Nina Tsapova Group 305 Theories of syllable formation and syllable division.

There are different points of view on syllable formation which are the following.
1.

The most ancient theory states that there are as many syllables in a word

as there are vowels. This theory is primitive and insufficient since it does not take into consideration consonants which also can form syllables in some languages, neither does it explain the boundary of syllables.
2.

The expiratory theory states that there are as many syllables in a word as

there are expiration pulses. The borderline between the syllables is, according to this theory, the moment of the weakest expiration. This theory is inconsistent because it is quite possible to pronounce several syllables in one articulatory effort or expiration, e.g. seeing.
3.

The sonority theory states that there are as many syllables in a word as

there are peaks of prominence or sonority. Speech sounds pronounced with uniform force, length and pitch, differ in inherent prominence or sonority. For example, when the Russian vowels /, , , , / are pronounced on one and the same level, their acoustic intensity, or sonority is different: the strongest is /a/, then go /, , , /. . Jespersen established the scale of sonority of sounds, that is, the scale of their inherent prominence. According to this scale the most sonorous are back vowels (low, mid, high), then go semi-vowels and sonorants, then voiced and voiceless consonants. Sounds are grouped around the most sonorous ones, which form the peaks of sonority in a syllable. Two points of lower sonority constitute the beginning and the end of one syllable. Compare melt and metal, in the first word [e]is the most sonorous sound, the only peak of sonority, it is a one-syllable word. In the word metal there are two peaks of sonority /e/ and /1/, it is a two-syllable word.

The sonority theory helps to establish the number of syllables in a word, but fails to explain the mechanism of syllable division because it does not state to which syllable the weak sound at the boundary of two syllables belongs. The "arc of loudness" is based on L.V. Shcherba's statement that the centre of a syllable is the syllable forming phoneme. Sounds which precede or follow it constitute a chain, or an arc, which is weak in the beginning and in the end and strong in the middle. If a syllable consists of a vowel, its strength increases in the beginning, reaches the maximum of loudness and then, gradually decreases. Consonants within a sillable are characterized by different distribution of muscular tension. Shcherba distinguishes the following types of consonants; finally strong (initially weak), they occur at the beginning of the syllable; finally weak (initially strong), they occur at the end of a closed syllable; double peaked (combination of two similar sounds): in their articulation the beginning and the end are energetic and the middle is weak. Acoustically they produce an impression of two consonants. In terms of the "arc of loudness" theory there are as many syllables in a word as there are "arcs of loudness" and the point of syllable division corresponds to the moment, when the arc of loudness begins or ends, that is: initially weak consonants begin a syllable, finally weak end it. For example, the word mistake consists of two arcs of loudness in which /m/ and /t/ are finally strong consonants and /s/ and /k/ are finally weak, /s/ constitutes the end of "the arc of loudness", /t/ constitutes the beginning. None of the theories mentioned above are reliable in the definition of the syllabic boundary. 1. In affixal words the syllabic boundary coincides with the morphological boundary: dis-place, be-come, un-able, count-less. 2. In words with CVCV structure the syllabic boundary is after the accented vowel: farmer, city, table. 3. In words of CVC structure the syllabic boundary is after the intervocal consonant, which terminates accented syllable.

4.

In words of CVS, VS structure the syllabic boundary is after the

intervocal sonorant: inner.

5.

Compared with the Russian acoustic connection, English CVC English diphthongs are unisyllabic, they consist of one vowel phoneme,

cluster is close, Russian CP syllabic cluster is loose, compare: city and -.

6.

English triphthongs are disyllabic, because they consist of two vowel phonemes: science, flower. The rules of word stress in English 1. in words of 2-3 syll, the primary str mostly falls on the 1 syl. 2. in prefixal words the primary str falls on the syl following the prefix, recall. 3. in prefixal words with prefixes having their own meaning the place of str is on the prefix, exminister 4. in prefixal verbs which are distinguished from similarly spelled nouns and adjs have their str on the initial syl (increase - to increase) 5. in compound words the 1st element is stressed when: 1 they are written as 1 word, 2 nouns are compounded of a verb and an adv (make up),3 nouns in the possessive case are followed by another noun (a dolls house). In compound words the 2nd element is stressed when: 1food items have the 1st elem which is of a material used in manufacturing the whole (appletree), 2names of roads, parks, squares, 3 parts of the house kitchenwindow, 4 adj-s with past participles, characterizing person, 5 comp nouns ending in er or ing are followed by an adv (passerby) 2 equal str-s are observed in compositive verbs: give up,in numerals 13-19 Intonation. Rhythm and tempo. Pausation and tember. Intonation is a complex unity of non-segmental features of speech: 1. melody, pitch of the voice; 2. sentence stress; 3. temporal characteristics (duration, tempo, pausation);

4. rhythm; 5. timber. Intonation organizes a sentence, determines communicative types of sentences and clauses, divides sentences into intonation groups, gives prominence to words and phrases, and expresses contrasts and attitudes. The two main functions of intonation are: communicative and expressive. There are two main approaches to the problem of intonation in Great Britain. One is known as a contour analysis and the other may be called grammatical. The first is represented by a large group of phoneticians: H. Sweet, D. Jones, L. Armstrong, and others. According to this approach the smallest unit to which linguistic meaning can be attached is a sense-group. Their theory is based that intonation consists of basic functional "blocks". Th grammatical approach to the study of intonation was worked out by M. Halliday. The main unit of intonation is a clause. Intonation is a complex of three systemic variables: tonality, tonicity and tone, which are connected with grammatical categories. Tonality marks the beginning and the end of a tone-group. Tonicity marks the focal point of each tone-group. |Tones can be primary and secondary. They convey the attitude of the speaker. Halliday's theory is based on the syntactical function of intonation. The founder of the American school of intonation is K. Pike. In his book "The Intonation of American English" he considers "pitch phonemes" and "contours" to be the main units of intonation. RHYTHM AND TEMPO. Rhythm is the regular alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables. It is so typical of an English phrase that the incorrect rhythm betrays the non-English origin of the speaker. The units of the rhythmical structure of an utterance are stress groups or rhythmic groups. The perception of boundaries between rhythmic groups is associated with the stressed syllables or peaks of prominence. Unstressed syllables have a tendency to cling to the preceding stressed syllables enclitics, or to the following stressed syllables - proclitics. In English, as a rule, only

initial unstressed syllables cling to the following stressed syllable, non-initial unstressed syllables are usually enclitics. Each sense-group of the sentence is pronounced at approximately the same period of time, unstressed syllables are pronounced more rapidly. Proclitics are pronounced faster than enclitics. Rhythm is connected with sentence stress. Under the influence of rhythm words which are normally pronounced with two equally strong stresses may lose one of them, or may have their word stress realized differently, e. g. ,Picca'dilly ,Piccadilly 'Circus 'close to ,Picca'dilly PAUSATION AND TAMBER. The number and the length of pauses affect the general tempo of speech. A slower tempo makes the utterance more prominent and more important. Pauses made between two sentences are longer than pauses between sense-groups and are marked by two parallel bars /||/. Pauses made between sense-groups are shorter /|/. Pauses are usually divided into filled and unfilled, corresponding to voiced and silent pauses. Pauses are distinguished on the basis of relative length: unit, double and treble. Their length is relative to the tempo and rhythmicality norms of an individual. Another subdivision of pauses is into breathing and hesitation. Pauses show relations between utterances and intonation groups, performing a constitutive function. Attitudinal function of pausation can be affected through voiced pauses, which are used to signal hesitation, doubt, suspence. Such pauses have the quality of the central vowels /, :/ or /m, :m /. Intonational styles Intonation is a complex unity of non-segmental features of speech: 1. melody, pitch of the voice; 2. sentence stress; 3. temporal characteristics (duration, tempo, pausation);

4. rhythm; 5. timber. Intonation organizes a sentence, determines communicative types of sentences and clauses, divides sentences into intonation groups, gives prominence to words and phrases, and expresses contrasts and attitudes. The two main functions of intonation are: communicative and expressive. There are two main approaches to the problem of intonation in Great Britain. One is known as a contour analysis and the other may be called grammatical. The first is represented by a large group of phoneticians: H. Sweet, D. Jones, L. Armstrong, and others. According to this approach the smallest unit to which linguistic meaning can be attached is a sense-group. Their theory is based that intonation consists of basic functional "blocks". Th grammatical approach to the study of intonation was worked out by M. Halliday. The main unit of intonation is a clause. Intonation is a complex of three systemic variables: tonality, tonicity and tone, which are connected with grammatical categories. Tonality marks the beginning and the end of a tone-group. Tonicity marks the focal point of each tone-group. Tones can be primary and secondary. They convey the attitude of the speaker. Halliday's theory is based on the syntactical function of intonation. The tone unit is one of the most important of intonation theory. The interval between the highest and the lowest pitch syllable is called the range of a sence group. The higher the pitch, the wider the range. The change of pitch within the last stressed syllable of the tone group is called a nuclear tone. It may occur not only in the nucleus, but extend to the tail terminal tone. Sweet distinguishes 8 tones: level, high rising, low rising, high falling, low falling, compound rising, compound falling, rising falling- rising. Palmer has 4 basic tones, 2 additional and describes coordinatory tonal sequences and subordinating tonal sequences. Vasiliev gives 10 tone units. He distinguishes moving and level tones. Moving tones can simple, complex, compound. Level tones can be pitched at high, mid and low level.

The tonetic units, that constitute the total tone pattern

are the following:

unstressed and half stressed syllables preceding the 1st stressed syllable constitute the prehead of the intonation group; stressed and unstressed syllables up to the last stressed syllable constitute the head, body or scale of the intonation group; the last stressed syllable, within which fall or rise in the intonation group is accomplished, is called the nucleus; the syll marked with the nuclear tone may take a level stress; the syll s (or one syll), that follow the nucleus, constitute the tail. The most important part of the intonation group is the nucleus, which carries nuclear stress. Acc to the changes in the voice pitch preheads can be following: rising, mid and low. Scales can be: descending, ascending and level. If one of the words in the descending scale is made specially prominent, a vertical row is placed before word made specially prominent in the text - accidental rise. This type of scale is called upbroken descending scale. The falling tones convey completion and finality, they are categoric in character. The rising tones are incomplete and non categoric. Of all level tones mid-level is used most frequently. The level tones may express hesitation and uncertainty. Intonation and Prosody 1. The Prosodic system of a language and its unites: the syllable the rhythmic unit the intonation group the utterance 2. The prosodic subsystem of a language: pitch utterance stress rhythm tempo pauses

3. The functional aspect of prosody with reference to its functions performed in speech: constitutive distinctive identificatory (recognitive) Intonation is defined as a complex unity of speech melody, sentence stress, tempo, rhythm and voice timbre, which enables the speaker to express his thoughts, emotions and attitudes towards the content of the utterance and the hearer. Speech melody, sentence stress, tempo, rhythm and timbre are all components of intonation. Phoneticians abroad define intonation as the variation of the pitch of the voice, thus reducing it to one component speech melody. This is a narrow approach to the definition of intonation. The notion of prosody is broader than the notion of intonation as it can be applied to the utterance, the word, the syllable. The syllable is widely recognized to be the smallest prosodic unit. A rhythmic, or accentual, unit (group) is either one stressed syllable or a stressed syllable with a number of unstressed ones grouped around it. The intonation group is hierarchically higher than the rhythmic unit. Structurally the intonation group has some obligatory formal characteristics. These are the nuclear stress on the semantically most important word and the terminal tone. The boundaries between intonation groups are marked by tonal junctures and pauses. The structure of the intonation group varies depending on the number of syllables and rhythmic units in it. A higher unit in which prosodic features are actualized is the utterance. The utterance is the main communicative unit. It is characterized by semantic entity which is expressed by all the language means. The prosodic structure of an utterance is a meaningful unit that contributes to the total meaning of this utterance. Pitch, one of the prosodic subsystems, or speech melody is the variations in the pitch of the voice which take place with voiced sounds. To describe the melody of an utterance it is necessary to determine the relevant pitch levels, pitch ranges, directions

and rate of pitch movement in the terminal zone and pre-terminal part of each of its intonation groups. Words grouped into an utterance are not all equally important. Depending on the context or the communication situation some words appear to contribute more information than others. Those that are semantically more important are made prominent. The special prominence given to one or more words in an utterance is called utterance stress. The means, with the help of which the special prominence is achieved and the effect of stress is produced, are variations of pitch, loudness, length and quality. English is considered to be mostly a language with stress-timed rhythm. Stresstimed rhythm presupposes that utterance stress serves as a basis for the rhythmic organization of speech and that stresses segment the speech continuum into units of more or less equal length. The tempo of speech is the rate at which utterances and their smaller units are pronounced. Phoneticians generally distinguish normal tempo and two departures from the norm: fast and slow. The speech continuum is divided into units of different length and hierarchy by means of pauses. It is the main function of a pause to segment connected speech into utterances and intonation groups to delimit one utterance or intonation group from another. Phoneticians distinguish three main types of pauses: silent pauses, pauses of perception and voiced (or filled) pauses. Rhythm and Speech Melody 1. 2. 3. 4. Pitch levels, pitch ranges, rate of pitch movement. The terminal tone of an utterance. The structure of an intonation group. Rhythm The pitch level of the utterance (or the intonation group) is determined by the pitch of its highest-pitched syllable. It shows the degree of semantic importance in

comparison with any other utterance, and also conveys the speakers attitudes and emotions. In unemphatic speech most phoneticians distinguish three pitch levels: low, mid and high. The pitch range of an utterance is the interval between its highest-pitched syllable and its lowest-pitched syllable. According to circumstances the speaker changes his voice range. It may be widened and narrowed to express emphasis or the speakers attitudes and emotions. The rate of pitch variations may be different depending on the time during which these variations take place, and on the range of the variations. Differences in the rate of pitch variations are semantically important. When the rate of the fall is fast, the falling tone sounds more categoric and definite than when the rate of the fall is slow. The most important from the functional point of view is the terminal tone of an utterance. The peculiarity of the terminal tone in English is that it may occur not only on the nucleus but may be extended to the tail. The pitch of the tail depends on the kind of a terminal tone. It conveys certain meanings of its own which make the whole utterance more concrete and precise. The meanings of the falling tone are definiteness, incompleteness, non-finality, uncertainty, tentativeness. The falling-rising tone carries the meaning of reservation, implication, contrast. The elements of the intonation group are the prehead, the head, the nucleus and the tail. The prehead is normally pronounced on the low or mid pitch level. The head is viewed as one melodic shape, one part of the pitch contour of the utterance. It acts as a unit independent of the nucleus. The functions of the head are to express relations between its constituent units. The fallowing types of head are distinguished: the gradually descending head, the broken descending head, the low level head, the high level head, the ascending head, the scandent head, the sliding head. The functional analysis of speech melody shows that the leading role in differentiating communicative types of utterances belongs to the terminal tone. That is why the communicative-distinctive function of speech melody is widely recognized. The

distinctive function of intonation also manifests itself in other particular functions, e.g. the modal-stylistic (attitudinal) function. Rhythm has been defined as regularity or periodicity in the occurrence of a particular phenomenon in an utterance. In some languages the recurring phenomena are stressed, in others syllables. English is considered to be mostly a language with stressed-timed rhythm. The stressed syllable is the nucleus of the rhythmic unit. There are as many rhythmic units in an utterance as there are stressed syllables in it. The unstressed syllables are clitics. Those preceding the stressed syllable are called proclitics, and those following it enclitics. Depending on the position of the stressed syllable and the number of proclitics and enclitics in the rhythmic group there exist various accentual - and rhythmic patterns of it. The rhythmic group is also characterized by a pitch pattern and duration pattern. These prosodic characteristics make it possible to perceive the rhythmic unit as an actual discrete unit of prosody. Phonostylistics 1. 2. 3. Phonetic modifications in speech. Phonetic styles as opposed to functional styles. The classification of phonetic styles.

The main circumstances of reality that course phonetic modification in speech are as follows: the aim of spontaneity of speech (which may be to instruct, to inform, to narrate, to chat, etc.) the extent of spontaneity of speech (unprepared speech, prepared speech) the nature of interchange, i.e. the use of a form of speech which may either suggest only listening, or both listening and an exchange of remarks (a lecture, a discussion, a conversation, etc.) social and psychological factors, which determine the extent of formality of speech and the attitudes expressed (a friendly conversation with close friends, a quarrel, an official conversation, etc.)

These circumstances, or factors, are termed extralinguistic factors. Different ways of pronunciation caused by extralinguistic factors and characterized by definite phonetic features, are called phonetic styles, or styles of pronunciation. Scholars distinguish a number of functional styles of the written language, such as belles-letters style, publicistic style, newspaper style, the style of official documents and the style of scientific prose, which have clearly distinguishable lexical and syntactic peculiarities. The styles of the spoken language are not as yet unanimously defined, though we are aware of the phonetic differences. The phonetic style-forming means are the degree of assimilation, reduction and elision, all of which depend on the degree of carefulness of pronunciation. Phonetic styles differ prosodically, too. Each phonetic style is characterized by a specific combination of certain segmental and prosodic features. Phoneticians distinguish a number of styles of pronunciation, although among them there is no generally accepted classification of pronunciation styles either. D. Tones distinguishes five styles of pronunciation: the rapid familiar style, the slower colloquial style, the natural style used in addressing an audience, the acquired style of the stage, the acquired styles used in singing. T. Kenyon distinguished four principal styles of good spoken English: familiar colloquial, formal colloquial, public-speaking style and public-reading style. For teaching and learning purposes the following classification of phonostyles is considered useful: informational style, academic style, publicistic style, declamatory style, conversational style. Phonostylistic Characteristics at the Level of Prosodic Features 1. 2. 3. The phonostylistic parameters that summarize prosodic features. The phonetic style-forming means of the informational style. Phonostylistic properties of the academic style. Phonostylistic characteristics are summarized in the form of certain parameters based on prosodic features. These parameters represent appropriate prosodic style-

forming means (including intonation patterns) common to a particular style. Such parameters are called phonostylistic parameters and they are as follows: 1. 2.
3.

Timbre Delimitation Style-marking prosodic features: loudness, levels and ranges, rate, pauses, Accentuation of semantic centres: terminal tones, pre-nuclear patterns, The speech typology characteristic of the informational style includes:

rhythm
4.

contrast between accented and unaccented segments informational style registers (reading / speaking as the varieties of the language involved; prepared written speech read aloud and / or spontaneous spoken speech); educational information; press reporting and broadcasting. The forms of communication are represented by a monologue, a dialogue or a polylogue with the number of participants involved (suggestion the spheres of discourse public and non-public) and the character of their relationship (formal and informal). By way of illustration, here is the invariant of phonostylistic properties of the reading of a new bulletin (press reporting and broadcasting) presented in the form of phonostylistic parameters with their appropriate markers. 1. 2. 3. a) boundaries; b)
c)

Timbre: dispassionate, impartial, but resolute and assured. Delimitation: phonopassages phrases intonation groups. Style marking prosodic features: loudness normal or increased, contrasted at the phonopassages levels and ranges normal, decrease towards the end of the passage, rate not remarkably varied, slow, rarely allegro, deliberately slow pauses rather long, especially at the end of each new item; rhythm stable, properly organized. Accentuation of semantic centers:

noticeable increase at the start of any new news item; (lento) on communicatively important centers; d) e)
4.

a)

terminal tones frequent use of final, categoric falling tones on the pre-nuclear patterns common use of descending heads (very often the contrast between the accented and unaccented segments not great. The academic style is used in the following spheres of communication that involve

semantic centers and falling rising or rising ones in the initial intonation groups; b) c) broken); alternation of descending and ascending heads;

the written variety of the language and the spoken variety of the language in the forms of a monologue, a dialogue, a polylogue suggesting public and non-public relationships, reading or speaking in a prepared or spontaneous way. By way of illustration, let us consider the invariant of phonostylistic characteristics of an academic lecture read aloud in public in front of a fairly-sized audience. 1. 2. 3. a) b) c) d) Timbre: authoritative, imposing, edifying, instructive, self-assured. Delimitation: phonopassages phrases intonation groups. Style marking prosodic features: loudness increased, sometimes to forte; levels an ranges remarkably varied with the passage segments, gradual rate normal, slow on the most important parts of the lecture (rules, pauses rather long, especially between the phonopassages; a large

decrease within the supraphrasal unity; conclusions, examples); rate is as flexible as the lecturer wishes it to be; proportion of the pauses serving to bring out communicatively important parts of utterances; occasional use of breath-taking pauses; e) 4. a) b) c) rhythm properly organized, especially while giving the rules, reading the Accentuation of semantic centres: terminal tones high proportion of compound terminal tones (High Fall pre-nuclear patterns frequent use of stepping and falling heads; the contrast between the accented and unaccented segments not great. laws, drawing conclusions, etc.

+ Low Rise, Fall-Rise, Rise-Fall-Rise); a great number of high categoric falls; alternation of descending and ascending heads, especially in enumeration;

Phonostylistic Characteristics of Conversational Style, Publicistic Style and Declamatory Style 1. 2. 3. Conversational style as the most commonly used type of phonetic style. Publicistic style an oratorical variety of public speech. The declamatory style as a highly emotional and expressive phonetic style. Informal conversational English is opposed to written English read aloud is characterized by: a) b) c) d)
e)

a high proportion of hesitation features of all kinds; a substantial amount of overlapping and simultaneous speech; a great amount of non-obligatory assimilation; a very high frequency of simple falling tones, a high frequency of a high frequency of compound tones, especially the fall + rise; a frequent

stepping down head and almost complete absence of stepping up head; use of low rising tones on statement; the occasional use of very emphatic tones, a common use of high unstressed syllables especially in the pre-head; f) g) a strong tendency to use short intonation groups and to break up lengthy a frequent use of pauses which occur in places where they are not regular intonation groups wherever possible; in formal conversation. Informality of conversational English is also created by unexpected introduction of dialect forms, elements of very formal language, slips of tongue, hesitant drawls, uneven tempo, significant variations in loudness, paralinguistic features. The basic aim of publicistic speech is to extend persuasive and emotional influence on the listeners, and volitional and desiderative information is predominant in oratorical texts/speech. The invariant of phonostylistic characteristics of publicistic speech is as follows: 1) 2) timbre: dignified, self-assured, concerned and personally involved; delimitation: phonopassages phrases intonation groups;

3)

style making prosodic features; a) b)

c)

loudness enormously increased, ranging from forte to fortissimo; ranges and levels greatly varied; the predominant use of wide ranges rate moderately slow; the public speaker slows down the tempo of his pauses definitely long between the passages; a great number of breath-

within the phonopassages; speech to bring out communicatively important centers; d) taking pauses; a frequent stop of phonation before the emphatic semantic centre; rhetorical silence is used to exert influence on the public; e)
4) a)

rhythm properly organized; terminal tones mostly emphatic, especially on emotionally underlined pre-nuclear patterns common use of the descending sequence of

the accentuation of semantic centers:

semantic centers; in non-final intonation groups falling-rising tones are frequent; b) stressed syllables; a large proportion of falling and stepping heads frequently broken by accidental rises to increase the emphasis; c) d) the contrast between accented and unaccented segments not great; paralinguistic features.

Attitudinal, volitional and intellectual functions of intonation are of primary importance in the performance of the declamatory style. This style is represented by a written form of the language read aloud or recited. The invariant of phonostylistic characteristics of the declamatory prose reading is as follows: 1) 2) 3) timbre: concerned, personally involved, emotionally rich; delimitation: phonopassages phrases intonation groups; style making prosodic features; a) b) loudness varied according to the size of the audience; ranges and levels variable;

c)

rate deliberately slow, necessitated by the purpose of reading changes

in the speed of reading utterances are determined by the syntactic structures, importance of information and the degree of emphasis; d) e)
4)

pauses long, especially between the passages. The declamatory reading rhythm properly organized; the isochronic recurrence of stressed and

is distinctly marked by a great number of prolonged emphatic pauses; unstressed syllables; the accentuation of semantic centers:
a)

terminal tones common use of categoric low and high falls in final and

even initial intonation groups and on semantic centers; occasional use of rising and level tones to break the monotony; b) pre-nuclear patterns varied, contain patterns which have both common emphatic and non-emphatic usage; for the emphasis the following intonation patterns are most frequently used: low head + high fall high head + low fall high head + high fall stepping head + high fall c) the contrast between accented and unaccented segments not great.

Types of English Pronunciation 1. 2. 3. The orthoepic norm of a language. Received Pronunciation (RP). The pronunciation varieties of British English: the Northern region type the Scottish type of pronunciation. The orthoepic norm of a language is the standard pronunciation adopted by native speakers as the right and proper way of speaking. It is the pronunciation used

by the most educated part of the population, the pronunciation that is recorded in pronouncing dictionaries as the best. It comprises the variants of pronunciation of vocabulary units and prosodic patterns which reflect the main tendencies in pronunciation that exist in the language. The orthoepic norm of the English language is considered to be Received Pronunciation (RP). It is mainly based on the southern region type of pronunciation, but it has developed its own features which have given it a non-regional character. The main changes that have recently take place in RP are as follows: 1) 2)
3)

the diphthongization of the RP [i:] and [u:] which in final position are often monophthongization of [ai] and [au] when followed by []; the centering of former [ou] to [u]; the assimilation of the following sounds: [sj] > [] [zj] > [] [tj] > [t] [dj] > [d]

pronounced with a glide;

4)

5)

the use of the intrusive [r] which some 30 40 years ago was carefully avoided RP is accepted as the teaching standard in many countries, in Russia as well. There are many educated people in Britain who do not speak RP, though their

by RP speakers.

English is good and correct. They speak Standard English with a regional type of pronunciation. The types of pronunciation that are widely used by educated people in Britain, besides RP, are the Northern type and the Scottish type of English pronunciation. The Northern region type of English pronunciation is characterized by the following features: [] is more open and more retracted back; [a:] is fronted as compared to the RP [a:] and it approximates to [] in words which do not contain the letter r;

 [u] is used instead of []; [ou] is pronounced as monophthongal [o:]. The Scottish type of English pronunciation is characterized by the following features: the sequences [ir], [er], [r] are used instead of RP [:]; [u] is used instead of [au]; all vowels are short; [r] is an alveolar flap not only between and before vowels, but also after vowels; a voiceless labiovelar fricative is used to distinguish, for example between whine and wine; a backlingual fricative [x] is used. American English Pronunciation 1. 2. Peculiarities of American English Pronunciation as compared to those of RP. Intonation contours of American English. American English (AE), a variant of the English language, has developed its own peculiarities in vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. American English embraces a wide range of pronunciation varieties. General American (GA) pronunciation is usually referred to as the standard pronunciation of AE. The peculiarities of GA pronunciation (as compared to those of RP) are as follows: [r] is retroflexive; [t] is voiced between a vowel and a sonorant; [l] is always dark; [h] is often dropped in weak syllables; [j] is omitted before [u]; the glottal stop is used instead of [t] before [m], [n], [l], [r], [j], [w]; [] is used instead of [a:] in words which do not contain the letter r; vowels are not differentiated by their length, they are long.

The most frequent intonation contour for statements, requests, general questions in GA is the tune, beginning low, rising to a high level, and then steadily falling. Rising tunes that rise from a low pitch level and end on a high pitch level occur with some general questions when a polite form is desirable. Another frequent intonational characteristic in GA is to end a sentence with a high-pitched fall-rise. There is a wide range of pronunciation varieties of the English language. They reflect the social class the speaker belongs to, the region he comes from. Some of these varieties are received pronunciations, others are not.