part five syllable structure & word stress. supra-segmental phonology: phonology above the level...
TRANSCRIPT
Part Five
SYLLABLE STRUCTURE &WORD STRESS
Supra-Segmental Phonology:Phonology above the level of ‘segments’ (sounds)
Units: syllable, word, phrase, etc.
Processes: stress, rhythm, tone, intonation, etc.
Why do we need the concept ‘syllable’?Which of the following sequences of sounds are impossible in English?
If [bm], [zn] etc. are impossible sequences in English, then why are the following words (containing these sequences) possible?
THE SYLLABLE
a) [hau] (Mandarin) [kau] (Cantonese)b) *[haup] (M) *[kauts] (C)
But why are the following possible?
Why do these names translate into more syllables in Chinese than in English?
Rob = luo bu Steve = si ti fu Clinton = ke lin dun
Comparing syllables in English and German:
The English syllable:
Question: What must a syllable in English consist of, at the very least?
THE PARTS OF A SYLLABLE
1) Nucleus: the indispensable ‘core’ of a syllable2) Onset: the consonant(s) preceding the nucleus3) Coda: the consonant(s) following the nucleus
The nucleus and coda together make up the rime
SYLLABLES IN CHINESE:a) CANTONESE
QUESTION: What differences in syllable structure can you see in these dialects?
INVESTIGATING THE STRUCTURE OF THE SYLLABLE IN ENGLISH
spl spr spjstr stj
skl skr skj skwsmj snj
Generalisations: C1 C2 C3In a 3-segment onset, C1 can only be ____________
C2 can only be ___________
C3 can only be ____________
pl pr pj tr tj twkl kr kj kw mj
nj
spl spr spjstr stj
skl skr skj skwsmj
snj
sp st sksm snsl sj sw
spl spr spjstr stj
skl skr skj skwsmj
snj
In a 3-segment onset, C1 can only be [s]C2 can only be a [+stop]C3 can only be an approximant ([+son –stop])
spl spr spjstr stj
skl skr skj skwsmj
snj
Observation: C2 must be [+stop] only if C1 is filled.Suppose we change C2 to: ‘C2 is an open slot’Condition: If C1 is filled (i.e. by [s]), then C2 can only be a [+stop]
ENGLISH WORD STRESS
In the following words, which syllables are stressed, and how do the stressed syllables differ phonetically from the unstressed?
Example from Spanish:ha'blar, mu'jer, ver'dad, tempo'ral, capi'talspeak woman truth temporary capital
'hablo, 'casa, impor'tante, son'risa, presi'dentespeak house important smile president
Generalisation:In Spanish, stress falls on the _______ syllable of the word if ______________________________________,Otherwise, it falls on the __________ syllable.
Analysing stress-assignment rules
USEFUL CONCEPTS:
'closed syllable' - one ending in a consonant'open syllable' - one ending in a vowel
E.g. the last syllables of hablar and verdad are closed,but the last syllables of hablo and casa are open
Generalisation:In Spanish, stress falls on the final syllable of the word if it is a closed syllable; otherwise, stress falls on the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable.
STRESS IN SUFFIXED WORDS IN ENGLISH
DATA SET 1:-ic -ity'athlete -> ath'letic 'tranquil -> tran'quility'system -> sys'temic 'stupid -> stu'pidity'phoneme -> pho'nemic 'fluid -> flu'idity'microscope ->micro'scopic 'uniform -> uni'formityca'tastrophe ->catas'trophic senti'mental ->sentimen'tality
GENERALISATION: For words ending in suffixes like –ic or -ity, the stress falls on: __________________________________
DATA SET 2:-ate -tude'generate 'multitude'delegate 'solitudecom'municate 'attitudeas'similate si'militudepro'pitiate ine'xactitude
GENERALISATION: For words ending in suffixes like -ate or -tude, the stress falls on: ____________________________________
DATA SET 3:a) stem stem + al1. 'suicide sui'cidal2. 'detriment detri'mental3. 'sentiment senti'mental4. 'anecdote anec'dotal5. 'universe uni'versal6. 'dialect dia'lectal
b) stem stem + al1. 'magic 'magical2. 'music 'musical3. sen'sation sen'sational4. 'medicine me'dicinal5. 'origin o'riginal6. pro'fession pro'fessional
IMPORTANT CONCEPTS:
Heavy syllable -- a syllable with a complex rime, i.e. containing either (i) a short vowel plus one or more consonants in the coda (as in bet [bet] and best [best]), or (ii) a diphthong or long vowel, with or without a coda (as in bay [bei], bait [beit], bee [bi:], beast [bi:st]).
Focus on the penultimate syllable in terms of ‘light’ or ‘heavy’:SET I
SET II
MONOSYLLABIC WORDS IN ENGLISHA B C D
Generalisation: Only _______ syllables can stand on their own as words.
STRESS IN SIMPLE WORDS(i) A B C D
o'bey tor'ment 'utter 'galloppo'lite col'lapse 'happy 'promisehu'mane dis'gust 'angry 'normalre'ly e'xist 'carry 'exitad'mire at'tract 'murder 'rapid
(ii) A B C Do'bey tor'men(t) 'utter 'gallo(p)po'li(t)e col'lap(se) 'happy 'promi(se)hu'ma(n)e au'gus(t) 'angry 'norma(l)re'ly ex'is(t) 'carry 'exi(t)ad'mire at'trac(t) 'murder 'rapi(d)
‘extrametrical’ -- i.e. ignored by (or 'invisible' to) stress-assignment rules
English Stress Rule (ESR):‘Stress the final syllable of a word if it is heavy;
otherwise, stress the penultimate syllable.’
Consonant Extrametricality (CE):‘The final consonant of a word is extrametrical
OTHER USEFUL CONCEPTS
VERB NOUN in'crease 'increase
ex'port 'exportre'cord 'recordsur'vey 'surveysub'ject 'subjectre'ject 'rejectcon'flict 'conflictad'dict 'addictcon'test 'contesttor'ment 'tormentac'cent 'accentcom'pound 'compound
GENERALISATION: For purposes of stress assignment, the final syllable of a noun is ________________________________
QUESTION: How do we explain the above stress assignments, using the concepts we’ve arrived at so far?
MORE NOUNS