)

Observe that American English tends to keep the French-like suffix while British English tends
to shift stress toward the beginning of a word.
Am Br
_ / / •
chauffeur  
_ / / _
ballet  
3.- Shift Stress (some with Latin origin)

3.a.- The stress shifts to the syllable immediately preceding the suffix.
Suffix Stem Stem + suffix
-eous adVANtage advanTAgeous
-graphy PHOto phoTOgraphy
-ic CLImate cliMAtic
-ical eCOlogy ecoLOgical
-ity TRANquil tranQUIlity

3.b.- Suffixes with the “-iV” sequence - “i” + Vowel (“a”, “o”, or “u”)
Celce-Murcia et al. (1996) state that the “-iV” sequence is formed by the letter “i” followed by the
vowel letters “a”, “o”, or “u” in the suffixes: -ia, -ial, -ian, -io, -ion, -ious, -ium, -ius, etc.
The syllable with the “iV” sequence carries a weak stress, while the syllable preceding the “iV”
sequence (penultimate) takes the primary stress. The syllable before it, that is, the antepenultimate
syllable takes a weak stress. And if there is any syllable before the antepenultimate one, it receives
a tertiary stress. For example:
_ • / • / • _ • /• _ • / • • /•
television Asian Polynesia institution initial
Referential Stress Practice
a.- Mark the stresses to each word. Then, read them aloud.
1. chroma chromate chromatic chromaticity chromium

2. fecund fecundate fecundity
3. federal federate (v.) federative federation
4. know knowing knowledge knowledgeable
5. lubricant lubricate lubricity lubricious lubrication
6. inform informatics informative informational
7. operant operate operatic operative operation
8. picture pictured pictorial picturesque pictography

Exercises
I. Orthography
a. Create a family of words with different suffix effects using the given words. Place the stresses on
each of these words.
/ • /• • /• •• _ • /•• /• • _
0. nation national nationalist nationality nationalize
1. edit
2. Vietnam
3. compute
4. select
5. theory
6. quest
b. Read the following words. Group the words as follows:
- Column A: words that follow the “-iV” sequence

- Column B: words with suffixes that shift stress
- Column C: words with suffixes that attract stress
- Column D: words with suffixes that have neutral effect
Afterwards, mark their stresses.
troublesome solitaire capacity adverbial

zodiacal celestial ambitious lesion
problematic insomnia cabaret computerize
cassette careless protector foolish
refugee auctioneer premium cheerful
loneliness bassoon junction portfolio
COLUMN A COLUMN B COLUMN C COLUMN D

/ • _ • /• _ • / • /• _
lesion problematic cabaret computerize

A. Listen carefully to the following pair of words. Circle “S” if the words pronounced have the
same stressed syllable and “D” if the words pronounced have different stressed syllables.
/ /
Example: You hear: threaten - friendly
You circle:
0. S D
1. S D
2. S D
3. S D
4. S D
5. S D
6. S D
7. S D
8. S D
B. Where does the stress fall? Circle the number of the syllable which carries the primary stress.
Example: You hear: gradual
You circle: 0.  2 3 4 5
1. 1 2 3 4 5
2. 1 2 3 4 5
3. 1 2 3 4 5
4. 1 2 3 4 5
5. 1 2 3 4 5
6. 1 2 3 4 5
7. 1 2 3 4 5
8. 1 2 3 4 5

A. Mark the stress pattern on each of these words. Use the colors indicated: red (primary stress),
blue (tertiary stress), and black (weak stress). Then read them aloud with your partner. Make sure to
monitor yourselves. The first line is done for you.
• / • • • / • • •• / • • • / • _
0. philosophy, philosopher, philosophical, philosophize.
1. negotiate, negotiation, negotiable, negotiator, negotiability.
2. apology, apologize, apologetic.
3. trust, trustful, trustee, trusting.
4. system, systematize, systematic, systematically.
5. photograph, photography, photographic, photographer.
6. special, especially, specialize, specialty, specialization.
7. profit, profiteer, profitable, profitability.

(Taken from Lane, 1993, p. 113)
B. Read the following paragraphs aloud with your partner.
At the beginning, the relationship between the settlers and the Indian tribes was not friendly at all.
The Indians felt threatened by the arrival of the foreigners. This fact indeed was the beginning of
long and gruesome disputes among them.
You don’t need to be a millionaire to enjoy the vacation you deserve. Why don’t you leave your
tiresome work and join us on a trip to Spain? The picturesque and cheerful country offers you the
best from Europe. You can find economical hotels available all year round. And of course, you have
to try our delicious food and wine.
(Created by Fung, 2002)
IV. Guided Practice and Feedback (part I)

Name it !
Pair practice for stress in “consonant + -y” words.

Partner 1: Use this page. Partner 2: Turn to last page of this handout.
PARTNER 1
First ask some questions. Your partner will answer with a three-syllable “consonant + -y” word. Be sure
your partner stresses the word correctly. Repeat any questions your partner does not understand.
1. What do you call a place to buy food?

2. What is another word for dollars and yen?
3. Where can you see works of art?
4. What do you call a place where workers make things?
5. Where can you find lots of books?
6. What is the word for 100 years?
Now your partner will ask you some questions. Choose a three-syllable word from the word bank to
answer. Stress the word correctly. Ask your partner to repeat any questions you do not understand.
Word Bank
an agency a bakery a battery chemistry jewelry a pharmacy
(Taken from Beisbier, 1994)

V. Communicative Practice
Work in triads. Brainstorm and talk about the qualities you think are the most important in:
a friend?
a husband or a wife?
a roommate?
a teacher?
an employee?
Choose at least 8 words from the box below. You are free to add other relevant qualities. Be ready
to state your list of qualities to the class.
romanticism practicality popularity generosity punctuality

dependability ambitious a good education a pleasant personality
sincerity curiosity a sense of humor patient kindness
curious fearless friendship tactful friendly childish
rebellious generous beautiful
(Created by Fung, 2002)
IV. Guided Practice and Feedback (part II)
PARTNER 2
First answer some questions. Your partner will ask some questions. Choose a three-syllable word from
the word bank to answer. Stress the word correctly. Ask your partner to repeat any questions you do not
understand.
Word Bank
a century currency a factory a gallery a grocery a library
Now ask some questions. Your partner will answer a with three-syllable “consonant + -y” word. Be
sure your partner stresses the word correctly. Repeat any questions your partner does not understand.
1. Where can you buy vitamins and drugs?

2. Where does an agent work?
3. What do you call the study of chemicals and elements?
4. What makes a car start?
5. Where can you buy cake and bread?
6. What do you call rings, bracelets, and necklaces?
(Taken from Beisbier, 1994)

4 REFERENTIAL STRESS: NUMBERS
Stress in Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive Pronouns receive the primary stress on the “self / selves”. They receive a weak – primary
or tertiary- primary stress pattern.
• / – /
himself myself
yourselves ourselves
themselves
Stress in Numbers
Cardinal and Ordinal numbers that represent multiples of ten (20, 30, 40, etc) have predictable
primary – weak stress pattern. Then, –teen numbers and hyphenated numbers receive a
combination of primary – tertiary stress pattern
a. Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers

Cardinal Numbers Ordinal Numbers
/ (•) • / (•) • •
TWENty TWENtieth
THIRty THIRtieth
· ·
· ·
SIXty SIXtieth
SEventy SEventieth
b. (-teen) Numbers
Pattern 1 Pattern 2
(attributive position) (phrase-final position)
/ (•) – – (•) /
THIRteen(th) thirTEEN(TH)
FOURteen(th) fourTEEN(TH)
· ·
· ·
SEventeen(th) sevenTEEN(TH)
Pattern 1: That is the FIFteenth dish.

Pattern 2: That is the fifTEENTH.

c. (-ty) vs. (-teen) Numbers
/ • – /
THIRty thirTEEN
FORty fourTEEN
FIFty fifTEEN
d. Hyphenated Numbers
Pattern 1 Pattern 2
(attributive position) (phrase-final position)
/ • – (•) – • / (•)
TWENty - five twenty-FIVE

THIRty - six thirty - SIX
FORty - seven forty - SEven
Pattern 1: There are SIXty-six chairs.

Pattern 2: There are sixty-six.

Exercises
I. Listening Discrimination
Use the game board. You will hear some numbers. Place an X on the number you hear. Say “Tic – Tack –
Number” when you have four Xs in a row down, across, or diagonally.
GAME BOARD
14 70 15
60 11 19
30 13 18
90 16 17
II. Controlled Practice & Feedback

Ask you partner the following questions. Write down the answers. Then, report them to the rest of the class.
1.- How many people are there in your English class?

2.- How old are you?
3.- How much does a beer cost?
4.- How old is your mother / father?
5.- What was your score in your last English test?
6.- How old is your teacher?
7.- How many days does June have?
8.- How old will you be in 12 years?

5 DIFFERENTIAL STRESS:
NOUN/VERB & ADJECTIVE/VERB
Differential Stress indicates the difference between two words that are otherwise alike, but belong
to different grammatical categories. Differential stress marks difference between:
1. Noun / Verb
2. Adjective / Verb
3. Noun Compound / Adjective + Noun
4. Phrasal verb / Adjective
5. Phrasal verb / Noun
Prefix
The prefix re- when it means again is spoken with tertiary stress. However, there are many words
in English which begin with the letters re, but the re does not mean again and it is spoken with
weak stress. Analyze the following examples:
re- prefix
• / − /
remark remark
resort re-sort
relay relay
redress re-dress
(Taken from Collier Macmillan,1967)
Other prefixes which are spoken with the tertiary stress are: de-, pre-, and pro-
de- ( which means from)

pre- (which means before)
pro- (which means for)
Again there are other words which begin with the same letters and which are spoken with weak
stress. The prefixes include:
(de-, pre-, pro-) prefixes
• / − /
deride derail
decline derate
prepared pre-paid
pretend prejudge
produce pro-French
prolific pro-labor
(Taken from Collier Macmillan, 1967)

Suffix
Adjective – Verb
a. The –ate endings of adjectives or nouns are usually unstressed and pronounced as  As
verbs, they have tertiary stress and are pronounced /eI t/. Analyse the following words:
Adjective WORD Verb
 advocate 
 aggregate 
 alternate 
 animate 
 approximate 
 deliberate 
 delegate 
 elaborate 
 legitimate 
b. The –ed ending of adjectives have an extra syllable and take the / Id/ or /d/ pronunciation.
As verbs, they simply take /t/ or /d/- that is, following the rules for the regular past tense and
regular past participle for the verbs that do not end in or 
Adjective Verb
blessed  blessed 

beloved  beloved / bIlʌvd /
learned  learned 
dogged  dogged 
legged  legged 
Sometimes, even when there is an adjective with no corresponding verb, the adjective is still
pronounced  or , as in naked, wretched, rugged, crooked, wicked, etc.

Noun-Verb Pair
There is a group of two-syllable words that may be used as either nouns, adjectives or verbs. The
stress patterns in each case are as follows: nouns and adjectives usually have the stress on the first
syllable. The verbs usually receive the stress on the second syllable.
Noun / Adjectives Verbs

/ • • /
present  present 
permit  permit 
project  project 
conflict  conflict 
subject  subject 
object  object 
rebel  rebel 
desert  desert 
/ —
insult*  insult 
protest*  protest 
contract*  contract 
refuse  refuse 
export *  export 
absent  absent 
perfect  perfect 
segment  segment 
frequent  frequent 
combine*  combine 
minute  (n) minute 
record *  record 
* In these words, there is no vowel reduction in the second syllable.

EXCEPTION
In the list below, both nouns and verbs have the same stress pattern.
Nouns and Verbs Nouns and Verbs
• / / •
exchange comfort
express comment
command contact
control promise
campaign program
delay
remark
surprise
support
Exercises
I. Orthography
Read silently the following sentences. Look at the underlined words and then identify the
grammatical categories by placing under the word N for noun, V for verb and A for adjective. Mark
the stress and transcribe the words.
0.- The staff suspected that the board made a poor estimate of the budget.
V N
• / • / • •
 
1.- The object had to be repressed because of its elaborate design.
2.- The president’s decision was to deactivate the chemical weapons.
3.- The priest started his elaborate sermon with an appropriate opening: “ My beloved children we
are gathered today to….”.
4.- At a prearranged signal, everyone started moving in a predictable way.
5.- The graduate students rebelled against the deliberate plot to avoid their progress.
6.- The secretary will duplicate the document, so everyone will have one elaborate plan on the desk.

Listen to the following pair of words. Mark “S” for same, “D” for different according to the stress
pattern you hear.
0. S D
1. S D
2. S D
3. S D
4. S D
5. S D
6. S D
7. S D
8. S D

a.- Mark the appropriate stresses according to the grammatical categories stated in parentheses.
Practice reading the following words. Read them to your partner.
1. deliberate (A)
2. desolate (A)
3. beloved (A)
4. export (A / N)
5. graduate (V)
6. intimate (V)
7. moderate ( A)
8. legged (A)
9. separate (V)
10. segment ( A/N)
11. dogged (V)
12. subject (V)
13. estimate ( A)
14. rebel (V)
15. desert (V)
16. duplicate ( A)
17. conflict (V)
18. present ( A/N)
19. record (V)
20. blessed (A)

b.- Read silently the following short dialogs. Then, underline once if the word contrasted is a
noun and underline twice if it is a verb. Place the appropriate stress pattern on these words.
0.- A: Did Pam insult the Dean ?

B: No, the insult was for the Dean’s secretary.
1.- A: Do you have that rock group’s latest record ?

B: No, but I recorded their TV program
2.- A: Did you remember to project your voice when you gave your oral report today ?
B: Yes, I did. In fact, my professor commented on how well I spoke about my project.
3.-A: Don’t forget to contact your travel agent about your accommodations in West Germany.
B: I won’t forget. He’s my best contact for hotel reservations.
4.- A: How can I control the temperature in the language laboratory ? It’s very cold in there.
B: Just turn the knob on the temperature control. It’s located on the rear wall to the right door.
5.- A: The police won’t permit you to park here. You’ll get a parking ticket.
B: Don’t worry. I have a special press photographer’s permit.
( Taken from Handschuh & Simounet de Geigel, 1985)
c.- Pronounce the words in parentheses so as to give it the meaning indicated by the context of each
sentence. Mark the stress on these words.
/ • • / • -
0.- (intimate) I am not really an intimate friend of hers. I wish she wouldn’t intimate that I am.
1.-( alternate) I was elected an __________________ representative to the college assembly. I

_________________ with another professor in my department when he cannot attend.
2.- ( estimate) The garage gave me an ________________ of the cost of repairing my car. They
_________________ it will cost at least $450.
3.- ( graduate) They _______________ next month. Most of them will continue their education as
_________________ students.
4.- (separate) We need to ________________ the good apples from the bad ones. Let’s put them in
____________________ baskets.
5.- ( precipitate) Let’s have no _______________ actions. We don’t want to ____________a crisis.
6.- (elaborate) I won’t _________________ the plan further. It’s already__________ enough.

7.- She makes a good (delegate)________________. She knows how to _______________
authority.
8.-( appropriate) The congress should not ______________ so much money. It’s not
___________________ at this time.
(Taken from Prator & Wallace Robinett, 1985)
IV. Guided practice and Feedback
STUDENT A STUDENT B
Ask about your friend’s State that you are

travel plan. elaborating an itinerary to
travel around Europe.
Ask your friend for an

estimate of the trip’s Estimate how much it will
cost. cost.
Congratulate your
friend. Ask when the trip Talk about your trip plan.
is scheduled to be.
Ask about the Provide information about

requirements for the trip. the requirements
( consulates, contacts for
reservations,).
Warn your friend about

strict controls at airports; Thank your friend for the
i.e. permits to carry certain information.
objects on board ,etc.

Work in groups of three (triads). Look at the words in the chart below and create a story. Each
member of the group has to tell part of the story. You cannot read. Use at least 8 words from the list
below.
elaborate, estimate, separate, protest, rebel, conflict,

insult, product, desert, appropriate, suspect, beloved,
learned, dogged, pro-active, probable, remark,
prepaid, prepared

6 DIFFERENTIAL STRESS: NOUN COMPOUNDS
I. Noun Compounds
A noun compound occurs when two words come together to form a new word. They are used and pronounced as
single words. Compound nouns are written in 3 (three) different ways: as a single word, as 2 (two) words and
with a hyphen between the two words. They usually carry primary stress on the first element and a tertiary
stress on the second element.
There are 2 major noun compound patterns. Both receive the primary-tertiary stress pattern.
a. Adjective + Noun Compound
∕ – ∕ • – • ∕ – • ∕ • –
blackbird yellowjacket bluebottle heavyweight
darkroom yellowhammer blackberry
lighthouse bluejacket
hot-dog blindcorner
Whitehouse
sweetbread
b. Noun + Noun Compound
∕ – ∕ • – • ∕• – ∕ • – •
birdcage apple tree banana crop flower garden
crossword tennis ball opinion poll science teacher
mailbox sugar bowl tomato juice wrapping paper
footprint butter knife reception desk drama critic
II. Other types of Compounds

Although noun compounds are the most frequent compounds in English, there are also some adjective compounds and
verb compounds (N+V).
a. Adjective Compounds: there are two ways in which this structure is used according to its location in a
sentence. It can take either the stress pattern primary stress on the first word and tertiary stress on the
second word, or the reverse. The first pattern tends to be used when the adjective compound modifies a
noun. The second pattern ( tertiary-primary) can occur when the adjective compound takes place in an
utterance-final position.
First Pattern Word Second Pattern

∕ – backfire – ∕
∕ – • cold-blooded – ∕ •
∕ • – secondhand – • ∕
∕ – • good-looking – ∕ •
∕ • – middle-aged – • ∕

Compare the following examples:
Pattern 1 Pattern 2
∕ – – ∕
Patte Blacky is a well-trained dog. Blacky has been well-trained.
b. Verb Compound: In the case of verb compounds, the noun element receives primary stress and the verb
element tertiary stress.
∕ – ∕ • –
housesit waterproof
lip-read window-shop
typewrite fingerprint
tiptoe
handcuff
c. Compound Proper Nouns: these compounds usually take the primary stress on the second element and
the secondary stress on the first element. This pattern is normally used in religious holidays, proper full
names, avenues, roads, hotels, etc. *
— • ∕ — • ∕ — ∕• • — ∕• — ∕ • –
Halloween Beach Hotel New Mexico Thanksgiving Third Avenue
Religious Holidays Proper full names Miscellaneous

Ash Wednesday George Washington Johnson Avenue
Good Friday Abraham Lincoln Tenth Avenue
Christmas Day * Michael Jordan Collins Road
Christmas Eve Windham Hotel
New Year’s Eve * South Hampton
New Year’s Day
* Exceptions: compound proper nouns in which the second element contains the word “Day” or “Street” will follow
the stress pattern: primary-secondary.
∕ • — • ∕ • — ∕ • — ∕ • — ∕ — ∕ • • —
Mother’s Day Election Day Labor Day Forest Street Third Street Jefferson Street
(Exceptions: Christmas Day, New Year’s Day).
(Taken from Handschuh & Simounet de Geigel, 1985)
Note: “Secondary Stress”( — ) is carried by full/clear vowels that do NOT have the highest pitch in a phrase.
It is an intermediate stress between primary and tertiary.

Noun Compounds (Longer Forms)
Longer compounds form by three elements carry primary-tertiary-secondary stresses in each element. For example:
∕ – — ∕ – — •
drugstore clerk armchair cover
baseball bat ping-pong table
shoeshine kit spaceship pilot
Noun Compounds vs. Adjective modifying Nouns
Stress will vary between “true” noun compounds and words that “look” like noun compounds but are actually
functioning as adjective + noun sequence.
Adjective + Noun Sequence Noun Compound
– ∕ ∕ –
dark room (a room that is dark) darkroom (a special room used in photography)
green house (a house that is green) greenhouse (a glass structure used for growing plants)
blue bird (any bird that is blue) bluebird ( a particular kind of bird)
light house (a house that lets in a lot of light) lighthouse ( a tall tower with a light for warning ships)
cheap skates (inexpensive skates) cheapskates ( a stingy person)
long boat (a boat that is long) longboat (the largest boat carried by a sailing vessel)
Analyze the sentences in the box:
Noun Compound Adjective + Noun sequence

∕ – – ∕
The President of the U.S. lives in the Whitehouse John lives in the white house.
a.1. Did you see the size of that lighthouse?

a.2. I prefer a light house. I really hate gloomy and dark places.
b.1. John’s greenhouse is huge!

b.2. He went into the green house a minute ago.
c.1. Jay, could you please bring the hardball and the gloves?
c.2. Don’t throw it at me. That’s a hard ball!
d.1. Tracy is working in the darkroom right now.

d.2. Kids don’t like dark rooms.
e.1. The Prime Minister was sailing on a longboat.

e.2. My parents are standing next to that long boat.

Exercises
a. Listen to the following words. Decide whether the word you hear is a noun compound or an adjective + noun
sequence. Place an (X ) in the line provided.
NC A+N
0. ___ ___
1. ___ ___
2. ___ ___
3. ___ ___
4. ___ ___
5. ___ ___
6. ___ ___
7. ___ ___
8. ___ ___
b. Listen to the following sentences. The first time you listen, circle the syllable in the word that receives the primary
stress. Then, listen to the sentences again and decide whether the sequence is a noun compound or an adjective + noun
sequence. Write your answer in the line provided next to each sentence.
0. (blackboard, black board)? ___
1. (yellowjackets, yellow jackets). ___

2. (greenhouse, green house) ___
3. (cheapskates, cheap skates) . ___
4. (blackbird, black bird)? ___
5. (horsefly, horse fly)? ___
6. (boardwalk, board walk)? ___
7. (horsefly, horse fly). ___
8. (Redbirds, Red birds). ___
II. Controlled Practice and Feedback
a. Mark the stress patterns on the following words. Practice reading them to your partner.
Lake Ontario New Jersey mail man butter knife John F. Kennedy
Labor Day candy shop Fifth Street drinking water cable car
garage mechanic Atlantic Ocean hardball raincoat grocery store

b. Use the noun compounds from exercise “A” to fill in the blanks.
0. A store which sells groceries is a _____________________________________.

1. A store which sells candies is a ______________________________________.
2. ________________________ is located in the north. It is between Canada and the U.S.
3. A knife used for butter is a ____________________________________.
4. A coat you wear in the rain is a ________________________________.
5. Water which is good for drinking is called ____________________________.
6. ______________________________ was an American President.
7. We celebrate _______________________ on May 1st.
8. In the U.S., Baseball is also known as ________________________________.
9. Ellen lives on _________________________.
10. _________________________ separates Europe from America.
(Adapted from Collier Macmillan, 1967)
III. Guided Practice and Feedback
Read the following situations. Work in dyads. Read the situation to your classmate then let him/her tell what the people
did next. Finish the story in two or three sentences. Use all of the words given in parentheses.
Example:
Student A : Sam was taking a shower. Suddenly, the cell phone rang.
(shower curtain, bathtub, bath towel)
Student B: He pulled back the shower curtain and climbed out of the bathtub. Then he grabbed a bath towel and ran
to answer the phone.
Situation 1:
John called Betty. He asked if she’d like to go to the movies with him at 8 p.m. He didn’t know where she lived.
(Belton Road, white house, traffic light, greenhouse)
Situation 2:
Jim and Susan are moving to a new house. They are at a furniture store. They want to buy some new furniture for the
house. They want them delivered to their house.
(night table, computer desk, 3rd Street and 8th Avenue, wastepaper basket)
Situation 3:
Joe is at the Green Valley Shopping Mall. He wants to buy a present for his mother and for his wife.
(jewelry box, birthday, bluebird, Mother’s Day.)
Situation 4:
Clarissa and Jean are at a restaurant. They are deciding what to order. Clarissa loves healthy food and Jean loves junk
food.
(pineapple juice, hot dog, green salad, hamburger)
(Adapted from Wagner, 1988)

Role Play: Match in pairs and make a dialog using the information given below.
Situation: a man/woman is interested in buying a house. She/he goes to a real estate agency because she/he saw an ad
in the newspaper with a house he/she liked.
Student A is a real state agent. The real state agent takes her/his customer to see the house. Then he/she tries to
convince the buyer to buy the large luxury home described in the ad.
Student B is a prospective buyer looking for a house with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. The buyer thinks the
house in the ad is beautiful, but larger than she/he expected, and also too expensive.
FOR SALE
** Luxury Home**
This Luxury home is located in Westminster County, New York. A quiet country road
winds uphill through apple orchards and opens into a lovely courtyard. On the left of the
courtyard is a swimming pool and a tennis court. Windows from the living room and
dinning room look down on quiet farm houses and apple orchards. The house has a
newly renovated entry hall and gourmet kitchen. Look at six bedrooms, a library, three
bathrooms and a family room.
For more information, contact: John Ashley and Joan Hoffman

(Adapted from Lane, 1993)

7 DIFFERENTIAL STRESS: PHRASAL VERBS
Phrasal verbs
A phrasal verb consists of a verb in combination with either an adverb, a preposition, or both (preposition and adverb).
Even though phrasal verbs have two or three words, they are pronounced as a unit. These verbs are often used in
conversation instead of more formal verbs. For example, the phrasal verb
turn down is usually employed in conversation instead of refuse to consider. Some phrasal verbs have literal meaning
(get in, get off), others have a non-literal meaning, in other words, they have an idiomatic meaning (shut up) and still
others can have more than one meaning (take off, get on).
Phrasal verbs are classified in three patterns:
a. Phrasal verbs that follow the verb+adverb pattern

These phrasal verbs have tertiary stress on the first element and primary stress on the second element.
The most common adverbial particles in two-word verbs are: across, ahead, along, away, back, behind, down, in (to),
off, on, over, under, and up.
– ∕ – • ∕ – ∕ •
get in turn away do over
sit down get along turn over
come in come about move over
wake up put aside look over
turn off bring about
pick up
b. Phrasal verbs that follow the verb+preposition combination

The primary stress is on the first element, the preposition carries a tertiary stress. The most common prepositions
used are: about, at, for, from, of, to, and with.
∕ – ∕ • – • ∕ –
look at talk about approve of
laugh at think about dispense with
call for write about
ask for worry about
run for
live on
look for
c. Phrasal verbs which consist of three elements

In this case, the primary stress fall on the second element, the first element has a tertiary stress and the third element
has a weak stress.
– ∕ • – • ∕ • – ∕ • •
take care of get along with look forward to
get out of go along with
keep up with be about to
run out of
get through with
catch up on
talk out of
look out for
Taken from Celce-Murcia et al., 1996 & Handschuh & Simounet de Geigel, 1985)

Exceptions:
Some combinations of a verb + a preposition, or a verb + an adverb may also function as nouns or adjectives. In that
case, they are stressed as noun compounds (primary –tertiary pattern). Look at the examples below:
Noun / Adjective Phrasal verb
∕ – – ∕
takeoff take off
makeup make up
holdup hold up
lookout look out
checkup check up
dropout drop out
checkout check out
run-down run down
runoff run off
∕ • – – • ∕
getaway get away
takeaway take away
runaway run away
runabout run about
Exercises
a. Listen to your instructor reading the following pair of words. Discriminate if the words have the same stress
pattern or a different one. Write “S” for same or “D” for different.
0. ___ 3. ___ 6. ___

1. ___ 4. ___ 7. ___
2. ___ 5. ___ 8. ___
b. Listen to your instructor reading sentences that contain either phrasal verbs, noun compounds or adjective
compounds. Circle the word with the stress pattern you heard.
∕ – – ∕
0 run-off run off
1 hold-up hold up
2 look-out look out
3 drop-out drop out
4 take-off take off
5 run-down run down
6 make-up make up
7 check-off check off
8 work-out work out

II. Controlled Practice and Feedback
a. Mark the stress pattern of the following words. Then listen to your teacher and check if you placed the stresses
correctly. Afterwards, practice reading them aloud.
get out of wake up get in get on runabout
keep up with get along with point out getaway talk out of
laugh at run off sit down get along worry about
look up lie down take off look out for listen to
b. Mark the stress pattern of the phrasal verbs. Then read the dialogs with your classmate.
1.A: How are you getting along with you new roommate?
B: Jill is a very responsible and dependable person. And she has a wonderful personality. We’re getting
along just fine.
2. A: When do you expect to get through with your work?
B: If I don’t have any interruptions, I’ll finish it this afternoon.
3. A: Hi Jane. Please come in and sit down. Betty will be down in a minute.
B: Please tell her to hurry up or the plane will take off without us.
4. A: What time did you get up this morning?
B: Well, I woke up at six-thirty, but I didn’t get up until seven-fifteen. I stayed up until very late last night
watching a movie on television.
5. A: María, before you turn on the TV set, please turn off the light in the kitchen.
B: I’m not going to watch TV tonight. Billy is picking me up in half an hour. We’re taking his sister out to
dinner. It’s her birthday.
(Taken from Handschuh & Simounet de Geigel, 1985)

Look at the picture on the last page of this hand-out. State the duties (or activities) of each of the person in the
picture. Use the noun compounds and the phrasal verbs given below. Add any other if necessary.
Phrasal verbs Noun compounds

look up bulletin board
check out filing cabinet
run out of office manager
write down office clerk
take out typewriter
work out switchboard
look at salesperson
write out waiting room
make up
hang up
put in
put on
plug in
plug out
switch on
switch off
pick up
Student A: Explain to your partner how to use a computer. Use the following list of phrasal verbs. Add any other
phrasal verb if necessary. Use at least 8 words from the box.
turn on, turn off, type in, pick out, get

through, print out, put in, press down, sort
out, take out, switch on
Student B: Explain to your partner how to check out books from a library. Use the following list of phrasal verbs. Add
any other phrasal verb if necessary. Use at least 8 words from the box.
walk in, pick out, take over, go over,

check out, take out, fill in, turn in, put
away, put back, sort out, look up.

8 RHYTHM AND PHRASE STRESS
Definition of Rhythm
“Rhythm is the speed, beat or tempo of syllables in a phrase”(Quintana de Laya & Laya, 1994, p.
140). Rhythm in speech is like rhythm in music, that is, the beats or accents recur at regular
intervals. Word and phrase stress combine to create the rhythm of an English utterance, that is, the
regular, patterned beat of stressed and unstressed syllables and pauses.
It has been claimed that certain languages (for example English, Arabic and Russian) are stress-
timed, or isochronous. In such languages, stresses occur at regular intervals within connected
speech, and the duration of an utterance is more dependent upon the number of stresses than the
number of syllables. To achieve the regular stress intervals, unstressed syllables are made shorter,
and the vowels often lose their “pure” quality, with many tending towards  and others towards
 and 
Other languages (such as Japanese, French and Spanish) are said to be syllable-timed. In these
languages, there is no strong pattern of stress; syllables maintain their length, and vowels maintain
their quality. Certain syllables are still stressed, of course, but not according to a regular pattern.
Isochronicity might be shown as in the following example. We start with a simple sentence; we add
syllables to it on each line, but the time it takes to say the utterance remains the same.
They LIVE in an OLD HOUSE

They LIVE in a NICE OLD HOUSE
They LIVE in a LOVEly OLD HOUSE
They ’ve been LIVing in a deLIGHTful OLD HOUSE
They ‘ve been LIVing in a delightful OLD COTTage
They ‘ve been LIVing in a deLIGHTful VicTORian COTTage
The occurrence of stresses remains regular, and unstressed syllables are squashed in between the
stressed ones, being shorter and losing some purity of the vowel sound. If you simply tap out the
rhythm, it is easy to be persuaded of the validity of this idea. One can indeed say this sequence of
sentences with a regular rhythm, which seems to be preserved as one adds more syllables. There is
also a strong contrast between stressed and unstressed syllables.
However, consider also the speed at which you are talking by the time you get to the last utterance
in the group. From slowly and deliberately in the first sentence, one moves by stages to far more
rapid speech in the last line. The persuasiveness of the idea makes the evidence fit the theory, rather
than the theory being supported by the evidence.
It makes more sense to imagine English described in terms of a continuum which has tendencies
towards stress-timing at one end and syllable-timing at the other. A language like English has
more of a tendency than some other languages to reduce vowel length an quality in unstressed
syllables, and so tends towards the stress timing end of the continuum.
So- called syllable-timed languages also reduce the length of the vowel in an unstressed syllable,
though to a lesser extend, but they tend to preserve the quality of the vowel sound.
Stress timing and regular rhythms are most noticeable in highly stylized and patterned language,
such as poetry and nursery rhymes. How far the phenomenon is observable in everyday speech is a
matter for debate.

Regularity of speech rhythm varies widely according to context, as it may bring in factors such as
the relationship between the speakers, their confidence, nervousness, etc. and whether their speech
is rehearsed or spontaneous, not to mention personal habits of accent, dialect and so on. The words
and syllables which we choose to stress in connected speech are in fact dictated very much by the
context, and the meanings we wish to communicate when speaking.
(Taken from Kelly, 200, pp. 70-71)
Picture representation of stressed-time language, e.g. English. The family group

accompanied by small children of varying sizes represent the different stresses that build up
the English Rhythm.
(Taken from Prator & Robinett 1985, pp. 29-30 )

Picture representation of syllable-timed language, e.g. Spanish. It seems to be mechanically regular-
a series of little bursts of sound all about the same size and force.
(Taken from Prator & Robinett 1985, p. 29 )
Example:
Give a man a hórse he can ríde,

Give a man a bóat he can sáil,
And his ránk and his wéalth, his stréngth and héalth,
On séa nor shóre shall fáil.
James Thomson, “Sunday up the river”
Phrase Stress
Phrase stress is the relative degree of force given to the different words in a phrase. It is closely
bound up with intonation. A phrase is formed by a number of syllables with a primary stress
recognized as a single unit by the listener. The placement of phrase stress will depend on the
context or the situation, in other words, what is said before and after the exchange.
Speakers unconsciously differentiate between content and function words when assigning stresses,
that is, major stresses to content words and minor stresses to function words. Content words are
said to be the most “meaningful words” in a phrase as the words we use when writing a telegram.

CONTENT WORDS FUNCTION WORDS
nouns articles
main verbs auxiliary verbs
adjectives personal pronouns
possessive pronouns possessive adjectives
demonstrative pronouns demonstrative adjectives
interrogatives* prepositions
not / negative contractions conjunctions
adverbs relative pronouns
adverbial particles “one” (used as a noun substitute)
*Question words take tertiary stress when: a. they are used before another word to form a question phrase
e.g. How long, What book,; b. they are in indirect questions eg. I don’t know where it is.
Types of Phrase Stress

There are usually four different types of phrase stress used:
1. “Primary Stress” ( / ) which is carried by the full/clear vowel sound with the highest
pitch in a phrase.
2. “Secondary Stress”( — ) which is carried by full/clear vowels that do NOT have the
highest pitch in a phrase. It is an intermediate stress between primary and tertiary.
3. “Tertiary Stress” ( − ) which is carried by full/clear vowel sounds which do not have the
primary or secondary stress in a phrase.
4. “Weak Stress” ( • ) the one carried by weak/unstressed vowel sounds within
syllables in a phrase.
The placement of the primary stress in a phrase depends on the speaker’s intention and/or the
context (situation) where it appears (what has been said before and what will be said afterwards).
There can only be one primary stress in a phrase. The primary stresses that words carry in isolation
are reduced to secondary or tertiary stress in a phrase depending on the type of word, that is,
content and function words. (Quintana de Laya & Laya, 1994).
- primary ( / )
Content words  major stresses
- secondary ( — )
- tertiary ( − )
Function words  minor stresses
- weak stress ( • )
Examples:
— — • / — • − /•
1. John couldn’t come 4. When did you finish?
−• — — • / • • — • — • — • • − /
2. Mr. Jones helped us practice. 5. The teacher asked the students to stand up.
— •• — / − — − • / •
3. This is a good book. 6. How much did it cost you?

Reduced Words
There is a large list of grammatical words in English that can have a full, strong or citation form
(when words are spoken alone or emphasized in context) and a weak or reduced form (when they
occur in natural speech). These words are usually “function words”.
GRAMMATICAL WORD FULL REDUCED

FUNTION FORM FORM
(stressed) (unstressed)
a  
an  
Articles the  
and  
but  
than  
Conjunctions or  
as  
any  
some  
Indefinite Adjectives such  
you  
him  
her  
Objective Pronouns us  
them  
me  
you  
Personal Pronouns he  
she  
Possessive Adjectives your  
his  
to  
on  
in  
at  
Prepositions
of  
for  
from  
am  
Verb “to be” are  
is  
was  
were  
been  
do  
does  
have  
has  
Verbs
(auxiliary) had  
can  
could  

Examples:
Words Full, strong or citation form In context
“the” - The article “the” goes before nouns. - I saw the movie.

- I bought the orange.

“her” - I saw hér nor him. - We need her right now.

 
Pausing
Depending on the length of the sentence, speakers of English divide or break a sentence into two or
more parts. These smaller segmented units are called thought groups. A speaker makes these
pauses to:
a) clarify meaning of the utterance

b) emphasize a feeling or idea
c) or just to take breath.
(Handschuh, J. & Simounet de Geigel, 1985)
Each thought group contains one prominent element (or focus word), and has a grammatically
coherent internal structure. Although English does not have a set of rule for pausing, Miller (1956),
suggests that pauses are made between 5 to 7 syllables. This proposal is called “The Magic Number
7”. Note that in written discourse some markers for these pauses or divisions are done through
punctuation marks (i.e., commas, semicolons, periods, dashes).
Here are some suggestions to help you know when to pause.
1. Do not pause between the noun modifiers and the noun they modify.
The old man/ is being sick.

Det Mod N
Most of the American baseball teams/ will start training next spring.
Det Mod N
2. Do not pause between:
2.1 an auxiliary verb and a main verb

Jane should start the project soon.
Aux V
2.2 contractions and main verb
The students couldn’t have done that.

Modal Aux V

3. Do not pause between verb modifiers and the verb they modify.
3.1 a verb and an adjectival phrase
These books seem too boring.

V Adj. Phr
Sheila is careless.
V Adj.Phr
3.2 a verb and an adverbial phrase
Small kids react very quickly.

V Adv. Phr
Oscar is definitely crazy.

V Adv. Phr
4. Do not pause between the preposition and its object (Prepositional Phrase)
Call the girl on Saturday.

Prep. Noun
According to the current theory/ motivation is crucial.

Prep Noun
5. Pause before a clause.
The young man left the room/ because he didn’t feel well.
Subordinated clause
5.1. Do not pause between the constituents of the clause.
The man /who came in a minute ago/ works at the Embassy.

Relative clause
Hints:
 Too many pauses can slow speed down and create too many prominent elements, causing
the listener difficulty in processing and comprehending the overall message.
 Linking should occur within the thought groups, but not across unit boundaries.
(Celce-Murcia et al., 1996)
Prominence
In normal statements the stress (primary) falls on the last content word. However, the stress can be
shifted from this normal place to some other place in the phrase. This shifting reflects changes the
meaning of an utterance. Context usually influences which stressed word in a given utterance
receives prominence or focus that is, which word the speaker wishes to highlight.
Pay attention to the placing prominence on the highlighted elements and the rationale for which
elements receive prominence in the following phrases:

I’m CLEANing (what are you doing?)
I’M cleaning (who’s cleaning?)
I AM cleaning (why aren’t you cleaning?)
During discourse context, there are various circumstances that govern the placement of prominence:
a) To introduce new information
X: I’ve lost a coat.

Y: A lady’s coat.
X: Yes. A lady’s coat with stripes on it. Green stripes.
b) To emphasize an information
X: How do you like your new car?

Y: I really enjoy it!
c) To contrast information
X: I’d like some cheese, please.

Y: What kind of cheese? Swiss or Cheddar?
d) To correct, contradict, or modify an earlier statement.
X: Class will be over at three-thirty.

Y: I thought class would be over at four-thirty
Exercises
I. Recognition
A. Read these lines from popular English children rhymes (nursery rhymes), a poem and a limerick.
Then, in the lines provided, write the number of syllables and strong stresses in each line.
Afterwards, mark the primary and secondary stresses on the words that carry them.
NURSERY RHYMES
Syllables Stresses Syllables Stresses

One, two, _____ _____
Twinkle, twinkle, little star, _____ _____
Buckle my shoe; _____ _____
How I wonder what you are. _____ _____
Three, four, _____ _____
Up above the world so high , _____ _____
Knock at my door; _____ _____
Like a diamond in the sky. _____ _____
Five, six, _____ _____
Twinkle, twinkle, little star, _____ _____
Pick up sticks, _____ _____
How I wonder what you are. _____ _____
Seven, eight, _____ _____
Lay them straight _____ _____

POEM LIMERICK
Syllables Stresses
Standing by, _____ _____
All the way. _____ _____
Here to help you through your day _____ _____ Syllables Stresses
Holding you up, _____ _____ There was a young lady of Chile _____ _____
When you are weak, _____ _____
Who behaved crazily and silly _____ _____
Helping you find what it is you seek. _____ _____
She sat on the dark stairs, _____ _____
Catching your tears, _____ _____
Eating apples and pears, _____ _____
When you cry. _____ _____
Pulling you through when the tide is high. _____ _____ to suppress her tears for Billy _____ _____
Absorbing your voice _____ _____

When you talk. _____ _____
Standing by when you learn to walk. _____ _____
Just being there, _____ _____
Through thick and thin, _____ _____
All just to say, you are my friend. _____ _____
- Brittani Kokko –
B. Match the rhythm of the phrases in the column A with the rhythm of the words in column B.
COLUMN A COLUMN B
0. simplification _____ a. such a reduction
1. computerization _____ b. the action
2. interruption _____ c. he works at the station
3. addition _____ d. another option
4. clarification _____ e. shocked the nation
5. communication _____ f. who did she mention?
C. Mark the phrase stress in each utterance using the right colors. Primary: red, Secondary: yellow,
tertiary blue, and weak: black.
− — • • / • • /
0. It’s better to hide it / from John.
1. We took a long vacation.
2. He doesn’t live in the White House.
3. they didn’t realize the difficulty.
4. Please don’t lose your new ring.
5. Richard Henry Green / is his full name.
6. When did you finish the lesson?
7. This is what he needs.
8. You should study hard.

9. She was in a discussion group.
10. They can come at 10 o’clock.
11. John will make up a new plan.
12. I’m a nurse / and I work in a hospital.

A.- Listen to the different emphasis (thought group) in the following pairs of sentences. Put a cross
next to the one you hear.
0. a.. Did she call, Sam ? _X_

b. Did she call Sam? ____
1. a. The man and the woman dressed in black, came out of the restaurant _____
b. The man, and the woman dressed in black, came out of the restaurant _____
2. a. Alfred said, “the boss is quite stupid” _____

b. “Alfred”, said the boss, “is quite stupid” _____
3. a. If you finish, quickly leave the room _____

b. If you finish quickly, leave the room _____
4. a. Holding the handle firmly, turn the lever to the right _____
b. Holding the handle, firmly turn the lever to the right _____
5. a. He sold his house, boat, and car _____
b. He sold his houseboat, and car _____
(Adapted from Rogerson & Gilbert)
B. Listen carefully to the following twelve sentences. Do you hear syllables with regular or
irregular lengths? Put a cross in the appropriate column.
Regular Syllable Length Irregular Syllable Length

(all stressed syllables) (stressed and unstressed syllables)
0.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
(Adapted from Rogerson & Gilbert, 1995)

C. Listen to the dialog between college roommates. Mark the primary stress on the most prominent
word (or focus word) in each phrase. The first one has been done for you.
X: I’ve got to stúdy! Where’ve I put my bóok?

Y: Which book?
X: My calculus book.
Y: Maybe it’s on the bookshelf.
X: The bookshelf is full of your comic books.
Y: Then look in the bedroom.
X: I’ve looked in the bedroom. I give up. This place is a mess! I can’t find
anything in this place.
Y: Wait a minute. Your book is right there… in your hand.
D. Listen for the special focus word or prominence in each statement. Check the most likely
meaning.
0. He found a báll. 3.
a. √_ Not a glove. a. ___ No, my assistant did it.
b. ___ No, I mailed it.
b.___ He didn’t throw it.
c. ___ No, just the report.
4.
1.
a. ___ Rather than a hot.
a. ___ Not a large.
b. ___ Instead of medium.
b. ___ Not a sausage.
5.
2.
a. ___ No, (A – B)
a. ___ Not my wrist.
b. ___ No, divided by C
b. ___ I didn’t break it.

A. Read the following groups of sentences. Clap slowly and regularly, in groups of three beats.
Then pronounce each series of sentences several times, making a stressed syllable fall on each beat,
and bringing in all stressed syllables between beats. Each time read, clap a little faster.
BOYS DATE GIRLS

The BOYS DATE some GIRLS
The BOYS will DATE some of the GIRLS
The BOYS will have DATED some of the GIRLS

B. Go to the “Recognition” exercise A on pages 8 and 9 of this handout. Then practice reading
aloud the nursery rhymes, the poem and the limerick.
C. Read the following dialog with your classmate. Pay attention to the context of the dialog.
Discuss with your partner and decide where the prominent element goes in each phrase. Then,
mark the pauses and stress pattern for each phrase. Finally, read it aloud to check on your
pronunciation.
Roommates
A: Can you lend me five dollars?

B: I just lent you five dollars. What did you do with that?
A: I lost it.
B: You lost it?
A: Yes, playing cards.
B: In a card game! I can’t lend you money to play cards with.
A: No. This is for a birthday present.
B: Whose? Yours?
A: No. It’s your birthday. Did you forget?
B: You want my money to buy me a birthday present with?
A: Yes. B: O.K. I guess that’s a pretty good reason.
D. Read the following cartoons with your classmates. Pay special attention to the highlighted
words. Choose one and rehearse it and read it to the rest of the class.

IV. Guided Practice and Feedback
Spot the difference.
Student A: You and B have similar pictures, but there are several differences. Describe your
picture to B in as much detail as you can.Then, listen to B describe his/her picture. (Do not look at
your partner’s picture).

Student B: You and A have similar pictures, but there are several differences. Listen to A describe
the picture. Afterwards describe your picture to A in as much detail you can. (Do not look at your
partner’s picture).
Works in pairs. Create a poem that has a regular beat. Use at least 5 words from the box. Feel free
to add your own ones. Make sure the lines rhyme.
friendship love deserve ship sadness preserve waves
happiness joy destroy disappear loneliness beautiful see
appear freshness caring boy lovely early
sea resting ambitious prairie sun sky mountain
Example:
Lovely girl,
Lovely dame,
Where’s the joy
Of your love today

9 ADJUSTMNENTS IN CONNECTED SPEECH
Linking & Rhythm
In connected speech, words within the same phrase or sentence often blend together. Connecting
groups of words together is referred to as Linking. When words are properly linked, there is a
smooth transition from one word to the next.
Linking Consonant to Vowel (C-V)
C (bilabial) + V C (labio-dental) + V C (dental) + V

tap it enough apple with it
grab it give him bathe him
comb it
C (alveolar) + V C (alveo-palatal) + V C (retroflex) +V C (velar) + V

rust away push around fair enough pick up
played on charge account dog out
run around match it young elephant
press on beige armchair
loves it
(Adapted from Avery & Ehrlich, 1994)
Linking Consonant to Consonant (C-C)

The stop consonant is usually not released. That is, the tongue or lips will move to the place of
articulation of the stop consonant and then move immediately to the place of articulation for the
next consonant.
/p + t/ /t + k/ /p + d/ /g + b/
top ten got crazy cheap drink big belly
/t + t/ /d + d / /g + k/ /t + d/
that church red jumper log cabin fat donkey
/t + l/ /p + s/ /g + z/ /k + /
light lunch stop skating big zebra dark show

Linking Identical Consonants (C-C)
The two consonants are usually pronounced as one long consonant.
/p + p/ /t + t/ /k + k/ /b + b/ /d + d/ /g + g/
help people waste time black candle grab Bob bad day big ghost
/f + f/ / + / /s + s/ / + / /r + r/ /l + l/
safe fence eighth thing less serious wash shirts more rice purple letter
Linking Vowels to Vowels (V-V)

When a word or syllable ends in a tense vowel, and the next word begins in a vowel sound, you
have to link with a glide: /w/ or /j /. Look at the following examples:
stay up /steI / + /p/ /steI jp/

how about /haU / + / baUt/ / haUwbaUt/
Include / j / sound between words when finding the following linking combinations:
/ і: / + V /e I / + V / I/ + V /aI / + V
see it stay around enjoy it buy it
free animal say it boy asks lie up
bee action play a game employ about play away
Include / w / sound between words when finding the following linking combinations:
/u: / + V /oU / + V /aU / + V

through eyes know about how old
New Eve go over a cow in
Threw it show off allow it
(Adapted from Avery & Ehrlich, 1994; and Celce-Murcia et al., 1996)
55
Exercises
I. Listening and Orthography
A. Listen to the following phrases. Draw the linking line in each phrase. (C-V)
0. An hour and a half.

1. It’s upstairs.
2. He’s an actor.
3. I found it.
4. Just a little.
5. Neither am I.
6. Both of us.
7. A while ago.
8. That’s a lot of money.
9. This afternoon at four o’clock.
B. Listen to the following sentences. Draw a linking line in each sentence where the words are
linked by /w/.
0. You know it’s Brian’s birthday.

1. Oh, I forgot all about it.
2. What about the new umbrella.
3. He should just throw it away.
4. It won’t be too expensive.
5. How about Thursday?
6. He has an interview on Friday.
7. Yeah, let’s do it Saturday.
8. You arrange the party.
C. Listen to the following sentences. Draw a linking line in each sentence where the words are
linked by /j /.
0. It’s Brian’s birthday on Thursday.

1. We should buy him a present.
2. We really ought to have a party or something for him.
3. Do you have any ideas?
4. If we pay about $20, we could get him something nice.
5. Why don’t we invite a few friends?
6. What about Thursday evening?
7. More people will be free on Saturday.
(Taken from Hewings & Goldstein, 1998)
56
II. Controlled Practice & Feedback
A. Read the following sentences and draw the linking line where necessary. Practice
reading them to your partner.
0. We aren’t coming yet.

1. Try it later.
2. Ask him now.
3. The boy ate two apples.
4. You arrange the meeting.
5. I can’t find my new umbrella.
6. I had to stay up all night long.
7. Did you see the black kittens?
8. The bread didn’t taste good.
B. Read the following dialogs. Pay attention to the linkings.
A: It was there this morning.

B: May Steve borrowed it.
A: He doesn’t have keys for it.
B: Then we’d better call the police.
A: Are you free on Sunday? Would you like to go out?

B: I’ve got to study!
A: What about Thursday evening?
B: Yes, sure. But first, we need to pick up my mother’s present.
A: All right. After we get back from the store, we’ll go to the movies.
B: What is it showing on Thursday?
A: I believe it is “The Broken Mirror”.
57
10 PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSES
Speech is a continuous stream of sounds. We do not pronounce sounds in isolation. Sounds come into
contact to form words or larger units of speech. During the process they can suffer changes at the point
of junction. This is a universal feature that applies to all sound systems, that is to say, that sounds tend
to be affected by their surroundings. Phonological Processes are adjustments in connected speech.
These changes of pronunciation occur within and between words at the points of junction with
neighboring sounds. Changes are often attributed to:
1. the influence of adjacent sounds.

2. the shift in word stress in certain phrases.
3. the speed with which a word is spoken.
4. the ease of articulation for the speaker.
The most common Phonological Processes are:
- Assimilation
 Progressive
 Regressive
 Coalescent
 Gemination
- Deletion
- Dissimilation
 Haplology
Assimilation “is the influence exercised by one sound segment upon the articulation of another, so that
the sound becomes more alike or identical” (Quintana de Laya & Laya, 1988, p. 65). Wolfran (1982)
states that in order to define assimilation these components are necessary:
1. a sound that changes (the assimilating sound).

2. the sound that causes the change (the conditioning sound).
Progressive Assimilation: the conditioning sound precedes and affects the following sound.
affects
Conditioning Assimilated
Sound Sound
 voiced or voiceless form of the suffix –s ending

clean  /s/ = /  
ask  =   
Exception 
 voiced or voiceless form of the suffix –ed ending

pass   = 
love   = 
Exception 
 contractions
it + is / → // = 
58
Regressive Assimilation: This process takes place when the influence is backwards in the word,
that is, the assimilated sound precedes and is affected by the conditioning sound.
② affects ①
Assimilated Conditioning
Sound Sound
A. Change in point of articulation:
1. Sequences of alveolar sounds influenced by fricatives.
 +    this shoe →  →
+    has shame → →→
2. Sequences of alveolar sounds influenced by stop or nasals.
Examples
/t/ + /p, b, m/ → /p/ that peach /→ /→ /

+ /g , k/ → /k/ that cat → → 
/d/ + /p, b, m/ → /b/ good boy → → 

+ / k, g/ → /g/ red pen /red pen/ → → 
/n/ + /p, b, m/ → /m/ in peace → 

+ /k, g/ → /ŋ / in March → 
can call → 
on guard → 
B. Change in voicing:
Voiced sounds assimilate and become voiceless.
Example
/v/ becomes /f/ have to → 

/z/ becomes /s/ has to  → 
/d/ becomes /t/ used to  → 
59
Coalescent Assimilation (Palatalization): Two segments are replaced by a single one which
shows features of the two original ones.
Segment 1 + Segment 2 → Segment 3
Features:
Fricative Approximant Fricative

Alveolar Palatal = Alveo-palatal
1.  +  → 
2. /z/ + /j/ → 
Stops Approximant Affricate

Alveolar Palatal Alveo-palatal
3.  +  → 
4.  +  → 
Examples:
This year → 

Close your book → 
I hate you → 
Would you go? → 
Gemination: It occurs when an assimilation process results in contiguous identical consonants

(change in point of articulation). Example:
Give me the book:  → 

Let me call: / → /
Want to come: → 
Going to: → 
Degemination: it takes place when there is a reduction of geminate consonants. Many geminated
forms are reduced to one simple segment.
Give me /gɪv mi:/ → → 

Good-bye  → → 
Right poor → → 
(Taken from Wolfran & Johnson, 1982)
60
Deletion (Elision, Omission or Ellipsis): It is defined as the process in which sounds are omitted in
words or word boundaries, or are not clearly articulated in certain contexts. This process can
happen to vowels and consonants in words and in connected speech. The following are the most
common settings for deletion:
1. Elision of  when  is between two vowels or before a syllabic [l].
Example:
Winter  → 

Center  → 
Internet →
Sentence →
2. Elision of /t/ or /d/ when they occur second in a sequence or cluster of three consonants in
words. Example:
Loss of / t / Loss of /d/

restless →  windmill →
listless →  kindness →
exactly → hands →
3. Elision of /t/ and /d/ in word-final clusters or two or three at a word boundary when the
following word begins with a consonant. Example:
Next day  → 
Wind signal  → 
Best couple → 
Mild cold → 
4. Elision of /ə/ in sequences of unstressed syllables or after /ə/ comes before or after a
strongly stressed syllable. After a stressed syllable if a sequence of consonant + /ə/ + /r/ +
weak vowel following, the first schwa /ə/ of the sequence is elided. E.g.: temperature,
natural, history, camera, factory. Example:
chocolate → 
parade → 
a. battery, interesting, family, evening, temperature, terrific, buffalo, carefully, nursery.
b. police, about, parade, around, balloon, gorilla, support, reusable.
61
5. Loss of /h/ and /ð/ in pronominal weak forms. Example:
Was he there? 
Did you see her yesterday? 
Tell them 
(Adapted from Celce-Murcia et al., 1996)
Dissimilation: This process occurs when adjacent sounds become more different from each other.
Haplology: “An entire syllable is lost when it is identical to another syllable… Haplology is a
process that causes two identical syllables to become different in the sense that one remains intact
while the other is lost…” (Wolfran & Johnson, 1982, p. 96-97).
Example:
Similarly → 

Library → 
Regularly → 
Probably  → 
Exercises
I. Recognition
A. Write what kind of assimilation occurs in the following words and phrases. Transcribe any
sound that takes part in the process. Example:
0- lakes Progressive Assimilation 
1- boys 2- is she? 3- that kind 4- that boy
5- ten men 6- that piece 7- good bye 8- talked
9- that cup 10- ten cups 11- said Gary 12- beds
B. Read the following sentences, indicate coalescent assimilation (Transcribe the two replaced
segments and the new segment). Then, practice reading them aloud. Example:
0- Is this your book? 


6- Has your letter come?
1- Did your uncle come? 7- He cut your face!
2- Would you do it?, I need your help 8- Who´s your partner?
3- Take it in case you need it. 9- You´ll read it, won´t you?
4- Is your brother coming? 10- Hide your camera.
5- You are going, aren´t you? 11- I´ll miss you.
62
C. Read the following words and phrases. Indicate if the process of Assimilation, Deletion or
Haplology operates in them. Example:
/ts/mine
0- It’s Progressive Assimilation 
1- interact 5- this shape 9- temporary
2- handbag 6- fine grade 10- round the corner
3- particularly 7- won’t come 11- literally
4- soft cloth 8- friendship 12- Christmas
II. Controlled Practice and Feedback.

A. Read the following sentences. Identify the Phonological Processes that take place in each
sentence when said with relaxed fast pronunciation.
Example:
0- Give me that. Gemination_____________________________________________
1- I think is just temporal. _______________________________________________
2- I got your letter last month. ____________________________________________
3- That doesn´t mean that I don´t love her. __________________________________
4- That manual we found you on the internet was quite good.____________________
___________________________________________________________________

Use the following vocabulary to give advice on healthy living. Write “do” and “don’t” sentences.
eat, miss, forget, lose, get, count

sleep, exercise, temper, rest, vitamins, calories, vegetables
DO DON`T
Eat your vegetables. Don`t forget your vitamins.
________ your ____________. Don`t __________ your __________.
________ your ____________. Don`t __________ your __________.
________ your ____________. Don`t __________ your __________.
63
Situation: Two friends are talking about their neighbors and how they cannot cope with them.
Student A: Your next-door neighbor is very noisy. Ask you friend for advice and give advice when
asked.
Student B: Your neighbors are too nosy. Ask for advice and give advice to your friend.
Use the following sentences cues:
Why don´t you….? Could you possibly….?

Would you like to….? Did you ever think of….?
Can´t you….?
64
11 INTONATION
Intonation is the rise and fall of the voice when speaking. The different notes we produce are
called “pitches”, and correspond to frequency of the sound produced. English language utilizes 4
levels of tone, they are represented with four (4) horizontal lines. The lowest level is pitch 1, and
the highest pitch is 4.
4_____________________
3_____________________
2_____________________
1_____________________
When speaking, the combinations or sequences of these levels give particular intonation to a
sentence or phrase. Those combinations of tones or pitches on the syllable of a phrase are called
Intonation Patterns.
The line that represents the individual differences of the intonation of a sentence is called
Intonation Contour.
(Taken from Quintana de Laya y Laya, 1991)
Functions of Intonation
Intonation makes it easier for a listener to understand what a speaker is trying to convey in his
message. The ways in which intonation does this very complex, therefore as a way to accurately
study them and classify them, they are grouped in different functions:
a. Attitudinal Function of Intonation:

Intonation enables the speakers to express emotions and attitudes as they speak, and this
adds a special kind of “special meaning” to the message.
b. Accentual Function of Intonation:

Intonation helps to produce the effect of prominence on syllables that need to be perceived
as stressed.
c. Grammatical Function of Intonation:

The listener is better able to recognize the grammar and syntactic structure of what is being
said by using the information contained in the intonation. (For example: such things as the
placement of boundaries phases, clauses of sentences, the difference between questions and
statements and the use of grammatical subordination).
d. Discourse Function of Intonation:

Intonation is used mainly to focus the listener’s attention on aspects of the message that are
important. (For example: the intonation can signal to the listener what is to be taken as
“new” information and what is already “given” in a context. Some other times, it can
suggest whether the speaker is contrasting information). Another area of intonational
discourse function deals with the regulation of conversational behavior. (For example:
turn-taking in conversations).
(Taken from Roach, P., 1995)
65
Intonation Patterns
English has two basic intonation patterns: rising and falling.

The two most common intonation patterns are: Declarative and Question Intonation.
Declarative Intonation Pattern

This pattern begins on pitch level 2, rises to pitch 3, and then either steps down or glides down to
pitch 1. The voice steps down if one or more syllables follow the primary stress of the phrase;
otherwise, it glides down. Declarative is also called /232/ pattern. This pattern is used in
affirmative and negative statements and in questions beginning with a question word.
Declarative intonation Question Intonation
. __ . __ _ . __ . _ .
Alicia called her móther. Why are you yélling?
Patina bought some dresses. Where are you going?
Caracas is amazing. What is he selling?
Declarative Compound /232 231/

This pattern is used when a sentence is said in two phases or with sentences that have two phrases
joined by a connecting word such as and, but, or. The first phrase starts on level 2, goes up to level
3 on the syllable with the primary stress, and then goes down, but only to level 2. The second
phrase follows the basic declarative intonation pattern, that is /231/.
There are two important things to know about sentences that are spoken with two or more phrases:
1. Each phase has one –and only one- primary stress.
2. The sound of the voice does not actually stop between phrases. There is the slightest hesitation,
but sound of the voice continues.
(Taken from Drills and Exercise in English Pronunciation, Part, 1967)
_ __ . . _ __ . _ . __ . .
He likes to flý and he has a pláne. His úncle wears a jácket.
_ __ . . . . _ __ . .
I wrote an árticle, but I didn’t corréct it
66
Question Intonation
This is the second of the most common intonation patterns. This intonation pattern is used with
questions that begin with a modal or auxiliary. They are also known as Yes-No question intonation
/23➚/.
_ _ .
Did you sígn it?
Were you busy?
Can we see it?
Direct Address /232 2➚/

When a term of direct address is used, that is, when the person to whom the sentence is directed is
mentioned in it, the sentence is spoken in two sentences. The first phrase follows the /232/ pattern;
the second phrase is usually on the pitch 2 level with a slight rise at the end.
_ _ . _ . . __ . _ __
Good morning, Miss Ríchards Láura, this is my friend Pául
_ . __ __ . .
Good níght, Róbert What time is ít?, Róger
Contrast Drill
It is possible to have sentences that contain either a Direct Object or a term of Direct Address, and
so are very similar, except for the intonation. Compare the following intonations:
Direct Object of the verb Direct Address
_ __ . __ _ __ .
I can’t forget Jáy I can’t forgét, Jáy
_ __ __ . _ __ .
I don’t know Hélen I don’t knów, Hélen
Tag Questions
There are two types of tag questions, according to the intention of the speaker.
Type 1: If the speaker is not sure of the answer, he is going to obtain (he is in fact asking a
question) his voice will rise at the end. This type of tag question has /232 2➚/ intonation.
_ . . . _ _ __ . . _
It is éasy, ísn’t it? You aren’t wórking, áre you?
You studied, didn’t you? He hasn’t played, has he?
She can sew, can’t she? They don’t go, do they?
67
Type 2: If the speaker is certain of the answer he is going to obtain (he is asking for
confirmation), his voice will go down at the end. Therefore, it has /231 31/
_ . . _
She is márried, ísn’t she? Yes, she is.
You knew it, didn’t you? Yes, I did.
Tag questions may also be followed by a term of Direct Address. In this case, the patterns are as
follows:
Type 1 with Direct Address /232 2 2➚/
_ . . _
You’ll edít it, wón’t you, Kén?
You are hungry, aren’t you, son?
Type 2 with Direct Address /231 31 1/
_ . _
You tóok it, dídn’t you, Sám?
You are cheating, aren’t you, Charles?
Clauses
Clauses beginning with a connecting word such as before, when, since, because, if may be said with
three different intonation patterns.
1. When a clause beginning with a connecting word comes as the second part of a sentence,
the sentence is often said as one phase with one primary stress. It has /231/ intonation
pattern.
_ . __ _ . _
He arrived after you left
_ __ _ . __ . .
They danced when the music stárted.
2. Sentences with clauses are more commonly said in two phrases. In this case, we use the
Declarative Compound intonation /232 231/
_ . __ . . _ _ __ . _
I was reading a bóok when my mother cálled me.
. __ __ . . _ . _ __ .
Sofia started crýing after she knew the néws.
68
3. When a clause comes as the first element in a sentence, the intonation is /232➚ 231/, and
there is usually a slight rise at the end of the first phrase.
. _ __ . __ . _ __ _
Before Albert went to béd, he brushed his téeth.
_ _ . _ __ .
If I were rích, I’d buy a yácht.
Counting
There are several different intonations that can be used when counting in English.
1. /31 31 31/: This is a slow, deliberate way of counting. (For instance, a referee at a boxing
match will count slowly from 1 to 10).
one two three four five six seven eight
2. /3 3 31/: This is a more rapid way of counting. All numbers go on level 3, except the last
one which goes on level 31. (For instance: when counting objects or persons).
. . . . .
twénty thírty fórty fífty síxty
_ _ . _ _ .
sixteén seventeén eighteén nineteén twenty
3. /2 2 31/: This is a more common way of counting. The voice remains on the pitch 2 level
until the last number which is spoken with a /31/ intonation. This intonation at the end
indicates that the speaker has finished counting. (For example: when playing Hide-and-
Seek).
óne twó threé foúr five
4. /2 2 231/ : It is also very common to count on the pitch 2 level, using a rising voice after
each number except the last one which is the /31/ level. (For instance: when counting
money)
_ _ _ _ _
Forty-óne forty-twó forty-threé forty-fóur forty-fíve
69
Listing
This intonation is used when enumerating items from a list, in affirmative or negative statements.
The pattern is 2 for each item, except the last one which is /231/.
.
Mílk, cheése, and jám.
. . . . . .
Tomátoes, potátoes and léttuce.
Questions
Apart from Yes-No questions and Information Questions, there are questions in which you are
given a choice.
1. Limited choice: /23 231/ or /23➚ 231/
This type of questions is used when a person is asked to choose between alternatives and the
choice is limited.
_ _ __ . . . . _ _ __ . .
Do you want chócolate or coffee? Do you prefer sálsa, róck or póp?
_ _ __ . . . _ _ __ _ .
Do you study Énglish or Frénch? Will you go by cár, pláne, or bóat?
2. Unlimited choice: /23 23 23➚/ or /23➚ 23➚ 23➚/

This type of intonation is used when choices are offered, but they are not restricted. That is,
there may still other choices that can be made and the speaker is not limiting the choices to the
ones he has mentioned.
_ _ __ . . . .
Do you want some cáke, or múffins , or píe?
Do you want some wine, or wísky, or beer?
70
SUMMARY OF INTONATION PATTERNS
1. Declarative /231/
2. Declarative Compound /232 231/
3. Question Intonation (yes-no) /23➚/
4. Direct Address
A. In statements /232 2➚/
B. In yes-no questions //23 3➚/
5. Tag Questions
A. Not sure /232 2➚7
B. Certain /231 31/
6. Clauses
A. The clause is the second element /231/
B. The clause is the first element /232➚ 231/
7. Counting
A. /31 31 31 /
B. /2 2 31/
C. /3 3…31/
D. /2➚ 2➚ 31/
8. Listing /2➚ 2➚ 231/

9. Or Questions
A. Limited Choice /23 23 231/
B. Unlimited Choice /23➚ 23➚23➚/
71

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CONTENTS

3 REFERENTIAL STRESS: AFFIXES…………………………………………….. 10

4 REFERENTIAL STRESS: NUMBERS………………………………………….. 17

5 DIFFERENTIAL STRESS: NOUN/VERB & ADJECTIVE/VERB…………….. 19

6 DIFFERENTIAL STRESS: NOUN COMPOUNDS…………………………..… 27

8 RHYTHM AND PHRASE STRESS……………………………………………… 37

9 ADJUSTMENTS IN CONNECTED SPEECH…………………………………… 54

Kukanauza & Allegra (2008) 1

Structurally the syllables may be divided into 3 parts:

Open syllable: a syllable with no coda. For example: see.

Onset Peak Coda Onset Peak

Closed syllable Open syllable

Syllabic Structure of English and Spanish

Minimal Syllable Structure Maximal Syllable Structure

( The sequence: a vowel followed by four consonants

Kukanauza & Allegra (2008) 2

4. / h,v,m,n,l / + / j/ : humor, view, mute, nude.

5. / s /+ / l,j,w,p,t,m,k,n,f / : slate, swim, spin,

1. / s / + / p / + / l, r, j /: splash, spray, spew.

(Taken from Prator & Robinett, 1985)

Simplification of Final Clusters

1. Phonetic syllabication or resyllabification. This strategy involves breaking up a final consonant

a. The middle consonant of a three or four consonant cluster is usually deleted.

Kukanauza & Allegra (2008) 3

1. furniture ___ 2. brought ___ 3. pleased ___

Example: 0. Barb CVCC

1. texts _____ 2. films _____ 3. thirsts _____

II. Listening Discrimination

III. Controlled Practice and Feedback

(Taken from Handschuh & Geigel, 1989)

Kukanauza & Allegra (2008) 4

A Trip to the Veterinarian

X: What seems to be the problem with Splash?

(Taken from Celce- Murcia et al., 1996)

B: It is the Labor Day.

A: What is taking place on the fifth?

(Taken from Celce- Murcia et al., 1996)

Kukanauza & Allegra (2008) 5

Kukanauza & Allegra (2008) 6

Japanese example: oba-san = aunt

Stressed Syllables Unstressed Syllables Example

Kukanauza & Allegra (2008) 7

hello  rebel 

(Taken from Orion, 1997)

English vs. Spanish Word Stress

Languages Two-syllable Three-syllable word Four-syllable word

Kukanauza & Allegra (2008) 8

1. Noun / Verb. Examples : REcord (n.), reCORD (v.)

2. Adjective / Verb. Examples: LEARned  (a.) LEARNED  (v.)

5. Phrasal verb / Adjective. Example: get AWAY (v.), GETaway (n., a)

Kukanauza & Allegra (2008) 9

fore- out- over- under- up-

(Taken from Celce-Murcia et al., 1996)

1.a.- Neutral suffixes (Germanic origin)

(Taken from Kingdom, 1958 & Celce-Murcia et al., 1996)

Kukanauza & Allegra (2008) 10

(Taken from Kingdom, 1958 & Celce-Murcia et al., 1996)

2.- Suffixes that receive stress (French origin)

-aire -ee -eer -ese

-esque -ique -eur/-euse

-oon -ette -et 

(Taken from Kingdom, 1958 & Celce-Murcia et al., 1996)

Kukanauza & Allegra (2008) 11

3.- Shift Stress (some with Latin origin)

1. furniture _ 2. brought _ 3. pleased ___

1. texts ___ 2. films _ 3. thirsts ___