PRONUNCIACIN DE LA LENGUA INGLESA

UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION, A THEORETICAL APPROACH

1. Phonetics and hono!o"#: a!!ohones and hone$es
Phonetics: studies sounds from a physiological approach.
Phono!o"#: Describes sounds from a mental (linguistic) perspective.
Phone$e: the smallest unit in a language that can cause a difference in meaning (or a contrast) between
two words.
A!!ohone: one of the different possible realizations of a phoneme. Allophones do not trigger a contrast in
meaning between two words.
Allophones can appear in two types of distribution (or set of environments):
co$!e$enta%# dist%i&'tion: they are mutually exclusive, they appear in different
environments and whenever one allophone appears the other does not. (example: dar l
(milk, mill*) and normal l (light, lure))
(%ee )a%iation: they can appear in the same context. (example: put (t o glottal stop))
!or two sounds to be interpreted as allophones of the same phoneme, they should also be
honetica!!# si$i!a%.
*. Pe%secti)es (o% the st'd# o( honetics:
1+ from the perspective of the speaer (articulatory phonetics)
*+ from the perspective of the listener (auditory phonetics)
,+ from the way the sound is transmitted though the air (acoustic phonetics)
A%tic'!ato%# honetics: studies how sounds are produced by speaers of a given language. "t examines the
different positions (articulatory movements) of the organs of speech used to produce a given sound or string
of sounds.
A'dito%# honetics: studies how sounds are perceived by listeners.
Aco'stic honetics: examines the properties of sounds and how they are transmitted though the air.
,. O%"ans o( seech:
#hee releasing of the air through the mouth or through the nose depends on the position of the velum (aka
soft palate). "f the )e!'$ is %aised (there is a velic closure), the nasal cavity is closed and thus the air can
only escape though the oral cavity. "f the )e!'$ is !o-e%ed (there is a velic opening), the nasal cavity is
open allowing the air going through it.
Acti)e a%tic'!ato%s: articulators that move, for example, the lips, the tongue or the soft palate.
Passi)e a%tic'!ato%s: do not move. !or example, the teeth, the alveolar ridge and the hard palate. #hey tae
part in speech production because an active articulator approaches them to utter a given sound.
O%"ans o( seech in the o%a! ca)it#:
Alveolar ridge
#eeth
$ips
#ongue
#ip
%lade
!ront
&enter
%ac
vocal folds
'harynx
(vula
)oft palate (velum)
*ard palate
.oca! (o!ds: #wo chords situated in the larynx. #hey can basically have three positions
C!osed: #he air that comes from the lungs is bloced and cannot escape until they open again.
Oen: the air that comes from the lungs is expelled freely. #he position of vocal folds is also used to
produce voiceless sounds.
Nea%!# to"ethe%: the air cannot escape freely. "t pushes through the vocal folds. #his maes the
vocal folds vibrate. #he vibratory movement of the vocal folds causes sound. (voiced sounds)
#he vibratory movement of the vocal folds is also responsible for two other perceptual features, namely,
pitch and loudness.
#he +uicer the vibration, the higher the pitch.
,ur perception of loud or soft sounds depends on the intensity (or amplitude) of the vocal fold
vibration: the higher the amplitude (or displacement) of the vibration, the louder the sound.
/. The %od'ction o( so'nds:
#hree factors:
-) the origin and the direction of the airflow (initiation stage)
.) the position of the vocal folds (phonation stage)
/) the position of the articulators (articulatory stage)
/.1. Initiation:
Ai%st%ea$ $echanis$ 0o%i"in o( the ai%(!o-+:
'!$onic: ,rigin in the lungs
"!otta!ic: ,rigin in the larynx.
)e!a%ic: origin in the velum.
Ai%st%ea$ $echanis$ 0di%ection o( the ai%(!o-+:
e""%essi)e: outwards (pulmonic and e0ective)
in"%essi)e: inwards (implosives and clics)
E1ecti)e so'nds: sounds produced with a glottalic airstream mechanism and an eggressive airflow.
I$!osi)e so'nds: sounds produced with a glottalic airstream mechanism and an ingressive airflow.
/.*. Phonation:
2oda! )oice: or normal. 1ost sounds are voiced.
3hise%: open vocal folds. 2e can say that when we whisper all sounds are voiceless.
C%ea4# )oice: 3ocal folds can only vibrate at one end.
5%eath# )oice o% $'%$'%: vibration is combined with a considerable amount of air.
/.,. A%tic'!ation
)ounds are describe according to their place of articulation and their manner of articulation.
4xamples:
5b6 7 voiced, bilabial, plosive
5s6 7 voiceless, alveolar, fricative
6. The se"$enta! !e)e! and the s'%ase"$enta!:
Se"$enta! !e)e!: the articulation of a series of sounds (vowels and consonants) also nown as segments.
S'%ase"$enta! !e)e!: the production of a series of suprasegmentals that involve more than consonants
and vowels and include features such as stress, length, intensity and intonation.
UNIT *: .O3ELS, A THEORETICAL APPROACH
1. Pa%a$ete%s to desc%i&e )o-e!s:
3owels are produced:
with no obstruction of the airflow in the oral cavity
with vocal fold vibration.
7 )o-e!s a%e %od'ced -ith an open approximation o( the a%tic'!ato%s and the# a%e a!-a#s voiced.
.o-e!s a%e desc%i&ed acco%din" to: ton"'e osition, ton"'e hei"ht, !i ost'%e and )o-e! d'%ation.
1.1. Ton"'e osition:
(%ont: the front of the tongue raises towards the front of the hard palate.
&ac4: the bac of the tongue raises towards the bac of the soft palate.
Cent%a!: the centre of the tongue raises towards the middle of the hard palate.
1.*. Ton"'e hei"ht:
c!ose 0hi"h+: the tongue raises towards the palate (no friction)
ha!(7c!ose 0hi"h7$id+: the tongue raises (less than for close vowels)
ha!(7oen 0!o-7$id+: the tongue raises (less than for half8close vowels)
oen 0!o-+: the tongue does not raise.
1.,. Li ost'%e:
%o'nded: the lips have a round position.
Un%o'nded: the lips are not rounded.
Ne't%a!: with no movement
s%ead: with a slight smile.
1./. C!assi(ication o( En"!ish )o-e!s:
Ton"'e !ocation Ton"'e hei"ht Li ost'%e D'%ation
!ront %etween open and
half8open
(nrounded )hort
u: %ac ,pen (nrounded $ong
: &entral ,pen (nrounded )hort
c !ront %etween half8close
and half8open
(nrounded )hort
+: &entral %etween half8close
and half8open
(nrounded $ong
o &entral %etween half8close
and half8open
(nrounded )hort
I: !ront &lose (nrounded $ong
i !ront *alf8close (nrounded )hort
n %ac ,pen 9ounded )hort
: %ac %etween half8close
and half8open
9ounded $ong
u &entral *alf8close 9ounded )hort
u: %ac &lose 9ounded $ong
*. T#es o( )o-e!s:
2onohton": vowels produced with only one +uality.
Dihthon"s: vowels produced with a change in +uality (two +ualities)
Tihthon"s: vowels produced with a change in +uality (three +ualities)
4nglish closing diphthongs are with i or uwhereas 4nglish centring diphthongs are with o.
4nglish triphthongs are composed of one of the closing diphthongs followed by o.
S$oothin": 2hen the middle vowel of a triphthong is not fully targeted and thus the first vowel is
lengthened.
St%on" )o-e!s: mainly occur in stressed syllables.
3ea4 )o-e!s: can only occur in unstressed syllables. #hey are u, i, o, i and u. u occurs in unstressed
syllables, specially after 506.
,. Re!ated heno$ena:
,.1. Nasa!isation: #he only difference between an oral and a nasalised vowel is the position of the
velum. :asalised vowels only occur next no nasal consonants.
,.*. .oice!ess )o-e!s and asi%ation: voiceless vowels are produced when whispering. #he
phenomenon of aspiration in 4nglish can be interpreted as a partial devoicing of vowels.
,.,. P%e7(o%tis c!iin": 3owels that precede a voiceless sound (fortis) are shortened or clipped, as
opposed to vowels preceding voiced sounds (lenis). "t mainly occurs when the consonant
preceding the vowel occurs word8finally.
,./. Rh#th$ica! c!iin": #he higher the number of unstressed syllables that follow the stressed
one, the shorter the duration of the vowel in the stressed syllable.
UNIT ,: CONSONANTS, A THEORETICAL APPROACH
1. Pa%a$ete%s to desc%i&e consonants: the position of the vocal folds, the place of articulation and
the manner of articulation.
1.1. .oca! (o!d osition:
7 Oen: voiceless sounds.
7 Nea%!# to"ethe%: 3oiced sounds
1.*. P!ace o( a%tic'!ation:
P!ace o( a%tic'!ation 8i%st a%tic'!ato% Second a%tic'!ato% E9a$!es
5i!a&ia! (pper lip $ower lip p, b, m
La&iodenta! (pper teeth $ower lip f, v
Denta! (pper teeth #ongue tip 0,
A!)eo!a% Alveolar ridge #ongue tip s, z, l
Post7a!)eo!a% %etween the palate and
the alveolar ridge
#ongue blade j,
Pa!ata! *ard palate #ongue front 0
.e!a% 3elum #ongue bac ;, g, p
Pha%#n"ea! 9ear wall of the pharynx #ongue bac h
G!otta! 9ight vocal fold $eft vocal fold h, \
Ho$o%"anic: sounds produced with the same place of articulation.
1.,. 2anne% o( a%tic'!ation:
7 A co$!ete c!os'%e o( the a%tic'!ato%s (as in plosives (p b t d g) or nasals (m n p)).
'$,)"34):
8 approximation of the articulators to produce a clomplete closure (closing phase)
8 holding of the closure for a little while so that the aire does not escape (holding phase)
8 opening of the closure and release of the air producing a burst (opening phase)
:A)A$): are also produced with a complete closure of the articulators in the oral cavity, but
the air is released through the nose.
A c!ose na%%o-in" o( the a%ic'!ato%s (as in fricatives s, f, ).
A a%tia! c!os'%e (as " laterals l). #his involves a closure of the tip of the tongue against the alveolar
ridge, but with the sides of the tongue lowered.
An oen a%o9i$ation o( the a%tic'!ato%s (as in approximants 0 w).
Affricates (lj d) are produced with a complete closure followed by a fricative release.
En"!ish consonants: 0!e(t: )oice!ess, %i"ht: )oiced+
%ilabial $abiodental Dental Alveolar 'ost8
alveolar
'alatal 3elar <lottal $abiovelar
'losive p b l d L g
!ricative ! v 0 s z j h
Affricate lj d
:asal m n p
Approximant i j v
$ateral I
)ee how to represent consonants in graphs (position of the vocal folds, place of articulation and degree of
the constriction)
*. T#es o( a%tic'!ation:
Sin"!e a%tic'!ation: with some ind of a constriction in a particular location of the oral cavity.
Do'&!e a%tic'!ation: two simultaneous constrictions at two different places of the oral cavity (they have to
have the same degree of approximation or manner of articulation).
P%i$a%# a%tic'!ation: the most important (and often the only) articulation of a consonant.
Seconda%# a%tic'!ation: involves a simultaneous constriction to the primary one but of lower ran. #his
means that the manner of articulation of the second constriction has to be more open than that of the primary
one. !or instance, t can sometimes be labialised = l can sometimes be velarised (7dar l).
,. T#es o( consonants:
O&st%'ents: sounds produced with a blocage of the airflow in the oral cavity that causes noise. ,bstruents
include plosives, fricatives and affricates.
Sono%ants: sounds produced with a free escaping of the airflow that causes no noise. )onorant sounds are
approximants, laterals, nasals and vowels.
/. A!!ohonic )a%iation in En"!ish consonants 0asi%ation, de)oicin" and )e!a%i:ation+
Asi%ation: taes place when p, t or are located at the beginning of a stressed syllable. Aspiration is
bloced when p, t, and are preceded by s.
De)oicin": two devoicing processes:
the de)oicin" o( )oiced o&st%'ents: are devoiced when the originally voiced sound is located
before or after a pause or is in contact with a voiceless sound. 2hen the voiced obstruent is next to
a voiced sound, devoicing does not apply. 2hen devoicing taes place at the end of a word, the clue
that distinguishes a word ending with a devoiced sound from a word ending with an originally voiced
sound is the duration of the preceding vowel. (7pre8fortis clipping)
the de)oicin" o( )oiced a%o9i$ants and !ate%a!s: 4nglish approximants 0, w, r and al are
devoiced when they are preceded by p, t, at the beginning of a stressed syllable. 2hen p, t and
are preceded by an s, devoicing does not apply.
.e!a%isation: Dar l (only occurs before consonants (except for 0) or before a pause.
UNIT /: CO25INATION O8 SOUNDS AND CONNECTED SPEECH PROCESSES, A
THEORETICAL APPROACH
1. The s#!!a&!e:
S#!!a&!e: unit of speech made up of one sound (namely, a vowel) which may be followed and=or preceded by
other sounds (consonants). #he only compulsory element to have a syllable is the vowel.
N'c!e's: corresponds to a vowel and is obligatory.
Onset: made up of a consonant or a group of consonants preceding the nucleus.
Coda: made up of a consonant or a group of consonants following the nucleus.
Rh#$e: contains the nucleus and the coda.
S#!!a&ic consonant: A consonant that maes up a syllable on its own. "t is due to the dropping of schwa
when it>s followed by a consonant.
Sono%it# hie%a%ch#: )ounds have different degrees of sonority.
1ore sonorous
vowels
laterals
nasals
approximants
fricatives
affricates
plosives
$ess sonorous
*. Phonotactics: co$&ination o( so'nds
Phonotactics: #he area of phonetics that studies the combination of sounds allowed in a given language.
Initia! consonant c!'ste%s 0in s#!!a&!e onset osition+
Zero consonants: All 4nglish vowels can occure syllable initially except for u and uo.
One consonant: All 4nglish consonants can appear at the beginning of a syllable except for p.
Twoconsonant clusters: lj d p are never found in two or three8consonant clusters in syllable
onset positions. 4nglish two8consonant clusters in syllable onset position tend to have two possible
combinations:
s ? consonant (voiceless plosive7 p, t, = f = nasal 7 m, n = aproximant7 only w, 0, l)
consonant (plosive7 p, t, , b, d, g = f = v = 0 = s = j) ? approximant (w, 0, l, r)
consonant (n = m = l = h) ? approximant (only 0)
Threeconsonant clusters:
s ? consonant ? approximant (the second consonant tends to be a voiceless plosive.
)ometimes f and m can also occur in this position, but only in a few rare words.
8ina! consonant c!'ste%s 0in s#!!a&!e coda osition+
Zero consonants: c : n cannot occur syllable finally.
One consonant: h j v cannot appear at the end of a syllable.
Twoconsonant clusters: &onsonants g p cannot occupy the second position of a two8consonant
cluster in syllable coda position. #wo possible combinations:
:asal = lateral = s ? obstruent (plosive, fricative, affricate)
&onsonant ? t = d = s = z = 0
Threeconsonant clusters: #end to be made up of a two8consonant cluster followed by a consonant
that corresponds to some ind of morpheme boundary. #here are a few words that contain a syllable
with a three8consonant cluster (glimpse, text)
!ourconsonant clusters: &an only be made by adding a morpheme consonant to a syllable which
already has a three8consonant cluster.
Connected seech %ocesses:
Assi$i!ation: a process by which one or more sounds tae characteristics from another sound. #hey can be
regressive or anticipatory, progressive or perseverative and coalescence.
Re"%essi)e 0o% anticiato%#+ assi$i!ation: )ounds change their place of articulation to that of the
following sound but they eep their original voice condition and their manner of articulation.
t = d = n 7 p = b = m when followed by a bilabial sound
t = d = n 7 = g = p when followed by a velar sound.
s = z 7 j / when followed by a post8alveolar sound.
P%o"%essi)e 0o% e%se)e%ati)e+ assi$i!ation: ,nly taes place when there is an alveolar syllabic
nasal (n) preceded by a bilabial or a velar consonant.
,pen 7 oupon = oupn 7 oupm
Coa!escence: involves the merging of two sounds into another sound which taes characteristics
from the two original ones.
t ? 0 7 lj
d ? 0 7 d
E!ision: is a phenomenon which involves the loss of one sound in a given environment. ,nly t = d. # = d must
be in word or syllable final position and they must be preceded by a consonant of the same voicing and the
following word must start with any consonant except for h.
cold beer 7 'LouId 'bio 7 'LouI 'bio
Liaison: is a phenomenon which involves the pronunciation of a sound at the end of a word so as to lin it
with the first sound of the following word.
Lin4in" 7%: %oth lining and intrusive 8r are typical of non8rhotic accents. 2ords ending with @rA or
@reA in the spelling are pronounced with final r if the next word begins with a vowel. 7 lining 8r is the
pronunciation of a word8final orthographic @rA or @reA when followed by a vowel in the next word.
Int%'si)e 7%: )ome speaers pronounce r after certain vowels (even though no @rA is present in the
spelling), when the next word starts with a vowel. "ntrusive 8r can only be found after thouse vowels
which can be followed by an ortographically motivated r. #hus, it is not possible after high vowels ( I:,
i, u: or u) or diphthongs ending with a high vowel (closing diphthongs). "ntrusive 8r is common after o,
: and u:, and also after centring diphthongs.
UNIT 6: STRESS AND RH;TH2, A THEORETICAL APPROACH
An accented syllable has pitch prominence and is always stressed.
An unaccented syllable which has no pitch prominence and which can be stressed or unstressed.
1. Le9ica! st%ess:
#here are different levels of stress: primary, secondary, tertiary and unstressed. &haracteristics:
)tress levels :uclear 'itch prominence 9hythmic beat )trong vowel
'rimary B B B B
)econdary B B B
#ertiary B B
(nstressed
P%i$a%# st%ess 0PS+: is always accompanied by a pitch movement and a rhythmic beat. "t is the main (or
nuclear) stress of a words and the syllable always contains a strong vowel. 9epresentation: >
Seconda%# st%ess 0SS+: is very similar to ') but is non8nuclear. A secondary stress always precedes the
primary one. 9epresentation: ,
Te%tia%# st%ess 0TS+: is weaer than the secondary one. (sually a tertiary stress is located between the
primary and the secondary stresses of a word. 9epresentation: ,
Unst%essed 0U+: tends to be produced with a wea vowel (sometimes strong vowels can also occur in
unstressed syllables but these cases are minotity).
"ntroduce 7 inlio'dju:s
discontinuation 7 disLonlinju'cijon
*. P%edictin" the !ocation o( st%ess: (these rules have loads of exceptions)
Phono!o"ica! st%'ct'%e o( a s#!!a&!e: st%on" o% -ea4
St%on": a strong syllable contains a long vowel or a diphthong (except for ou) or ends with more than one
consonant.
3ea4: a wea syllable contains a short vowel (or ou) and one (or no) final consonant.
Si$!e -o%ds (two or three syllables and with no pre8primary stresses). 2e have to tae into
account:
word category (noun, verb or ad0ective)
number of syllables: two or three
the phonological structure of those syllables
T-o7s#!!a&!e -o%ds:
a+ .e%&s and ad1ecti)es:
-. "f the last (ultimate) syllable is strong, when it will be stressed.
.. "f the last (ultimate) syllable is wea, the penultimate syllable will be stressed.
&+ No'ns:
1. "f the last (ultimate) syllable of the noun contains a short vowel, the penultimate syllable will be
stressed. ,therwise, the last syllable will be stressed.
Th%ee7s#!!a&!e -o%ds:
a+ .e%&s:
-. "f the last syllable is strong, then it will be stressed.
.. "f the last syllable is wea, the penultimate syllable will be stressed.
&+ No'ns:
-. "f the final syllable is strong, the first (antepenultimate) syllable will be stressed.
.. "f the final syllable is wea and the middle syllable is strong, the middle syllable is stressed.
/. "f the final and the middle syllables are wea, the first syllable will be stressed.
St%ess in co$!e9 -o%ds:
Ste$ < a((i9:
'refixes: in most cases, the prefix will get a secondary stress, but the primary or main stress will
remain in the original syllable.
)uffixes: &an be:
st%ess7att%actin" s'((i9es: (suffixes that attract the primary stress) 7 8ette, 8eer, 8ese, 8ee
st%ess7ne't%a! s'((i9es: (suffixes that do not affect stress placement) 7 8able, 8ish, 8ful,
8less, 8ous
st%ess7(i9in" s'((i9es (suffixes that change the location of the main stress into another
syllable which is neither the originally stressed syllable nor the suffix itself) 7 8ix, 8ion, 8ive
Co$o'nds: #he main tendency in compounds is to have a primary stress on the first element of
the compound. (2hereas noun phrases have their primary stress on the second element).
St%ess %eo%"anisations:
St%ess shi(t: involves the relocation of a primary stress into a secondary stress position as a result
of a stress clash ('ortuguese, 'ortuguese history)
St%ess c!ash: involves the consecutive (or almost consecutive) production of two stressed syllables
in different words.
Consec'ti)e st%esses: when three stressed lexical words with one or two more syllables come
together in connected speech, the word in the middle tends to lose the stress.
3ea4 (o%$s:
2ord 2ea form )trong form
A o ci
Am (o)m m
An on n
And on(d) nd
Are o u:
As oz z
At ol l
%e bI bI:
%een bin bI:n
%ut bol vl
&an Lon Ln
Do u / do du:
Does doz d:z
&ould Lod Lud
!or !o !:
!rom !iom !ium
*ad (h)od hd
*as (h)oz hz
*ave (h)ov hv
*e (h)I hI:
*er (h)o h+:
*im im him
*is iz hiz
Cust dos(l) d:sl
1e mI mI:
1ust mos(l) m:sl
,f ov nv
)hall joI jI
)he jI jI:
)hould jod jud
)ome som s:m
#han on n
#hat ol l
#he o / I I:
#hem om cm
#here o ca
#o lo / lu lu:
(s os :s
2as voz vnz
2e vI vI:
2ere vo v+:
2ho hu hu:
2ould vod vud
Dou jo / ju ju:
-. :ot all monosyllabic function words have a wea form (off, on, or, my, out, those...)
.. #here are some function words that have the same wea forms.
Apart from emphatic and citation contexts, there are other contexts in which function words tend not to appear in its wea
form.
-. Auxiliary and modal verbs located at the end of a sentence are produced with a strong form.
.. At the beginning of a sentence modal verbs tend to be strong.
/. Auxiliary and modal verbs are also strong when they appear in the negative form.
E. 'repositions located at the end of the sentence are strong.
F. )ometimes, the presence of a wea or a strong form depends on the word category or the meaning of the word:
have: main verb (strong) = auxiliary (wea)
there: adverb (strong) = existential form (hay) (wea)
that: demonstrative ad0ective or pronoun (strong) = relative pronoun or con0unction (wea)
some: pronoun (strong) = ad0ectives (algunos) (strong) = ad0ective (unos, partitif) (wea).
UNIT =: 8OCUS AND INTONATION, A THEORETICAL APPROACH
Intonation: "t deals with the pitch changes associated to utterances.
Tone: the pitch movements or inds of accents that are linguistically relevant in the whole utterance. "t can
be divided into falling tone or rising tone.
St%essed s#!!a&!e: "t is a syllable with rhythmic prominence. %ut not all stressed syllables are accented.
Accented s#!!a&!e: "t is a syllable which, apart from rhythmic prominence, also has pitch prominence. #his
means that all accented syllables have to be stressed.
8oc's: "t is the part of the utterance that we want to highlight. "t can be divided into @broad focusA sentences,
in which the whole sentence is new information, or @narrow focusA sentences, if a part of the sentence is old
or given information and the other is new.
Intonationa! !an"'a"es: use pitch to change the meaning of sentences. #his means that the same
sentence can vary its meaning if the pitch pattern varies.
Tone !an"'a"es: pitch differences are not only used to produce different meanings at the sentence level but
also at the word level.
Tona!it#: the number of intonation units into which a speech chun is divided.
Tonicit#: "t deals with the distribution of accents within each intonation unit in the utterance. ,nly stressed
syllables can get an accent, but not all stressed syllables must be accented.
Intonation 'nit: chun of speech delimited by some ind of intonational boundary.
Lon" constit'ents: "t occurs when one of the constituents of the clause becomes too long, then it is treated
as a separate intonation phrase ("'). !or example: @the man with blac glasses and a brown hat = goes to
$eedsA (long sub0ect 7 two "'s)
Lists: "n lists, each item in the utterance tends to be included in a separate intonation unit.
.ocati)es: #hey behave differently depending on whether they are located in initial or in final position. "n
final position, vocatives are produced in a separate intonation group.
Reo%tin" h%ases: As in vocatives, reporting phrases behave differently depending on whether they are
located in initial or in final sentence position.
Tone in)ento%#: it is the system of accentual choices of a given language which includes all the tones
(linguistically relevant intonation entities) used in that particular language.
Pitch %an"e: "t has to do with the ey or amount of pitch displacement with which an intonation phrase is
produced. "t can be divided into a broad pitch range (big amount of pitch displacement) and a narrow pitch
range (small amount of pitch displacement). 'itch range differences are speaer8dependent, that is, some
speaers have a broader pitch range than other. *owever, speaers can control and modify their pitch range.
5%itich schoo!: a main tradition for the analysis of 4nglish intonation. "t is also nown as the configurational
modal since tone units are analysed according to two configurations: the nuclear configuration (which
includes the last accented syllable and all the subse+uent unaccented syllables) and the pre8nuclear
configuration (which includes all the syllables G unaccented and accented G preceding the last accent).
%ritish school divides each intonation phrase into the following parts: pre8head, head, nucleus and tail.
A$e%ican schoo!: a main tradition for the analysis of 4nglish intonation. "t describes intonation by means of
a series of tone levels such as * (high), $ (low), 1 (mid). ,n the other hand, the American tradition does not
differentiate between nuclear and pre8nuclear accents. According to the American )chool, each stressed
syllable may become accented, which means that it may be associated to one of the preceding tones.
N'c!ea% tones: #hey are associated to the nuclear syllable. #he inventory of nuclear tones includes five
simple tones and two complex tones. #he simple tones indicate the origin of the pitch (high, low or mid) and
direction of the pitch (fall, rise or level). #he complex tones show the combination of two pitch tra0ectories
(fall8rise, rise fall).
P%e7n'c!ea% tones: the types of tones found in pre8nuclear position differ from those in nuclear position in
that they de not account for the pitch tra0ectory at the end of the intonation phrase, but they 0ust describe the
pitch movements of the accented syllables before the nucleus. #here are two types of tones: high and low. A
high tone indicates that the first accented syllable of the head is produced with a high pitch. A low tone
indicates that the first accented syllable of the head is produced with a low or mid pitch.