Workshop delivered at the 9th CTJ TEFL Seminar in Brasília, on July 24, 2012.

1. Super Useful Suprasegmentals
Ronaldo Lima Jr

2. Word Stress
• Any syllable can be stressed:
TECHnical
baNAna underSTAND
• A stressed syllable:
– is longer
– has higher pitch
– is louder

4. SOME RULES:
1. Prefixes and Sufixes: usually
unstressed. QUIetly, oRIGinally,
deFECtive, etc.

5. 3. Compound Words: Stress usually on the
first word. NEWSpaper, TEApot,
CROSSword, etc. Notice:
GREENhouse – the effect
green HOUSE – a house that is green
HARD drive – computer memory
hard DRIVE – a difficult drive
(a) white HOUSE
(the) WHITE house
I SCREAM
ICEcream

6. YELLOW jacket
yellow JACKET
HEAD doctor
head DOCTOR

7. Now it’s your turn!
1. a chocolate cake
9. a football
2. a pancake
10. a new ball
3. a short nail
11. a clean cup
4. a finger nail
12. a coffee cup
5. a wrist watch
13. a steak knife
6. a nice watch
14. a sharp knife
7. a baby bottle
15. a chaep ring
8. a baby monkey
16. a wedding ring

9. 4. Words with dual roles: Tendency: noun
on the first syllable, verb on the last
one. IMport(n.), imPORT(v.), REbel(n.),
reBEL(v.), INcrease (n.), inCREASE(v.),
etc.
5. Stress-attractors endings: -ade, -ain,
-ee(r), -esque, -esce, -ess, -ette, -
ique, -oo(n), -ese, -self(ves). paRADE,
abSTAIN, interviewEE, engiNEER,
groTESQUE, convaLESCE, asSESS,
statuETTE, criTIQUE, kangaROO,
japaNESE, herSELF, etc.

10. How to show stress to students?
HOT dog
hot dog
hot dog
hot dog

11. adjective example ability education
potential
excellent
community
mysterious
tomorrow
elephant
demonstration
professor
political
bicycle
photographic
practical
hospital
graduation
tradition
confusion

12. Odd man out
regulation - satisfation - supermarket - artificial
president - embarrassed - eraser - banana
military - ordinary - elevator - television - fascination

13. Sentence Stress
• Sentence Stress determines rhythm
• Content words
Bob sees Betty.
He sees her.
Jan sells some apples.
She sells them.
Bill and I fix the bikes.
We fix them.

14. Sentence Stress
• English tends to be stress-timed or
isochronous (as opposed to syllable-
timed)
• Sentence Stress determines rhythm
They LIVE in an OLD HOUSE.
They LIVE in a NICE OLD HOUSE.
They’ve been LIVing in a deLIGHTful OLD HOUSE.
They’ve been LIVing in a deLIGHTful OLD COTTage.
They’ve been LIVing in a deLIGHTful vicTORian COTTage.

15. The dogs eat the bones.
The dogs are eating the bones.
The dogs will eat the bones.
The dogs would have eaten the bones.
The dogs shouldn’t have eaten the bones.
The dogs eat might have eaten the bones.

16. They eat them.
They are eating them.
They will eat them.
They would have eaten them.
They shouldn’t have eaten them.
They eat might have eaten them.

17. New, old, (un)expected information
I live in Chicago.
Where do you live?
I live in Chicago.
What do you do in Chicago?
I live in Chicago.
Who lives in Chicago?
I live in Chicago.

18. I will drive you to the airport on Friday morning.
I will drive you to the airport on Friday morning.
I will drive you to the airport on Friday morning.
I will drive you to the airport on Friday morning.
I will drive you to the airport on Friday morning.
I will drive you to the airport on Friday morning.
I will drive you to the airport on Friday morning.
I will drive you to the airport on Friday morning.
I will drive you to the airport on Friday morning.
I will drive you to the airport on Friday morning.

19. Hand-out

20. Sentence Stress
• Full Forms vs. Weak Forms
– function words (prepositions, pronouns,
conjunctions, articles, auxiliary verbs)

21. ‘He could have gone’
‘Pass her all the cookies’

22. ‘Leave him alone’
‘Her sister is at the door’

24. INTONATION
• Sentence Stress determines rhythm.
• Intonation determines pitch, melody.
• Tone Languages
– Mandarin “ma” can be mother, hemp
or scold.

25. INTONATION
• Tone: pitch movement
– Rise
– Fall
– Fall-rise
– Rise-fall
yes – answering
yes – asking
yes – euphoric
yes – confirming what someone has said

26. INTONATION AND GRAMMAR
• Statements fall:
He lives in the house on the corner.
• Information (-wh) questions fall when
asked for the first time:
What’s your name?
• Information (-wh) questions rise when
asked for the second time:
What’s your name? (I didn’t hear it right)

27. INTONATION AND GRAMMAR
• Yes/no questions rise:
Are you ok?
• Tag questions expecting information
rise:
You’re a doctor, aren’t you? (I really
don’t know)
• Tag questions expecting confirmation fall:
It
‘s a lovely day, isn’t it? (small talk)

28. INTONATION AND GRAMMAR
• Imperatives fall:
Sit down and put it on the table.
• Lists rise, rise, rise and fall:
I’ll need a pen, a pencil and eraser
and a sharpner.
• Non-final clauses fall-rise:
If I had a million dollars, I’d travel
around the world.

29. INTONATION AND GRAMMAR
• Echo questions rise:
What I will do? I’ll quit tomorrow.

30. INTONATION AND GRAMMAR
“The passangers who had children
were told to board the plane.”

31. INTONATION AND GRAMMAR
“The passangers, who had children,
were told to board the plane.”

32. INTONATION AND GRAMMAR
Right pause to find the subject
“Teacher Evaluations: publicly
naming educators tied to
performance scores hinder reform,
study says.”
(Huff Post, Nov. 14, 2011)

33. INTONATION AND ATTITUDE
• With intonation it is possible to
notice if the speaker is happy,
excited, angry, proud, dubious,
sceptical, friendly, shocked, etc.

34. Curb your enthusiasm

36. INTONATION AND ATTITUDE
right – answering
right – asking
right – euphoric
right – confirming what someone has
said
right – showing you’re following the
conversation

37. All right (short fall)
“I agree with it” (factual)
All right (long fall)
Enthusiastic acceptance
All right (sharp rise)
“No, that is not acceptable”

38. All right (low rise)
“I am listening, go on”
All right (fall-rise)
“Yes, but I am doubtful” (with
reservation)
All right (rise-fall)
Great enthusiasm

39. All right (level)
“how inspiring” (ironic)

40. ASSIMILATION

41. ASSIMILATION

42. ASSIMILATION

43. ASSIMILATION

44. ASSIMILATION

45. ASSIMILATION

46. ASSIMILATION

47. ELISION/DISSIMILATION

48. ELISION/DISSIMILATION

49. ELISION/DISSIMILATION

50. ELISION/DISSIMILATION

51. ELISION/DISSIMILATION

52. ELISION/DISSIMILATION

53. ELISION/DISSIMILATION

56. Denda
S s
Cald
Oncotô
Pó pô pó?
Quicachô?

57. LINKING/LIAISON (JUNCTURE)

58. LINKING/LIAISON
(JUNCTURE)

59. LINKING/LIAISON
(JUNCTURE)

60. LINKING/LIAISON
(JUNCTURE)

61. LINKING/LIAISON
(JUNCTURE)

62. I'm from Macau
You're from a cow?!

63. Thank you!
ronaldo.limajr@gmail.com
@ronaldojunior