Pr omi nence
social networks
spanish
another perspective
Exploiting the system
existential synonymy +
Stress
(non) prominence
Selection
Definition
DEFINITION
As we have already seen, prominence is the feature that marks the beginning and the end of the tonic segment. Prominent syllables are heard as more emphatic than the others in the utterance and the allocation of such prominent syllables implies, according to Brazil, an act of selection in which the speaker is involved.
Onset syllabe Tonic syllable
EXAMPLE
/ a KIlo of BREAD /
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Tonic segment
SELECTION 1
What does Brazil mean by ‘selection’? Where do speakers make selections from?
To explain the concept of selection Brazil refers to two PARADIGMS: Let's start with the first one: the general paradigm. The general paradigm comprises all the possibilities that the language system allows. It provides us with a theoretically unlimited number of combinations. Imagine each paradigm like a box.
Example
So, in an exchange like:
A: What did you buy?
B: / A kilo of bread /
The general paradigm for B's answer may comprise the following:
a kilo of bread
(the) (any quantity) (----------) (any noun)
SEE SELECTION 2
SELECTION 2
The second paradigm is the existential paradigm. The existential paradigm narrows down the options in the general paradigm, leaving only the ones which are available in a certain context of interaction.
Example
So, if A asks ‘What did you buy at the bakery?’ then, the existential paradigm is reduced to the following options:
a kilo of bread
(any quantity that you may buy when you do the shopping at the baker’s – That is, you never buy 50 kilos of anything!)
(any noun that refers to whatever you can buy at a bakery)
(-----)
INCOMPTIBLE SENSES
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The importance of both: prominent and non prominent words
Through the choices of (non) prominence, the speaker projects a certain context. That is to say, the context of interaction will affect the choice of prominence and, at the same time, the choice of prominence will project a certain understanding of the context of interaction. Let's see how the projection changes in this exchange depending on the prominece chosen by the speaker: A: Who wrote this book? B: /An intelligent woman/ Think about what the speaker means by his/her choice of prominence. Then, hover over the options and compare your answer to the sample answer provided. OPTION 1: OPTION 2: /an intelligent woman/ /an intelligent woman/
Back to min page
Prominence and stress
Prominence and stress may sound pretty much the same, but they are not! Stress is inherent in a word but prominence is not. If you look up a word in a dictionary, the phonetic transcription will show where the word is stressed. See the stress marked in the following utterance: / I 'bought a 'kilo of 'bread at the 'bakery a'cross the 'street / However, there is no way we can predict which word(s) will be prominent when the phrase is uttered in context. That will depend on the context where it is used. A: How much bread did you buy at the bakery across the street? B: / I 'bought a 'kilo of 'bread at the 'bakery a'cross the 'street /
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Existential synonymy
It is important to remember that the existential paradigm does not comprise words or syllables but mutually incompatible senses. However, depending on the context of interaction, we may find instances such as the one in the video: GIRL: / bye Mum/ Mum: /oh honey / i’ll miss you / How would you explain the prominence on 'honey'? Think about it first and check your ideas here.
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Speakers can exploit the system of prominence so as to project a context of interaction which suits their current conversational end. In many cases, the discrepancy between what the speaker does and what the hearer would expect can be great. For example, a speaker may choose to make prominent a sense that is recoverable in the context and whose existential paradigm is empty so as to reinforce a certain point. Or, a speaker may choose the opposite: to present an item as non selective, projecting a context in which it WOULD be non selective although, in fact, there are many other opposing senses in its existential paradigm.
Exploiting the system of prominence
Let's see some examples
You may remember this extract from the work we’ve done on assimilation. Jenny is talking to the school headmistress about her plans to get married and drop out of school.
Concentrate on the following exchange:
Jenny:/ We won’t be getting married in a church /David’s Jewish /
Headmistress: /Jewish / he’s a Jew /
The same situation takes place in the following part of the extract:
Headmistress: /Studying is hard / and boring /
Jenny: / Boring /Studying / is hard / and boring / teaching /is hard /and boring / So what you’re telling me / is to be bored / and then bored /and finally bored again / but this time /for the rest of my life!
Back to main page
Intonation on social media
You can follow many people and sites to be updated and take part in interesting discussions!
Back to main page
A different perspective
Wells (2006) describes the liguistic system of TONICITY, which deals with the way in which speakers locate the NUCLEOUS within an INTONATION PHRASE.
You can read more about this approach here:
Back to main page
Spanish and English prominece contrasted
(i) English and Spanish differ in the way they signal given information intonationally. In Spanish, unlike English, information already present in the discourse can be accented. A shift of accent to convey givenness is possible in Spanish, but not necessary. (ii) English and Spanish differ in the way they consider arguments and predicates in their capacity as accent carriers. In Spanish, unlike English, neither arguments nor predicates take prevalence in carrying nuclear accent. (iii) Closely connected with the above, in Spanish there is a strong tendency for final lexical items to carry the nuclear accent (irrespective of whether they are nouns or verbs, etc.). Word order adjustments are sometimes necessary to allow this rule to come into operation. (vi) Whereas English prefers to leave objects of general reference unaccented in certain contexts, Spanish does not. See the following examples, in which Spanish learners will normally accent as in (3) and (4) and not as (1) or (2), which would be more natural. (1) I’ve only ‡BEEN here once.
(2) I’ve only ‡BROUGHT a thin sweater. (3) I’ve ONly been here ONCE.
(4) I’ve ONly brought a thin SWEATer.
Read more about this here
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Prominence
Daniela Martino
Created on May 27, 2021
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Transcript
Pr omi nence
social networks
spanish
another perspective
Exploiting the system
existential synonymy +
Stress
(non) prominence
Selection
Definition
DEFINITION
As we have already seen, prominence is the feature that marks the beginning and the end of the tonic segment. Prominent syllables are heard as more emphatic than the others in the utterance and the allocation of such prominent syllables implies, according to Brazil, an act of selection in which the speaker is involved.
Onset syllabe Tonic syllable
EXAMPLE
/ a KIlo of BREAD /
Back to main page
Tonic segment
SELECTION 1
What does Brazil mean by ‘selection’? Where do speakers make selections from? To explain the concept of selection Brazil refers to two PARADIGMS: Let's start with the first one: the general paradigm. The general paradigm comprises all the possibilities that the language system allows. It provides us with a theoretically unlimited number of combinations. Imagine each paradigm like a box.
Example
So, in an exchange like: A: What did you buy? B: / A kilo of bread /
The general paradigm for B's answer may comprise the following: a kilo of bread (the) (any quantity) (----------) (any noun)
SEE SELECTION 2
SELECTION 2
The second paradigm is the existential paradigm. The existential paradigm narrows down the options in the general paradigm, leaving only the ones which are available in a certain context of interaction.
Example
So, if A asks ‘What did you buy at the bakery?’ then, the existential paradigm is reduced to the following options:
a kilo of bread
(any quantity that you may buy when you do the shopping at the baker’s – That is, you never buy 50 kilos of anything!)
(any noun that refers to whatever you can buy at a bakery)
(-----)
INCOMPTIBLE SENSES
Back to main page
The importance of both: prominent and non prominent words
Through the choices of (non) prominence, the speaker projects a certain context. That is to say, the context of interaction will affect the choice of prominence and, at the same time, the choice of prominence will project a certain understanding of the context of interaction. Let's see how the projection changes in this exchange depending on the prominece chosen by the speaker: A: Who wrote this book? B: /An intelligent woman/ Think about what the speaker means by his/her choice of prominence. Then, hover over the options and compare your answer to the sample answer provided. OPTION 1: OPTION 2: /an intelligent woman/ /an intelligent woman/
Back to min page
Prominence and stress
Prominence and stress may sound pretty much the same, but they are not! Stress is inherent in a word but prominence is not. If you look up a word in a dictionary, the phonetic transcription will show where the word is stressed. See the stress marked in the following utterance: / I 'bought a 'kilo of 'bread at the 'bakery a'cross the 'street / However, there is no way we can predict which word(s) will be prominent when the phrase is uttered in context. That will depend on the context where it is used. A: How much bread did you buy at the bakery across the street? B: / I 'bought a 'kilo of 'bread at the 'bakery a'cross the 'street /
Back to main page
Existential synonymy
It is important to remember that the existential paradigm does not comprise words or syllables but mutually incompatible senses. However, depending on the context of interaction, we may find instances such as the one in the video: GIRL: / bye Mum/ Mum: /oh honey / i’ll miss you / How would you explain the prominence on 'honey'? Think about it first and check your ideas here.
Back to main page
Speakers can exploit the system of prominence so as to project a context of interaction which suits their current conversational end. In many cases, the discrepancy between what the speaker does and what the hearer would expect can be great. For example, a speaker may choose to make prominent a sense that is recoverable in the context and whose existential paradigm is empty so as to reinforce a certain point. Or, a speaker may choose the opposite: to present an item as non selective, projecting a context in which it WOULD be non selective although, in fact, there are many other opposing senses in its existential paradigm.
Exploiting the system of prominence
Let's see some examples
You may remember this extract from the work we’ve done on assimilation. Jenny is talking to the school headmistress about her plans to get married and drop out of school. Concentrate on the following exchange: Jenny:/ We won’t be getting married in a church /David’s Jewish / Headmistress: /Jewish / he’s a Jew /
The same situation takes place in the following part of the extract: Headmistress: /Studying is hard / and boring / Jenny: / Boring /Studying / is hard / and boring / teaching /is hard /and boring / So what you’re telling me / is to be bored / and then bored /and finally bored again / but this time /for the rest of my life!
Back to main page
Intonation on social media
You can follow many people and sites to be updated and take part in interesting discussions!
Back to main page
A different perspective
Wells (2006) describes the liguistic system of TONICITY, which deals with the way in which speakers locate the NUCLEOUS within an INTONATION PHRASE.
You can read more about this approach here:
Back to main page
Spanish and English prominece contrasted
(i) English and Spanish differ in the way they signal given information intonationally. In Spanish, unlike English, information already present in the discourse can be accented. A shift of accent to convey givenness is possible in Spanish, but not necessary. (ii) English and Spanish differ in the way they consider arguments and predicates in their capacity as accent carriers. In Spanish, unlike English, neither arguments nor predicates take prevalence in carrying nuclear accent. (iii) Closely connected with the above, in Spanish there is a strong tendency for final lexical items to carry the nuclear accent (irrespective of whether they are nouns or verbs, etc.). Word order adjustments are sometimes necessary to allow this rule to come into operation. (vi) Whereas English prefers to leave objects of general reference unaccented in certain contexts, Spanish does not. See the following examples, in which Spanish learners will normally accent as in (3) and (4) and not as (1) or (2), which would be more natural. (1) I’ve only ‡BEEN here once. (2) I’ve only ‡BROUGHT a thin sweater. (3) I’ve ONly been here ONCE. (4) I’ve ONly brought a thin SWEATer.
Read more about this here
Back to main page