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Phonetics & Phonology Chapter 12 Report

Weak forms are reduced pronunciations of certain English words like "that", which can be pronounced as either "daet" (strong form) or "d a t" (weak form). While non-native speakers may use only strong forms and still be understood, using weak forms is important for two reasons: 1) Native English speakers find an "all-strong form" pronunciation unnatural, and 2) weak forms are used by practically all native British English speakers, so unfamiliarity with them can cause comprehension difficulties. Learning weak forms helps with understanding spoken English. Certain function words like prepositions and conjunctions typically have both strong and weak forms, and it is important to use the appropriate form depending on the context.

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156 views

Phonetics & Phonology Chapter 12 Report

Weak forms are reduced pronunciations of certain English words like "that", which can be pronounced as either "daet" (strong form) or "d a t" (weak form). While non-native speakers may use only strong forms and still be understood, using weak forms is important for two reasons: 1) Native English speakers find an "all-strong form" pronunciation unnatural, and 2) weak forms are used by practically all native British English speakers, so unfamiliarity with them can cause comprehension difficulties. Learning weak forms helps with understanding spoken English. Certain function words like prepositions and conjunctions typically have both strong and weak forms, and it is important to use the appropriate form depending on the context.

Uploaded by

Tarisha Alghaniya Firdaus
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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WEAK FORMS

1. Weak forms

Chapter 9 introduced the concept of strong and weak syllables in


English. Now, the focus has shifted to strong and weak forms of
certain well-known English words. Strong forms are the emphasized
pronunciations, while weak forms are the reduced pronunciations. For
example, the word 'that' can be pronounced as "daet" (strong form) or
"d a t" (weak form). While some non-native speakers may use only
strong forms and still be understood, it is important to learn weak
forms for two reasons. Firstly, native English speakers typically find
an "all-strong form" pronunciation unnatural and foreign-sounding, so
learners generally want to avoid that. Secondly, since practically all
native British English speakers use weak forms, learners who are
unfamiliar with them may struggle to understand native speakers.
Therefore, learning about weak forms helps learners better
comprehend spoken English.

2. Weak forms and contracted forms

We must distinguish between weak forms and contracted forms.


Certain English words are shortened so severely (usually to a single
phoneme) and so consistently that they are represented differently in
informal writing (e.g. ‘it is’ —> ‘it’s5; ‘we have’ —> ‘we’ve’; ‘do
not’ —» ‘don’t’). These contracted forms are discussed in Chapter 14,
and are not included here.

3. Function words

The majority of words that have both strong and weak forms
belong to a category known as function words. Function words, such
as auxiliary verbs, prepositions, and conjunctions, don't typically have
a dictionary meaning like nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs do.
These function words can be pronounced in their strong forms in
specific contexts, but more often they are pronounced in their weak
forms. It is crucial to note that there are certain situations where only
the strong form is appropriate, while in other cases, the weak form is
the usual pronunciation. Understanding when to use the strong or
weak form is important for effective communication in English.

4. Weak forms Rules

There are several simple rules for when to use the strong form of
words with weak forms:

i) The strong form is used for many weak-form words when


they appear at the end of a sentence. For example, the word
'of' is pronounced as 'sv' in "I'm fond of chips," but as 'd v' in
"Chips are what I'm fond of."
ii) The strong form is used when a weak-form word is being
contrasted with another word or in coordinated use of
prepositions. For instance, "The letter's from him, not to him"
and "I travel to and from London a lot."
iii) The strong form is used when a weak-form word is given
stress for emphasis. For example, "You must give me more
money."
iv) The strong form is used when a weak-form word is being
cited or quoted. For instance, "You shouldn't put 'and' at the
end of a sentence."

Additionally, it's important to note that when weak-form words


beginning with 'h' (such as 'her' or 'have') occur at the beginning of a
sentence, the initial 'h' sound is pronounced, even though it is usually
omitted in other contexts.

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