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INTONATION IN
ENGLISH: NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES ARE STRESSED DIFFERENTLY THAN VERBS by Frank
Gerace
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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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