We've often made the difference between stress and prominence in that the former is system-bound, as the language system tells you what should be done. By way of example, you cannot choose how to stress convict; if you mean the verb, it should be conˈvict. However, if you mean 'a person who has been sent to jail' you have no other choice but to say ˈconvict. Prominent syllables, on the other hand, are those syllables which are made to stand out in connected speech by virtue of being important for the meaning we want to make. We can say that prominence is context-bound and it is up to speakers to decide that one syllable will be made prominent instead of another one.
It's also been said that the last prominent syllable in a tone unit is the tonic syllable (= that on which the major pitch movement is initiated). Along these lines, we can say that in a tone unit such as //I want that//, any of the syllables can be the tonic, depending on the meanings speakers want to make. Nevertheless, there are a great number of ready-made phrases and expressions of current use in English in which the tonic is not the choice of the speakers but a feature which is dictated by the language itself. We may say these cases are instances of fixed tonicity. Below are some expressions bearing this type of tonicity. The meaning in each case has not been added. With the help of a dictionary, would you contribute the meanings absent?
By ˈall means
ˈKeep your ˈnose clean.
There's ˈnothing ˈto it really.
ˈGet your ˈact together.
ˈSet/put your (own) ˈhouse in order.
I've had my ˈhands full.
(She) of ˈall people
They ˈget on like a ˈhouse on fire
It is good to have the explanation, that you give us in class, written here! That helps me a lot!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Great, Ana Luz. And I hope this blog is used more and more frequently as a medium through which we can all learn, ask questions and exchange ideas. Bye bye.
ReplyDeleteHey! I'm looking forward to seeing the meanings of the phrases above. And, of course, if you have any more phrases, please contribute them. They are sure to come in handy.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Hello Martin, Im from group E and I have a question about something related to this post.
ReplyDeleteI know that the last prominent syllable in a tone unit is where the pitch of movement starts and I remember that you said in class that after the tonic syllable we can't have prominent syllable in the same tone unit. Am I correct?
I'm asking this because in page 24 of the intonation in context book there's a dialogue between Lisa and Jhon. And Lisa says "But somebody has sent her a dozen roses". In class we said that "but somebody has sent her" was a tone unit and the falling rising starts in "somebody" and finishes in "her". But you also said that "sent" is a prominent syllable...but, like I said before, I thought we can't have a promint syllable after a tonic syllable in one tone unit. Am I wrong??I hope you understand what I mean. Thanks in advance.
Hi, Patts. Sorry I didn't answer before but I have just read your comment. As you know, the tonic syllable is the last prominent syllable. In the utterance you mention from IIC there are two tone units. In the first one, the tonic is "sent" and the tone here is fall-rise. The pitch movement starts on "sent" and finishes on "her". Next, we should have the double slanting lines to mark the tone unit boundary. But for practical reasons I don't want you to take the trouble to mark the boundaries. As for the second tone unit, "a dozen roses", we have two prominent syllables: the onset in ‘dozen’ and the tonic in ‘roses’. The tone this time is "fall". To put it in a nutshell, there are two tone units, each with the tonic on the word regarded as most important for its contribution to the meaning that needs to be made. Am I making myself understood?
ReplyDeleteYes, I understand completely! Thank you very much for your answer! :-D
ReplyDeleteHi, Martin! These phrases are more examples to the section 2 of Accentuation and Usage (page 101) from Finch & Ortiz Lira's book, aren't they? I think I got confused with the title "Fixed Tonicity". Anyway, here are the meanings of the phrases according to Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary:
ReplyDeleteBy ˈall means = used to say that you are very willing for somebody to have something or do something. E.g.‘Do you mind if I have a look?’ ‘By all means.’
ˈKeep your ˈnose clean. to avoid doing anything wrong or illegal. E.g. Since leaving prison, he's managed to keep his nose clean.
There's ˈnothing ˈto it really. = it's) very easy. E.g. You'll soon learn. There's nothing to it really.
ˈGet your ˈact together. = to organize yourself and your activities in a more effective way in order to achieve something. E.g. He needs to get his act together if he's going to pass.
ˈSet/put your (own) ˈhouse in order. = to organize your own business or improve your own behaviour before you try to criticize somebody else
I've had my ˈhands full. = to be very busy or too busy to do something else. E.g. She certainly has her hands full with four kids in the house.
(She) of ˈall people. = when you say of all people, you are emphasizing that somebody is the person you would most or least expect to do something. E.g. She of all people should know the answer to that.
Bye, bye!
Hi Camila. Outstanding work. It couldn't be better! Don't worry much about the term 'tonicity'. You'll get a better grasp after the winter break. I really appreciate your contribution and I hope other readers (if there are) will, too.
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