ARTICULATION

The Fourth Step in Voice Production

Objectives:
a. Identify and recognize the stress and intonation
patterns of spoken English;
b. Describe and compare alternating stress pattern,
basic intonation patterns, and the intonation patterns
for specific structures;
c. Demonstrate skills in using stress for emphasis and
for contrast;
d. Demonstrate skill in blending words to form breathy
units and thought groups and in phrasing sentences
for better clarity and understanding; and
e. Speak larger forms of structure with correct stress
and intonation.
STRESS IN ENGLISH SPEECH
•All spoken language is characterized by a particular rhythm and
melody patterns which makes different individuals speak in a
variety of time and tune.
•An important feature of spoken language is the prominence
given to a syllable in a word or a short span of connected speech.
•Stress involves changes in pitch, force, and duration.
Word Stress: Monosyllabic Words
One-syllable words (monosyllables) like do, has, and
bay are stressed in isolation.
They blend with the nearest word, and lose a part of
their original sound.

deal sail tame care hold

east cent whole hem may sun
get seal cell can love
Word Stress: Multi-syllable words
Mutli-syllable words, those with two or more
syllables, have only one strong stress.
The strongly-stressed syllable are spoken louder,
longer and clearer than the rest of the unstressed
syllables which are spoken lightly and quickly.
notice tafetta syllable transferable
urchin vatican ostracize oratory
vivid titan merchandize matinee
supervise vegetable voluntary origin
cartoon survive horizon distinguish
technique obscure accustom consortium
volunteer manufacture apparatus photosynthesis
correspond departmental elementary
parliamentary
superimpose accommodation contemporary
authoritarian pronunciation extemporaneous
personification indemnification inexplicability
denaturalize indispensability insubordination
Noun-verb Shifts
A shift in the position of syllable stress results in a
change in meaning of a particular group of words.
Words stressed in the first syllable are nouns, and
when they are stressed in the second syllable are verbs.
 NOUN VERB
Contract Contract
Convert Convert
Contrast Contrast
Process Process
Conflict Conflict
Exploit Exploit
Discount Discount
Desert Desert
Export Export
Incline Incline
Excerpt Excerpt
Pervert Pervert
1. Her beauty entranced the movie fans as she neared the
theater entrance.
2. You can extract the vanilla, an aromatic extract, from a
certain tropical orchid.
3. The producers retail their goods retail.
4. The hapless pervert might pervert some truths in the
cross examination.
5. Give me a digest of the senator’s speeches on how to
digest food.
Activity: Create sentences using the words in the last slide.
Number words
Those ending in –ty and –ieth are stressed on the first
syllable as in thirty and thirtieth.
Those ending in –teen and –teenth are stressed on the
last syllable as in sixteen and sixteenth.
twentythe twentieth the twenty-first
thirty the thirtieth the thirty-second
forty the fortieth the forty-seventh
sixteen the sixteenth eighteen the eighteenth
seventeen the seventeenth nineteen the nineteenth
fifteen the fifteenth fourteen the fourteenth
1. Sixty alumnae attended the twentieth anniversary of
their graduation.
2. Her booth number is thirteen not thirty.
3. Seventy classrooms will be constructed on the
nineteenth of this month.
4. Mother will be forty on the sixteenth of December.
5. His seventieth birthday was attended by nineteen
grandchildren.
Derived Words
Some words formed by adding a prefix or a suffix to a
root word usually retain the same syllable stress;
others however result in s change in syllable stress,
function and meaning.
libel-libelous subsist-subsistence
trouble-troublesome vital-vitalize
visual-visualize endow-endowment
titan-titanic supplement-supplemental
timid-timidity gelatin-gelatinous
valid-validity gymnast-gymnastics
Form a new word by adding a prefix or a suffix to each
of the following words. Read each pair stressing the
appropriate syllable. Use them both in a sentence or
sentences.

labor equal music pronounce

govern democracy elastic temper
deliver journal educate moment
origin department exhale proper
Phrasal Verbs
This is a two word verb or a three word verb
consisting of a simple verb and an adverbial particle
and/or a preposition whose meaning may have no
apparent connection with the meaning or use of its
component parts.
The placement of the strong stress in two-word verbs
depends on the structure of the combination, whether
the combination is separable or not.
Call up. (separable combination) Call up Mom.
Call on. (non-separable combination) Call on Mary.
Separable combinations
1. Give up Give up the chance. Give it up.
2. Put offPut off the party. Put it off.
3. Hand in Hand in the homework. Hand it in.
4. Turn on Turn on the fan. Turn them on.
5. Turn off Turn off the airconditioner. Turn it off.
6. Look up Look up the meaning. Look it up.
7. Call off Call off the meeting. Call it off.
8. Try on Try on the shirt. Try it on.
9. Leave out Leave out the question. Leave it out.
10. Pick up Pick up your friend. Pick it up.
Non-separable combinations.
1. Look for Look for the wallet. Look for it.
2. Look at Look at the girls. Look at them.
3. Get onGet on the bus. Get on it.
4. Go back on Go back on a contract.
5. Put up with Put up with the weather.
6. Wait on
7. Get over
8. Count on
9. Look after
10. Run into
Word Combination
Noun-noun or adjective-noun combinations carry
stress positions on the basis of the meanings they
convey.
If the first part of the compound shows the purpose for
which the second part is intended, the first part of the
combination receives the strong stress.
If the first part of the combination shows the material
contained in the second part, the second part of the
combination is stressed.
There are no fixed rules for determining which word to
stress in the combinations.
Read the following compounds by
stressing on the appropriate parts:
window pane bathhouse swimming pool
sewing machine dining room class card
baby sitter flower pot hair dryer
ice pick nursery rhyme baking soda
leather bag gold watch silk blouse
plastic cups apple pie steel bar
clay pot fruit salad cotton blanket
nylon hose paper roses strawberry shake
 Sentence Stress
Words flow along smoothly with each other in
uninterrupted fashion resulting in a single breath unit.
Saying words as a single breath unit and then hearing
them as a single thought group is the process of
blending.
Certain kinds of words are usually stressed in context
while other types are not usually stressed.
Nouns, main verbs, adjectives, adverbs, demonstratives,
and question words (wh-words including how) are
content words that carry meaning.
Determiners such as articles, demonstrative, and
possessive pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and
Stress the appropriate parts in the
following sentences:
1. Is it here? Yes, it is.
2. Take the bus or the train.
3. Does he know? Yes, he does.
4. He’s as good as his father.
5. Did he come? No, he didn’t.
6. You must not know about me.
7. Can I go? No, you can’t.
8. Call Betty, Tess and Ernie.
9. Aren’t we included? No, we aren’t.
10. They will read it not.
Emphatic Stress
Stress is also used to emphasize an idea and to indicate
contrast in a sentence.
One, two or more words can be stressed if the word
contains the idea the speaker wishes to call attention
to, if the word repeats or reinforces another idea, and if
the word is an answer to a particular question.
In addition, any word in a sentence can be emphasized
one at a time in order to answer a particular question.
Examples:
1. PAL flies to Europe and so does PANAM.
2. John bought a book and Tony did, too.
3. Visitors will come and delegates will come, too.
4. Peluchie can type and Cherry can, too.
5. Stores offer discounts and restaurants do, too.
6. Carla ordered two chicken sandwiches. (Who
ordered?)
7. Linda danced the ballet gracefully. (How?)
8. The lady swims daily at the pool. (How often?)
9. Carla ordered two chicken sandwiches. (What kind?)
10. Linda danced the ballet gracefully. (What did she
danced?)
Contrastive Stress
When differing ideas exist in one, two, or more words,
each of these words are stressed for contrast.
To convey special meanings, some words which are
not usually stressed (some and any) become stressed
while words which are customarily stressed (nouns)
become unstressed.
Stressed “some” suggests “contrast,” it often means
special or certain in contrast with other choices.
Stressed “any” suggests emphasis, irritation, or
sarcasm.
Exercises:
1. She wants to sing, not dance.
2. The girls want a picnic but the boys want a party.
3. It was my idea.
4. Our group won.
5. It’s under the table, not on the table.
6. I have some friends. (I have other friends.)
7. I have some friends. (I have certain friends.)
8. I eat some fruits. (other fruits)
9. Got any message? (irritation)
10. Got any message? (another message)
Seatwork
1. Get a one half sheet of paper.
2. Write your name, section, and the date today.
3. Indicate the seatwork number (W1).
INTONATION IN ENGLISH
SPEECH
Definition
This is the rise and fall of the voice.
It is the combination of tunes on which we pronounce
the syllables that make up our speech.
There are four tunes in speaking:
 (1) low
 (2) normal
 (3) high
 (4) extra high
Extra high is used to express an extreme emotion like
fear, anger, surprise, and excitement.
Terms
SHIFT.
GLIDE.
There are three intonation patterns:
 2-3-1 Rising-falling intonation
 2-3-3 Rising intonation
 2-3-2 Non-final intonation
2-3-1 or Rising-Falling Intonation
This patterns begin on the normal (2) tune and ends by
raising the voice to a high (3) on the last stressed
syllable of the sentence, then making it fall to a low
(1).
1. They want to listen to the latest recording.
2. Brenda had been working for six hours.
3. The traffic is slow because of the flooded street.
4. Somebody blew a whistle.
5. Sit down at the table.
6. Clean up your room.
7. Look at that boy.
8. Smoke in the next room.
9. What would you like for breakfast?
10. Where did you learn it?
2-3-3 or Rising Intonation
The voice begins on the normal (2) tune and ends on a
high (3) tune on the last stressed word of the sentence.
Are you sure you’ve got enough paper?
Would you rather have coffee?
Have you been to many places this year?
Will you please take these forms to the table?
Do you really close at seven o’clock?
Can you do it?
Were they invited?
Does she know?
Is he coming?
Do you mean you lost your front door key?
2-3-2 or Non-final Intonation
It is used in that part of the sentence which precedes
the last stressed word.
The voice begins on the normal (2) then rises to pitch
level (3) on the stressed word, and returns to the
normal level or tune (2).
It may be used in combination with other patterns,
specially in stressed function words, in contrast and
comparisons, and in sentences where two or more
thought groups are divided by short pauses.
1. Are you ready to leave?
2. They should be here on time.
3. I’m looking for a toothbrush not a hairbrush.
4. Linda runs faster than Sonia does.
5. He’d like to get it, but he can’t.
6. If you leave now, we have to go with you.
7. Keep watch, while I run to the station for help.
8. No, thank you, not today.
9. Will you stay with him while I run to the store?
10. When the boat docked, did he go straight to the
Customs Office?
Intonation Patterns for Specific
Structures
The 2-3, 2-3-1 or the CHOICE QUESTION TUNE is
used for “series with and/ alternatives with or” type of
structures. A rising intonation is used on all parts of the
alternatives or series except the last which is given the
rising-falling pattern (2-3-1).
He will arrive on Thursday or Saturday.
Would you like to play golf, tennis, or bowling.
These are my friends: Gloria, Alice, and Lisa.
She’d like to buy a bottle of shampoo and lipstick.
Intonation Patterns for Specific
Structures
DIRECT ADDRESS refers to the name or word
substituted for a name, such as dear or darling,
addressed directly to the person to whom one is
speaking. This may come at the end of the sentence or
elsewhere, and it does not affect the intonation pattern
of the rest of the sentence. It uses the 2-3 pattern.
You’re very kind, my dear.
Anna, will you please come to Ward No. 10?
But, Sir, I really must attend to this lady.
Intonation Patterns for Specific
Structures
TAG QUESTIONS are spoken in two types of
intonation patterns.
If the tag question is said as a statement of fact and the
speaker is definite that the listener will agree with him,
the tag question is spoken with the rising-falling
pattern.
It’s painful, isn’t it?
If the sentence is said as a real question and the
speaker is not sure of the listener’s answer, the tag
question is spoken with the rising pattern.
It’s painful, isn’t it?
1. To be or not to be.
2. They aren’t pleased with anybody, are they? (unsure)
3. You made it, didn’t you? (definite)
4. They listen, don’t they? (definite)
5. We weren’t there, were we? (unsure)
6. No. (uncertain)
7. No. (with conviction).
8. No. (sarcastic)
9. Is that so? (doubtful)
10. Is that so? (sarcastic)
Problems in Articulation
ERRORS OF OMISSION- Omitting sounds or even
syllables.
ERRORS OF SUBSTITUTION- Substituting an
incorrect sound for the correct one.
ERRORS OF ADDITION- Adding sounds where they
do not belong.
ERRORS OF DISTORTION- An attempt is made at
the correct sound but it results in a poor production. i.e
a distorted /s/ sound may whistle, or the tongue may be
thrusting between the teeth causing a frontal lisp.
 Errors of Omission
NOT THIS THIS
Gov-a-ment Gov-ern-ment
Hi-stry Hi-story
Wanna Want to
Fishin Fishing
Studyin Studying
A-lum-num A-lum-i-num
Hon-orble Hon-or-able
Comp-ny Comp-a-ny
Vul-ner-bi-ity Vul-ner-a-bil-ity
 Errors of Substitution
NOT THIS THIS
Wader Waiter
Dese These
Ax Ask
Undoubtebly Undoubtedly
Beder Better
Eksetera Et cetera
Ramark Remark
lenth length
 Errors of Addition
NOT THIS THIS
Acrost Across
Athalete Athelete
Americer America
Idear Idea
Filim Film
Lore Law
Is-treet Street
 Errors of Accent
NOT THIS THIS
New Or-LEANS New OR-leans
IN-surance In-SU-rance
o-RA-tor O-ra-tor
 Errors of Adding Sounds
NOT THIS THIS
Often Offen
Homage Omage
Illinois Illinoi
Evening Evning
Burgalar Burglar
Athalete Athlete
Airaplane Airplane
 Summary
Stress and intonation patterns are emotional dictations.
Though emotional by nature, they pattern a strict
conduct of rules.
Articulation is the combination of word pronunciation
and voice production.
We do not aim to create an accent based on voice and
diction.
 Evaluation (W1)
Get a ½ sheet of paper.
Write your name, section, and the date today.
Wait for the instructions of your teacher.