Free ESL at Cincinnati State!4.30.12

Stress-Timed or Syllable-Timed?

What is a syllable? Sy-lla-ble = 3 syllables Or-ange = 2 syllables Foot = 1 syllable

What is stress?

I don’t know what stress is, Rebecca!

Stress-Timed vs. Syllable-Timed Languages!

Stress-Timed Language Syllable-Timed Languages

English Finnish

German Icelandic

Mandarin Chinese Cantonese Chinese

Swedish French

NorwegianDutch

…and many more!

ItalianSpanish

…and many more!

Discuss:Is YOUR native language, or 2nd or 3rd language, stress-timed or syllable-timed? Does this explain for any difficulties you have with intonation/word stress in English??

Do you remember: True or False?

The MORE syllables in a sentence, the MORE time you need to pronounce the sentence. (In English.)

Explain your answer!

False! It depends on the number of “stressed words”!

1. Dogs chase cats.

2. The dogs chase cats.

3. The dogs chase the cats.

4. The dogs will chase the cats.

5. The dogs will be chasing the cats.

6. If the number (#) of stressed words is the same, you need approximately the same amount of time!

Remember!

English is a stress-timed language, NOT a syllable-timed language!

If you can remember that English is stress-timed, then English will not be so stressful for you. Ha, ha!

vs.

Not all of the words are stressed!

Do you know how we classify/divide words in sentences in English?

CONTENT words (stressed)

Function / structure words (unstressed)

Let’s check out this website!

Rules for Sentence Stress in English

The basic rules of sentence stress are:

CONTENT words are STRESSED!

Function / structure words are unstressed.

The time between stressed words is always the same…

Content Words (STRESSED!)Words used for MEANING Example

Main verbs Sell, give, employ, decorate, buy, borrow, study, work…

Nouns Education, employment, shower, embarrassment, goal, dream, grammar…

Adjectives Beautiful, crazy, frustrating, interesting, blue, sorrowful, excited, hard-working…

Adverbs Well, poorly, quickly, loudly, skillfully, never, always, sometimes…

Negative auxiliary verbs Don’t, aren’t, can’t, won’t, wouldn’t…

Function/ Structure Words (unstressed)

Words used for GRAMMAR Example

Pronouns He, we, they, I, you, she, he, it, we…

Prepositions On, at, into, in, around, across, under…

Articles A, an, the

Conjunctions And, but, or, because…

Auxiliary (helping) verbs Am, are, is, have, has, can, could, must, should…

An Exception to the Rule!

Sometimes we can stress a word that would normally be only a structure word, for example, to correct someone’s understanding.

“She speaks Spanish, doesn’t she?""No, she doesn’t, but SHE does.”

Vocabulary Drill!

1. Syllable: ________

2. Stress / intonation: ________

3. Grammar: ________

4. Content: ________

5. Polyglot : ________

6. Auxiliary / helping verb: ________

7. Articles: ________

8. Pronouns: ________

9. Nouns: ________

10. Negative auxiliaries: ________

A. The, a, an

B. Ideas, places, or things

C. Don’t, can’t, shouldn’t, etc.

D. One or more pieces of sound in a word

E. The system of rules to organize meaning in a language

F. He, she, it, we, they, you, etc.

G. The main ideas (of a speech/text/etc.)

H. Somebody who speaks multiple languages

I. Emphasis to show importance in syllables, words and sentences

J. Can, will, am, is, are, should, have, has…

Ranking Items

What does it mean, to rank something?

Ex. My favorite kinds of music:

1. Bollywood

2. Ambient

3. World Fusion

4. African…

An Example

CNBC Highest Paying Jobs 2011

Listed with average annual salary:

1. Doctors and Surgeons: $165,720-$225,390

2. Chief Executive Officer (CEO): $173,350

3. Dentists: $158,770

4. Lawyers: $129,440

5. Natural Sciences Manager: $129,320

6. Petroleum Engineer: $127,970

7. Architectural Engineering Manager: $125,900

8. Computer and Information Systems Manager: $123,280

9. Marketing Manager: $122,720

10. Financial Manager: $116,970

11. Airline pilot, copilot and flight engineer: $115,300

12. Sales Manager: $114,110

13. Industrial-Organizational Psychologist: $114,040

14. General and Operations Manager: $113,100

15. Physicist: $112,020

(Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.) Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_highest_paying_jobs#ixzz1tYd62EsY

These Items are Ranked Incorrectly!

How do you think these cities are RANKED according to average hourly wage? Why?? Discuss and make lists in your groups!

Boston, Massachusetts

Seattle, Washington

New York, NY (Metropolitan)

San Jose, California

Chicago, Illinois

Washington, D.C.

Honolulu, Hawaii

Dallas, Texas

Cincinnati, Ohio

These Items are Ranked Incorrectly!

City Average Hourly Wage Ranking

Boston, Massachusetts $28.56 3

Seattle, Washington $26.45 5

New York, NY (Metropolitan) $27.49 4

San Jose, California $32.62 1

Chicago, Illinois $23.62 6

Washington, D.C. $29.95 2

Honolulu, Hawaii $21.68 8

Dallas, Texas $21.89 7

Cincinnati, Ohio $20.50 9

What is a paragraph?

A paragraph is a short piece of writing that includes one (or maybe two or three) main ideas. A paragraph includes 5-7 complete sentences!

After writing a paragraph, always check your paragraph for mistakes (spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.)

3 paragraphs

What is a complete sentence?

This is a complete sentence.

A complete sentence includes at least 1+ subject (noun, pronoun) and at least 1+ verb!

Subject!

Verb!

Complete Sentences?

Incomplete (Fragment) Complete!

Aomar from Algeria.

Is from Afghanistan.

Adriana clubbing on the weekends.

Monika an iPad.

Katka from Czech Republic.

Our teacher, Rebecca, from Cincinnati.

Sothea a customer service job.

Is from Senegal.

Is an incomplete sentence!

What is a paragraph?

A paragraph is a short piece of writing that includes one (or maybe two or three) main ideas. A paragraph includes 5-7 complete sentences!

The first sentence (topic sentence) usually introduces your main idea.

After writing a paragraph, always check your paragraph for mistakes (spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.)

3 paragraphs

Writing a Paragraph

Write a paragraph in which you explain:

1) whether/if your native language is stress-timed or syllable-timed.

2) any problems you have with intonation/word stress in English! Give an example (or more than one example)!

Also, ask any questions you may have about English intonation/word stress.

Example Paragraph

My name is Abdoulaye. I am from Mauritania. I speak five languages,

but in this paragraph I will write about my fourth language, French. French

is a stress-timed language. English is also a stress-timed language. This is

good news for me. Unfortunately, I often cannot understand which syllables

are stressed in English words. For example, when I read a new word like

“mania,” I do not know which syllable to stress when I pronounce the word.

I need to practice speaking my English with Native Speakers of English who

can help me with my pronunciation. One question I have is, are there any

rules for the pronunciation of English words?

Pronunciation Rules To Be Continued!

Type of Word Pattern Examples

Most 2-syllable nouns Stress on FIRST syllable CONtext, PAper, Visa

Most 2-syllable verbs Stress on SECOND syllable apPLY, creATE, reLAX

Most 3-syllable words ending in: -ATE, -IZE, -ISE

Stress on FIRST syllable FANtasize, EXercise, REalize, MODernize, CElebrate

Most 4-5 syllable words ending in –ATE or -OUS

Stress on the SECOND syllable

conTINuous, eNORmous, apPREciate, exTERminate

Words that end in suffixes such as –ic, -ical, -ual, -tion, -ity, -ogy, -ian, -tal

Stress on the syllable BEFORE the suffix

aniMAtion, creAtion, phySIcian, maGIcian, MUsical

Words that end in suffixes such as –eer and -ee

Stress on the FINAL syllable engiNEER, pioNEER, guaranTEE, forSEE

Practice!

In groups, add more examples to each category. Practice your pronunciation aloud, and think about STRESS!

Do reasons for learning English vary (change) according to country?

Do all people have the same reasons for learning English (the same language learning goals)?

What do you think?

This speaker is discussing WHY so many people want to learn English!

English Mania!

What is mania???

= Mania?!

What do you think?!

In your groups, discuss:

Do you agree with the speaker’s ideas? Do you think his description of “English mania” is accurate or true? Why or why not?

Do you think that every country has a different need for English?

Do you think that “English mania” is a good thing for the world? Why or why not?

What happens when languages disappear and nobody speaks them anymore??

Complete this table on PAPER and give it to me before you leave!

What do I know about…?

What did I learn from this class / last class about…?

What do I still want to learn about…?

Content and function/structure words

Complete Sentences

Paragraphs

Pronunciation Rules

Butterfly Show at the Krohn Conservatory

http://www.butterflyshow.com/

Also, remember about the Free ESL Conversation Group on Mondays and Tuesdays, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in ATLC 102!

Check your email!

Today, I emailed everybody a list of language learning websites to help you with writing, reading, listening and speaking in English!

I will email you this PPT as well!

Have a wonderful week and weekend!

Homework:

Pay attention to the intonation patterns of Native Speakers (NS) of English! etc.

Which words did you notice?

Optional:

If you would like to write down your observations/thoughts about these intonation patterns, I would be happy to give you feedback on your writing.