Strong-and-Weak-s.doc

Strong and weak formsOne of the most remarkable features of English pronunciation is that many a commonly used English word has more than two pronunciation in the oral communicating-a strong form and one or more weak forms.These words include function words and such as personal, possessive and the indefinite pronoun “some.”There might be a question: when should the strong form and the weak form of such words be used? The strong form a word is applied when the word is said in isolation, or in connected speech in which the word should be stressed; it is also used in certain cases where the word is unstressed. The weak form or forms of a word are used only in unstressed positions or only for the grammatical purpose.As we all know, many function words in English have two pronunciations: a strong form ( or stressed form) and an weak form (or reduce form, unstressed form). The unstressed form is thus an alternative pronunciation of a word which is so reduced in its articulation that it consists of a different set of phonemes. is the most frequently used vowel in the unstressed form and next comesi.Two reasons are said to be most important in learning to use the unstressed in forms in English. Firstly, most native speakers of English find an “ all-strong form” pronunciation very unpleasant. Secondly, learners who are not familiar with the use of weak forms are likely to have difficulty understanding native speakers.Main features of the weak formAs compared with the strong forms, the weak forms of these words show the following features:a. reductions of the length of sounds,b. obscuration of vowels towards the schwa,c. elision of vowels and consonants.Some structural/ grammar words have both strong forms and weak forms. Whether strong forms or weak forms should be used depends on:1. the position of a word in a sentence;2. the degree of stress of a word; and3. Other factors.When they bear stress, no change in sound quality takes place and so the strong forms are used. Otherwise, weak forms are used. A weak form of a word may be noted by:1. a shortening the length of a vowel , e . g. i: becomes i as in we, he, been. u: becomesu as in to, who, you. : becomes as in sir, were, per.2. a change in the vowel sound, e . g.was / wz/ / wz /us/ s/ s/by/ bai /b , bi/3. the absence of a sound, e .g.and/ nd / nd, nd, d, n/them/ em/ m/her/h / :, /Only structural words have weak forms. Here is a list of them :a, an/ , n /a lion/ a table/ an honest man/ a. European/ Youll need an axe./An apple a day keep the doctor away.am/ m, m / Im all right. / What am I to do?/ Im in a terrible hurry.and/ nd, n / fire and the sword/ John and Kate left early./ Go and tell your uncle./ a cat and dog life.are/ /The boys are here./ Our friends are out./ Are you there?/ There things are all mine./ Are you ready to go now?as/ z / as good as gold/ as far as I know/ It looks as if youre right./ It isnt as good as I thought.at/ t / Toms still at school./ Hell be back at six./ Ill meet you at the gate./ At any rate, thats not bad!be/ bi / Do be quite./ Ill be ready soon ./ Come on, I dont want to be late!been/ bin / Youve been a long time./ Ive been cheated!/ Weve been playing chess.but/ bt / Its old but useful./ Its raining but Ill go out./ Thats nothing but nonsense.can/ kn / What can I do to help you?/ I can smell gas./ That can be done in a minute.could/ kd / I could leave early./ The dress could be altered./ I wish I could swim./ You could do it if you tried.do/ d, d / Where do you buy them?/ Where do you get them./ Do you really think he is stupid?dose/ dz /What does he do for a living?/ Where does this road lead to?/ How does that affect you?/ How on earth does it work?for/ f /Is this for me?/ Theres a parcel here for you./ Thisll be good for you./ It was arts sake.from/ frm /I cant tell one from the other./ Ive just heard from Mary./ Hes a visitor from Italy.had, has, have/ hd, d / / hz, z / /hv, v /Has the post come?/ Had I known, Id have told you about it./ When Tom had finished, he left./ Theyd gone./ Youve made a mistake./ Thats never occurred before.he/ hi, i /He told me a story./ What was it he said?/ Hes a good boy./ Hes gone before I arrived.her/ h, / I gave her the book./ Shes got her ticket./ Her answer surprised her father./ They gave her a lot of good advice.him/ im / I gave him a book./ Give him my best wishes./ Tell him come./ I met him once.is/ z, s / Whos in the bathroom?/ Whats the matter?/ The mans in the kitchen./ His wifes Itaian./ Whats the use of grumbling? That felloes a scoundrel.me/ mi / He gave me my ticket./ They want me to do it./ Bill taught me to swim./ Dont look at me like that, it makes me nervous.must/ mst / You must eat it at once./ He must go now./ You must remember youre only a beginner./ I must make a note of that./ That must be done at once.of/ v / One of the book is missing./ Its made of cheese and eggs./ The jug is full of cream./ That ones the best of the bunch.shall/ l / When shall I see you again?/ I shall be back soon./ Shall I see you home?/ What shall we tell him when we see him?she/ i / What did she say? She said she was in a hurry./ she told me she hadnt time./ She doesnt like plums, doesnt she?should/ d / What should I say?/ You should be careful, my boy./ I should be much obliged to you.some/ sm, sm / Ive got some letters for you./ Give him some more./ He bought some eggs, some bacon and some bread.than/ n / Its bigger than I thought./ Thats more than I want./ Thats more than enough./ Dont eat more than your share.that/ t / He said that he was late./ I told him that he was lazy./ Well, this is the best that I can do.them/ m / Ill give them back. / We saw them yesterday. / Please hand these pens to them. / Give them my regards. / If i see them, ill tell then what happened.these / /Theres a club around the corner. / Is there a canteen here? / Oh dear, there isnt any bread left.to / tu, t /I want you to work hard. / They went to the zoo. / Do you want to go? Oh, yes, Id love to. / last year they went to India.us / s, s /They told us to go. / I wonder if they saw us. / lets go out now. /They gave us a cordial welcome.was / wz /What was he saying? Was anyone hurt? / That was splendid. / He said his friend was an artist. / What was his ,explanation?we / wi /We saw him there, didnt we? / What shall we do? / Well go tomorrow. / Wed like a drink. / Weve not much time. / Why are we waiting?were /w/The boys were busy. / they were all at home. / there were several foreigners here.would/ wd, d / What would you like?/ John would help you if you asked him./ Id do it if I could./ Wed love to go./ Youd succeed if you tried.The weakening of unstressed syllables is also a feature of English. For instance:banana / bn:n / between / bitwi:n /welcome / welkm / business / biznis /comfort / kmft /The vowel of every unstressed syllable in the above words either or i because of weakening.Sometimes the vowels of two related words are in contrast because of different stress positions, which is also a phenomenon of weakening.add / d/ addition / din/relate / ri leit/ relative / reltiv /Even a weak vowel may disappear in the natural utterance.awful / :ful / awfully / :fli /comfort / kmft / comfortable / kmftbl / It is very important for English learner to know how to use strong forms and weak forms because it will help them in product