Lecture 9. Weak forms

1. Lecture 9. Weak forms Dr.Ganaa Associate Professor

2. Introduction • Words are considered, not syllables. • Words that can be pronounced in two different ways: - strong forms - weak forms. /D…t/ (strong form) e.g. that /D…t/ (weak form)

3. We distinguish almost 50 of such words. • We must distinguish beteween: - weak forms - contracted forms: e.g. ‘it is - it’s’; ‘we have - we’ve’; ‘do not – don’t’ • They belong to a category called function words ( such as auxiliaries, prepositions, conjunctions…)

4. We can sometimes use rules where strong forms are used: • When they occur at the end of a sentence. e.g. I’m proud of him dignity is what I’m proud of. 2) When a weak-form is being contrasted with another word. e.g. the letter’s from him, not to him.

5. 3) When a weak-form word is given stress for the purpose of emphasis. e.g. you must help him. 4) When a weak-form word is being ‘cited’ or ‘quoted’. e.g. you shouldn’t put ‘and’ at the end of a sentence.

6. The most common weak-form words • ‘a’ , ‘an’: Weak forms: /…/ or /….n/ e.g. read a book. eat an apple. strong forms: /eI/ or /….n/ 2) ‘and’: Weak form: /@nd/, /@n/, /nd/ or /n/(after t, d, s, z, S)

7. e.g. come and see. fish and chip. Strong form: /&nd/ 3) at: weak form: /@t/ e.g. I’ll see you at lunch. Strong form: /&t/ e.g. what’s he looking at?

8. 4) as: Weak form: /@z/ e.g. as much as possible. Strong form: /&z/ e.g. that’s what it was sold as.

9. 5) am: Weak form: /@m/, /m/ e.g. why amI here? Strong form: /&m/ 6) are: Weak form: /@/ or /@r/ e.g. the coats are in there. Strong form: /A:/ or /A:r/ e.g. I know the Smiths are.

10. 7) was: Weak form: /w@z/ e.g. he was here a minute ago. strong form: /wQz/ e.g. the last record was. 8) were: Weak form: /w@/ or /w@r/ e.g. the papers were late. the questions were easy. strong form: /w3:/ or /w3:r/ e.g. they weren’t as cold as we were

11. 8) be: Weak form: /bI/ Strong form: /bi:/ 9) but: Weak form: /b@t/ e.g. it’s good but expensive. strong form: /bVt/

12. 10) been: Weak form: /bIn/ strong form: /bi:n/ 11) can: Weak form: /k@n/, /kn/ e.g. they can wait. strong form: /k&n/ e.g. I think we can.

13. 12) could: Weak form: /k@d/, /kd/ e.g. he could do it. strong form: /kUd/ e.g. most of them could. 13) do: Weak form: /d@/ (before consonants), /dU/ (before vowels) e.g. why do they like it? why do all the cars stop? Strong form: /du:/ e.g. we don’t smoke, but some people do.

14. 14) does: Weak form: /d@z/ e.g. when does it arrive? Strong form: /dVz/ e.g. I think John does. 15) for: Weak form: /f@/ (before consonants), /f@r/ (before vowels) e.g. tea for two. thanks for asking. Strong form: /fO:/ e.g. what’s that for?

15. 16) from: Weak form: /fr@m/ e.g. I’m home from work. Strong form: /frQm/ e.g. here’s where it came from. 17) had: Weak form: /@d/ e.g. most had gone home. Strong form: /h&d/ e.g. I thought we had.

16. 18) has: Weak form: /@z/ e.g. which has been best? Strong form: /h&z/ e.g. I think she has. 19) have: Weak form: /@v/ e.g. which have you seen? Strong form: /h&v/ e.g. yes, we have.

17. 20) he: Weak form: /I/ e.g. which did he choose? Strong form: /hi:/ 21) her: Weak form: /@/ , /@r/ (before vowels) e.g. take her home. take her out. Strong form: /h3:/

18. 22) him: Weak form: /Im/ e.g. leave him alone. I’ve seen him. Strong form: /hIm/ 23) his: Weak form: /Iz/ e.g. take his name. Strong form: /hIz/

19. 24) is: Weak form: /s/, /z/ Strong form: /Iz/ 25)me: Weak form: /mI/ Strong form: /mi:/

20. 26) must: Weak form: /m@s/ (b.consonants), /m@st/ (b.vowels) e.g. you must try harder. he must eat more. Strong form: /mVst/ e.g. she certainly must. 27) not: Weak form: /nt/, /n/ She has not left yet. Strong form: /nQt/ No, not yet.

21. 28) of: Weak form: /@v/ e.g. most of all. Strong form: /Qv/ e.g. someone I’ve heard of. 29) Saint: Weak form: /s@nt, snt, s@n, sn/ Strong form: /seInt/

22. 30) shall: Weak form: /S@l/, /Sl/ e.g. we shall need to hurry. Strong form: /S&l/ e.g. I think we shall. 31) she: Weak form: /SI/ e.g. why did she read it? Strong form: /Si:/

23. 32) should: Weak form: /S@d/, /Sd/ e.g. I should forget it. Strong form: /Sud/ e.g. So you should. 33) Sir: Weak form: /s@/, /s@r/ Strong form: /s3:/, /s3:r/

24. 34) some: Weak form: /s@m/, /sm/ ( with an unspecified amount of) e.g. Have some more tea. Strong form: /sVm/ (with an unknown individual) e.g. I think some animal broke it. I’ve got some. 35) than: Weak form: /D@n/, /Dn/ e.g. better than ever. Strong form: /D&n/ (rare)

25. 36) that: Weak form: Strong form: 37) the: Weak form: /D@t/ (in a relative clause) e.g. the price is the thing that annoys me. Strong form: /D&t/ (as a demonstrative)

26. 38) them: Weak form: /D@m/, /Dm/, /@m/, /m/ e.g. Leave them here. Strong form: /Dem/ 39) there: Weak form: /D@/, /D@r/ e.g. there should be a rule. there is. Strong form: /De@/, /De@r/ (as demonstrative) e.g. There it is. Put it there.

27. 40) to: Weak form: /t@/ (before consonant), /tU/ (before vowel) e.g. Try to stop Time to eat. Strong form:/tu:/ 41) us: Weak form: /@s/, /s/ e.g. write us a letter. they invited all of us. Strong form: /Vs/

28. 42) was: Weak form: /w@z/ e.g. He was here a minute ago. Strong form: /wQz/ e.g. the last record was. 43) we: Weak form: /wI/ e.g. how can we get there. Strong form: /wi:/

29. 44) were: Weak form: /w@/, /w@r/ e.g. the papers were late. the questions were easy. Strong form: /w3:/, /w3:r/ e.g. they weren’t as cold as we were. 45) who: Weak form: /hU/, /u:/,/U/ Strong form: /hu:/

30. 46) will: Weak form: /l/ Strong form: /wIl/ 47) would: Weak form: /w@d/, /@d/, /d/ Strong form: /wUd/

31. 48) you: Weak form: /jU/ Strong form: /ju:/ 49) your: Weak form: /j@/, /j@r/ e.g. take your time. on your own. Strong form: /jO:/