Which of the given examples illustrate (a) high, mid, open and (b) front, mixed, back oppositions?

bead - bad - bad

cab - curb - cub

bad - bird - bud

deed - dead - dad

tan - turn - ton

hat - hurt - hut

 

9. Arrange these words into minimal distinctive pairs:

сart, wart, Boz, caught, don, what, bars, cod, card, down, cot, cord.

 

10. Read the pairs of words below, characterize subsidiary variants of vowel phonemes due to adaptation:

a) booty - beauty moon – music b) coop - cat - keen goose - cattle - keep

c) peel - pool - Paul tea - too - tore geese - goose - gorge

 

11. Read the examples below, observe the elision of / t, d /:

(a) cleft palate waste paper crushed strawberries bathed the baby   (b) slammed the door hair-brained scheme stringed musical instrument

(c) trapped by cracked pots dubbed film bugged telephone enriched foodstuffs ridged surface dived below closed doors breathed deeply

12. Read the words below. Single out the vowels that may be elided in these words:

nursery

petitioner

policeman

difficult

banana

boundary

several

suppose

history

perhaps

temporary

phonetically

potato

preference

secretary

Edinburgh

especially

carefully

possibly

suffering

reasonable

parliament

buffalo

government

bachelor

naturally

awfully

comfortable

machine

interesting

 

13. Read the words below. Single out the consonants that may be elided in these words:

handbag

postman

a sixth round

last Saturday

next time

humpty-dumpty

attempt

empty

night time

crumbs

landscape

sanctuary

next stop

lamb

punctual

 

14. Arrange these words under the headings: (1) lateral plosion, (2) nasal plosion, (3) loss of plosion (two plosionless stops):

actor

curdled

muddle

needless

mottled

Britain

begged

oughtn’t

at last

what kind

admit

back to back

madness

witness

big books

partner

slept

cotton

great number

sudden

captain

top coat

red light

black goat

ripe cheese

huddle

at night

good looks

 

15. Explain how accommodation affects the place of articulation in the vowels:

/ta: - ka:, ki: - ka:, ku:l - ki:n, jes - pju:t , i:l - ki:p/

 

SEMINAR 4. English Syllabification. Accentual Structure of English Words

Points for discussion:

 

1. The definition of the syllable.

2. Different approaches to the syllable. Syllable formation.

3. Types of the syllable.

4. Phonotactics.

5. Rules of syllable division.

6. Function of the syllable.

7. The definition of word accent.

8. The nature of word stress.

9. The principles of word stress.

10. The placement of word stress.

11. Degrees of word accent.

12. English word accentuation tendencies.

13. Stress in compound words.

14. Functional aspect of word stress.

15. Word-, phrase-, and sentence-stress.

 

Literature:

1. Теоретическая фонетика английского языка: учеб. для студ. вузов по спец. «Филология»: – 2-е изд. / М.А.Соколова, К.П.Гинтовт, И.С.Тихонова и др. – М.: Гуманит. изд. центр ВЛАДОС. – 1996. – С. 112-120, 121-134.

2. Бурая Е.А., Галочкина И.Е., Шевченко Т.И. Фонетика современного английского языка: Теоретический курс. – М., 2006. – С. 103-132.

 

Exercises:

1. Read the sentences below to prove the distinctive function of the stress. Translate them into Russian:

a) Contrast makes it seem better. Contrast Tom with his sister. It’s because of contrast. It’s because they contrast. b) This forecast was wrong. I like his forecast. It’s what they fore cast. c) A prefix is added. Prefix a paragraph to Chapter I. It’s a prefix. It’s a paragraph they decided to prefix

d) He is a suspect. He is the man we suspect. The suspect is here. We suspect this man. e) They gave way without protest. They decided to protest. This protest was wrong. Protest against it. f) Export is forbidden. Export cotton goods. These goods the cities export.

2. Provide these words with necessary stress marks:

аr-raid, birdcage, coalmine, teapot, washstand, mail-bag, dance-music, grandfather, handwriting, shopkeeper, ladybird, office-boy, waiting-room, dinner- jacket, tape recorder, labour exchange, ground floor, knee-deep, cross-question, flat-footed, shop-window, hot-water-bottle, waste-paper-basket, post-graduate, vice-chancellor, second-hand.

 

3. Transcribe the words and put down stress marks in these verbs and nouns. Translate them: