A CONTRAST IVE STUDY OP THE STATEKENT
PATTERNS OP ENGLISH AND SPANISH
^y
SAIOTEL PALACIOS
B. A., UniverEidad Peda,,i^of:ica de Colombia
Tunja, Colombia, I958
A MASTER'S REPORT
submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree
MSTER
OP ARTS
Department of Speech
KANSAS STATS UNIVERSITY
Manhattan, Kansas
1968
Arjp roved
^'
_c
by:
+
t.^U-.^
Major Professor
ACKIIONLEDGKENTS
,
'_P
I v;ould
like to express my most sincere .'gratitude to Dr. Leo
F. Engler, my major professor, for his understanding and invaluable
assistance in planning:, completing, and reporting this study.
I
would also like to express by appreciation to Dr. Norma D.
Bunton, Head of the Department of Speech, and Dr. William A. Coats,
of the Department of
Modem Languages, for their suggestions and helpful
criticism during the preparation of this report.
Kost of all, my
sincere appreciation goes to the Rockefeller Foundation v;hich made my
study here possible.
.
1X1
CONTENTS
Chap or
Page
-fc
1
INTRODUCTION
1
Statement of the problem
1
Review of the literature
3
Justification
4
Description used
5
Methods and procedures
2. ENGLISH AND SPANISH STATEK3NT PATTERNS
6
8
Enfclish and Spanish stress
8
English and Spanish pitch
9
Ejiglish and
10
3p;.i.nish
terminal junctures
English and Spanish single-phrase statement
patterns
11
English and Spanish two-phrase statement
patterns
13
English and Spanish rhythm
15
Reactions caused by the anplication of
Spanish statement pattern to
English utterances
17
Pattern drills
18
FOOTNOTES
31
A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
35
CHAPTER
1
INTRO DUCT lOK
1.0 Statcnent of the Problem .
In the acquisition of a new language one of the most noticeable
aspects that a person beccr.es aware of and one of the most difficult as-
pects to master is voice modulation in the new language.
Through the
modulation of the voice there is revealed the intricate patterns of
rise and fall, the rhythm and melodic quality of the language, the
emphasised and the unemphacized portions, the signals that mark the parts
that are joined and disjoined. '
The acquisition of the voice modulation
of the target language is exceedingly difficult because this is a
suprasegniental feature of the language and always occurs along with
the vowols and consonants.
Indeed, it has been suggested that the
modulation of the voice, that is, the intonation, of the target language is of such prime importance in learning a
nevj
language that the
spoken language is better understood if the intonation of the target
language is correct and the sounds are merely approximations than if
the target language is spoken with satisfactory consonants and vowels
but with the intonation patterns of another, non-target language.
1.1
This collection of distinctively different features of speech melody
of the target language, v;hich is so difficult to \inderstand and acquire,
is called intonation.
Intonation is generally defined as the musical
qualitj' of a speech that differentiates not only one language from
another but even one dialect from gmother,'* and it is the technical
term uacd in some language studies to "describe the various kinds of
voice modulation that occur along
vrith
vowels and consonants"-^.
Into-
nation has three components: "l) stress (relative prominence of syllables), 2) pitch (the highness or lowness of tone) and 3) torr.inal
junctures (certain features that signal the phrasing in speech)."
These features of intonation do not occur in the language in a hap-
hazard variation.
The patterns of variation, the rules of change are
highly organised' and vary from language to language.
1.2
Por the purpose of language learning an analysis should be made
of the patterns of the native language of the student and of the language
to be learned.
This type of research is called
'
contrastive analysis'.
Such analysis enables one to determine in what ways the patterns of
the two languages are similar and in v;hat ways they differ.
When a
pattern in a person's native language is the same as its counterpart in
the language he is trying to learn, there is no problem.
When a pattern-
in the student's nc.tive languar'e differs from a pattern in the language
he is learning, contrastive analysis will shov; the precise nature of
the difference.
Appropriate drills based on the contrastive analysis
may then be designed to help the student to make the transition from
the familiar pattern of his native speech to the unfamiliar one of the
target language.
1.3
Native speakers of Spanish when speaking English all tend to
the same mistakes.
mak:e
This is due to the fact that they carry over into
English the pronunciation habits and intonation patterns of their native
Spanish.
It is the purpose of this report to present a contrastive
study of the stress, pitch and terminal junctures of English and
.
Spanish, and to contrast the normal statement pattern of
la:igua,?:es
in order to find out
therefore, the difficulties
tl.e
tha.t
of those
eac?i
differences betvjeen the
tv;o
and,
the Spanish speaker has in uttering: the
sin{;:le-phraGe utterances and the two-phrase utterances of English vxith
the proper intonation and rhythm. The Spanish referred to here is that
spoken by the educated class in Bogota, Colombia.
The English is that
commonly labeled "General Aniericaji"
1.4
RevicvJ of the Litero-turc .
On the intonation of English, most general works of descriptive
linguistics, such of that of Gleason,
are indispensable guides.
Hill," Hockett,
and
Trager-"--^
Engler and Haden^^ have written an article in
which they describe the syntactic as well as the suprasegmental patterns
of ten sentence types in English.
best textbooks of English granmar.
Stageberg
Pike"'-^
^
has written one of the
has written a thorough analy-
sis of American English intonation in which he also provides some advice
native
for teaching the -roper English intonation to students whose
language is Spanish.
1.5
intonation
One of the most complete studies of Sranish
by Tomas Navarro Tomas.^^
wr.,s
written
Nevertheless his study will not be followed in
Spanish intonation and the terms
this rerort because his approach to the
from the a^Droach and terminolo.-y used
he uses to describe it vary widely
English intonation and this difference will
in the descriptive studies of
study
it is outside the scope of this
be very difficult to surmount and
articles
in
found
are
intonation
Spanish
Descriptive ar.alyses of
to do it.
and
in which the two languages, English
as well as in teacher's manuals
Spanish, are phonologically contrasted.
Stockwell, Bowen and Silva-
analysis of Spanish intonation.
Puenzalida^^ have written a complete
The
articles written by Delattrc,
17
'
'
and Cardenas
18
are of /^roat holn in this
stud;^'
1.6
The Center of Applied Linf^uisticG has undortaken the development of
contrastive analysis of English with each of five lan^a,5eG.
In this
Contrastive Linguistics Series two Enfjlish-Spanish studies have already been published: Stockwell and Bowen-'-° worked to.f^ether in the con-
trastive analysis of the sound systems of the
significant features of stress and intonation.
*
Cardenas
20
ti^/o
la.n^a.'jes
and of the
Amonfj earlier studies
compares the phonological systems of English and Spanish,
Folitzer and Stauback
21
also wrote a teacher's textbook in v;hich they
shov/
the pattern conflicts betv;een Sr.anish and English,
1
.7
Justification .
The studies of contrastive analysis of English and SpaJiish that have
been published vjere primarily intended for the teaching of Spanish to
English speakers.
Since the things that are difficult about Spanish for
an English speaker do not necessarily, and certainly do not systematically,
reflect the problems that the Spanish speaker
I
v;ill
have in learning English,
have tried to unify the information provided in those studies and present
it this time v;ith more regard to the problems that the Spanish speaker
has mastering the statement intonation of English, to analyze the nature
of those problems and to explain some of the more obvious reactions that
are caused by the application of the Spanish statement intonation pattern
to the English statement utterances,
1.8
If
v;e
are able to ascertain some of the problems in teaching the
English statement intonation to Spanish speakers and to explain the
nature of the differences between the
tv;o
languages that causes those
problems, a practical result ivill follow: the findings v/ill help in
designing the kind of drills needed to combat the mistakes that the
Spanish speaker is likely to make when he utters the English statenents,
because of the deeply imbedded habits of his mother tongue.
1.9
There are also some personal and professional reasons for doing
this kind of studj'.
Personally, this study has given me the basic
Professionally, the
training to pursue further studies of this nature.
knovifledge and
training accruired by doing this study has enabled me to
return to teach English in a more proper
v;ay
students at the Universidad del Valle in Cali
and to help train those
v/ho
will become English teach-
ers themselves in high schools of my country, Colombia.
1.10
Description used .
For the analytic description of English and Spanish intonation
the contrastive study written by Stockwell and Bov;en
22
was used.
In
their study, English intonation is described as having three degrees of
stress: strong
/V» medial /V,
and weak l^j (v/eak stress is not narked);
four levels of pitch: low /l/, mid /2/, high /3/, and extra high /4/;
three terminal jun.ctures: falling /^/, rising /f/i and level /|/.
In
the same study Spanish intonation is described as having two degrees of
stress:
strong
of r-itch:
lev/
Z"^/,
and weak /'^ (weak stress is not marked); three levels
/l/, mid /2/, and high /3/; and three terminal junctures:
falling /|/, rising /^/, and level /I/.
No consideration is given in
their study to the use of internal open juncture in either language
under the assujnption that the question of
phrases is not important to pedagogy.
1.11
boundarjr'
elements within
23
Per the detailed description of the shape of the actual state-
ment contours of both languages, which is needed to complement the
anal3'"tical
numerical notations, the study made by Delattre 4
followed.
This study presents a description of the English and Spanish
ujierr.phatic
declarative intonation in its Taasic contrastive forms: the
v;ac
expression of finality and the expression of continuation,
1.12
"by
For the description of the more obvious reactions that are caused
the application of the Spanish statement patterns to English
utterances, the observations on this respect made by Stockv;ell
as those made by Pike
1.13
-^
as v;ell
followed.
v;ere
For the designing of drills which are needed to combat the par-
ticulE,r intcnational problems of the Spanish spea!<er learning the English
statement intonation and rhythm, the indications given by
Pike^
as vrell
as the materials found in An Intensive Course in English for Latin Amer-
ican Students
1.14
were followed.
IJethcds and Procedures
.
First a comparison of the English and Spanish suprasegmentals
- stress, pitch, and terminal Jionctures - were made in order to ascertain
some of the differences between the systems of the two languages.
Then,
on the basis of the concept of phonological phrase - "... the stretch
of speech between the beginning of an utterance and the first terminal
juncture or between
tv/o
terminal jvmctures is called a PHRASE" ° - the
single-phrase statement utterance and the two-phrase statement utterance
of English v;ere contrasted with the corresponding counterparts of Spanish.
A description of the shape of the final contour follovfs the numerical
notation of the tv7o-phrase utterance of both lajiguages; the-se descriptions
not only complement the numerical notations but they also describe the
intcnational differences betvieen the two languages for expressing
finality and continuation.
1.15
A contrastive analysis of the rhythm of English and the rhythm of
Spanish
w;is
made in order to point out the differences between the
tv;o
and the implications that those differences have in the learning of
En.Tlish by the Spanish speaker,
1.16
Some of
tlie
reactions caused
"by
the application of the Spanish
statement intonation and rhythm to the English statement utterances are
presented as a result of the contrastive analysis previously done.
Finally, some samples of drills are proposed in order to help the
Spanish speaker acquire the proper intonation and rhythm of the English
statement utterance.
CHAPTER
2
ENGLISH AND SPANISH STATELIENT PATTERNS
2.0 Enf:lich and Sr.nnish stress
.
English has three degrees of stress: strong /'/, medial
/Vi
^'^^
All three degrees of stress are found in polysyllabic
weak l^j words, as in:
appreciate
responsibility
necessary
incornpatible
In Spanish there are only two degrees of stress, strong
weaJc
/'V
»
'physician'
medico
2.1
amable
'friendly'
caf etal
'
coffee plantation'
Besides the difference in number of degrees of stress - English
three, Spanish
tvjo
/Vi ^-^
^2 ^^*
languages.
txifo
- the distribution of stress is different in the
In English there is a fairly regular alternation betvjeen
syllables under vieak stress and syllables under one of the stronger
stresses
,
as in the
rr.an
v/ho
read the manuscript and taught the
lessons, making useful comments .
Spanish, on the other hand, has
relatively long sequences of v/eak-stressed syllables uninterrupted by
strong
stress-^-^ as in el
senor que conocimos la sem.ana pasada es un
charlatan 'the gentleman we met last vjeek is a chatterer'.
difference in distribution of stress in the
tv;o
languages causes
difficulties to the Spanish speaker in understanding as
pronouncing English correctly.
This
v/ell
as in
To the Spanish ear both the strong and
medial stresses of English sound like strong stresses, alternating V7ith
Vveak
stresses in what is sometimes called a "sing-song" pattern, like
the rhythm in En^-lish verse:^
2.2
—
^
— v^—v^ — cr
—^
^
"^
^
^
.
Stress has certain correlations vjith the voviels and consonevnts.
These correlations are different in English and Spanish.
In English
the syllaolcs under strong stress are longer than those Tinder v;eak
stress.
-^5
There is also in English a change in vov/el quality
v;hcn
strong stress is reduced to weak stress to one of the central vov;cls /a/
For instance, the vowel of for is /o/ under strong stress,
or 1^1
as in
v:h.-.t
is this for ? /for/.
Under weak stress, hov;ever, the same
vowel may become /s/ in expressions like this is for /for/ you .
In
Spanish, on the other hand, the vov;el phonemes have the' came phonetic
quality and length in unstressed syllables as in stressed syllables
,
so that Spanish frequently distinguishes one sentence from another only
an unstressed vowel phoneme, as in
Hablo despacio.
'I speak slowlj^'
Habla despacio.
'He speaks slowly'
Hable despacio,
'(You) speak slovrly'
The difference in correlation of stress with syllables produces totally
different rhythm,ic effects.
This important aspect of intonation is
presented in 2.l8 celow.
2.3
English and Spanish pitch .
"Every sentence, every word, every syllable is given
V7hen it is
spoken.
som.e
pitch
Even a sound in isolation is produced by vibrations
whose frequencies constitute its pitch."
-^
''crj
10
2.4
Stockwell lists four pitch phonemes for English: low /l/, mid /2/,
high /3/, and extra high /4/.^^ Gleason/°
Hill,^-"-
and Hockett^^ also
recognize four pitch phonemes in English. For the normal statement utterance in English
v;e
need to specify pitch at;
l)
the beginning of the
phrase; 2) the last strong stress of the phrase; and 3) the end of the
phrase, 43 as
m:
2
3
1
I'm from Colombia.
2.5
Stockwell lists three significant pitch levels for Spanish: low /l/,
mid /2/, and high
Politzor,
/}>/ .
'^
and Cardenas^
also recognize three
significant pitch levels in Spanish. For the normal statement utterance in
Spanish we need to specify pitch at: 1) each strong stress of the phrase;
2) the end of the phrase;
3)
the beginning of the phrase, but only if
there are any weak stressed syllables before the first strong stress.
Examples:
\
2^
Son las tres,
12
1
'It is three o'clock'
1^
1
Aqui se baila mucho.
12
'They dance a lot here*
1^
'My friend is a professor'
Mi amigo es profesor.
2.6
English and Spanish terminal junctures .
The
flov,'
of speech in any lajiguage is broken by pauses -short or long
periods of silence. Immediately before such pauses there are often special
features of pronunciation, such as a slight drawling of a vowel or a certain kind of change in pitch, v/hich themselves signal the presence of a
boundary just as much as the pause does. "These features v/herever they
occur (with or without pause, even
\<fith
or without an important grammati-
cal boundary), are the terminal junctures..."
The terminal junctures are
heard at the very end of the last syllable of the phrase. 49
.
11
2.7
Both
En.'xlish
and Spanish
rising /f/, and level /|/.^
ha,ve
three terminal junctures: fallin,-;
/4,/,
However, the form and manner of ritch contour
(see 2.8 for definition) for finality, symbolized by /^/, as v/ell as for
continuation, symbolized by /|/, are different in the
These differences
viill
tv;o
lan^ages.
be explained below.
2.8 English and Sr)s.nish sinprle-phrase statement patterns .
"Each phrase - the stretch of speech bounded by terminal junctures has an INTCNATION PATTERN; the intonation pattern consists of the pitch
contour of the phrase and the concluding terminal juncture.
The pitch
contour consists of a series of significant pitch levels occurring
at certain points of the phrase. "^
The norm.al single-phrase statement pattern in English is symbolized
2.9
by /231V, as in:
He's a student^
This is to say that one begins on level 2, the natural and normal level,
and remains there until one reaches the last strong stress; here the voice
rises one level and then drops to level
1;
the v;hole pitch contour is then
folloifed by a terminal falling jiincture.
2.10
l^y
The normal single-phrase statement pattern in Spanish is symbolized
/(I2)llv/.
This symbolization means that the pattern has pitch number
1
on initial unstressed syllable in the phrase (if there are any), pitch
number
2
on the first strong stress (if the phrase has more than one strong
stress), and pitch number
1
on the last strong stress of the phrase and
on the last syllable of the phrase. ^
12^
1,
1
ComemoE m-acho^^
2^
Examples:
,
'We eat a lot'.
11,
Ve'ngo manana4'
'I'll come tomorroi^r'
12
2.11
A comparison of the normal cin^le-phrase statement pattern of
English and Spanish
shov/s that
finality, symbolized
tified by a descent in pitch in both
IpMgu.o.fiQG,
"by
/J^/,
in iden-
Moreover, the major
descent in both langua,c:es takes place within the last stressed syllables of the phrase.-^
However, spectrographic analysis^^
ha-s
shovm
that both the form and manner of pitch contour for finality in the two
languages are different.
The differences betv/een the
tv;o
can be best
described in three steps:
a.
In English the unstressed syllable that precedes the phrase final
stress is usually low and falling.
In Spanish, the \instressed syllable
that precedes the final stress is regularlj'- high and flat in a manner that
announces the sharp fall of the final stressed syllable that follov/s.
b. The final stressed sj'llable itself is different in the tvro lan-
guages.
In English it usually rises before falling.
In Spanish there is
seldom any rise before the descent; the fall proceeds from the very onset
of the stressed syllable.
c. The
manner of descent is more leisurely and winding in English
than in Spanish.
tilde
if^.
'.:ith
The shape of English contour usually recalls that of
its two changes of direction.
If xinstressed syllables
follow, they are incorpcrated into the gradual descent of finality.
In
Spanish the descent is neither leisurely nor \.inding, but abrupt and
direct.
Its shape approaches that of a straight line with no pro-
nounced change of direction.
nearly level at a
2.12
lov;
If ujistressed syllables follow they are
frequency.
The folloiv'ing figure^^ is a schematic representation of the most
typical frequency variation contours emphasizing differences betv;een
13
the sinc:le-phrase statement intonation of Spanish and
Ai.-,erioan Enf^lish:
SPANISH
\
ObreroB
de Burjn:oa
\
ENGLISH
\
The v/orkmen
2.13
calian.
\
from Boston
English and Spanish ti70-phrase statement
were leaving.
i:)atterns
.
A contrast between the English and Spanish tv;o-phrase stater.ent
patterns shows some differences in the form and r.anner of the pitch contour for continuation, si/mholized hy /|/, in the
tv70
languages.
In
the following sentences intonation is shovm analytically with numbers:
2
§.
2
El es estudiante
1
2
2
H^ is a student
2.14
A detailed analysis-'
1
2
I
2
1
1
del primer anoi
|
31
in his first ydar^
of the actual contours for expressing
continuation has shown that in Spanish the major portion of the last
stressed syllable is generally rising followed by a short high plateau
which may be on the stressed syllable itself or on the subsequent unstressed syllables.
On the other hand, American English continuation
generally shows the last stressed syllable rising briefly before a long
14
fall VMhich ends in a shori; ricinf^ hook or in a su>:i?estion of one.
2.1'j
Stc.tistically, the predomin.mce of accent in Spariich ccntiriuaticn
and of descent in American English continuation is confirmed.
pi'escnts the follcwinf^ data:
Delattre
out of 139 continuation contours in
Spanish, 92 showed a long rise on the last stressed syllable follov/ed
by a short
hi,<;:h
plateau which may be on the stressed syllable itself
or on the subsequent unstressed syllable; 22 showed a long; rise fol-
lowed by a short fall which may also be either on the high end of the
stressed syllable itself or on the subsequent vmstressed syllables; and
only 25 showed a rise that is shorter than or eaual to the following
descent.
Out of 207 continuation contours in English, 145 shov/ed a
long descent; 40 showed a similar long descent followed by a short rising
hook; and only 22 shcv;ed a rise.
2.16
The infrec-uent use of rising intonation to express continuation
in American English is also confirmed by the
stud;v'
55
made by Pike.-^
He
presents the follovjing statistics for continuation in several passages
of conversational prose: descending contours: 2C6, falling-rising con-
tours: 77, level contours:
I63,
rising contours: 47, vfith rising pat-
terns constituting only ^.6 per cent of the total contours.
2.17
Prom the above description of the expression of finality and the
expression of continuation in the two languages,
v;e
can sumimarize: ccn-
tinuaticn is substantially rising in Spanish and predominantly- falling
in American English.
Finality is mainly expressed by a falling contour
during and after the last stressed syllable of the' phrase in both
languages, jet it offers stril.ing differe.-.ccs.
The fall in pitch is typ-
ically winding and preceded by a rise in English,
straight and
15
preceded by no rise in Spanish.
is lev; in English,
follovj (if anj)
hi(^;h
The unDt,rc;;jGd syllable that precedes
in Spanish.
The
lov;
unstressed syllables that
are more falling; in English than in Spanish.
trast continuation/finality is often
it opyoses two fallin^^ contours.
contrary, very clear.
;:.rnbig-aou3
The con-
in American English v;hcre
In Spanish this contrast is, on the
It opposes a sccfuence of low-rise-hi,2:h to one of high
-fall-lov:,
2.18 English
ajid
Spanish rhythm .
English is characterized by
rhythm.-'"
v/hat
has been called stress-timed
This means that it takes about
tl'e
same length of time to
get from one strong-stressed syllable to the ..axt whether there are no
syllables betvjeen them or many.
If there are none, the speaker slov/s
down his rate of speech slightly.
If there are many, he crushes them
together and pronounces them very rapidly, in order to get
nounced at all,
v;it}iin
the time limitation.
pro-
them,
"This rhythmic crushing
of syllables into short time limits is partly responsible for many ab-
breviations - in which syllables
m.ay
be omitted entirely - and the
obscuring of vowels".
2.19
Spanish, on the other hand, has syllable - timed rhythm.
"In
this case, it is the syllables, instead of the stresses, which tend to come
at mcre-or-less evenly recurrent intervals" °-^ so that, as a result, a
Spanish utterance of twenty syllables takes approxim.ately twice as long
to utxer as one of ten syllables,
'^
anc syllables and vov/els are
and
less;
likely to be shortened and modified. 65
2.20
The reason for this difference in rhythm, betv/een the
tvjo
languages
is explained by the fact that Spanish speakers separate their syllables
16
more sharply than
En{?:.lich
speri.kcrc;
Spanish speakerc speak
do.
catto syllables in sentence rhythm; the position of the
a noticeable time.
In Enj^lish,
the movement of the
jav;
jav;
v;ith
stac-
is held for
is continucuo,
with the result that English speech is flowing; with smooth syllables in
sentence rhythm.
'
In staccato pronounciation each of the syllables is
usually separate and usually weakly stressed and all the vov/ols and consonants are retained in their full phonetic quality.
Normal rapid English
pronunciation usually reduces the unstressed syllables in phonetic quality,'
replacing
vox<;els
and consonants morphophonically, and often even elimi-
nating thGmi,°
Pike, who vrrote the pronunciation sections for An Intensive Course
2.21
in English for Latin - Ar erican Students
,
illustrates the
tvjc
kinds of
^
pronunciation V7ith the follov/ing examples:
Staccato Syllables in Sentence Rhythm
(VJe
note xhat the pron'onciation indicated here, with primary stress on
each syllable, is not typical of English.
It would be used for special
purposes like citation or illustration, as in this situation.)
/ 'hiy - 'iz -
'
ey -
'
stuv: -
/ 'hiy - 'prow - 'nav/nt
/
'
duvj -
'yuvj -
'
siy -
'
'dent /
-r
'siz - 'it /
ae
n - 'en -
/ 'si - 'sta - 'diz - 'har -
'vov: -
'
va -
'kae
lovjp
Smooth Syllables in Sentence Rhythm
/ hiyz
3
•
/
- 'byuv: - 'le -
stuwdant /
/ hiy prs 'navrntsiz it /
/ da dza siy an 'envalowp /
/ ¥iy 'stadiz ar va 'kaebyuleri /
'
riy /
17
2.22
Pike is ixlzo
of the necesnity as vjell an of tho flifficulty
av^-are
for tho SpaniLsh spoakors in acquiring: tho Englirih rhythm when he v/ritos:
"For Latin-Ar.ioricana, the chift from thoir tendency tov/ard a rsyllablctiniin^j rluthri
to the Snglioh normal otrecs-timinf: rhythm is hif^hly neces-
sary, but comprises one of thoir groatost problems.
En,?;lish
In learning to speak
they must abandon their sharp-cut syllable-by-syllablc pronunci-
ation and jam tocethor
— or
lengthen v;here necessary
— English
vov;cls and
70
consonants so as to obtain rhythm units of the stress-timing tj/pe."'
2.23
In order to learn the smooth English rhythm Spanish, speakers need
to learn to pronounce groups of
separation of single v;ords.
in rapid speech.
v.'ords
as units without pauses and v;ithcut
They also need to learn to recogr:ize the units
They need to practice the pronunciation of long rhythm
groups in order to pronounce them rapidly and adjust them to the sentence
rhythm..
Thej""
need to pra,ctice short rhjthra groups in order to learn to
prolong them and adjust
them, to
the sentence rhythm. They need to learn
the reduced fcrm.s v.'henever reduced forms are used by English speakers.
The use of contracted forms helps to counteract the Spanish tendency to
stress pronouns, prepositions, articles, and auxiliaries, and to separate
the words in sentences.
2
.24
Reactions caused by the application of Spanish statement pattern
to English uttera-nces
.
Some of the more obvious reactions that v;ill be ca,uscd by the ap-
plication of Spanish state!:.ent patterns to English utterances are the
if the Spanish intonation contour /(l2)llj,) is im.posed on
follox-;ing:
an English statement, the meaning is that of annoyance, boredom, dis-
interest or
2
e\'Gn disg^usx,
]^
Com.e on\t
71
as in
2
11
Ifot
now j.
18
Pike describes the particular intcnational probloms of the
2.25
speaker learning the
Enf^litih
op';.ninh
statement utterances in the follov/in;^ way:
Specifically, the teaching staff reported the need for coTTOoting exercises to prevent sentences from having; their last stressed syllables end
in too low a pitch; at times the students befjan sentences hip:h, and ta-
pered them off to a low pitch barely audible
— an
intonation v;hich inter-
fered with intelligibility and sometimes implied over-reserve rather
than friendliness.
In op--,osite tendency,
the students often gave to
unstressed syllables a very high up-step in the middle of seniences (or
kept the unstressed syllables on the same level as a preceding stressed
one
— vrhich
sometimes seemed to give a similar effect), especially be-
fore brief pauses in reading.
This seemed quite unnatural.
72
2.26
Pike also makes the observation that v/hen the English sentences
vrere
uttered with the proper pitch contovir but with the syllable-timed
rhythm, the speech becam.e very mionotonous and unnatural.'
Later he
notes: "It was observed that when the rhythm, speed, and grouping of syl-
lables were correct, the unnaturalness disappeared.
VJhen the
students
combined these v/ith proper intonation in short phrases, immediate and
startling improvement could be seen, even in the pronunciation of advanced
students
2.27
xifho
had spoken English for some years."
''^
Pattern drills .
In the teaching of fluency,
a'-'propriate type of drill is
stress, rhythm, and intonation, an
needed to develop habitual responses in these
areas where so much of the student's behavior is below the level of conscious
thought or control.
This type of drill consists of lists of identical
19
supracef^nental patterns imponed on setc of phracec and ceritences v/hich
aro vei\y cimilar in lcnf:th, in plncomont of tho atroD£j, intonation contour, and ,o;rammatical structure.
If the phracec and centencec arc thuG
similar except for the occasional difference in vocabulary itornc, the
student cnn build up a swin^:, and respond automatically, and quickly
develop a
2.28
pattern.
h.'ibit
-^
In icachinfc the Enfclish statement intonation the pcittem /23'li/'
plus the forced grouping of sj'llables into rhythm units has proved to
he very advantageous.
However, it must he noted that the Spanish-speeiker
learner of English may feel at first that he is drilling an emphatic or
contrastive version of the utterance x^hen he practices English sentences
with /23'14,/ intonation, since in Spa.nish this contour is used for such
m
purposes, 77 as
'
'
/2'
1'
lO'
Hoy no es lunes.
/2
•
3'
2'
3'
iV
Hoy es martes.
U
Today is not Monday.
4»
2
U/
Toda.y is Tuesday.
The teacher's statement that the /23'IJ'/ in English does not indicate
emphasis or contrast, plus copious repetitious imitation of English utterances
v,-ith
this contour, should help to disabuse the student of this
feeling and establish the contour as a basic statement intonation rel-
atively free of paralinguistic significance.
2.29
In drilling not only the statem.ent intonation pattern but English
intonation in general the teacher should encourage the students to use
the reduced forms as much as possible.
It is unadvisable to speak care-
fully and slowly v:ith clear enunciation: the students undoubtedly under-
stand clear,
slovj
pronunciation more readily at first, but slow speech
hinders the com.prehensicn of normal English and the development of
20
normal rapid speech.
The
follov;in,f:
are namnlcr; of some of the drills
the teacher has to desiffn to bui?.d up the /'lyi^/ intono.ticn pattern of
the r5inr;].e-phrac.e statement uttoraiicc of Enf;lich.
Gl'iOrt
Repeated drill on
phrases in this cample is desif^ncd to enable the students to
reco>';nize
and produce the phrases as units in rapid speech without
havin.f^ to
analyze
for word vfith attendant slow cornprchonrjion
thorn vjord
and inappropriate accent.
2.30
Reduced, forms of be .
The third person sin^pilar form 1b is pronounced as /iz/ after the
fricatives /s
z
¥/ and after the affricates fi
V*
^.s
/z/ after other
voiced sounds, and as /s/ after other voiceless sounds.
of the following sentences V7ith the
/2yii/ intonation pattern.
reduced form of the verb as indicated above.
Listen:
The man's a professor.
The map'
a tool.
s
The course is a breeze.
Repeat:
The man's a professor.
The lady'
s
a mother.
The car's a Buick.
The bey's a student.
The girl's a coed.
The flag's a symbol.
The song's a western.
The map'
s
Pronounce each
a tool.
The book's a text.
The wife's a mother.
The fruit's an orsjige.
Use the
21
The course is a breeze.
The rose io a flov;er.
The dish is a {jift.
The church is a teauty.
The judge is a lawyer.
The r.ouse is a pest.
The house is a "bargain.
In normal rapid pronunciation the constructions I am , you are
she is ,
it is,
vre
are
/yur/, /hiz/, /Kiz/,
,
/v;ir/,
/l!'ts/,
follovred by a complenent.
and /dter/ respectively when they are
Use the reduced form of the verb
as indicated above.
I'm a teacher.
You're a student.
He' s a doctor.
Repeat:
he is ,
Pronounce each of the follov;ing sentences
with the /2yi-^/ intonation pattern.
Listen:
,
and they are , are usually pronounced as /ayn/,
I'm a teacher.
I'm busy.
I'm in class.
You're a student.
You're intelligent.
You're at the university.
He' s a doctor.
He's rich.
He's at the hospital.
She' s a coed.
22
She' a pretty.
She's at the movico.
It' s a piano.
It's expensive.
It's in the sky.
You're students.
You' re young.
You're on the campus.
They're nurses.
They're careful.
They're at the hospital.
The forni are of the verb be in normal rapid pronunciation is usually
pronounced as /sr/, except when it follows the personal pronouns ycu,
vfe
,
they .
pattern.
Listen:
Pronounce the following; sentences with the /23»1|/ intonation
Use the reduced form of the verb as indicated above.
The swimmers are in the pool.
The children are at school.
The wives are at the meeting.
Repeat:
The swimmers are at the pool.
The children are at school.
The viives are at the meeting.
The labs are upstairs.
The stops are on the corners.
The artists are in the studio.
The rocks are on the floor.
The exercises are in the book.
23
The dis^hes arc in the nink.
The judf^cG are in court.
Pronounce each of the following ccntencon with the I't^Vl^l intonation
pattern.
Use the reduced form of the verb as indicated ahove.
Listen:
Those are your books.
Repeat:
Those are your books.
Mine are at home.
Mine are at home.
These are my pencils.
Yours are in the dravjer.
Those are her shoes.
His are in the closet.
These are our rackets.
Hers are in the
^m.
Those are his photos.
Ours are on the table.
These are her toys.
Theirs are in the box.
2,31
Reduced forms of
.n-oinp;
to .
The expression frcin^ to in normal rapid pronimciaticn is usually
pronounced as
/gcv,'in
ta,-''.
The
sarne
is pronounced as /gsns '-^^/go'na/.
viith ti.e
Listen:
expression in even more rapid speech
Pronounce each of the following sentences
intonation pattern /23'14'/.
Use the reduced form
The monitor's going to use the lab.
The player's going to catch the ball.
The girl's going to play the piano.
/gov/irj
ta/.
V.r,
The rr.onitor'c
Repeat:
i°:c'ing
to use the lab.
The player's goinf: to catch the ball.
The girl's going to play the piano.
The president's going to introduce the speoJcer.
The doctor's going to exar.ine the patient.
The nurse is going to take his temperature.
The secretary's going to type the letter.
The teacher's going to give a test.
The salesman's going to show the samples.
The mob's going to follow the leader.
The instructor's going to prepare his class.
The maid's going to mop the floor.
Repeat the above sentences using
2.32
Reduced fcrr.s
f him, her,
nov;
the reduced form /gone/.
them.
The pronoun f crms him, her, and them in normal rapid pronujiciation
are usually pronounce d as /im/, /sr/, and /dam/ respectively.
Pronounce
each of the follov;ing sentences v/ith the intonation pattern /23'l4-/.
Use the reduced form of the pronoun forms him, her, and them as in-
dicated above.
Listen:
You
knov; him.
You know her.
V/e
Rereat:
like them.
Ycu
knov: him.
You
knov; her.
We like them.
He helps her.
She likes him.
25
We rcnember them.
Mr. Wilc;on knov/s her.
The teacher likes him.
I meet thera.
You pay them.
Vie
take them.
Gee him.
I
You see her.
VJe
call them.
He follov;s her.
She loves him.
VJe
2.33
Reduced forms
meet them.
vjjth vfill
.
In normal rapid pronunciation the form will is combined with
other words to produce the followin/r reduced forms: /ayl/, /yul/, /hiyal/,
/¥iy8l/, /itol/, /wiy3l/, /cte'yal/,
../^a'nal/,
/meriel/, etc.
Pronounce each
of the following sentences with the intonation pattern /23'lV*
the reduced form of will as indicated above.
Listen:
You'll go later.
They'll go later.
John
Repeat:
v;ill
p:o
later.
You'll go later.
They'll go later.
John
\\'ill
go later.
She'll go later.
I'll go lav
-r.
Mary will go later.
He'll go later.
Use
.
26
They'll be thore later.
We'll be there later.
You'll be there later.
Mary
viill
be there later.
I'll be there later.
2.34
Reduced forms of have to, has to,
The expressions
h.ave
u.ced to
.
to , han to and ur^ed to in normal ro-pid
pronunciation are usually proncvmced as /haefta/, /haesta/, and /yusta/
respectively.
Pronounce each of the following sentences v;ith the
intonation pattern /23'14'/.
Use the reduced forms of the expression
have to , has to and used to as indicated above.
,
Listen:
I
have to study.
You have to eat
We have to v;crk.
Rei^eat:
I
have to study.
You have to eat.
have to v;crk.
\'le
They have to leave.
Y'gu
VJe
I
have to rest.
have to go.
have to practice.
The students have to hurry.
Listen:
He has to ^o there.
She has to eat here.
John has to
v/crk at
the store.
27
Repeat:
He has to
pio
there.
She has to eat here.
John has to
v;ork at the store.
Mary has to study at home.
She has to practice in gym.
He has to rest on the couch.
Teddy has to leave at noon.
The professor has to teach at the university.
The student has to take a test.
The maid has to mop the floor.
The mcnitcr has to run the lab.
He has to record the tapes.
Listen:
I
used to ride a bike.
John used to play the
jfjuitar.
Mary used to dance the twist.
17e
used to listen to the
nevjs.
The children used to v;atch Tv.
Repeat:
I
used to ride a bike.
John used to play the guitar.
I'lary
VJe
used to dance the tvjist.
used to listen to the nev/s.
The children used to v;atch Tv.
The lady used to help the peer.
You used to visit your friends.
The workers used to go on strike,
I
used to take a nap everyday.
The children used to laugh at the show.
n
28
2.35 Khythm drill
.
The followin,^ are aamples of drills that wil] help to force
the 'break doivn of syllable-timed rhythm into stress-timed rhythm and
to build up the pressure of speed.
In practicing rhythm drills, each
student must work throufrh all the sentences of each drill at one time.
The exercise loses its point if different students pronoiince isolated
sentences.
unison.
Hoviever, the entire class may pronounce the sentences in
The sentences are best pronounced one after the other vrith-
out interruption of the rhythm between sentences.
The sentences
should be uttered with normal rapid pronunci3.tion.
If the first
sentence is uttered very rapidly it may be difficult to sustain the
rhythm.
The drill may very well be read slowly at first for
corn-
prehension, but it should be repeated at a faster tempo in order to
force the students to vreaken the unstressed syllables.
2.36
Drill One .
Pronounce the following; sentences with normal rapid pronunciation.
Place the stresses at regular intervals.
Pronounce each sentence three
times.
Repeat:
'Enslish is 'easy.
'English is very 'easy.
An 'English lesson's 'easy.
An 'English lesson's very 'easy.
The 'doctor's a 'student.
The 'doctor's a good 'student.
The 'doctor's a very good 'student.
The new 'doctor's a very good 'student.
29
The 'claGG in
'
f^ramrnar in
The first 'clasc in
•
'
intorectirjg.
grammar is 'interesting.
The first 'class in English •grammar is 'interesting.
The first 'class in English 'grammar is very 'interesting,
I'm the
'ov,'ner
of the 'store.
I'm not the 'owner of the 'store.
I'm not the
I'm not the
2.37
Drill
'
'
ovvner of the large 'stcre.
ovmer of the very large 'store.
Tv.'o
Pronounce the following series of sentences v;ith smooth sentence
rhythm.
Frcnounce the sentences so that the interval between the
stresses does not change.
Repeat:
The 'men in our class 'smoke.
The young 'men in our class 'smoke.
The 3-cung 'nen in our English class 'snoke.
The other young 'men in our English class 'smoke.
The other young 'men in our English class don't 'smoke.
The 'beys in our class 'study.
The intelligent
'bc;,-s
in our class 'study.
The intelligent 'boys in our pronunciation class 'study.
The intelligent 'boys in our pronunciation class don't 'study.
The ether intelligent 'beys in our pronunciation class don't 'study.
You can 'find it.
You can 'find it in the encyclo'pedia.
You can 'find it in the large encyclo'pedia.
You can 'find it in the large encyclo'pedia in the 'library.
30
I'm
,<roir.;~
to 'study.
I'm
coii^i!!
"to
I'm
^f^cing
to 'study in my 'room v;ith a 'friend.
'study in my 'room.
I'm going to 'study in my 'room with a 'friend that you 'knovj.
I
couldn't 'go.
I
couldn't 'go to the 'store.
I
couldji't 'go to the 'store tj 'car.
I
couldn't 'go to the 'store by
'
ca.r
'yesterday.
He used to eat 'hamburgers.
He used to eat 'hamburgers at a 'drugstore.
He used to eat 'hamburgers at a 'drugstore v;ith a 'student.
He used to eat 'hamburgers at a 'drugstore v;ith a 'student from his 'class.
I
have to 'work.
I
have to 'work in the 'garden.
I
have to 'vrork in the 'garden with his 'father,
I
have to 'v;ork in the 'garden with his 'father this after' noon.
.
•
,
31
FOOTNOTES
Robert Stockwell and Donald Bo;>ren, Ths Scunds of Enp-li^h end
(Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 1^66), p. I9.
Sr.anish ,
^Donald Bowen and Robert Stockv;ell, Patterns of Sr.ar.ish Pronunciation , (Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, I96O), p. 8.
Daniel Cardenas, Intrcduccicn a una Cor.paracion Fcnolo/yica
del Espar.ol y del Inffles^ (VJashington, D.C., Center for Applied
Linguistics, I96O), p. 5^.
^Cardenas, p. 36.
5Bov;en and Stockwell, p. 8.
Stockv;ell and Bowen, p. I9.
'Kenneth Pike, The Intonation of Aniericcn Englich , (Ann Arbor:
The University of Michigan Press, 1945)> P- '^^'
p
H. A. Gleason, An Introduction tc Descriptive Lin^-uintics
Revised Edition, (Kev/ York: Holt, Rinehart and VJinston, I965).
,
-^Archibald Kill, Introduction to Linguistic Structure , (New
York: Harccurt, Brace and Co., I958;.
^'-'Charles Hockett, A Ccurse in Kodern Ling-gistics
Kacmillan, I958).
,
(Nev;
York:
George Tra-ger and Henry Snith, An Outline of English Structure ,
Studies in Linguistics, Occasional Papers 3, Fourth Print,
(Washington, I96I).
^ Leo Engler and Ernest Haden, "Status of Utterance" Acta
Lin-^uistica Hafniensia , IX, Ko. 1 (Copenhagen, I965), pp. 25-36.
•^Korman Stageberg, An Intixcluctcry English Grarnmar , (Nev: York:
Holt, Rinehart and Winston^ I965)
TC'enneth Pike, The Into:;ation of Ancrican English , (Ann Arbor:
The University of Michigan Press, 1945)
^Tomas Navarro, Manual de Entonacion Esr^anola ,
Hispanic Invititute, 1948)
(Nev?
York:
•
Robert Stockv/ell, Donald Bcx;eri. and Ismael Silva-Fuenzalida,
"Spanish Juncture and Intonation" Language XXXII (I956), ?p. 64I-665.
32
'Piorrc Delattre, Caroll Olsen and Elmer Poenack, "A Comparative Study of Declarative Intonation in Amcricaji English and
Spanish", Hispania VL (1962) 2. pp. 233-241.
Daniel Cardenas, "The Application of Linguistics in the
Teaching of Spanish", Hispania XL (195?) pp. 455-/,60.
"Stockwell and
20i)ai~iel
del Es'inBol
^
Boi-ien,
The Sounds of
En,'-^lir.h
and Sr^anish .
Cardenas, Introduccion a una Comparacion
del Ingle's .
Ii'onolo'^';;;:ica
21
Robert Politzer and Charles Stauhach, Teaching S-anish ,
A Linguistic Orientation , Revised Edition. (llev; York: Blaisdell
Publishing Company, I965).
22
Stockv;ell and Bowen, The Sounds of English and Snanich.
2"^
"^Stockv/ell and Bov:en, p. /,3.
'^Pierre Delattre, Caroll Olsen and Elmer Poenack, "A Comparative
Study of Declarative Intonation in American English and Spanish".
^Stockvjell and
Bo\\'en,
The Sounds of English and Spanish .
Pike, The Intonation of American Englich .
27
Pike, The Intor.aticn of American English .
Charles C. Pries, Director, and The Research Staff of the English
Language Institute, An Intensive Course in English for Latin-Arr.erican
Students , Revised Edition, 1943, 4 Vols., (Ann Arbor, Kichigan: George
1%'ahr Publishing Company, I950).
9stockwell and Eov:en, p. 20.
•^
Stockvfell and Bowen, p. 21.
•^
Stockwell and Bowen, p. 21.
^2
-^
Stcckwell and
Boiiren,
p. 23.
Stockwell and Box^en, p. 23.
^^Politzer and Staubach, p. 90.
^5stockviell and
Boxi;en,
p.
34.
•
>)
Stageberg, p. 55
^'Politacr and StauTaach, p. 90*
^^Pike, p. 20.
39stockwell and Bovjen, p. 24,
^ Gleason, p. 46.
4lHill, p. 26.
42Hocke-tt, p. 35.
^•^Stockxvell and Bowen, p. 28.
^^Stockwell and Bovren, p. 24.
^-'Politzer and Staubach, p. 92.
^"Cardenas, Introduccion, p. 40.
4'stockvrell and Bov/en, pp. 23-24.
4 3-tockwell and Bov/en pp.
'^-^Gleason,
50
^
Stockwell
19-20.
p. 46.
and Bovien, p. 26.
51stockv7ell and Bowen, pp. 27-28.
-^
^
-^
Stockvi^ell and Bowen,
cf.
Hocketi; and Hill,
p. 28.
Delattre, Olsen and Poenack, p. 237.
'Delattre, Olsen and Poenack.
55Delattre, Olsen and Poenack, p. 24I.
^
Delattre, Olsen and Poenack.
5'Delattre, Olsen and Poenack, p. 234.
5Spike, p. 155.
•
34
5-'lIockett,
p, 52. cf. Pike, yv-
34-35
^°Hockett, pp. 52-53. cf. Pike, pp. 34-35^^Pike, p. 34.
/TO
Hockett, p. 83. cf. Pike, p. 35^^Pike, p. 35.
^^Hockett, p. 83.
^^Pike, p. 35.
^^Pries and Staff, Vol. II, p. 252.
"^"^Pries
Pries
and Staff, Vol. II, p. 252.
OJid
Staff, Vol. II, p. 253.
^%ries and Staff, Vol.
"^^Pike,
71
p.
Stcckv.'ell
II, p. 253.
35.
and Eovjen, p. 30.
"^^Pike,
p. 107.
'''^Pike,
pp. 108-109.
'''^Pike,
p.
109.
"^^Fries and Staff, Vol. I, p.
'
Engler and Haden, p. 26.
''Stockviell and BoKen, p. 29.
I5I.
•
5
A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alarcos Llorach, Emilio. FonoloftJ^a Espancla . Madrid: Editorial Gredoc, 1554<
Allen, Karold B., ed. Readin^rs in Apriliod En/^lish
Appletcn, Century, Crcfts, Inc., 195^
,
Linr-'ui sties
ed. Teaching English as a Second Lan.'^apie
.
.
Nev;
York:
New York: KcGrav;-
Hill, 1965.
Alonso, Air.ado, and Pedro Hennquea Urena.
Aires: Editorial Lozada, 1953.
Grairiatica
Castellana . Euer.os
Anthony, Ann. "A Structural Approach to the Analysis of Spanish Intonation".
Language Learning I No. 3 (194£)» 24-3I.
,
Bello, Andres, and Rufino Jose Cuervo. Gramatica de la Leng'aa Carjtello..ia
Buenos Aires: Editorial Sopena, I96C.
.
Bloch, Bernard, and George L. Trager. Ouxline of Linguistics . Ann Arhcr:
Edwards, I948.
Bloomficld, Leonard. Language .
Nevj
York: H. Kelt and Co., 1933.
Outline Guide for the Px^actical Study of a Ecreign Language .
Baltir.:ore: Linguistic Society of Ar.erica, 1942.
.
Bolinger, Dwi.Tht. "Prepositions in English and Spanish". Hispania ,
LX (1957), 212-14.
Donald, and Robert P. Stockwell. "The Phonemic Interpretation
of Semivct^els in Spanish". Lan,"i;.age . XXXI (1955), 236-240.
Bov;en, J.
.
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A C0I]TIL\3TIVE STUDY 0? THE
patt::;rii3
of eitglish
Airo
STATliliailT
spmtish
V
SiUUIDL PALACI03
13 .
A., Universidad Peda/^ocica do Colombia
Txinja,
All
Colombia, 195^
ABSTR-IC? OP A i:''3T3R'3 23P0HT
submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree
l-I/iSTER
OP ARTS
Department of Speech
KAIJSAS STAT3 UIJIVEHSITY
Ilanhattan, Kansas
196£
ABSTRACT
Furporse ; The purpose of this report is to preccnt a contractive c'.n.alycic
Ox
statement inton.ition pntternc of Snf^lish
t]\e
"cccrtrdn
L;ci.'e
of the differencoG between the
ojid SpoJiish
of the
syr^tornr,
in order to
ti:o
lz:n-
nxcf^es and to e™ylain the nature of those differences and therefore the
difficulties that the opp.nich speaker has in utterin/j the Sn/tlish statement sentences vxth the proper intonation and
rh^'^thn).
This problem was
chosen hcc-.usc of the special difficulty it entails for the
spor.}:er of
Spanish and "because the rrcat importance the aspect of inton'.tion has in
teaching as
Procedure
;-
v:ell as
learning the English lan^age.
The problems treated in this report are: l) lilnglich
ish nuprascgmentals
— stress,
pitch, and terminal junctures
^jn6.
Span-
—2) Zn^lish
and Spanish single-phrase statement patterns, 3) English and Spanish
tv;o-phrase statement patterns, and 4) 3n:'Tlish and Spanish rhythm. A coii-
trastive analysis of each problem is undertaken, involving linguistic
analysis of the English language patterns in
e^i-ch
problem, reference to
the corresponding patterns in Spanish, and finally a comparison of the
counterpart patterns of JSnglish and Spanish to see
or differ. Such analysis
shoi-rs
hov;
they correspond
the precise difficulty a spealcer of Span-
ish has in mastering the intonation of the statement utterances of "Siglish.
Some sample drills, based on the contractive studj- of each problem., are
proposed to help the
s-oerl:er
of Spj.nish acquire the proper intonation
and rhythjn of the English statem.ent utterances,
Summar;
^'"
of
j?in dings;
Regarding the suprasegmentals it
x;as
found that be-
side the difference in number of decrees of stress - En^lirjh three, Spanirih
tv;o
- the patterns of distribution are different in the tv;o Isjigua^i^es: En-
ijlish
alternates strings of syllables under v/eak stress v;ith syllables un-
der one of the stronf^er stresses.
With regard to rhythm it was fo^ond that
the stress-timed rhythm of Enj^lich contrasts vjith the syllable-timed
rhythm of Spanish.
tence rhythm.
rhythm.
English speakers spealc
Spanish speakers speak
viith
v;ith
smooth syllables in sen-
staccatto syllables in sentence
In staccatto pronunciation each of the syllables is usually sepa-
rate and usual Ijf weakly stressed and the vowels and consonants are retained in their full phonetic quality.
Normal rapid English pronunciation re-
duces the unstressed syllables in phonetic quality, replacing vov/els and
consonants morphophonically, and often even eliminating them.
number of pitch levels is also different in the
has four levels of pitch, Spanish only three.
number of pitch levels it
vjas
tv;o
The
lang^aages: English
Beside the difference in
found that the pitch contour of the single-
phrase statement pattern is different in the two languages.
The normal
English statement pattern is /23'14,/ and the corresponding Spanish pattern
is /(12)114,/.
Although finality, symbolized by
/l,/,
is mainly indicated
by a falling pitch during and after the last stressed syllable of the sentence in both languages, it offers striking differences.
The fall in
pitch is typically v;inding and preceded by a rise in English, straight
and preceded by no rise in Spanish.
In the contrast of the tv:o-phrase
utterances it was found that the expression of continuation, symbolized
by
/l /,
is predominantly falling or sustained in English but substantially
rising in Spanish.