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 "good" 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
precipitate, to precipitate
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?
|
|
