AMERICAN PROSODY
Prosody refers to the rhythm and melody of English.​
It includes changes in pitch (intonation), stress, timing, and the way sounds change in connected speech.
Prosody affects meaning, emotion, emphasis, and clarity.
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Rising and falling intonation
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Word and sentence stress
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Stress-timed rhythm
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Strong and weak forms
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Elision in connected speech
In this lab, we briefly go over:
Together, these features help create the rhythm and natural flow of spoken English.
Intonation (Rising and Falling Pitch)
Intonation describes how the voice moves up and down in pitch when we speak. These pitch movements help listeners understand whether a sentence is complete, uncertain, emotional, or questioning. Intonation patterns aren't rules, but these are some generally observed patterns. They won't be true for every speaker--but they give us a place to start.
Falling Intonation
Falling Intonation is common in:
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Statements
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Wh- questions
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Commands
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Completed thoughts
Examples:
I finished the project.
Where are you going?
Close the door.
A falling pitch often signals that the speaker is confident or that the thought is complete.
Rising Intonation
Rising Intonation is common in:
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Yes/No questions
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Expressions of uncertainty
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Incomplete ideas
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Confirmation checks
Examples:
Are you ready?
He might be coming.
If you aren't doing anything later...
A rising pitch often signals that the speaker is asking, unsure, or expecting a response.
Stress
Stress refers to the emphasis placed on certain syllables or words.
A stressed syllable is:
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Louder
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Longer
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Higher (and occasionally lower) in pitch
All three features work together to make a syllable stand out.
Word Stress
In multi-syllable words, one syllable is generally stressed more than the others.
Examples:
table​, computer, begin, photograph, photographic
Word stress is usually learned at the same time as the word itself. When we learn new vocabulary, we also learn which syllable is stressed. This is true for both native English speakers and if it's a second language. Which can sometimes be tricky if you speak a variety of English that is not American. Some words might have a different natural stress where you are from! If you are unsure about a word, stressed syllables are usually included in dictionaries, so you can easily look it up.
Changing stress can also change meaning:
record
verb
VS.
record
noun
Sentence Stress
In sentences, not all words are stressed equally. English typically stresses content words and reduces function words.
Content Words
Nouns
Main verbs
Adjectives
Adverbs
Function Words
Articles
Prepositions
Auxiliary Verbs
Pronouns
Conjunctions
= Stressed
= Unstressed
Example:
Content:
I went to the store to buy some milk.
Function:
Stress-Timed Rhythm
English is considered a stress-timed language. This means that stressed syllables tend to occur at regular intervals, while unstressed syllables are shortened to fit between them.
Example:
I
want
to
go
to the
store
If we were to compare this to music, we would find that the stressed words fall on the down beat. Meaning those words happen at regular intervals. And the unstressed function words fill in the time between.
Reduced Speech
In natural, connected speech, English speakers often reduce sounds. This helps maintain rhythm and speed but can make listening more difficult for learners.
Strong and Weak Froms
Many common function words have both strong and weak pronunciations.
Examples:
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to - [tu] / [tÉ™]
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for - [fɔɹ] / [fəɹ]
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and - [ænd] / [É™nd] / [n]
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can - [kæn] / [kÉ™n]
These kinds of words often take their "weak" form when they are unstressed. If questioned, a native American English speaker might even say that this is a mispronunciation. Speakers generally don't consciously intend to use weak forms or "neutralize" their vowels. But this is something that occurs naturally in speech when a word isn't stressed. Therefore, it is not a mispronunciation but in fact quite appropriate for spoken English. And if put into practice, it will make you sound very American.
Below are some phrases using these weak forms (The weak forms are boldened):
to the store.
for me?
sound and fury
can you do it?
Where you place stress or emphasis in a sentence can change its meaning. This can help you decide when to stress words that are usually not stressed.
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For example, look at the sentence below. Notice how stressing the words “you” and "I", and using strong forms, changes the meaning of the sentence.
I told you to leave.
Meaning = "why haven't you left yet?"
I told you to leave.
Meaning = "you didn't tell me to leave (but rather, I told you to leave.)"
When you intend to stress a function word in order to convey meaning, you should use the strong form.
Elision
Elision is the omission (removal) of a sound in connected speech. You can conversely think of it as joining or merging two sounds. This often happens when sounds are difficult to pronounce together, especially in fast speech.
Common Examples:
next day
nex day
want to
wan a
probably
prob ly
Elision is common in General American speech, but its use depends on the level of formality. While there are always exceptions, as a general rule, reducing sounds across two words (for example, want to → wanna) is often acceptable even in more formal speech. However, reducing sounds within a single word (for example, probably → prob’ly) is usually considered less formal.
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That said, standards of “acceptable” speech are always changing. Pronunciations that may seem too casual today could become widely accepted in formal contexts in the future.