PROSODY
WEEK 2
Observe the facial
Expression expressions and the body
LINK TO THE VIDEO.
Prosody is expressiveness in
speech.
Prosody refers to what happens
to phonemes in connected
speech (sentences).
What is Three components of prosody
prosody? that we will study:
Pause
Intonation (the variation of
pitch)
Stress
CORRECTION
PRIMARY ACCENTS IN THE 1ST § from HAPPY CITIES
So, I'm here to talk to you about how to make háppier cíties, and I want to begin by telling you a
quick story. So back in 2011, I was invited by the Gúggenheim Múseum to help create an úrban
láboratory in this empty lot in Manhátan. We had three months to play, and the curátors kept
saying, “Láboratory, láboratory!”, so I thought, “Okay, if it's a lab, let's conduct some
expériments.” So, the first expériment was called “Love Night,” and I asked, “Can we transform
this basically empty lot into a machine that will get New Yorkers to like and trust each other more
for one night?” Now, I'm a small-town guy, and this was the heart of the úrban jungle. The Lower
East Side was gritty, it was dirty, it was crowded, it was noisy, and it was a place of cónflict
between rich and poor. How was I going to get them to like and trust each other? More, I realized
early on that I may need some help. So, I called up what I call a team of superhero
experimentálists.
Learning
Prosody with
the Tracking
Method
Source: [Link]
_a_method_for_teaching_prosody_to_ESL_learners
Pause
A break in speaking, a moment of
silence, that occurs between
vocalizations
Silent gaps due to hesitation
Pause are not pauses.
Discourse markers are not
pauses (eg. well, right, so, you
know, I mean, now, like, oh…).
Allow the speaker to breathe, gather his thoughts, forward
plan
Create semantic boundaries (eg. clause boundaries) and
narrative segmentation
Provide semantic focus (emphasize, or dileneate, a key
word or point)
Functions of Mark a word or phrase rhetorically (a pause before it) (e.g.
to create anticipation)
pauses Give the audience the time to absorb the spoken words,
reflect on an idea, and create images in their own minds
Build a connection with the audience, emotionally or
intellectually
Eliminate the use of fillers (uh, um, er, ah, …)
Intonation
Intonation describes the
variations in the rising and falling
of the voice in speech.
Intonation is about how things
are said rather than what is said.
Intonation helps the speaker to
express a feeling. Changing an
intonation can change the
Intonation meaning of a phrase.
In English, there are 3 main
patterns of intonation:
Falling intonation
Rising intonation
Fall-rise intonation
The final syllable, word or group of
words in most phrases will have a
falling pitch.
This means that you will make the final
word slightly lower in pitch than the
words before it.
A falling intonation is common when one
wants to be clear or definite about
Falling something or at the end of –WH
questions. It is also used for question
intonation tags when chatting.
Example: Today, I am very tired.
Example: How are you doing?
Example: The weather is perfect
In yes/no questions, the last word
is usually higher in pitch than the
words surrounding it.
Example: Are you going to the
Rising
party?
intonation
Example: Do you like cheese?
Example: Are we friends?
Usually, a fall-rise intonation is used when one is not
sure or when one may have more to add.
It can also be used when we request something or
want to be polite.
In question tags to check, the last word is higher in
pitch than the words surrounding it.
Example: He might have been there. (I am not
Fall-rise sure about this.)
intonation Example: It rained everyday in the first week.
(The weather improved afterwards.)
Example: Would you like to sit down? (polite
invitation)
Example: He’s staying overnight, isn’t he?
(checking)
Stress
We have learned that individual words
have stress. Consider the difference
between these two words:
Perfect (/ˈpɜːfɪkt/) (adjective)
Perfect (/pəˈfekt/) (verb)
In a sentence, certain words are also
Sentence stressed. Each phrase has a “focus
stress word” that receives the emphasis.
Therefore, English sentences are usually
a combination of stressed ( ) and
unstressed (⎼) words. Stressed and
unstressed syllables occur in relatively
regular alternating patterns in both
phrases and multi-syllable words.
Stressed words ( ) are always:
Louder
Longer
Stressed Higher in pitch.
words in Stress falls on certain syllables of
sentences content words, while function words
remain unstressed (⎼).
Content words are words that carry meaning. They
always have stress. Focus words are usually the last
content word of a phrase.
Nouns
Verbs
Adjectives
Content and Adverbs
function Function words are words with a grammatical
words function only. They generally do not have stress.
Articles
Pronouns
Prepositions
Auxiliaries
Vowel reduction is when a vowel is
changed from a strong (longer) sound to
a weak (shorter) sound.
Vowel In English, reduced vowels are always
reduction in on unstressed syllables.
sentences Some words (such as function words)
are always unstressed. They undergo
vowel reduction.
Some function words change
pronunciation depending on they
Vowel are used in isolation (just saying
the word) or in a sentence.
reduction in
Unstressed syllables in English
sentences
are reduced to either the schwa
(/ə/) or the /ɪ/ sound.
Remember: The schwa is never stressed.
Most monosyllabic function words are
pronounced with a schwa unless they already
have an /ɪ/ sound.
Example: “for” (/fər/) only pronounced this
Reduction to way in a sentence.
schwa Example: “to” (/tə/) only pronounced this
way in a sentence.
Other reduced words include “the,” “a,”
“can,” “and,” “or,” “your,” and “you.”
Communication
Methodology and Techniques
Storytelling
Source:
[Link]
virtual/melissa_rancourt_inio_meeting.pdf
The art of using stories or narratives to
engage your audience and make a
message or a piece of information clear.
It is a tool which is used to
communicate efficiently.
What is There are many different ways to tell a
storytelling? story (written, oral, artistic, visual,
digital, etc.).
There are many different goals of
storytelling (entertainment, instruction,
persuasion, social impact, etc.)
What do you want to specifically
Tip #1: Before achieve in this communication?
you begin, What do you want people to
think about feel/think/do after listening to
the end game. your story?
Remember the Rule of 3. In short-
term memory, we can only
remember 3 things.
Tip #2 : It’s all Beginning, middle, end
about structure,
1: Character
structure,
structure. 2: Problem / conflict / dilemma
3: Resolution / transformation
Break any idea into three parts.
How will the audience experience
Tip #3 : Find your story? Can they identify with
it?
the
Speak to their senses. Provide
emotional
details to pull your audience into
connection. your story.
JACK MA'S STORY
Example : 1. Character 0’00”
Jack Ma 2. Problem 0’40”
(founder of the
Alibaba group) 3. Resolution/transformation: 1’22”
An olive tree
A set of old wooden pinsWhat are the stories of these
items on [Link] ?
An original-looking key
A vintage camera
A ceiling pendant
(= a light)
An ancient mirror
A jewellery box (UK)
A jewel case (US)
An earthenware picture
