Functions of syllable

The syllable is polyfunctional.

1. it may form higher units (morphemes, words, sentences)

2. in the flow of speech it may it possible to divide, to separate units – constitutional function which has 2 subfunction:

• integrating

• delimitating

Juncture is a manner of transition from one vowel or consonant to another.

Some western phoneticians (Smith) believe that the differences in syllabic division are due to the type of juncture

Name – an aime

A nice house – an ice house

Keep sticking – keeps ticking

Juncture can be:

- close (occurs between sounds which are joined together within one syllable by a single arc of articulation effort (ex. marble) it’s not marked)

- open (occurs between sounds belonging to different words or morphemes (ex. seem able)

Лехисте, Лебедева investigated this problem.

The open juncture is marked by the following characteristics of the post juncture sounds:

1. the length is increased.

a name (n удлиняется)

an aime ([ei] удлиняется)

2. the loudness of initial vowels is increased. Glottal stop may also precede a vowel.

3. Aspiration

Keeps ticking

4. voiced consonants are fully voiced

might rain

my train

Errors which occur as a result of the differences in the articulatory bases of e. And r. In terms of syllable formation and syllabic division.

1. A free character of all the E. vowels at the end of the syllable

An open type of syllable is typical of Russian

Fi-nish ---fin-ish

2. Error manner of transition from a consonant to a vowel, from a consonant to a consonant within a syllable.

In Russian the manner of transition from a consonant to a vowel is close, from a consonant to a consonant is loose

In English – vice versa

3. In Russian non-syllabic final sonorants are weak and short. But in English [m, n, l] are long and tense enough

вопль – couple

[l,m,n] – are sonorous. With a consonant before it, [l,m,n] form a syllable([l,m,n,] are more sonorous) ex: me-tal [me-tl]

Right-ly (morphological feature, as there is no word which begins from [tl])

Excitement(the same with [tm])

Writer- is a debatable. With diphthongs and long vowels there are 2 points of view:

- according to Wels, согласный между двумя гласными, один из которых дифтонг, относится к первому слогу.

- according to Jones, гласный ослабевает к концу произнесения, согласный относится к след слогу.

9. The dynamic aspect of the articulatory basis. Word accent: definition. The phonetic characteristics and acoustic nature of word accent. Types of word accent (in terms of the phonetic nature of word accent)

Word accent is the greater degree of special prominence given to one or more syllables as compared with that of the syllable in one and the same word.

This special prominence is offered mainly by:

1. Pronouncing the stressed syllable one with greater force of exhalation (сила выдоха), and the greater force of muscular tension, or with a change of pitch direction in it.

2. By increase in the length of the sounds in the stressed syllables; esp. vowels.

3. By pronouncing the vowels very distinctly.

The phonetic or the acoustic characteristics of word accent are:

-the force

-the pitch

-the length (of the quality)

-the timbre of the vowel (of the quality)

At the acoustic level these 4 phonetic characteristics or means are related to the following physical parameters:

1. intensity (frequency)

2. fundamental (frequency)

3. duration

4. spectrum

In other words the acoustic correlate of force is intensity. The acoustic correlate of pitch is fundamental frequency; of length is duration, and of temper is spectrum.

All these parameters generally interact to produce the fact of prominence. Stressed may be achieved by various combinations of these parameters. Depending on which parameter is depending word-stress in language may be of different types.

1. There are languages with dynamic word-stress.

Stress in such languages is achieved by the greater force of the articulation which results at the greater loudness, or greater intensity (at the acoustic level).

The stressed syllables are louder than the unstressed.

English word-stress is considered to be dynamic. Paul Christaferson wrote:

“English is full of loud syllables. They make any English utterance sound jerky, compared with the even flew of many African languages”.

At the fact is that English and African languages were the aim of the investigation.

Relative prominence is created in English language by interaction of full-acoustic parameters.

There are languages with musical word-stress. The prominence is mainly achieved by variations in pitch level. Tonic word-stress is observed in Japanese, Chinese, and Vietnamese.

The meaning of the words of these languages may depend on the pitch levels of their syllables. The chief languages are – Lithuanian and Serbo-Croatian.

In some languages word-stress is characterized both as dynamic and musical. Swedish may serve as example.

There are languages with quantitative word-stress. In such languages the effect of stress is mainly based on the quantity of these sounds (on its duration).

Vowels in stressed syllables are always longer than vowels in unstressed. Russian word-stress is considered to be mainly quantitative.

This point of view is expressed by: Бондарко, Златоустова, Николаева, Буланин.

According to the data obtained by professor Бондарко a stressed syllable in Russian is about 1,5 times longer than an unstressed syllable. The quantity is also observed in Ukrainian languages.

Besides these types of word-stress English distinguish quantitative word-stress. The quantity of vowels and stressed syllables is an obscured. They are not reduced.

9. Degrees of stress in English and Russian. Differences in the articulatory bases of English and Russian in terms of the accentual structure of words. The notions of fixed and free stress. Place of stress in words of different languages. Tendencies in the incidence of word accent (stress) in English.Accentual types of words. Functions of word stress.

Word-stress in E is free. This freedom is restricted by certain tendencies:

1) the recessive tendency

Recessive accent – the stress itself. This tendency manifested itself on placing the stress on the initial syllable words(ex: brother, husband). But: if the 1^st syllable is a prefix which has lost its referential meaning the stress falls on the root (ex: become, perform)

Recessive stress is divided into:

• unrestricted stress (on thу 1^st syllable. Ex: brother)

• restricted stress (falls on the 2^nd syllable. Ex: monitor); (prefix has no referent. meaning now. Ex: become, forget)

The stress tendency has always been strong. Due to this tendency French words borrowed into E until the XV century underwent accentual assimilation (ex: reason, colour)

2) the rhythmic tendency(the stresses are rhythmical)

2 subtypes:

- historically(diachronically) rhythmical stress

- synchronically rhythmical stress

Rhythmical tendency manifests itself in placing in the 3^rd syllable from the end ex: radical, capacity)

In such cases it is historically rhythmical stress(nowadays we do not observe any rhythm)

In words dictation, occasion the accent is also rhythmical(the 2^nd syl from the end)

Originally the suffix –ion consisted of 2 syl-s, and syl [i] was unstressed. However there are w-s in which the rhythm is clearly observed. There are polysyllabic w-s with the secondary stress(ex: demonstration, pronunciation)

A certain number of w-s have different accentual variants. They are so-called free accentual variants(hospitable, hospitable). The 1^st variant is most elegant(absolutely-completely; absolutely-certainly)

3)the retain tendency(the same syllable is stressed. Ex: person-personal);

The stress is retained as a secondary stress.

Semantic factor.

- The tendency to stress the most important things in w-s(Such prefixes as: -un(known), -in(artist), -ex(-president), -vice(-president), -over(estimate), nineteen)

- compound w-s have 2 stresses: primary and secondary(ex: hair-dressed)

The stress in Russian is free. Some Russian phoneticians(Моисеев, Горбачевич) say that in most Russian words the main stress is on the 2^nd or 3^rd syl from the end.

According to Голенищев in Russia-47 accentual types of w-s. in E- more than 100 stress patterns(Торсуев) or accentual types. The most common of them are w-s with one primary stress(ex: butterfly, july), and w-s with 1 primary and secondary stress(ex: demonstration). Nowadays there are no w-s with 2, 3, 4 primary stresses. Instead we have primary and secondary stresses(ex: well-known, good-looking)

The main function of w-stress is constitutive. Without a definite stress pattern the word seized to be a word. Word-accent is the soul of a word. The distinctive function manifests itself more vividly in Russian(ex: руки-руки).

Russian w-stress may have stylistic distinction. In E w-s may differentiate from verbs to noun(increase-to increase), compound nouns from free w-combination(a blackboard-a blackboard). Such pairs are not numorous.

9. Prosodic basis as a component of phonetic basis.Intonation and prosody. The correlation between intonation and prosody. Components of intonation (structural and functional approaches). The definition of intonation.

Intonation is a complex unity of closely related prosodic means which are capable conveying different intellectual and emotional attitude.

Prosody is a constant, physical(acoustic) characteristic of speech, that is fundamental frequency, intencity, also duration, spectrum and absence of speech signal.

The spectrum is a basic acoustic feature of a separate sound. But it’s a secondary feature of a sense group, a phrase, a syllable.

All the perceptive units(5 parameters). On the perceptive level these parameters are related to pitch stroke melody, intensity is related to force, loudness, etc. all these characteristics are called prosodic means. Closely related to prosodic means, intonation is composed of the same means as prosody is. And prosody has the same constituency.

The notion of prosody is broader than the notion of intonation. Prosody only organizes our speech, while intonation. Is related to meaning. Factually, the notion of intonation is broader as it is related to meaning.

Prosody and intonation are composed from the same phonetic phenomena(but different sphere of usage).

Components of intonation:(different number if components(1-9))

1)melody

2)in a different inventory of components

The main reason of this variety can be seen in different approaches to the function of each component. Besides, many linguists disregard each phonetic component.

The structural criterion

The status of a component of intonation may be assigned only to those phonetic phenomena which have the chief physical parameters on the acoustic level. There are only 5 physical parameters of speech. They are 5 equal components of intonation. Each of 5 parameters of speech must be at the same time a chief acoustic parameter of one of the 5 components of intonation. In such a case fundamental frequency may only be the chief acoustic parameter pitch, melody, etc.