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INTONATION IN
ENGLISH: NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES ARE STRESSED DIFFERENTLY THAN VERBS by Frank
Gerace
Listen
and Learn: Nouns and Adjectives one way; Verbs another
Chinese has
"tones" but all languages have their own special intonation. The "music" of a
language is its intonation and it is perhaps the most important element of a
correct accent.
A "ggod" accent is not only a question of good
pronunciation. Many people think that pronunciation is what makes up an accent.
It may be that pronunciation is very important for an understandable accent.
But it is intonation that gives the final touch that makes an accent correct or
native. Often we hear someone speaking with perfect grammar, and perfect
formation of the sounds of English but with a little something that gives her
away as not being a native speaker.
Therefore, it is necessary to
realize that there are three components to an accent, pronunciation,
intonation, and linking. In other places we will examine pronunciation, the
proper formation of vowels and consonants, and linking, the way that syllables
within a word, and the beginning and ending of words come together.
But what interests us now is the issue of intonation, and in particular the
difference in intonation of nouns and adjusctives on the one hand, and the
intonation of verbs on the other. A review of this gives us a perfect example
of how meaning affects intonation.
Noun/Adjective and Verb
In other articles, we saw: that verbs of two syllables often have the
stress on the second syllable, while the related noun has the stress on the
first syllable. We also saw that expressiones of two words are stressed
differently according to their meaning.
This article, along with the
others, is an example of the effect that meaning has on intonation in English.
Many native speakers do not realize that the "rule" of this section is pretty
rigorous. To know it can help you in building your vocabulary at the same time
that you perfect your intonation. Even native speakers can profit from being
more precise in the intonation of their English.
This is another
intonation pattern that you must master. Verbs ending in the letters "ate"
pronounce the letter "a" of the last syllable with the "long a" sound (the name
of the letter "a", the sound of the words steak and make). Related nouns or
adjectives pronounce the letter "a" of the last syllable with the indefinite
schwa sound (the sound of the "a" of the word about, or the second "e" in the
word elephant)
For each word, indicate that you know the difference
between the two uses of the same word (by "same" we mean having the same
spelling.)
First, give a brief meaning of the word used as noun or
adjective and put the letter "I" to indicate that the final letter "a" is the
indefinite sound of the "a" in about.
Next, give a brief meaning of
the word used as a verb and put the letter "A" to indicate that the final
letter "a" is the sound of the "long a" of the word make.
I start the
exercise with two examples, the words alternate and appropriate. I have
indicated the stress with CAPITAL LETTERS. You underline the syllable that is
stressed, and write a brief explanation to indicate that you understand the
difference. You do the rest of the table. And make sure you pronounce the words
OUT LOUD.
alternate I
Noun: A substitute
alternate A
Verb: To take turns.
appropriate I
Adjective: correct or suitable
Appropriate A
Verb:
To take over.
Now, you do the rest of the table, underlinging the
accented syllable and defining the word to emphasize your understanding that
the accent goes with the meaning.
approximate, to approximate
articulate, to articulate
associate, to associate
deliberate, to
deliberate
duplicate, to duplicate
laminate, to laminate
graduate,
to graduate
intimate, to intimate
moderate, to moderate
predicate,
to predicate
precipate, to precipate
Practice on the following
sentences that contain some of the words of the list used buth as noun or
adjective, and as verb. Underline the accent and read the sentences out loud
The facilitator wanted to separate the general topic into separate
categories
Would you care to elaborate on his elaborate explanation?
Have you heard that your associate is known to associate with gangsters?
How much do you estimate that the estimate will be?
Look for other
articles on this same subject by searching for the word "intonation"!
About the Author:
Frank Gerace Ph.D has worked in Latin America
in UN and national Educational and Communication Projects, and has taught in
Bolivian and Peruvian Universities. He currently teaches English in New York
City at La Guardia College/CUNY. He provides resources on accent reduction and
the proper American English accent at
http://www.GoodAccent.com.
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