ARTICULATION IN

ENGLISH
BY
PROF. SMRITI SINGH
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY PATNA
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SYLLABLE

• A syllable is part of a word that is pronounced as a unit.

Example: book, but-ter

• Syllables are usually made up of a single vowel sound and any surrounding
consonant sound.

• Types: monosyllabic, disyllabic, trisyllabic, quadrisyllabic/ polysyllabic

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EXAMPLES
• Monosyllabic: tie, bat, cat, dog

• Disyllabic: res-cue, ap-ple, fa-ther, sis-ter, bro-ther

• Trisyllabic: al-pha-bet, a-ban-don, ab-so-lute

• Polysyllabic: ac-tiv-i-ty, e-lec-tri-ci-ty

• Adding prefixes or suffixes affects the number of syllables and stress patterns
Example: way, mid-way
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STRESS

• In English, we do not say each syllable with the same force or strength. In one
word, we accentuate one syllable. We say one syllable loudly and all the other
syllables quietly.

Example: WON-der, WHE-ther, CHIL-dren

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BASIC RULES

• We can only stress vowels, not consonants.

• One word has only one stress.

• Uses of prefix/suffix play a major role

Example: PHO-to-graph, pho-TO-graph-er, pho-to-GRAPH-ic
• Stress frequently falls on the first syllable in two-syllable words.
Example: OF-ten, SIB-lings, AR-gue
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CONTD.

• There are many two-syllable words in English whose meaning and class change
with a change in stress. For most of the two-syllable nouns and adjectives, first
syllables are stressed.
Example: PRES-ent(noun), EX-port(noun), RE-cord(noun), PRO-ject (noun)

• When a two-syllable verb and a two-syllable noun have the same spelling, we tend
to stress nouns in the first syllables, and verbs in the second syllables.
Example: pres-ENT(verb), ex-PORT(verb), re-CORD(verb), pro-JECT (verb)
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CONTD.

• For the words ending in –ic, -sion and –tion, we stress the penultimate syllable
Example: GRAPH-ic, geoGRAPH-ic, teleVI-sion, reveLA-tion

• For words ending in -cy, -ty, -phy, –gy and –al, we stress the ante-penultimate
syllable
Example: deMOcra-cy, dependaBIli-ty, phoTOgra-phy, geOLo-gy, CRItic-al,
geoLOGic-al
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CONTD.

• For compound nouns, the stress is on the first part

Example: BLACKbird, GREENhouse

• For compound adjectives, the stress is on the second part

Example: bad-TEMpered, old-FASHioned

• For compound verbs, the stress is on the second part

Example: underSTAND, overFLOW

• For a few words, English speakers don't always agree on where to put the stress. For
example, some people say teleVIsion and others say TELevision.
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SENTENCE TYPES

• Declarative sentence (statement)

• Interrogative sentence (question)

• Imperative sentence (command)

• Exclamative sentence (exclamation)

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DECLARATIVE SENTENCES

• Declarative sentences make a statement. They tell us something. They give us

information, and they normally end with a full-stop/period.

• The usual word order for the declarative sentence is:

subject + verb...

• Declarative sentences can be positive or negative.

• Example: I like coffee. We did not watch TV last night.

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INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES

• Interrogative sentences ask a question. They ask us something. They want

information, and they always end with a question mark.

• The usual word order for the interrogative sentence is:

(wh-word +) auxiliary + subject + verb...

• Interrogative sentences can be positive or negative.

• Example: Why did you go? Do you like coffee?
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IMPERATIVE SENTENCES

• Imperative sentences give a command. They tell us to do something, and they end
with a full-stop/period (.) or exclamation mark/point (!).

• The usual word order for the imperative sentence is:

base verb...

• There is usually no subject—because the subject is understood, it is YOU.

• Examples: Stop! Give her coffee.
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EXCLAMATORY SENTENCES

• Exclamatory sentences express strong emotion/surprise—an exclamation—and

they always end with an exclamation mark/point (!).

• The usual word order for the exclamatory sentence is:

What (+ adjective) + noun + subject + verb
How (+ adjective/adverb) + subject + verb

• Examples: What a liar he is! How exciting the movie was!

14 RHYTHM IN CONNECTED SPEECH

• Rhythm is the sense of movement in speech, which is marked by stress, timing and quantity of
syllables.
• Spoken English words with two or more syllables have different stress and length patterns.
• The rhythm of English is based on the contrast of stressed and unstressed syllables in regular
intervals, with the stresses falling within content words.

The stressed syllables of the sentence create beats. The beats of the following sentence fall on
the words 'like' and the second syllable of 'Colombia’.
• I like Colombia.
15 CONTENT WORDS

• Words that have the most stress in English are called content words. Content words are usually the nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and
pronouns (demonstrative, possessive, reflexive, and interrogative). These words are important to express the main meaning of the sentence.
• Nouns: Sam, chair, happiness, etc.
• Verbs: read, love, dance, etc.
• Adjectives: red, big, strong, etc.
• Adverbs: nicely, patiently, equally, yesterday, always, etc.
• Negative words: not, never, neither, etc.
• Modals: should, could, might, etc. but not will and can.
• Yes and No in short answers.
• Quantifiers: some, many, no, all, one, two, three, etc
• Wh-Question words.
16 FUNCTION WORDS

• Function words are those words that are weaker and shorter. They include auxiliary verbs,
prepositions, conjunctions, determiners, and possessive adjectives. These words are less important
in expressing the meaning of the sentence.

• Auxiliary verbs: are, was, has, could, would, etc.

• Prepositions: at, on, to, near, etc.
• Conjunctions: and, so, but, not, however, etc.
• Determiners: a, an, the, some, any, etc.
• Pronouns: I, you, she, him, us, ours, etc.
17 DECIDE WHICH WORDS ARE FUNCTION AND
CONTENT WORDS IN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES.

1. John wants to be an actor, so he wants to live in Hollywood.

2. Mary made an appointment with the dentist on Monday.
3. What did you do yesterday?
4. You are not going to that place, are you?
5. Most people are fully aware that motorcycles can be dangerous to ride.
18 ANSWERS

1. John wants to be an ACtor, so he wants to live in HOllywood.

2. MAry made an apPOINTment with the DENtist on MONday.
3. What did you do YESterday?
4. You are not GOing to that place, are you?
5. Most PEOple are FULly aWARE that MOtorCYcles can be DANgerous to ride.
19 INTONATION

• Intonation, in phonetics, is the melodic pattern of an utterance. It conveys

differences of expressive meaning (e.g., surprise, anger, or delight), and it can
also serve a grammatical function.
• Intonation is primarily a matter of variation in the pitch of the voice.
• In such languages as English, it is often accompanied by stress and rhythm to
produce meaning. (Tone is also a form of pitch modulation, but the term
describes the use of pitch to differentiate words and grammatical categories.)
20 INTONATION PATTERNS

• Rising Intonation means the pitch of the voice rises over time.
• Falling Intonation means that the pitch falls with time.
• Dipping or Fall-rise Intonation falls and then rises.
• Peaking or Rise-fall Intonation rises and then falls.
21 FUNCTIONS

• Attitudinal: Good Morning (high pitch Good to a fall in Morn..)

• Grammatical: to turn a statement into a question
• Focus
• Discourse function
• Indexical function
22 FALLING INTONATION (➘)

• Statements • Wh- questions (requesting information.)

• Nice to meet ➘ you. (questions beginning with 'who', 'what', 'why', 'where',
'when', 'which', and 'how')
• I’ll be back in a ➘ minute. What country do you come ➘ from?
• She doesn’t live here ➘ anymore. • Where do you ➘ work?
• Dad wants to change his ➘ car. • Which of them do you ➘ prefer?
• When does the shop ➘ open?
• Commands • Exclamations
• Write your name ➘ here. • How nice of ➘ you!
• Show me what you’ve ➘ written. • That's just what I ➘ need!
• Leave it on the ➘ desk. • You don't ➘ say!
23 RISING INTONATION (➚)

• Yes/no Questions
(Questions that can be answered by 'yes' or 'no'.)Do you like your new ➚ teacher?
• Have you finished ➚ already?
• May I borrow your ➚ dictionary?
• Questions tags that show uncertainty and require an answer (real
questions).We've met already, ➚ haven't we?
• You like fish, ➚ don't you?
• You're a new student ➚ aren't you?
24 RISE-FALL INTONATION (➚➘)

• Choices (alternative questions.) • Unfinished thoughts (partial statements)

• Are you having ➚ soup or ➘ salad? In the responses to the following questions, the rise-fall intonation
• indicates reservation.
Is John leaving on ➚ Thursday or ➘ Friday?
The speaker hesitates to fully express his/her thoughts.
• Does he speak ➚ German or ➘ French?
• Do you like my new handbag? Well the ➚ leather is ➘ nice...
• Is your name ➚ Ava or ➘ Eva? ( but I don't like it.)
• Lists (rising, rising, rising, falling) • What was the meal like? Hmm, the ➚ fish was ➘ good... (but the
Intonation falls on the last item to show that the list is rest wasn't great).

finished. • So you both live in Los Angeles? Well ➚ Alex ➘ does ... (but I
don't).
• We've got ➚ apples, pears, bananas and ➘ oranges
• The sweater comes in ➚ blue, white pink • Conditional sentences
and ➘ black (The tone rises in the first clause and falls gradually in the second
clause.)
• I like ➚ football, tennis, basketball and ➘ volleyball.
• If he ➚ calls, ask him to leave a ➘ message.
• I bought ➚ a tee-shirt, a skirt and a ➘ handbag.
• Unless he ➚ insists, I'm not going to ➘ go.
• If you have any ➚ problems, just ➘ contact us.
25 FALL-RISE INTONATION (➘➚)

• Hesitation/reluctance:

• So you'd be willing to confirm that? ...Well ... I ➘sup➚pose so ...

• You didn't see him on Monday? I don't quite ➘re➚member ...

•
Politeness-Doubt-Uncertainty: (You are not sure what the answer might be.)

• Perhaps we could ➘vis➚it the place?

• Should we ➘cop➚y the list?
• Do you think it's ➘al➚lowed?
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THANK YOU