Topics in Phonetics Phonology John Corbett USPCAPES International

Topics in Phonetics & Phonology John Corbett: USP-CAPES International Fellow Session 11: The Rhythm of Everyday Speech

Course structure 1. Introduction: Review of IPA & lexical sets 2. Review: Transcribing connected speech 3. Accents of English 1: Reference accents (RP and Gen. Am) 4. Revisiting English as a lingua franca 5. Accents of English 2: American accents 6. Accents of English 3: British Accents 7. Accents of English 4: Accents of World English 8. Accents of English 5: Brazilian English accents

Course structure 9. Acoustic phonetics: Using WASP 10. Rhythms of English: Poetic metre 11. Rhythms of English: Rhythm in speech 12. Discourse intonation 1 13. Discourse intonation 2 14. Course review

English rhythm is based on the idea that certain syllables are spoken with greater energy (stress), volume, duration and a higher pitch. Last week’s session Poetry manipulates relatively stressed and unstressed syllables into regular patterns (called metrical patterns) Iamb x / Anapaest x x / trochee / x spondee / / dactyl / x x pyrrhic foot x x In performance, rhythms can depart from the metrical ‘rule’ by allowing substitute ‘feet’ Rhythmic performance is aesthetically pleasing, heightened, and memorable.

The rhythm of everyday speech: Today’s session Word stress Phrase stress Principle of eurhythmy Paralanguage

Stress involves an interaction between volume, pitch and duration of a syllable. Word stress Monosyllable give Disyllable forgive Trisyllable forgiveness Polysyllabic incandescent, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Possible 3 -part stress structure of polysyllabic words Word stress Pitch accent P Level 1 Primary stress x Level 2 secondary stress x Level 1 syllable x x x in can de scent The pitch accent is where there is the movement of tone.

Possible 3 -part stress structure of polysyllabic words Word stress Pitch accent P Level 1 Primary stress x Level 2 secondary stress x Level 1 syllable x x x x xxx x x supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

English inherits from the Germanic languages a basic trochaic pattern with the possibility of an unstressed prefix: Patterns of word stress give giving forgiving This pattern hold for many frequently-used words. get/beget brother, sister, mother, father

English inherits from the Romance languages a more complex set of patterns depending on: Patterns of word stress Number of syllables in the word Part of speech Vowel duration in Latin Whether or not the word ends in a consonant benefit subject subdue (n) beneficiary subject (verb)

Word stress For Romance borrowings, the date at which a word enters English also has an impact on stress pattern: claret merlot

For Romance borrowings, the date at which a word enters English also has an impact on the word stress pattern: Word stress claret merlot late ME borrowing from French more recent borrowing Earlier borrowing adopts native Germanic stress pattern. How do you pronounce my name (Corbett)?

A compound (as a single word) will carry only one primary stress. A phrase (as a group of words) will carry more than one primary stress. Examples: Stress patterns in compunds Compound Phrase stónewall stóne wáll sáfeguard sáfe guárd bréakdown bréak dówn EXCEPTION to the rule: adjectives: compound adjectives may carry more than one primary stress: dúty-frée; chíld-próof.

The syntax of compounds • Any combination of parts of speech seems to be possible to produce compounds. • The word class of the compound tends to be determined by the head of the compound (its rightmost constituent), but its stress is usually carried by its left-most constituent e. g. babysit (v). • Exceptions are phrasal verbs where the particle has most stress: take off, come over.

In English, the words are arranged syntactically in phrases in such a way as there is the perception (at least) of the most salient stressed syllables occurring at regular intervals. Stress in longer stretches of speech This ‘regularity’ has been hard to capture acoustically but there does seem to be a perception of regularity. Look at the excerpt from Pulp Fiction on the following slide. In pairs, take it in turns to read the parts of Vincent and Jules. Underline the words that have PRIMARY STRESS in each utterance, that is, on the words that have a PITCH ACCENT. Roughly how many syllables separate the primary stresses?

From Pulp Fiction, by Quentin Tarantino https: //www. youtube. com/ watch? v=v. Enp. T 8 Ui. V_w VINCENT: What's her name? JULES: Mia. VINCENT: How did Marsellus and her meet? JULES: I dunno, however people meet people. She usta be an actress. VINCENT: She ever do anything I woulda saw? JULES: I think her biggest deal was she starred in a pilot. VINCENT: What's a pilot? JULES: Well, you know the shows on TV? VINCENT I don't watch TV. JULES: Yes, but you're aware that there's an invention called television, and on that invention they shows? VINCENT: Yeah. JULES: Well, the way they pick the shows on TV is they make one show, and that show's called a pilot. And they show that one show to the people who pick the shows, and on the strength of that one show, they decide if they want to make more shows. Some get accepted and become TV programs, and some don’t, and become nothing. She starred in one of the ones that became nothing.

“Phrasal stress rules typically conspire to achieve The principle of eurhythmy a particular rhythmic target. In general terms, the rules tend to create output configurations in which stresses are spaced not too far apart. A grid having these properties is said to be eurythmic; one can also speak of degrees of eurhythmy. ” -- Hayes, B. (1995) Metrical stress theory. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 372

Does ‘California’ have the same stress pattern when you pronounce it in the following utterances? The principle of eurythmy Where do you live? California. Sing along! California dreaming On such a winter’s day…

Does ‘the United States’ have the same stress pattern when you pronounce it in the following utterances? (Especially if you utter them as a sequence…) The principle of eurythmy 1. We are looking at trade patterns between China and the United States. 2. Companies in the United States are keen to develop the China connection. 3. And if you are in the United States trying to make a deal with China, then you have to take culture into consideration.

Does ‘the United States’ have the same stress pattern when you pronounce it in the following utterances? (Especially if you utter them as a sequence…) 1. The principle of eurythmy We are looking at trade patterns between China and the United States. 2. Companies in the United States are keen to develop the China connection. 3. And if you are in the United States trying to make a deal with China, then you have to take culture into consideration. Arguably, in the third sentence you might shift the stress from ‘States’ to ‘United’ to avoid a clash of stresses on ‘States trying’

“And they show that one show to the people who pick the shows and on the strength of that one show they decide if they want to make more shows. ” Eurythmy: in the mind?

Our voice quality and style of speaking also communicates particular messages and emotional affect. Factors of ‘paralanguage’ include: Paralanguage Extremely high or low pitch on stressed syllables Elongation of syllables Pauses Volume (loud or quiet) Voice quality (e. g. creaky voice) Sound effects (whistle, imitation of a particular sound) Laughter Tempo of delivery (fast/slow) Facial gestures, body language, gaze These features can be coded.

How would you use paralanguage to dramatise this conversational story? M 642 So, we're going by, and I go, "Hey, there they are", so I go 'Toot toot' on my horn, wave, and we then go on to the hump-back bridge. So, I give another wave as I'm going over the bridge. M 608 [laugh] M 642 John's gone ahead of me. And I've slowed down, because I'm thinking, "might go back and have a a wee hello", M 608 mmhm M 642 talk with them, [inhale]. Now, I'm up there and I'm just on the top, and I wave, and I'm down to no revs. The bike stalls. So you think, the bridge parapet, you okay with that? The, the [wall] F 643 mmhm sure. M 642 is that high: I'm there on the bike. I am waving like this, with one hand still on the throttle. Really r- low revs going over the hump. I g- open the throttle again, and the bike dies on me. https: //www. scottishcorpus. ac. uk/document/? documentid=353

1. Take home messages Rhythm is created by the sequencing of relatively stressed and relatively unstressed syllables. 2. Rhythm interacts with syntax to organise utterances. 3. English prefers alternating stressed and unstressed syllables with the stresses roughly spaced in time. 4. We alter word and phrase stress in some cases to preserve an alternation of unstressed and stressed syllables (eurythmy). 5. Rhythm and other features of paralanguage convey affect and style.

Next week Intonation in English