Introduction

So far we have looked at sounds in isolation, that is, individual segments of the pronunciation system, both consonants and vowels. Obviously, there is more to pronunciation than simply the production of strings of phonemes. We now turn our attention to larger segments of the system, the suprasegmental features of phonology.

Tasks

1 Rhythm

• a What do these words have in common (apart from their meaning)?

• b Repeat aloud the above sequence of words two or three times at natural speed, pausing slightly between them. Now, repeat the following sentence two or three times.

• Now, repeat both two or three times, maintaining a regular rhythm.

• Which takes longer to utter: the individual words or the complete sentence? Or are they both the same? What do you think this exercise is designed to demonstrate?

2 Rhythm

Read these sentences aloud, highlighting their rhythm, by emphasizing the stressed syllables. Those in the first sentence have been underlined for you.

• a ‘Abercrombie argues that speech is inherently rhythmical.’ (Brazil, Coulthard and Johns 1980)

• b ‘The characteristic rhythm of one language may differ considerably from that of another.’ (Brown 1974)

• c ‘The recurrence of stressed syllables at regular intervals gives speech its rhythmical qualities.’ (Wells and Colson 1987)

• d ‘It is plain that this regularity is the case only under certain conditions.’ (Crystal 1980)

• What words carried the ‘beat’? What happens to the words between the beats?

3 Rhythm and phrases

• a Here are some common expressions, each with a characteristic rhythm. Can you group the expressions according to their rhythm and place them in the correct column in the box? Can you add at least two more expressions to each column?

• b What applications might this activity have for teaching?

4 Jazz chants

What is the purpose of this text, and how could you use it in class?

5 Weak forms

In order to accommodate to the rhythm of speech, some words are ‘squeezed’ or weakened. Hence, many words in English have both a ‘strong’ form and a ‘weak’ form.

• a Here are some examples – can you add another five to the list? What sort of words are these?