LCD720 – 03/11/09
Review
Looking at sound
Announcements
• Midterm assignment will be available on
Blackboard after class
– Submit on Blackboard or hand in in class
– Due Wednesday, March 18, 6:30pm
– 30% of the final grade
• Next week: Lab session in PH 212 at 6:45pm
• Today:
– Finishing intonation patterns & homework
– Review
– Looking at sound
From last week
Remember:
• Intonation units and prominence
• Common intonation patterns:
–
–
–
–
Declarative statements and wh-questions
Yes/no questions
Closed or open choice (e.g., coffee or tea)
Tag questions: eliciting agreement or signalling
uncertainty (e.g., doesn’t he)
• Your suggestions for:
– Pedagogical priorities
– Types of activities
Practice
• Draw the intonation contours for these two
sentences:
– Where are you going?
– I’m going to the store.
• Write 3 pairs of open-choice and closed-choice
questions. Draw their intonation contours.
• Write 2 sentences with tag questions that elicit
agreement, and 2 that express uncertainty. Draw
their intonation contours.
Intonation and meaning
Intonation and meaning
• Intonation can signal whether a speaker is
done speaking, or wants to hold the floor a
little longer
– Perception: when to start speaking
– Production: how to hold the floor
Focus
• The intonation rises on the word that is in
focus
– John cooked DINner vs. JOHN cooked dinner
– Did John cook DINner? vs. Did JOHN cook
dinner?
• In unmarked cases, the word in focus is
the last content word
– This is often the new information
Additional intonation patterns
• Remember: yes/no questions
– Did John cook dinner?
• To signal an expectation of an affirmation,
or impatience (like declarative pattern):
– Did John cook dinner?
Additional intonation patterns
• Remember: question intonation on regular
sentences
– She’s gone?
• To signal surprise or disbelief:
exaggerated intonation
– She’s gone?
Additional intonation patterns
• Remember: wh-questions
– Who will help?
• To ask someone to repeat part of the
information:
– Who will help?
• To signal surprise or disbelief
– Who will help?
• Display questions (often used by teachers)
– Two plus two is what?
Intonation and meaning:
Pedagogical priorities
• Aim mostly for comprehension of:
– The different intonation patterns, e.g.,
• Open/closed choice questions
– Words in focus
• I bought a new SWEAter vs. I bought a NEW
sweater
Homework
• Practice homework: intonation
• Select an intonation pattern and construct
a listening discrimination exercise.
Overview
• History and background of teaching L2
pronunciation
• Consonants, vowels, and IPA
• Word stress, rhythm, and adjustments in
connected speech
• Sentence intonation
History and background of
pronunciation teaching
• Age and exposure
• Aptitude and motivation
• L1, L2, and language universals
• Contrastive Analysis and Error Analysis
• Interlanguage
Consonants, vowels, and IPA
• Phonemes and allophones
• Consonants
– Place, manner, and voicing
– Positional variation
• Aspiration vs. release (tea vs. eat)
– Syllabic consonants
– Clusters
Consonants, vowels, and IPA
• Vowels
– Tense vowels are often diphthongized (= get a
glide)
– Vowel lengthening before voiced consonants,
and in stressed syllables
– Nasalization
– Vowel reduction
• Unstressed syllables
• Unstressed (function) words
Word stress, rhythm, and
connected speech
• Stress patterns are related to positional
variation
– Flapping, aspiration, vowel reduction
• Connected speech
– Linking, assimilation, deletion
Sentence intonation
• Prominence and intonation units
• Four pitch levels
• Rising-falling vs. rising intonation
Sentence intonation
• Common intonation contours:
– Declarative statements
– Questions:
•
•
•
•
Yes/no
Wh
Open/closed alternative questions
Tag questions
– Contrastive stress
• Signaling impatience or surprise
Transcribe
1. Computers are incredibly fast, accurate
and stupid
2. Human beings are incredibly slow,
inaccurate and brilliant
3. Together they’re powerful beyond
imagination
(Einstein)
ESL speakers
• Example of an ESL
speaker
– L1 Korean
– What do you notice
about her
pronunciation?
– What would you do
to help these
students improve
their pronunciation?
the topic is shopping for food in your
&coun my country the same as in
USA my country food usually spicy
food but USA food is usually swee(t)
is sweet usually sweet and … also
USA an(d) my country country's food
are usually eat [= eaten] vegetable I
think vegetable is same thing my my
country's food food food is rice some
side dishes but USA food is usually
vegetable an(d) spaghetti our best
food ah I think so I I like I like USA's
USA US food but US ah food is ah
unhealthy I think ah but so healthy
&m my country's food an(d)
Indicate intonation groups, prominence
and intonation contours
A: Excuse me I was wondering if you could help me?
B: Sure. What’s up?
A: I need to find this office. Do you know where it
is?
B: Oh yeah. You’re going to want to go up this street
and make a right.
A: I’ll turn right at the light on the corner?
B: Right. Go down that street and it’s in the middle
of the block.
A: That’s where the building is?
B: Yeah the office is on the first floor so go down
the stairs and it’s right there.
A: Got it. Thank you!
B: No problem!
• Looking at sound
(preparation for PRAAT lab next week)
• The next few slides have been deleted to
reduce the file size.
What would you do?
• Your students consistently pronounce this as /dɪs/.
• Your students consistently pronounce back as /bɑk/.
• Your students have a tendency to insert /ə/ between
words in phrases like cold, drink, wet towel, and gas
station.
• A student asks you for advice, saying: “People can’t tell
whether I’m saying thirteen or thirty. What should I do?”
• One of your ESL students has many young American
peers who regularly use rising intonation with
statements. This student asks you about the conflict
between this observation and what has been taught in
the class.
Next week
• Submit or hand in midterm assignment
– On BB or in class
– March 18, at beginning of class
• Lab session in PH212 at 6:45pm