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Suprasegmentals

The document discusses suprasegmentals, or prosodic features, in phonology, which include stress, intonation, juncture, pitch, rhythm, tempo, and duration. It explains various types of stress (lexical, sentence, emphatic, and contrastive), types of intonation (rising, falling, rising-falling, and flat), and the significance of juncture in speech. Additionally, it covers the role of pitch, rhythm, tempo, and duration in conveying meaning and emotion in spoken language.

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Max Xigie Agbulos
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18 views5 pages

Suprasegmentals

The document discusses suprasegmentals, or prosodic features, in phonology, which include stress, intonation, juncture, pitch, rhythm, tempo, and duration. It explains various types of stress (lexical, sentence, emphatic, and contrastive), types of intonation (rising, falling, rising-falling, and flat), and the significance of juncture in speech. Additionally, it covers the role of pitch, rhythm, tempo, and duration in conveying meaning and emotion in spoken language.

Uploaded by

Max Xigie Agbulos
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Phonology: Suprasegmentals (Prosodic Features)

- suprasegmental, also called prosodic feature, in phonetics, a speech feature


such as stress, tone, or word juncture that accompanies or is added over
consonants and vowels; these features are not limited to single sounds but often
extend over syllables, words, or phrases.
Stress
Stress is the emphasis placed on specific syllables or words. It is created by variations
in pitch, loudness, and duration.
Stress can be defined as one part of the word is more prominent, or to be exact one
syllable in the word is more prominent.
Types of Stress
Lexical Stress (Word Stress):
• Stress on syllables within individual words.
• Example: ‘IMport’ (noun) vs. ‘imPORT’ (verb).
Sentence Stress (Prosodic Stress):
• Stress placed on certain words in a sentence to convey meaning or
emphasis.
Example:
• “I didn’t say he stole the money” (emphasizes “he”).
• “I didn’t say he stole the money” (emphasizes “stole”).
Emphatic Stress:
• Stress used to express strong emotion or clarify meaning.
• Example: “I do care about you.”
Contrastive Stress:
• Used to highlight contrast.
• Example: “I said blue, not red.”
Levels of Stress
Primary Stress:
 The strongest emphasis in a word (e.g., “pho`TOgraph”).
 Long and loud
Secondary Stress:
 A weaker emphasis in multisyllabic words (e.g., “phoTOgraphy”).
 In between
Unstressed:
 No emphasis, as in function words like “the” in “go to the store.”
 Short and quiet
Examples:
‘Communication’ there are five syllables in this word, Com-mu-ni-ca-tion the primary
stress are in the 4th syllable, the secondary stress are in the 2 nd syllable. And the rest is
unstressed syllables.

Intonation
Intonation refers to the variation in pitch across a stretch of speech. It helps express
emotions, attitudes, and grammatical structures.
The variation in pitch across a phrase or sentence that can convey different meanings
or emotions. For example, a rising intonation might indicate a question, whereas a
falling intonation can indicate a statement.

Types of Intonation
Rising Intonation:
• Common in yes/no questions or when seeking confirmation.
Example: “Are you coming?”
Falling Intonation:
• Found in statements, commands, or exclamations.
Example: “He left early.”
Rising-Falling Intonation:
• Indicates surprise or strong emotion.
Example: “Really?”
Flat Intonation:
• Can indicate boredom or lack of interest.
Example: “Fine.”

Functions of Intonation
 Grammatical: Distinguishes between statements and questions.
 Attitudinal: Expresses emotions like excitement, anger, or doubt.
 Discourse: Highlights key ideas or contrasts.

Juncture
Juncture refers to the way sounds are connected or separated in speech, impacting
how words or phrases are understood.

Types of Juncture
o Open Juncture: A clear pause between sounds.
Example: “I scream” vs. “ice cream.”
o Close Juncture: Smooth transitions without pauses.
Example: “nitrate” (no pause).
o Terminal Juncture: Signals the end of a sentence or thought.
Example: Falling pitch at the end of “It’s done.”
o Internal Juncture: A pause within a sentence.
Example: “He said, ‘Stop!’”

Pitch
Pitch refers to the highness or lowness of a speaker’s voice. It is an essential
component of tone and intonation.

Types of Pitch
 High Pitch: Often associated with excitement or questions.
Example: “Really?!”
 Low Pitch: Used in commands or statements.
Example: “Sit down.”
Tone
Tone refers to the use of pitch to distinguish word meaning, particularly in tonal
languages like Mandarin, Thai, or Igbo.

Types of Tone
• Level Tone: Constant pitch across the syllable.
• Rising Tone: Pitch increases.
• Falling Tone: Pitch decreases.
• Contour Tone: Combination of rising and falling tones.

Rhythm
Rhythm refers to the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in speech. It is a key
feature of connected speech.

Types of Rhythm
• Stress-Timed Rhythm: Found in languages like English, where stressed syllables
occur at regular intervals.
• Syllable-Timed Rhythm: Found in languages like French, where each syllable
takes approximately the same time to pronounce.

Tempo
Tempo refers to the speed of speech. It can indicate urgency, hesitation, or emotion.

Types of Tempo
• Fast Tempo: Can indicate excitement or nervousness.
• Slow Tempo: Can signal hesitation or emphasis.

Duration
Duration is the length of time a sound is held. It can create meaning distinctions.
• Example: In Japanese, “obasan” (aunt) vs. “obaasan” (grandmother)
depends on vowel length.
References
Britannica. (n.d.). Suprasegmental features. Retrieved February 11, 2025, from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/suprasegmental
Crystal, D. (2010). The Cambridge encyclopedia of language (3rd ed.). Cambridge
University Press.
Essentials of Linguistics. (n.d.). 3.8 Suprasegmentals. Retrieved from
https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/essentialsoflinguistics/chapter/3-8-
suprasegmentals/
Ladefoged, P., & Johnson, K. (2014). A course in phonetics (7th ed.). Boston, MA:
Cengage Learning.
Roach, P. (2009). English phonetics and phonology: A practical course (4th ed.).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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