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it in the native application on your computer. 1 Handout in Speech and
Oral Communication Prepared by Rudy P. Esposo II Gordon College
Olongapo City College of Education, Arts and Sciences Communication Arts
and Letters Department 2nd Semester A.Y 2014-2015 Suprasegmentals
are concerned with those features of pronunciation that cannot be
segmented because they extend over more than one segment or sound.
Such features include stress, rhythm, and intonation (also called pitch
contour or pitch movement). The student of English speech must improve
his rhythm and intonation beside his sounds. English rhythm is dependent
on the following factors: Emphasis and Subordination Phrasing Blending
Intonation Emphasis and Subordination Emphasis is the prominence or
importance we give to certain syllables. This is more commonly called
stress . Subordination means the reduced prominence or unstressing we
give to other syllables. The elements of stress are: 1. loudness or intensity
2. heightened tone or pitch 3. increased duration In English, we consider
two types of stress : 1. Syllable stress/ Word stress has three degrees, from
the most prominent to the weakest: primary ` mid weak legendary 2.
Sense stress is the prominence given to word groups and sentences due to
its meaning. It has four degrees: primary secondary ` tertiary weak
intellectual curiosity In English, words that carry idea or thought are
stressed. They are sometimes called content words . Generally, the
following carry idea or thought a. nouns baby, boy, school, radio,
university b. verbs (except auxiliary or helping verbs) run, jump, write,
cry, study c. adjectives beautiful, dark, dirty, famous d. adverbs fast,
slowly, very, lazily e. demonstratives this, that those, these f.
interrogatives what, where, why, when (when they start questions) 2
Handout in Speech and Oral Communication Prepared by Rudy P. Esposo II
The Neutral Vowel The or schwa as it is generally called is considered the
neutral or indefinite vowel. This is because the vocal organs do not
assume a definite position but change position depending on the
preceding and succeeding sounds. It appears only in a. unstressed or
unaccented syllables (CO in correct and DERN in modern ) b. unstressed
words (an, of, the for) In English, there are words that do not carry a
thought or meaning but merely serve as connectives that should be
subordinated or unstressed. They show grammatical relationships and are
called function words . The following are function words that should be
subordinated or unstressed: a. articles the, a , an b. auxiliary verbs
(linking verbs as well) have, has, had, are, be, is c. prepositions for, of,
to, in d. pronouns he, she, it, them, us, his, hers e. conjunctions and,
but, or Phrasing Phrasing is the grouping together of words that convey a
thought. Phrases are separated from each other by pauses which are
longer than those ordinarily found between words. We can think of pauses
as oral punctuation . groupings. The student must remember, however,
that this is not always so. Punctuation marks are an indication of
grammatical relationships. Pauses are guided by meaning. Sometimes one
finds a comma in a sentence where no oral pause is necessary. For
example (One vertical line indicates a normal pause; while two vertical
lines indicate a long pause): That man is my brother. // He is, however, /
only my step brother. There are no definite rules that govern the grouping
of words. We depend only on the meaning and intent of the speaker.
Generally, however, parts of speech closely related to each other are not
separated unless there is a special reason. Thus, an adjective is generally
not separated from its noun, or an adverb from its verb, or a preposition
from its object. 1. I saw a beautiful girl / crossing the street. // 2. She thinks
the owner of the car / is unaware of the theft. // 3. Upon hearing the news
over the radio / he anxiously awaited word / about the survivors. // Pauses
are made in a sentence for the following reasons: 1. To make the meaning
clear You cant be a good speaker / unless you have a good voice. // 2. To
emphasize a particular idea The term/ intelligibility / means distinct
articulation. // 3. For a special effect such a suspense And then they heard
a strange sound/ which seemed to come closer closer and closer. // (
indicates a short pause) 3 Handout in Speech and Oral Communication
Prepared by Rudy P. Esposo II 4. Occasionally, to enable

3 Handout in Speech and Oral Communication Prepared by Rudy P. Esposo

II 4. Occasionally, to enable the speaker to catch his breath when saying a
long sentence. In this case, the pause must not come between words
closely connected together grammatically. The state may require us / to
subordinate our private interest / to the interests of the community. //
Blending Blending connects together the sounds from one word to another
within a phrase in the same way that they are connected from one syllable
to another in a long word. In the vernaculars, we tend to pronounce each
syllable separately with a more or even less ev en accent. This results in a
somewhat staccato rhythm. Compare Ako ay aalis with She is an
actress. Students very often insert what is known as the glottal attack
(very much like the maragsa accent of Tagalog) before words beginning
with a vowel. This is considered a voice production fault in English. In order
to avoid the glottal attack, we must blend. More specifically: within a
thought group, words should be connected together, especially words
beginning with a vowel. These in particular should be blended to the
previous word. In this way, the smooth rhythm of English can be achieved.
1. The evening is almost over. 2. Take care not to open the umbrella unless
necessary. As a mechanical aid to blending during drill work, the student
may consider the last sound of the first word part of the second word.
Thus: Many people are affected by the new ordinance. Many people lare
raffected by the new wordinance. My uncle arrives at eight. My yuncle
larrives sat teight. Terminal junctures/ Terminals Terminal junctures/
terminals are methods of closure. Three methods: 1. Fading terminal / / -
rapid fadeaway of the voice into silence 2 Im going 3 home 1 2. Rising
terminal / / - short, slight rise in pitch from the last level heard 2 Are you 3
there 3 3. Sustained terminal / / - sustaining of the last-heard pitch 2 All
the occupants of the 3 car 2 2 seemed dazed by the 3 shock 1

INTONATION AND ITS FUNCTIONS

Say Hello to - a friend you meet regularly; -a friend you havent seen for a
long time; -a neighbour you dontlike; -a 6 month old baby; -someone doing
what he shouldnt;-to know if someone is listening; -the same but on the phone.

In linguistics, intonation is the variation of pitch when.Intonation and stress are

two main elements of linguistic prosody. Intonation is a part of suprasegmental
phonology. Intonation helps to recognize the language that you hear in the same
way as the melody of a song helps to recognize the song that you hear.

Key components of Intonation : Intonation is based on several key

components: Pitch, Sentence stress, Rhythm

Pitch: Pitch is the degree of heigh of our voice in speech. Normal speaking pitch
is at midlevel. Intonation is formed by certain pitch changes, characteristic of a
given language.

Sentence stress: Sentence stress makes the utterance understandable to the

listener by making the important words in the sentence stressed, clear and higher
in pitch, and by shortening and obscuring the unstressed words. Sentence stress
provides rhythm in connected speech.

An important feature of English Intonation: is the use of an intonational accent

( and extra stress) to mark the focus of a sentence. Normally this focus accent
goes on the last major word of the sentence.

Functions of Intonation :

- attitudinal functions
- accentual functions
- grammatical functions
- discourse functions

Attitudinal functions: allow us to express emotions: finality, confidence,

interest surprise, doubt, joy, pain, irony, etc.
Accentual functions: when it is said that intonation has accentual function, it
implies that the placement of stress is somewhat determined by intonation.

Grammatical functions: the listener is better able to recognize the grammar

and syntax structure of what is being said by using the information contained in
the intonation , e.g. the difference between questions and statements.

The discourse functions of intonation: intonation can signal to the listener

what is to be taken as new information and what is already given. In
conversation it can convey to the listener what kind of response is being
expexted from him.

Types of English Intonation: the two basic types are falling intonation and
rising intonation. Other main types of intonation include : high fall, low fall,
fall-rise, high rise, midlevel rise, low rise.

Falling intonation is the most common type of standard unemphatic intonation

in English. It is used for asking and giving information in normal, quiet,
unemphatic style. Sounds more categorical, confident and convincing than rising
intonation.

Standard patterns:

falling information is used on the last stressed syllable of the setence in:

- Statements (declarative sentences) :We live in \MOScow. He doesnt

have a \CAR.
- Special questions: Where do you \ LIVE.
- Commands (imperative sentences): \STOP it! Sit\ DOWN.
- Exclamatory sentences: What a wonderful sur\PRISE!
- The last part of alternative questions (after or) Do you want /TEA
or \COFfee?
- Tag questions (When we the speaker is sure that the answer will be
yes): You \LIVE here, \DONT you?(The speaker is sure and expects
the answer yes).

Rising intonation in English is a pretty complicated phenomenon. It can

express a number of various emotions such as : non-finality, surprise, doubt,
politeness, interest, lack of confidence. Standard rising intonation in English
first goes down a little and then up.

Standard patterns:
Rising intonation is used in:

- General questions: Was he glad to /SEE him?

- Dependent or introductory parts of sentences: If he /CALLS, ask him
to /COME.
- the first part of alternative questions (before or): Would you like
an /APPle or a /PEAR ?
- Direct address: /SIR, you dropped your \NOTEbook.
- Enumerating items in a list: She bought / bread, /cheese and to
\MAtoes.
- Tag questions: ( When we the speaker is not sure that the answer will be
Yes or wants your opinion): Its a beautiful \ TOWN, ISNT it ? ( The
speaker thinks that the town is beautiful but asks for your opinion and
confirmation).

- Blending, phrasing and intonation

- - Blending, Phrasing and Intonation<br />Presented by:<br />Mr. Ryan
Lualhati<br />
- - Phrasing it is grouping of words in a long sentence in order to express a
clear thought and to catch ones breath while speaking.<br />A single bar
( / ) indicates a stop after a phrase and a double ( / / ) bar a stop after a
sentence.<br />PHRASING<br />
- - The Department of Environment and Natural Resources / has ordered a
nationwide inventory of forest occupants / or upland farmers occupying
public forest lands / as input to comprehensive forestation program / it is
currently working on.//<br />Exercise<br />
- - Blending it is saying the words in phrase as if they were one
word.<br />In blending, the final consonant sound of a word is blended
with the initial vowel sound of the next word.<br />BLENDING<br />
- - The hardworking underdog is not a coward.<br />I stubbed my big toe on
a stone.<br />Catholicism has an enormous influence on
civilization.<br />The all-around athlete is a worthy idol.<br />His ancestor
across an old coliseum.<br />Exercise<br />
- - Intonation it is the rise and fall of the voice when a person speaks. The
voice rises in a stressed syllable or word. It falls in an unstressed syllable
or word.<br />INTONATION<br />
- - 1. Shift a pitch change between two Syllables.<br />2. Glide a pitch
within a syllable .<br />Types of Pitch Movements<br />
- - 1. Falling The pitch of the voice goes downward.<br />2. Rising The
pitch of the voice goes upward.<br />Two Kinds of Final Intonation
Patterns<br />
- - a statement, a command or request<br />a question which cannot be
answered by yes or no.<br />a tag question expressing certainty<br
/>Uses of Falling Intonation<br />
- - a statement, a command or request<br />Aida is an honest
accountant.<br />Children love to play on the sand.<br />Go home after
school.<br />Exercise<br />
 - - a question which cannot be answered by yes or no.<br />What school do
you got to?<br />Why do you like mathematics?<br />How can I get in
touch with you?<br />Exercise<br />
- - a tag question expressing certainty<br />She is not your sister, is she?
<br />They havent left, have they?<br />Jojo doesnt like chocolate, does
he?<br />Exercise <br />
- - at the end of a yes / no question<br />after a phrase within a
sentence<br />in enumerating persons, places objects, etc.<br />Uses of
Rising Intonation<br />
- - at the end of a yes / no question<br /><ul><li>Is Miss Milan a nurse?
- - Are you going to the concert?
- - Have you met our new parish priest?</li></ul>Exercise<br />
- - after a phrase within a sentence<br /><ul><li>Mrs. de Luna, / the new
governor, / launched a livelihood project.//
- - Together with his father, / Adrian flew to Cebu.//</li></ul>Exercise<br />
- - in enumerating persons, places objects, etc.<br />My mother bought
rice, fish, beef and mangoes.<br />The principal met the doctor, the
dentist and the nurse.<br />We went to Hongkong, Taipeh, Singapore and
Bangkok.<br />Exercise<br />
- - Pateros Catholic SchoolVision and Mission<br />
- - Pateros Catholic School / is a parochial educational institution.// Inspired
by the gospel of truth and excellence/ as lived fully by San Roque and Sta.
Martha. //The PCS family participates/ in the evangelizing mission of the
church/ by forming men and women of noble character.<br />Vision<br />
- - Mission<br /> To realize this vision, PCS will become a center of
excellence in basic education by offering quality, relevant and christian
educational programs. We commit to build an academic community
characterize by professional and personal competence for the integral
formation of persons for further studies and above all for life. <br /> Men
and Women of Noble character!<br />

Emphasis is defined as an area or object within the artwork that draws attention and
becomes a focal point.Subordination is defined as minimizing or toning down other
compositional elements in order to bring attention to the focal point.

Intonation: The Secret

Ingredient to Great
Pronunciation
Hello, everybody! This is Adir Ferreira from www.adirferreira.com.br and today
Im going to be talking to you about intonation.
Intonation is the melody of language and is made of pitches (high or low
qualities of a sound) that rise and fall. Intonation is used to communicate our
intentions and emotions, and it is used in spoken language to replace
punctuation.

Intonation can indicate anger, surprise, hesitation, confusion, sarcasm,

interest or lack thereof. It is very important to learn and use correct intonation
so that your spoken English is more dynamic and more interesting to listen to.

In English we have four kinds of intonation patterns: (1) falling, (2) rising, (3)
non-final, and (4) wavering intonation. Lets learn about each one.

1. Falling Intonation
Falling intonation is when we lower our voice at the end of a sentence. This
usually happens in statements and in questions that contain words like where,
when, what, why, how, and who (these are called information questions). Here
are some examples:

Statements
1. My name is Adir Ferreira.

2. Nice to meet you.

3. Im going to the movies.

4. Ill be back in an hour.

5. Have a great day.

Questions
1. Whats your name?

2. Where does he live?

3. Why did you do that?

4. Whos that woman over there?

5. How can I open this?

2. Rising Intonation
Rising intonation is when we raise the pitch of our voice at the end of a
sentence. We use this kind of intonation in questions that are answered with
yes or no (these are called yes/no questions). Check out some examples:

1. Are you American?

2. Does she know about this?

3. Can you lend me a pencil?

4. Is the movie good?

5. Are we leaving soon?

Rising intonation is also used in expressions like:

1. Excuse me?

2. Really?

Here are some question pairs with both rising and falling intonation. Listen
and practice saying them!

1. Do you know that woman? How do you know that woman?

2. Do you go to school here? Why do you go to school here?

3. Did you buy a new laptop? What kind of laptop did you buy?

4. Do you work? Where do you work?

3. Non-final intonation
In non-final intonation sentences, the pitch rises and falls within the sentence.
This type of intonation is used with unfinished thoughts, introductory phrases,
series of words and also when we express choices. Lets listen to some
examples:

Unfinished thoughts
1. She bought the magazine, but she didnt read it.

2. When I finished high school, I got a job.

3. If I study hard, Ill pass the test.

4. Im going outside, for some fresh air.

Introductory Phrases
Phrases like as a matter of fact, as far as Im concerned, actually, in my
opinion, if you dont mind and by the way also indicate that a thought is not
finished, so we use non-final intonation. Some examples:

1. As a matter of fact, I do know where she lives.

2. As far as Im concerned, she was not suitable for that position.

3. Actually, the movie was pretty good.

4. In my opinion, this car is way too expensive.

5. If you dont mind, Im going to bed.

6. By the way, have you read that book I lent you?

Series of Words
Suppose that you say you like playing several sports like football, tennis,
basketball, and volleyball. Heres how it would sound in English with non-final
intonation:

I like playing football, tennis, basketball and volleyball.

We have rising intonation on football, tennis and basketball. The intonation

falls on volleyball. Listen again:

I like playing football, tennis, basketball and volleyball.

Some more examples:

1. At college Im taking psychology, French, history, and linguistics.

2. He left work, came home, took a shower, and went to bed.

3. I need rice, beans, lettuce, and sugar.

4. I learned law so well, the day I graduated I sued the college, won the case,
and got my tuition back. Fred Allen

Expressing Choices
Non-final intonation is also used when you choose between two or more
things. Some examples:

1. Do you want to stay home or go to the movies?

2. Are you going to travel in March or April?

3. Do you speak Spanish or Portuguese?

4. Is your name Mary or Mandy?

5. Would you like a coke or some juice?

4. Wavering Intonation
Wavering intonation is used when we express specific emotions or attitudes
within a word. You can express, for instance, surprise, anger, sarcasm,
hesitation, fear, amazement, among others.

Take a look at these two words: you did. Im going to say them showing that
Im curious, very surprised, disappointed, angry and in agreement. Listen!

1. You did? (curious)

2. You did? (very surprised)

3. You did? (disappointed)

4. You did? (angry)

5. You did. (in agreement)

Check out some more examples:

Thanks a lot. (normal)

Thanks a lot. (very happy)

Thanks a lot. (sarcastic)

Okay. (normal)

Okay. (hesitant or unwilling)

Okay! (very excited)

Okay! (frustrated and angry)

No! (angry)

No? (surprised)

No (hesitant)

No. (sarcastic)

Well, this is it for today. If you want to learn more about American English
Pronunciation (and are a Portuguese speaker) check out my Guia de Pronncia
Ingls Americano.

See you all next time!

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our free report, The Top 5 Resource to Learning Online English For Free, sign
up for our newsletter.

Definition and Examples of Subordination in English

The process of linking two clauses in a sentence so that one clause is
dependent on (or subordinate to) another. Contrast with coordination.

Clauses joined by coordination are called main clauses (or independent

clauses). This is in contrast to subordination, in which a subordinate
clause (for example, an adverb clause or an adjective clause) is attached to a
main clause.
Clausal subordination is often (but not always) indicated by a subordinating
conjunction (in the case of adverb clauses) or a relative pronoun (in the case of
adjective clauses).

Etymology:
From the Latin, "to set in order"

EXAMPLES AND OBSERVATIONS:

"In the sentence I swear that I didn't dream it, where one clause is part of the
other, we have subordination. The higher clause, i.e. the whole sentence, is
the main clause and the lower clause is a sub-clause. In this case, there is an
element which actually marks explicitly the beginning of the subordinate
clause, namely that." (Kersti Brjars and Kate Burridge, Introducing English
Grammar, 2nd ed. Hodder, 2010)

ADVERBIAL SUBORDINATE CLAUSES

"While Fern was in school, Wilbur was shut up inside his yard." (E.B.
White, Charlotte's Web. Harper, 1952)
"All the animals capered with joy when they saw the whips going up in
flames." (George Orwell, Animal Farm. Secker and Warburg, 1945)
"One summer morning, after I had swept the dirt yard of leaves,
spearmint-gum wrappers and Vienna-sausage labels, I raked the
yellow-red dirt, and made half-moons carefully, so that the design stood
out clearly and masklike." (Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird
Sings. Random House, 1969)

"[U]nless one is inordinately fond of subordination, one is always at

war." (Philip Roth, The Dying Animal. Houghton Mifflin, 2001)

ADJECTIVAL SUBORDINATE CLAUSES (RELATIVE CLAUSES)

"Fern . . . found an old milking stool that had been discarded, and she
placed the stool in the sheepfold next to Wilbur's pen." (E.B.
White, Charlotte's Web. Harper, 1952)

"Moses, who was Mr. Jones's especial pet, was a spy and a tale-bearer,
but he was also a clever talker." (George Orwell, Animal Farm. Secker
and Warburg, 1945)
"We lived with our grandmother and uncle in the rear of the Store (it
was always spoken of with a capital s), which she had owned some
twenty-five years." (Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Random House, 1969)
 "In the cutting room, there were twenty-five men at work, about six to a
table, and the Swede led her over to the oldest of them, whom he
introduced as 'the Master.'" (Philip Roth, American Pastoral. Houghton
Mifflin, 1997)

ANALYZING SUBORDINATE STRUCTURES

"Subordination-heavy sentences are probably our most common type of

sentence, either spoken or written, though they are more complicated than
they may seem at first glance. In fact, this sentence by Thomas Cahill seems
quite ordinary until we examine it more closely:

In the time-honored fashion of the ancient world, he opens the book at

random, intending to receive as a divine message the first sentence his eyes
should fall upon. How the Irish Saved Civilization (57)

Cahill's basic sentence about St. Augustine is 'he opened the book.' But the
sentence begins with two orienting prepositional phrases ('In the time-honored
fashion' and 'of the ancient world') and adds detail at the end with a
prepositional phrase ('at random') and a participial phrase ('intending .

. .'). There is also an infinitive phrase ('to receive . . .') and a subordinate
clause ('his eyes should fall upon'). For the reader, comprehending this
sentence is much simpler than describing it." (Donna Gorrell, Style and
Difference. Houghton Mifflin, 2005)

COGNITIVE RELATIONS

"[T]he notion of subordination will be defined here exclusively in functional

terms. Subordination will be regarded as a particular way to construe the
cognitive relation between two events, such that one of them (which will be
called the dependent event) lacks an autonomous profile, and is construed in
the perspective of the other event (which will be called the main event). This
definition is largely based on the one provided in Langacker (1991: 435-7). For
instance, in Langacker's terms, the English sentence in (1.3),

(1.3) After she drank the wine, she went to sleep.

profiles the event of going to sleep, not the event of drinking the wine. . . .
What matters here is that the definition pertains to cognitive relations between
events, not any particular clause type. This means that the notion of
subordination is independent of the way in which clause linkage is realized
across languages." (Sonia Cristofaro, Subordination. Oxford University Press,
2003)

SUBORDINATION AND THE EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGES

"Many languages make very sparse use of clause subordination, while making
much freer use of clause conjoining. We can extrapolate that the earliest
languages had only juxtaposition of clauses, then developed markers of
coordination of clauses (like and), and only later, perhaps much later,
developed ways of signaling that one clause was intended to be understood as
playing a role inside the interpretation of another, i.e. marking subordination
of clauses." (James R. Hurford, The Origins of Language. Oxford University
Press, 2014)

There are a number of ways to add emphasis to your sentences in English. Use
these forms to emphasize your statements when you are expressing your
opinions, disagreeing, making strong suggestions, expressing annoyance, etc.

USE OF THE PASSIVE

The passive voice is used when focusing on the person or thing affected by an
action. Generally, more emphasis is given to the beginning of a sentence. By
using a passive sentence, we emphasize by showing what happens to
something rather than who or what does something.

Example:

Reports are expected by the end of the week.

In this example, attention is called to what is expected of students (reports).

INVERSION

Invert the word order by placing a prepositional phrase or another expression

(at no time, suddenly into, little, seldom, never, etc.) at the beginning of the
sentence followed by inverted word order.

Examples:

At no time did I say you couldn't come.

Hardly had I arrived when he started complaining.
Little did I understand what was happening.
Seldom have I felt so alone.

Note that the auxiliary verb is placed before the subject which is followed by
the main verb.

EXPRESSING ANNOYANCE

Use the continuous form modified by 'always', 'forever', etc. to express

annoyance at another person's action. This form is considered an exception as
it used to express a routine rather than an action occurring at a particular
moment in time.

Examples:

Martha is always getting into trouble.

Peter is forever asking tricky questions.
George was always being reprimanded by his teachers.

Note that this form is generally used with the present or past continuous (he is
always doing, they were always doing).

CLEFT SENTENCES: IT

Sentences introduced by 'It', like 'It is' or 'It was', are often used to emphasize a
specific subject or object. The introductory clause is then followed by a relative
pronoun.

Examples:

It was I who received the promotion.

It is the awful weather that drives him crazy.

CLEFT SENTENCES: WHAT

Sentences introduced by a clause beginning with 'What' are also used to

emphasize a specific subject or object. The clause introduced by 'What' is
employed as the subject of the sentence as is followed by the verb 'to be'.

Examples:

What we need is a good long shower.

What he thinks isn't necessarily true.

EXCEPTIONAL USE OF 'DO' OR 'DID'

You have probably learned that the auxiliary verbs 'do' and 'did' are not used in
positive sentences - for example: He went to the store. NOT He did go to the
store.However, in order to emphasize something we feel strongly these
auxiliary verbs can be used as an exception to the rule.

Examples:No that's not true. John did speak to Mary.

I do believe that you should think twice about this situation.

Note this form is often used to express something contrary to what another
person believes.