Students normally find it difficult to choose which syllables should be made prominent in a conversation. There may be several reasons for the difficulty. One motive could be the relationship between new and shared information in the unfolding of conversation. That is, one word may be made prominent by virtue of being informationally relevant in one instance of the conversation and may be made non-prominent the following time it is mentioned precisely because it has become known to the speakers. This is not necessarily the case in Spanish, as it has been proved that old information can be re-accented when re-presented in this language. Another reason may be the fact that the force of contrast-making can make speakers break the default stress pattern of a given word in favor of what needs to be contrasted. This, again, does not normally occur in Spanish.
Let's consider a few examples from the next conversation and gloss them.
1) Next month. Early next month. The second time the speaker mentions "next month", this adverbial is no longer prominent as it has become shared in the context of this conversation.
2) No, a blackboard. The obvious prominent syllable in this compound is "board" because it is in stark contrast to "bird" and thus clarifies a misunderstanding.
You are invited to check out a proposed marking of prominent syllables for this conversation on this blog's page Intonation in English. This is an exercise which can prepare us for marking both prominence and tone (= intonation) for classwork, homework and tests.
Let's consider a few examples from the next conversation and gloss them.
Amy: My sister’s soon gonna be nineteen.
Mike: Sorry, did you say eighteen?
Amy: No. She’s gonna be nineteen. Next month. Early next month.
Mike: Oh. And have you thought of a present?
Amy: Well….I guess she would be delighted with a blackboard.
Mike: A blackbird?
Amy: No, a blackboard. She’s studying to become a teacher and she loves practising standing up, as though she were in a classroom.
Mike: So that would be an ideal gift. What about a bookshelf? Is she tidy? That way she can always have all her books in the shelf.
Amy: No. She’s absolutely untidy.
1) Next month. Early next month. The second time the speaker mentions "next month", this adverbial is no longer prominent as it has become shared in the context of this conversation.
2) No, a blackboard. The obvious prominent syllable in this compound is "board" because it is in stark contrast to "bird" and thus clarifies a misunderstanding.
You are invited to check out a proposed marking of prominent syllables for this conversation on this blog's page Intonation in English. This is an exercise which can prepare us for marking both prominence and tone (= intonation) for classwork, homework and tests.
I though it could be intresting to have the tones so we can see how the intonation is.
ReplyDeleteMariana
I think first we can mark prominence and then decide on the tones
ReplyDeleteAndrea
I do agree with Andrea. Once we've decided which syllables are prominent we can decide on which of these we could place the tone. By the way, over the course of this week I'll be posting on tones.
ReplyDeleteSee you
In the last text I find it hard to understand why is it sometimes a falling rising tone used and not a falling tone. I think I would produce a falling in most cases because it seems to me more natural to say it that way
ReplyDeleteJustina
Hi Justine,
ReplyDeleteI don't know exactly which text you're referring to. Is it the conversation between Oliver and Holly. And if so, what choices do you find difficult to make sense of? I'd love it if you could be a bit more specific. But a useful reminder will always be the fact that intonation choices are speaker-determined, which entails that different speakers may choose to do different things. Have YOUR say now.