Reading Aloud Part 3 - Sentence Stress (O' Level Oral Examination)

READING ALOUD

There are

2rules for

SENTENCE STRESS.

1

CONTENT WORDS are stressed.

2

FUNCTION WORDS

are unstressed.

IMAGINE

SELL CAR GONE FRANCE

The sentence is

INCOMPLETEand

UNGRAMMATICAL.

BUT

You probably

UNDERSTANDit.

Somebody wants you to

SELL their CARfor them because they have

GONE to

FRANCE.

SELLCAR

GONEFRANCE

Let us ADD

a few words.

Will You

My Because

I’ve To

Will you SELL my CARbecause I've GONE to

FRANCE?

NEWwords do not add

NEWinformation.

NEWwords create a

GRAMMATICALsentence.

INFORMATIONremains the

SAME.

RECAPCONTENT words FUNCTION words

1. Will2. You3. My4. Because5. I’ve6. To

1. Sell2. Car3. Gone4. France

What is a

CONTENT WORD?

A

CONTENT WORDis a word that conveys

MEANING.

CONTENT WORDS EXAMPLES Main Verbs Sell, Give, Employ

Nouns Car, Music, Mary

Adjectives Red, Big, Interesting

Adverbs Quickly, Loudly, Never

Negative Auxiliaries Don't, Aren't, Can't

STRESSED

What is a

FUNCTION WORD?

A

FUNCTION WORDis a word that expressesGRAMMATICALRELATIONSHIP

with other words.

FUNCTION WORDS EXAMPLESPronouns He, We, They

Prepositions On, At, Into

Articles A, An, The

Conjunctions And, But, Because

Auxiliary Verbs Do, Be, Have, Can, Must

UNSTRESSED

EXCEPTIONThe above rules are for what is called “neutral” or normal stress. Sometimes, we can stress a word that would normally be only a function word, for example, to correct information.

Look at the following dialogue.

"They've been to Mongolia, haven't they?"

"No, THEY haven't, but

WE have.

What is

SENTENCESTRESS

?

SENTENCE STRESSmainly provides

RHYTHMin speech.

What is

RHYTHMthen?

RHYTHMis the key to

FLUENTEnglish speech.

Imagine a metronome beating the rhythm.The stressed syllables are like the beats of the metronome: regular, loud, and clear. The unstressed syllables between the beats are shortened, obscured and joined together.

Let us

HIGHLIGHTthe

STRESSEDsyllables.

A SHORT SENTENCEKevin sent a letter.

After marking the stressed syllables,KEVin SENT a LETter.

KEV in SENT a LET ter.stressed - unstressed - stressed - unstressed - stressed - unstressed with equal number of alternating stressed and unstressed syllables

A LONG SENTENCEKevin decided to send a letter to his relatives in the village.

After marking the stressed syllables,KEVin deCIDed to SEND a LETter to his RELatives in the VILlage.

The STRESSEDsyllables, like the

BEATS of the metronome, have to occur

REGULARLY.

QUESTIONHow do we fit all the unstressed syllables in the intervalsbetween the stressed syllables without breaking the rhythm in “Kevin sent a letter”?

The rules of

REDUCTIONand LINKING

What are the rules

REDUCTIONand LINKING

then?

The rules

REDUCTthe pitch of unstressed syllables and

LINKthe stream of less distinct sounds.

CONCLUSION

STRESScontent word,

UNSTRESS function words.

RECAPCONTENT words FUNCTION words

1. Be obscure2. Use low pitch3. Shorten syllables

1. Be clear2. Use high pitch3. Lengthen syllables

Read the sentenceRHYTHMICALLY

2JAM the

UNSTRESSEDsyllables between the

stressed syllables

1STRESS

the stressed syllables at

REGULAR intervals

PRACTICES1. http://esl.about.com/library/speaking/blpronounce_stress_w

ords1.htm

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