Principles of Oral Communication Episode Description This episode deals with the critical sounds of English, both segmentals and suprasegmentals. The former covers the vowels, consonants, diphthongs and clusters that Filipino leamers of English may find difficult. The latter are features of speech, namely, pitch, stress and juncture that affect the meaning of utterances. Pointers are given on how these sounds may be produced. and suggestions are offered on how they may be taught. Objectives After viewing Episode 9, accomplishing its worksheet and reading the materials that go with it, the teacher is expected to: distinguish between critical consonant and vowel sounds; describe how the critical sounds are produced and how they may be taught; explain the meanings signaled by stress, pitch and juncture; and cite materials that may be used to teach critical sounds. RENE Key Ideas Basic to effective oral communication is the correct production of sound. For learners of a second language, certain sounds in that language may prove to be difficult because those are not found in the leamers' native language. These critical sounds could ‘be segmentals, that is, sounds that come one after another in a stream of speech or they could be suprasegmentals such as loudness and tone of voice or pauses made which could affect the meaning of a given utterance. ‘Segmentals Critical sounds are sounds in the target language that may prove to be difficult for learners of a second language. One reason for the difficulty could be because the sound in the target language may not be present in the native language. Hence, the leamer would substitute a sound in his/her native language similar to the absent sound. Among the critical consonant sounds presented in the videotape are /f/, /v/, /S/ or sh and /8 /. All of these are not found in most Philippine languages, hence they prove to be difficult for Filipinos. Note the substitutions made for these absent categories. tpl =f fel - Ive Jal - 18) A -18/Another source of difficulty arises when there is only one sound in the native language while there are several allied sounds in the target language. This is true for the sound /s/. In Filipino and most other Philippine languages we have only /s/ compared to 6 different hissing sounds that are present in the English. Filipinos, therefore, may find it difficult to make the fine distinetions when they pronounce words with the sh, z, zh, ch, d3 sounds. Then, too, there are some end sounds in English words that change depending on the sounds close to them, Unless the Filipino learner is made aware of this, he/she may give them just one sound. Note these split categories which Filipino leamers of English may find difficult to produce. ‘sf -s,z, 8h, 2h, ch, d3 dl after voiced sounds exeept d -ed (past —— f/ after voiceless sounds except Nd/ after t or d fal after voiced sounds except hissing sounds +8 (plural marker) = fs/ after voiceless sounds except hissing sounds fIzf after hissing sounds There are also critical vowel sounds for Filipino leamers of English. This is because some Filipino languages have only 5 vowels and others have only 3 whereas there are 1] in English not to count the diphthongs, that is, a combination of a vowel and a semi-vowel. In the videotape the critical vowel sounds cited were /ae/ as in can, man, fan and /U contrasted with /i/ which is present in Filipino. The critical vowels would be Jae not /a! MY = not Jif fel = not Ja! not/é/ FSF - not /of /u/ - contrasted from /uw/ In addition te critical consonants, vowels, and diphthongs, comsenant clusters also pose a problem for Filipinos because most Filipino languages do not have several consonants coming one after another in succession. We have CV (consonant-vowel), CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) and VC (vowel-consonant) as well as V (vowel) syllable patterns but rarely do Philippine languages have CCV, CCCV, VCC OR VCCC patterns. Hence, consonant clusters prove to be problems for Filipino learners of English. Note these examples of consonant clusters that are difficult for Filipinos, When these occur in word initial position the tendeney of Filipino students is to let a vowel creep in so that the pattern will be VC instead of several consonants coming one after another. However, when these clusters occur in final position, the tendency is to just drop the other end consonants.Clusters in initial position Clusters in Final Position stop last lasts speak wasp wasps, school task tasks When it comes to reading aloud, digraphs. that is, two letters standing for just one sound, also present a problem to Filipino learners of English. The reverse is likewise true. Sometimes one sound is given different letter combinations or graphemic representations. In the examples that follow the digraph ca is given varied sounds whereas the er sound is presented in different letter combinations, ca er sound ‘meat - /i/ tum journal mermaid meadow - /E / Peart first worthy Suprasegmentals Je from the significant segmental sounds that come one after another in a stream of speech, there are other features of sound that can affect meaning. These are stress or the loudness of voice or emphasis placed on certain syllables in words and certain words in sentences: intonation or piteh, that is, the high or low tones given to sy lables or wor juncture or interruptions and pauses made in expressions ot utteranc Stress ‘There are four types of stress: primary, secondary, tertiary and weak stress. Shifts jin stress can bring about a change in meaning or in the use of a word. One of the concems ofan English teacher is the shift in primary stress to differentiate between words that may be used as nouns or as verbs. In the case of the former, they are stressed on the 1* syllable. With the latter, their primary stress is on the 2™ syllable as shown in the ‘examples that follow *“7 in Nouns L°! Jin Verbs conflict conflict project project record record address address Another concem is the noun conséruct as contrasted from two-word verbs. Once more, the former has the primary stress on the 1" syllable whereas the latter has the primary stress on the 2™ syllable \ ]in noun constructs {‘‘] in verb constructs dropout drop out fallout fall out breakdown break down holdup hold upStill another concem is the noun construct compared to adjective + noun combinations. As pointed out earlier, noun constructs usually have the primary-tertiary [''] stress pattem while two-word verbs have the tertiary-primary (\ ;] pattern. In the case of adjective + noun combinations the stress pattern is secondary-primary [1]. Note the changes in meanings of these expressions [/)Jin noun constructs [A] in adjective + noun greénhou’e (a structure which houses —_| gré@n house (a house painted green) plants) grandfather (the father of one’s parents) | grand father (an extraordinary father) lighthSuse (a structure that guides ships | light house (a house made of light with its light) materials) moving van (a van that transports furniture | midving van (a van that is moving on the from one place to another) road) Aside from word stress, attention could also be called to sentence stress which can shift depending on what the speaker wants to emphasize. As a rule, it is the last content word in a breath group that receives primary stress. However, it is possible to put the stress elsewhere to emphasize a point as shown in these examples of contrastive stress, 1. [bought that blue dress for you, not the red one, 2. I bought that blue dress for you, not for your sister. 3. Tbought that blue dress for you, not the blue skirt. Intonation or pitch Intonation or pitch refers to the “high” or “low” tone of voice used when uttering sentences. There are four pitch levels depending on the frequency of vibration of one’s vocal chords. These are extra-high to express strong emotion, high. medium and low. Pitch range, on the other hand, refers to the distance between the highest and lowest pitch one can produce. A monotone makes no distinction between his high and low pitch resulting in very dull and uninteresting talk, ‘Of coneem to the English teacher are the different intonation pattems that go with specific structures and the use of intonation to signal the feelings of the speaker. Some of the intonation patterns are as follows:A Non-final ig intonation. 1. In nominatives of address Carlo, come here, 2. Onitems ina series except for the last one lasked my relatives, classmates, teachers and friends to come over. 3. On the first option in alternatives Will you join us or stay behind? B, _ Final rising intonation Inyes-no questions seeking information Final rising-falling intonation 1. Inwh questions 2. Inyes-no tag questions seeking confirmation Suneture These are interruptions, breaks or pauses made between words in utterances or between breath groups in sentences. Like the other two suprasegmentals, juncture can.also signal achange in meaning as shown in the examples that follow Nitrate Night +rate Ice cream I+seream Ared+winejug Ared wine jug ‘There are four types of juncture, The first is the plus juncture shown in the examples above. This isa short pause that occurs between words inan expression, The other three are pauses made between breath groups in sentences. The placement of the juncture could result in changes in meanings indicated in these pairs of sentences cited in the videotape. 1. a, The treasurer/said the manager/is busy. # (Itis the treasurer who is busy.) b. The treasurer said/the manager‘is busy. # (Itis the manager who is busy.) 2. a, Theold many reported the accused/ was seen drunk. # (The old man was drunk.) b, The old man reported’ the accused! was seen drunk. # (The accused was drunk.) ‘The above sentences show the single-bar juncture (/) which indicates.a short pause within a sentence, and the double-cross juncture which signals. long pause at the end of the Not shown is the double-bar juncture (//) signaling a long pause with a rising fn Within an utterance. Thus the non-final rising intonation would call for the use of the double bar juncture.Teaching Tips ‘When teaching the critical consonant sounds it is important that the students know how the sound is produced. This would include the position of the speech organs in relation to one another. Some sounds like /p/, fo/ are produced by pressing the lips together. Hence they are bilabial sounds. The hard th /2/ and soft th /@/ sounds are produced by putting one’s tongue between the upper and lower set of teeth. Hence they are interdental sounds. The second thing to point out is whether the sounds are voiced or voiceless, that is, do the vocal chords vibrate or not when the sound is produced. Thus, although /p/ and /b/ are both bilabials, the former is voiceless while the other is voiced. The same may be said of hard and soft th. Hard th is voiced while soft th is voiceless. In contrast, although dpi and /f are voiceless, /p/ is bilabial whereas /fi is labio-dental since the upper set of teeth is made to touch the lower lip. ‘The third thing one should know is how the air comes out. With /p/ and /b/ the air comes out like an explosion hence they are called plosives or stops. This is because before releasing the air suddenly, it is first stopped or bottled up in one’s mouth. In contrast with /s/, /sh/, /2/, /2h/ the air comes out in a continuous stream so that they are called continuants. And because they produce a hissing sound, they are also referred to as. such. some pointers given in the videotape on how to teach critical sounds are as 1. As much as possible, present the critical sounds in minimal pairs of words which differ only in terms of sound contrast 2. Move from words to phrases, then clauses and sentences. 3. First show the students how the word is pronounced by modeling it for them. Then, let them follow you and note the features of the sound (e.g. position of the speech organs, voicing and the release of air), It may help them if they used a mirror to see the position of their speech organs as they produce the sounds. 4, Include tongue twisters, poetic lines and songs focusing on the critical sound to make the pronunciation exercise more interesting. Enrichment Blending is also important in oral speech. The words have to be uttered such that there is a smooth flow of sounds. If one word ends in a consonant and the next one starts with a vowel, then a consonant-to-vowel blend is used and the two words are said as one with no break in between as shown in these examples: Let it be — letit be Read about it — readaboutit Need a break — needa break at around eight 0” clock — ataroundeighto’clockIf, on the other hand, the preceding word. ends in an /9/ or /u/ vowel sound and the ‘next word starts with another vowel, then a /w/ sound or w /inker creeps in. To attract — towattract to insist — towinsist To understand -towunderstand to entertain — towentertain Should the preceeding word end in an /i/, /W/ or in the diphthong ey and the next word start with another vowel, then a /y/ sound or ) linker creeps in See it -seeyit stay awake — stayawake Be aware — beyaware be understood — beyunderstood Sometimes, in rapid speech, sounds in word boundaries are assimilated and changes take place due to blending as shown in these cxamples. Ifa word ends in t and the next word starts with y then in rapid speech it becomes ch. If on the other hand it ends in d and the next word starts with y then it becomes /d3/ in rapid speech tty=ch dty=d3 not your fault bid_you goodbye let you down lead_you astray meet you halfway heed your warning Still another sound that might prove to be difficult for Filipino leamers of English is the syllabic consonant. As a rule, the heart of any syllable is a vowel. It is possible to have a syllable made up of just one vowel or a vowel in combination with one or more consonants. In English, however, under certain conditions, the vowel may be dropped leaving only consonants to make up a syllable. This happens if the syllable is an unstressed syllable made up of t ord + | or n as in the following words t+lorn d+iorn little - Mt, V garden -/gard, n/ riddle - /rld, U sudden - /sad, n/ A. Minimal pairs [des vs (a3 sf vs fe! heads hedge its itch buds budge mats match aids age bats batch sleds sledge wits witchB. Songs taken from Sing Your Way to Better Speech 1. A round song to be sung to the tune of “Are You Sleeping Brother John?” Sounds: /s/, /z/, /st/, /sk/, /skr/ Lads and lassies Lads and lassies Skip and scramble On the hill tops See, see, see Listening, See them flee Listening, Up to see the sunset To the bees a buzzing, Up to see the sunset To the bees a buzzing, At its best Z2Z In the west a2-t Listen closer Listen closer To the sounds To the sounds Snakes are all a hissing Snakes are all a hissing S-s-5 S-s-5 2. To be sung to the tune of “Three Blind Mice” Sounds: /f, /ft/, /£/ Five fresh fish Five fresh fish See how they frisk See how they frisk They frisk about and flippety roll When Fred comes near the big fish bow! Have you ever seen such fish in your life As five fresh fish. Cc Tongue twisters - She sells seashells on the seashore (s-sh) D. Lines frompoems - Full fathom five thy father lies ()