Ten features that give English its rhythm and melody – from stress inside a word to weak forms, intonation and connected speech. Each one explained in a nutshell, with examples and a link to go deeper.
Betonung, Rhythmus und Intonation – alle zehn Bereiche auf einen Blick.
I’ll MEET you LAter.→da DA da DA da
10 features
British pronunciation
Strong or weak? game
10-question quiz
How to read this page: CAPITALS = stressed syllable · colour = main stress (nucleus) · ↘ fall · ↗ rise · ↘↗ fall-rise.
1 Word Stress
In every word of two or more syllables, one syllable is stronger: louder, longer and higher. The other syllables are weaker – often with a schwa /ə/.
imPORtantPrimary stress on the 2nd syllable: /ɪmˈpɔːtənt/
ˌrepreSENtativeSecondary stress on REP, primary stress on SEN: /ˌreprɪˈzentətɪv/
a REcord ↔ to reCORDNoun /ˈrekɔːd/ – verb /rɪˈkɔːd/. Moving the stress changes the word class – and the vowels.
Wrong word stress causes more misunderstandings than a wrong single sound – listeners use stress to recognise words.
Content words (nouns, main verbs, adjectives, adverbs, negatives like not, can’t) are normally stressed. Function words (articles, auxiliaries, prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions) are normally unstressed.
She WENT to the SHOPS.Neutral stress – the main stress falls on the last content word.
I didn’t take it – HE did!Emphatic/contrastive stress – a normally weak pronoun becomes the main stress.
Intonation is the rise and fall of the voice. It starts on the main stress (the nucleus) and shows whether you’re finished, asking, unsure or surprised.
About 40 common function words have a strong form and a weak form, usually with /ə/. The weak form is the normal one – in all styles, including the news.
I can SWIM. · Can you SWIM?Weak /kən/ – unstressed can, also at the start of a question.
Yes, I CAN.Strong /kæn/ – at the end, or when stressed.
I CAN’T swim.can’t /kɑːnt/ is never weak – the vowel carries the negative.
Weak forms aren’t lazy or sloppy. Using strong forms everywhere makes you sound robotic – and if you don’t know the weak forms, you won’t hear them.
In a phrasal verb the particle is usually stronger than the verb. But the main stress still goes to the last content word:
Turn it ON.Pronoun object – the particle takes the main stress.
Turn on the LIGHT.Noun object at the end – the noun takes the main stress; on keeps a lighter stress.
It was a BREAKdown. ↔ The car broke DOWN.Noun from a phrasal verb: stress on the first part. Also a SETup – set UP, a TAKEoff – take OFF, a WORKout – work OUT.
LOOK at it. ↔ Look it UP.Prepositional verbs (look at) keep the preposition weak /ət/.
In connected speech, sounds adapt to their neighbours (assimilation) or drop out (elision). Both are normal in fluent speech – learn to hear them first.
green park → /ɡriːm pɑːk/Assimilation: /n/ becomes /m/ before /p/, /b/, /m/.
ten girls → /teŋ ɡɜːlz/ · Would you? → /wʊdʒu//n/ → /ŋ/ before /k/, /ɡ/; /d/ + /j/ → /dʒ/.
I must go → /aɪ məs ɡəʊ/Elision: /t/ between two consonants disappears. Also next day, last night.
handbag → /ˈhæmbæɡ/Both: /d/ drops, then /n/ → /m/.
Only the stressed syllable of each content word gets a beat. Everything else – unstressed syllables and function words – is squeezed in between.
I’ll MEET you LAter.Two beats: MEET and LA-. The -ter of later is as weak as you.
It’s an imPORtant MEETing.im-POR-tant: only the middle syllable is a beat.
English is often described as stress-timed: the beats feel roughly regular, however many weak syllables come between them. In real speech it isn’t perfectly regular – but aiming for this rhythm makes you much easier to follow.
Stress, rhythm and melody carry the message. Get the strong syllables right and let the weak ones be weak – listeners will follow you easily, even before every sound is perfect.
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