Articulatory Phonetics

Vowels and consonants can be thought of as the segments of which

speech is composed. Together they form the syllables, which go to make up

utterances. Superimposed on the syllables there are other features known as

suprasegmentals. These include variations in stress and pitch. Variations in

length are also usually considered to be suprasegmental features, although

they can affect single segments as well as whole syllables.

Variations. in stress are used in English to distinguish between a noun

and a verb, as in "(an) insult" versus "(to) insult." Say these words yourself,

and check which syllable has the greater stress. Then compare similar

pairs, such as "(a) pervert, (to) pervert" or "(an) overflow, (to) overflow."

You should find that in the nouns the stress is on the first syllable, but in

the verbs it is on the last. Thus, stress can have a grammatical function in

English.

 It can also be used for contrastive emphasis (as in "I want a red

pen, not a black one"). Variations in stress are caused by an increase in the

activity of the respiratory muscles (so that a greater amount of air is pushed

out of the lungs) and in the activity of the laryngeal muscles (so that there

is a significant change in pitch).

You can usually find where the stress occurs on a word by trying to tap

with your finger in time with each syllable. It is much easier to tap on the

stressed syllable. Try saying "abominable" and tapping first on the first

syllable, then on the second, then on the third, and so on. If you say the

word in your normal way you will find it easiest to tap on the second syllable.

Many people cannot tap on the first syllable without altering their normal

pronunciation.

Pitch changes due to variations in laryngeal activity can occur independently

of stress changes. When they do, they can affect the meaning of the

sentence as a whole. The pitch pattern in a sentence is known as the intonation.

Listen to the intonation (the variations in the pitch of your voice)

when you say the sentence "This is my father." Try to find out which syllable

has the highest pitch and which the 1owest:In most people's speech the

highest pitch will occur on the first syllable of "father" and the lowest on

the second. Now observe the pitch changes in the question "Is this your

father?" In this sentence the first syllable of "father" is usually on a low

pitch, and the last syllable is on a high pitch. In English it is even possible

to change the meaning of a sentence such as "That's a cat" from a statement

to a question without altering the order of the words.

 If you substitute

a mainly rising for a mainly falling intonation, you will produce a question

spoken with an air of astonishment: "That's a cat?"

All the suprasegmental features are characterized by the fact that they

must be described in relation to other items in the same utterance. It is the

relative values of pitch, length, or degree of stress of an item that are significant.

You can stress one syllable as opposed to another irrespective of

whether you are shouting or talking softly. 

Children can also use the same

intonation patterns as adults, although their voices have a higher pitch. The

absolute values are never linguistically important. But they do, of course,

convey information about the speaker's age, sex, emotional state, and attitude.