Topics:
English syllable; phonotactics; weak and strong syllables; syllabic consonants
Nature and placement of word stress (complex words); vowel reduction
Placement of word stress in compound words; stress shift
Sentence stress and weak forms and contractions
English rhythm (stress-timing x syllable-timing)
Introduction to English intonation; basic tones
Tone unit and its structure; pitch possibilities in tone units
Functions of English intonation
The course focuses on the description and practice of selected suprasegmental features of the English sound system, particularly syllable structure, word stress, rhythm, reduction and intonation, which greatly contribute to better intelligibility of fluent speech.