Prof Francisco Zabala – 2014 Strong and Weak forms In Detail The following guidelines will help you choose whether a weak form or a strong form is appropriate in a given context Remember to refer back to the general rule and the list of weak and strong forms provided in the set of notes Notice: The nucleus has been underlined in each example and is the last primary stress ! All post-nuclear stresses are given a secondary stress mark $.- ARTICLES & DETERMINERS Definite article ‘the’1 Strong Form: Citation: The strong form Ch9 is used for citation, although some speakers also use a strongly stressed weak form !C? (Wells: 2008) E.g.: Let’s analyse the uses of ‘the’ .!kdsr !zm?k`Hy C? !it9rHy ?u !Ch9 Hesitation: Ch9 can also be found when the speaker is fishing for words, i.e before a hesitation or a pause E.g: Ben’s the the the manager .!admy Ch9 { Ch9 { C? !lzmHcY? Emphasis & particularisation: The strong form Ch9 is also used to particularise Its meaning could be paraphrased as ‘the most outstanding,’ ‘the one and only’ E.g.: The pronunciation dictionary | is the tool for transcriptions .C? oq?!mUmrh!dHRm< $cHjR?mqh { Hy !Ch9 $st9k e? $sqzm$rjqHoRm@9mr?.- Prof Francisco Zabala – 2014 Ch !d? s? CHr !jHMc?l { Hy Ch zl!azr?c?q ?u Ch !Hmchy The MP3 player’s dead .Ch !dl !oh9 !Sqh9 $okdH?q Hy $cdc .C? + consonants/semivowels C? is necessary before consonants and semivowels Be wary of the spelling! E.g.: This is the uniform2 we give the workers .CHr Hy C? !it9mHeN9l vh $fHu C? $v29j?y The UK3 is famous | for the great economic power it has .C? !it9 !jdH Hy !edHl?r { e? C? !fqdHs !h9j?!mPlHj !o`T?q Hs $gzy Indefinite articles ‘a’ and ‘an’ Strong Form: The strong forms dH and zm are extremely rare They can be used, however, for citation, to create contrast or in rhetorical speech E.g.: A: She’s got two sons, right? B: She’s got a son (Contrast: a “means only one, not two”) Rhy !fPs !dH rUm Do we use ‘a’ | or ‘an’ before the word herb? (Citation and contrast) c? vh !it9y !dH { N9q !zm aH$eN9 C? $v29c $g29a Weak Form: The weak form is the norm ‘A’ ? before consonants E.g.: A strange customer came this morning .? !rsqdHmcY !jUrs?l? $jdHl CHr $lN9mHM A cat and a dog .? !jzs ?m ? !cPf A Euro2 .? !iT?q?T ‘An’ ?m before vowels E.g.: An old friend of mine ?m !?Tkc !eqdmc ?u $l`Hm An honourable2 cause .?m !Pm?q?ak !jN9y An X-ray2 .?m !djrqdH These examples illustrate that sometimes words begin in a vowel sound but not in a vowel letter or vice versa ‘Some’3 Strong Form: Prof Francisco Zabala – 2014 The strong form is used in the following situations: Citation: E.g.: The word ‘some’ | can take a weak form .C? !v29c !rUl { j?m !sdHj ? !vh9jeN9l Stranded and/or pronominal: E.g.: A: More meat? I’ll put some on your plate .!lN9 !lh9s {{ `Hk !oTs rUl Pm iN9 !okdHs B: Thank you I’ve still got some .!SzMj it {{ `Hu !rsHk !fPs rUl Contrast: As opposed to ‘others’ or to ‘all’ E.g.: Some of my students| might pass the exam .!rUl ?u l`H $rsit9cmsr { l`Hs !o@9r Ch Hf!yzl I believe some models | are clever and learned .`H aH!kh9u !rUl $lPcky { ? !jkdu?q ?m !k29mHc Some varieties of English | are rhotic .!rUl u?!q`H?shy ?u !HMfkHR { ? !q?TsHj When it means ‘a considerable amount of’: E.g.: I haven’t talked to her | for some years .`H !gzums !sN9js st ? { e? !rUl !iH?y It’s been some time | since she moved to LA .Hsr ah9m !rUl !s`Hl { rHmr Rh !lt9uc st !dk !dH When it means ‘some… or other’ and it is followed by a singular countable noun E.g.: Some day I’ll conquer her heart .!rUl !cdH { `Hk !jPMj?q ? !g@9s Some student or other | has forgotten to finish this test .!rUl !rsit9cms N9q $UC? { g?y e?!fPsm s? !eHmHR CHr $sdrs When it is an ‘exclamatory some’, meaning ‘very remarkable’; it is followed by a singular countable noun E.g.: That was 'some 'kiss! .Czs v?y !rUl !jHr Some friend you turned out to be! !rUl !eqdmc it $s29mc $`Ts s? ah Wells’s Blog entry “Some” http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/blog.htm Wednesday 28 May 2008 Prof Francisco Zabala – 2014 Weak Form: The weak form r?l+ rl is used before uncountable nouns and plural countable nouns E.g.: I want some milk, please .`H !vPms rl !lHkj $okh9y I need some participants .`H !mh9c rl o@9!sHrHo?msr Would you care for some more? vTcYt !jd? e? rl !lN9 Wells provides this comparison: He put some 'fruit on the pizza (as well as cheese, ham etc.) gh !oTs rl !eqt9s Pm C? $oh9sr? He put ˈsome 'fruit on the pizza (I can’t identify which/It was a remarkable fruit) gh !oTs !rUl !eqt9s Pm C? $oh9sr? AUXILIARIES & THE VERB ‘TO BE’ The verb ‘to be’ Attention!!! The verb ‘to be’ is almost invariably weak, even in full affirmative sentences, regardless of whether it functions as an auxiliary or a main verb The strong forms am, are, be, was and were4 zl+ @9+ ah9+ vPy+ v29 can be used for emphasis, contrast, or citation as any other weak form However, these forms can also be used in other positions: they are obligatory when there is stranding, or when they occur in a short yes-no question or a short answer, as they are loaded with the meaning of the elements that have been elided The strong form is optional in full yes-no questions without expressing contrast Obligatory strong form: Citation E.g.: Is the verb was the correct answer? Hy C? !u29a !vPy C? j?$qdjs $@9mr? Contrast E.g.: They were rich ages ago! CdH !v29 $qHsR {{ !dHcYHy ?$f?T Caution: The strong form of the verb ‘were’ is pronounced !v29 by the great majority of speakers Conversely, the form !vd? is the pronunciation of the pronoun ‘where’, the verb ‘wear’ and the noun ‘ware’ Prof Francisco Zabala – 2014 Emphasis E.g.: These cupcakes are marvellous! Ch9y !jUojdHjr { !@9 !l@9uk?r Stranding (complement movement) E.g.: To be | or not to be (Emphasis-contrast and stranding.) s? !ah9 { N9 !mPs s? $ah9 I don’t remember who they are, Mr Reynolds .`H !c?Tms qH!ldla? !gt9 CdH !@9 $lHrs? $qdm[...]... CONJUNCTIONS According to Windsor Lewis (1997) “these by their nature virtually never end sentences Beginning sentences they usually sound only slightly less fluent in their strongforms than in their weakforms.” That is, the use of a strong form when a conjunction is the first word in a chunk is possible, but stylistically marked And Strong Form: The strong form zmc is used for citation and when the speaker... .it l?r's( !sdHj !fTc !jd?q { ?u CHr !kHsk !cPf ?u $iN9 y Could – Would – Should – Will According to Ortíz Lira (2008)7 the weak forms of these words are not essential, as the strong form can be used in any context This is possible because their strong forms take either T '.jTc+ vTc+ RTc( or H 'vHk(, which are sometimes members of the weak vowel system together with ? However, some other authors do mention the use of strong and weak forms with... demonstrators in the streets .C? v? !k?Tcy ?u !cdl?mrsqdHs?y Hm C? $rsqh9sr When there is in final position in interrogative sentences, either the weak or the strong forms are possible (Roach:2009) E.g.: Is there? !Hy C? ~ !Hy $Cd? How many guests were there? !g`T !ldmh !fdrsr v? C? ~ !g`T !ldmh !fdrsr v? $Cd? In negative constructions, the word there remains weak, while the operator is used in the strong. .. the main verb; to indicate deduction in the past, the perfect modal must have is used, followed by the main verb E.g.: You must be joking! (Are you really dating an 80-year-old man?) it !lUr's( ah !cY?TjHM Jennifer must have left by now (Her computer’s off) .!cYdmHe? !lUrs ?u !kdes a`H $m`T Weak Form: The weak form l?rs is used to express obligation, provided there is no contrast, emphasis, stranding... wants to express the contrasting idea ‘not only but also’ Windsor Lewis states that the strong forms zm or zmc “are often used sentence initially but usually with a fairly marked deliberate or hesitant effect, unless quickly uttered” E.g.: The conjunction and | expresses addition .C? j?m!cYUMjRm !zmc { Hj!roqdrHy ?!cHRm I am blond and smart .`Hl !akPmc !zm !rl@9s And, ’ he continued, | ‘you will be fired.’... questions and answers E.g.: A: Will they? !vHk CdH B: Yes they will .!idr CdH !vHk 4 stranding E.g.: I don’t think you should .`H !c?Tms !SHmj it !RTc 5 full yes-no questions: it can take either a strong or a weak form E.g.: Will you push the door, please? !vHk it !oTR C? !cN9 $okh9y .v'?(k it !oTR C? !cN9 $okh9y Would you mind? !vTcYt !l`Hmc .v?cYt !l`Hmc 6 semantically loaded: main verb meaning ‘to... you waiting for us? ? it !vdHsHM $eN9q ?r ~ ? it !vdHsHM e?q ?r Prof Francisco Zabala – 2014 20 4 Coordinated prepositions E.g.: Ian | loves travelling to | and from work .!h9?m {!kUuy !sqzukHM !st9 { ?m !eqPl !v29j Our forefathers |worked for | and with the common people .@9 !eN9e@9C?y { !v29js !eN9 { ?m !vHC C? $jPl?m $oh9ok 5 According to Windsor Lewis (1997), “sentence-initial prepositions in particular... distance, | you can see the city skyline .!eqPl ? !cHrs?mr ~ eq?l ? !cHrs?mr { it j?m !rh9 C? !rHsh !rj`Hk`Hm Weak Form: The weak forms ?s+ eq?l+ e?+ ?u+ s?+ st9 are the norm From elides schwa easily, especially when a consonant follows For can elide schwa when linking q is at play The word to takes ? before consonants and semivowels and t before vowels E.g.: Sarah and Sara | work for a small company|... consonant cluster provided there are no nasals involved: E.g.: I want it in black and white .`H !vPms Hs Hm !akzj mÿ !v`Hs Prof Francisco Zabala – 2014 16 Let’s go to Marks and Spencer’s .!kdsr !f?T s? !l@9jr m !rodmr?y (C.f We need to mend and sell them.) vh !mh9c s? !ldmc ?m !rdk Cl ‘But’ Strong Form: The strong form aUs is used for citation, or sentence initially to show a deliberate or hesitant... two elements other than itself!) We use the weak form in these cases Very exceptionally, however, the contrast is placed on itself In this case, a strong form is necessary E.g.: I’m going out with him tonight | and we’ll do everything but! `Hl !f?THM !`Ts vHC Hl s?$m`Hs { ?m vhk !ct9 !duqhSHM !aUs No buts: | you do as you are told! !m?T !aUsr { it !ct9 ?y iN9 !s?Tkc I didn’t say but, | I said putt .`H !cHcms !rdH !aUs { `H !rdc !oUs