26. A weak form is the pronunciation of a word or syllable in an unstressed manner. Of course, the difference between the strong form (stressed) and the weak form (unstressed) of a word is not apparent in writing, but in speech these two variations in pronunciation can be drastically different. If spoken in isolation, the weak form of a word would probably be unintelligible. The difference between the two forms can affect meaning. Here is an example to show how strong and weak forms of a single word ( that ) can change the entire meaning of a sentence: John thinks that man is evil. /ð ə t/ This version of the sentence, with the weak (unstressed) form of that , means "John thinks all humans are evil."
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29. He's not at home. ə t æ t at ..as good as gold... ə z æ z As A bottle of wine. ə (v) ɒ v Of Put it into the box. ɪ nt ə ɪ nt u: Into She's from York. fr ə m fr ɒ m From Wait for me! f ə (r) f ɔ :(r ) For I went to the market. t ə tu: to Prepositions Example Weak form Strong form
30. You must be a bit more patient. m ə s(t) m ʌ st Must What can you do with it? k ə n k æ n Can They should be here by now. ʃ ə d ʃ ʊ d Should What could I do? k ə d k ʊ d Could She said she would be here. w ə d w ʊ d Would They were bored. w ə (r) w ɜ : Were I was quite interested. w ə z w ɒ z was John and Mary are here. ə (r)* ɑ : Are Where do you live? d ə du: Do Example Weak Form Strong Form Auxiliary verbs
31. What's the time? ð ə , ð i (before a vowel) ð i: The He's an idiot! ə n æ n an Take a good book. ə e ɪ A I'll give her a ring later. (h) ə (r)* h ɜ : (r) her (as object pronoun) Where's your jumper? j ə (r) j ɔ : your Where do you live? j ə ju: you (as object pronoun) The dog that bit me ... ð ə t ð æt that (as a relative) It's faster than mine. ð ən ð æn Than ...but one of the main points... b ə t b ʌ t but Rock 'n' roll. ə nd, ə n , n̩ æ nd And Example Weak Form Strong Form Others
