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THE 37 ESSENTIAL WEAK-FORM WORDS
HECTOR ORTIZ LIRA
•UNIVERSIDAD METROPOLITANA DE CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIÓN •UNIVERSIDAD DE SANTIAGO DE CHILE 2008 INTRODUCTION Weak forms are an essential feature of English pronunciation. Students who wish to acquire a high level of oral performance, as is the case of future teachers of English, must be aware of their existence, since failure to produce them will affect English rhythm quite considerably and even lead to misunderstanding. Spanish-speaking learners face a number of difficulties in this respect. On the one hand, weakening of the grammatical items which make up the weak- form inventory in non-prominent contexts does not exist in Spanish. On the other hand, unless the weakened pronunciations are represented with a contracted form, i.e. by the use of apostrophes, (e.g. I could’ve helped if you’d asked me /aî k¨d \v «helpt îf jud å…st mi/), English spelling does not provide learners with the information they need to make the correct choice. One final point concerns the varying type of information they find in books and courses. For instance, lists of weak-form words vary in length (e.g. as many as 48 in Gimson & Cruttenden 2001, 40 in Roach 2000, 35 in Kenworthy 1987, and 44 in García Lecumberri & Maidment 2000). This paper is divided in two parts. Part I intends to establish the main points concerning the topic. Part II provides a list of the essential items with examples in ordinary spelling and phonemic transcription with intonation marks. Since the use of weak and strong forms depends to a considerable extent on sentence accentuation, students are advised to read transcribed texts and mark utterances by making use of the so-called ‘tonetic-stress marks’, which indicate intonation. The analysis of minimal pairs such as /aî k\nhelp/ and /aî kæn help/ or /«w√n f\tu…/ and /«w√n fø… tu…/ should help identify important differences in meaning; whereas /aî k\nhelp/ and /«w√n f\ tu…/ are the normal, usual patterns, /aî kænhelp/ may be understood as a contradicting remark – Contrary to what you may expect, I can be of help – , and /«w√n fø… `tu…/ is perceived as one, four, two. In sum, weak forms can only be taught and learned in connected speech. They are not a feature
of the word, but a feature of the utterance and as such should be taught from the very initial stages. Learners are advised to analyse the following examples and use the accompanying recording as practice material for listening and repetition. PART I: GENERAL PRINCIPLES
1. There is a small group of about 35 to 40 very common structural words in English which are pronounced in mainly two different ways—a weak form and a strong form ; some of these words have more than one weak form. In general, weak forms are much more common than strong forms; in fact, weak forms are the normal pronunciations and for this reason students should identify them and use them from the very early stages. The most complete and updated information concerning the pronunciation of weak-form words can be found in the two standard pronunciation dictionaries: Wells (2008) and Roach, Hartman & Setter (2006). Here users may find out about regular, occasional and fairly unusual forms. 2. A weak form usually contains a weak vowel – mainly //, sometimes the neutralized versions i and u – and, in some cases, no vowel, e.g. (1) Come and kiss me. /«k√m \n kîs mi/ (2) Bread and butter. /«bred nb√t/ 3. In most contexts the use of weak forms is not optional , but compulsory. Failure to pronounce weak forms in appropriate contexts will result in a foreign accent, unnecessary (and therefore wrong) emphasis or contrast, excessive formality or even pomposity. 4. Weak-form words are structural or function words, i.e. adjectival words (including articles), some pronouns, conjunctions , prepositions , and a group of auxiliary verbs. 5. Students must learn when to use weak forms and when not to use them. The correct choice depends mainly on three factors, all of which are exemplified below, viz. (i) ACCENT: Is the weak-form word accented or unaccented? (ii) STRANDING: Is the weak-form word exposed as a result of a grammatical operation implying movement or deletion? (iii) PHONETIC ENVIRONMENT: Is the weak-form word followed by a vowel or a consonant? Does the weak-form word beginning with /h/ occur after a pause?
(9) A: I must tell them now. /aî m\s «tel ∂\m na¨/ B: I know you must. /aîn\¨ ju m√st/ (</aî n\¨ ju m\s tel ∂\m/) Notice that it is not advisable here to speak of strong forms in ‘final position’ or ‘before a pause’. For instance, in the examples (10) How happy we are here! /«ha¨ hæpi wi å… hî/ (Cf. We are happy here /wi
hæpi hî\/) (11) What are you laughing at may I ask? /«wÅt \ julå…fîN æt meî aî å…sk/ (Cf. You’re laughing at what /ju \ «lå…fîN \t wÅt/) (12) Where does he come from really? /«we\ d\z ik√m frÅm rî\li/ (Cf. He comes from where /hi «k√mz fr\m `we/) the weak-form words are , at and from are not in final position in the utterance, but are pronounced with strong form because a grammatical operation has left them stranded. At the same time, a grammatical boundary is produced between the stranded form and the final adverbial, which represents a potential pause; in actual practice, however, most speakers do not pause at this type of boundary. What is crucial is that weak forms of prepositions and auxiliary verbs are not used before grammatical boundaries. Finally, it is worth mentioning that than is the only conjunction that can be stranded, as exemplified on p. 10.
8. A pause or a silence influences weak-form words beginning with /h/, e.g. he, have, who, etc_._ ; /h/ cannot be dropped immediately after a pause, e.g. (14) Have you succeeded? /h\v ju s\k si…dîd/, /hæv ju s\ksi…dîd/ (15) He said he was coming. /hi sed i w\z `k√mîN/ Notice that in example (14) either a weak or a strong form is acceptable, provided it is a /h/-form. 9. In general, auxiliary verbs can be either weak or strong (and optionally, accented) in initial position in an utterance, e.g.
(16) Can you ju make it? /k\n ju meîk ît/, /kæn jumeîk ît/, /«kæn ju `meîk ît/ (17) Am I wrong? /\m aî ' rÅN/, /æm aî ' rÅN/, /«æm aî ' rÅN/
10. To and do take /u/ before vowels and // before consonants, e.g. (18) To eat and to drink. /tu «i…t \n t\ drîNk/ (19) Do I or do you? /du «aî ø… d\ju…/ Remember that both /j/ and /w/ are considered consonants; therefore we say (20) To weep and to yell. /t\ «wi…p \n t\ jel/ **11.** Prepositions can take either a weak or strong form before unaccented pronouns, but only a weak form before accented pronouns, e.g. (21) I’m still working for them. /aîm «stîlwé…kîN f\ (fø…) ∂m/ (22) I’m still working for them. /aîm «stîl wé…kîN f\ ∂em/ **12.** The weak forms of _he_ , _she_ , _we_ , _be_ and _been_ with /î/ and those of ( _in_ ) _to_ , _you_ , _who_ and _do_ with /¨/ are **not** essential. Many speakers (mainly of a ‘modernised’ rather than a ‘classical’ variety of RP) use the weak vowels i and u, in word final position, instead of /î/ and /¨/. In theoretical terms, we say that the oppositions between /î/∼/i…/ and /¨/∼/u…/ are **neutralized** in word-final, non-prominent (unaccented) position (i.e. they can no longer distinguish meanings as they can in other contexts, e.g. _seat_ /si…t/∼ _sit_ /sît/). Since, on the other hand, only /i…/ and /u…/ can be used in prominent, accented positions, it turns out that the forms with i and u will always be safer, e.g. (23) How are you? /ha¨å… ju/ (/j¨/ is possible, though less appropriate) (24) How are you? /ha¨ \ `ju…/ (/j¨/ is impossible)
(iii) CONJUNCTIONS and, as, but, than, that (iv) PREPOSITIONS at, for, from, of, to (v) AUXILIARY VERBS am, is, are, was, were have, has, had do, does shall, will can, must, would The following examples illustrate the use of weak and strong forms. ‘C’ stands for any consonant sound; ‘V’ represents any vowel sound: (i) ADJECTIVAL WORDS 1 a, an // + C In a minute /în \ mînît/ /\n/ + V _In an hour_ /în \na/
- The strong form /eî/, always accented, is of rare occurrence, e.g. (i) I said ‘a’ son, not ‘the’ sun /aî sed ‡eî s√n ì nÅt
∂i… s√n/ 2 **the** /∂\/ + C _The east and the west_ /∂i «i…st \n ∂\west/ /∂i/ + V The old and the poor /∂i «\¨ld \n ∂\ `p¨/ - The strong form /∂i…/ is usually accented, e.g. (i) Alan is ‘the’ man for the job /«æl\n îz
∂i… mæn f\ ∂\ ÊÅb/ (ii) _You can’t be ‘the’ James Bond!_ /ju «kå…nt bi ‡∂i… Êeîmz bÅnd/ 3 **some** /s(\)m/ _Have some more_ /«hæv smmø…/ (= exact quantity is not stated) I’ve got some friends coming /aîv gÅt sm `frendz k√mîN/ (= an indefinite amount) - The accented, strong form /s√m/ is used when it is a contrastive quantifier, as in (i). When it functions as indefinite pronoun, it can be stranded, and therefore unaccented, as in (ii), or accented when following the verb there to be , as in (iii); it is also strong with the meanings indicated from (iv) to (vii), e.g. (i) Some people complained /«s√m pi…pl k\m
pleînd/ (= but not everybody) (ii) _If you need some, just say so_ /if ju «ni…d s√m Ê√stseî s\¨/ (iii) There are some in the drawer /∂\r\ «s√m în ∂\ `drø…/
(iv) I was away for some time /aî w\z \ weî f\ s√m taîm/ (= a considerable length of time) (v) _He’s making some five hundred a week_ /hiz meîkîN s√m «faîv h√ndrîd \ wi…k/ (= a fairly large, though indeterminate, amount) (vi) Some professor is on the phone /«s√m pr\ fes\z Ån ∂\ f\¨n/ (= somebody you don’t know) (vii) _Some car you’ve bought!_ /«s√mkå… juv bø…t/ (= impressive) 4 his /îz/ That’s his family /«∂æts îz `fæmli/
- The strong form /hîz/ is used initially and when accented, e.g. (i) His hands in his pockets /hîz «hændz în îz
pÅkîts/ (ii) _That’s his funeral_ /∂ætshîz fju…n\rl/ 5 her /(r), é…(r)/ usually after C She broke her own record /ßi «br\¨k \r \¨n rekø…d/ /h\/ usually after V _Give her her money back_ /«gîv \ h\m√ni bæk/ - The strong form /hé…(r)/ is accented, e.g. (i) Her room is tidier than his /«hé… ru…m îz «taîdî\ ∂\n
hîz/ **(ii) PRONOUNS** 6 **he** /i/ _Is he happy?_ /îz i 'hæpi/ /hi/ after a pause _He says he can’t_ /hi «sez ikå…nt/ - The strong form /hi…/ is accented, e.g. (i) He is the one! /
hi… z ∂\ w√n/ 7 **him** /îm/ _Tell him at once_ /«tel îm \tw√ns/ - The strong form /hîm/ is used when accented, e.g. (i) It’s him I can’t stand /îts `hîm aî kå…nt stænd/
- The strong form /ænd/ occurs in accented or prominent positions, e.g. (i) I said ‘and’, not ‘end’ /aî sed ‡ænd Æ nÅt
end/ (ii) _And, he said, that’s not all_ / ‡ ænd hi sed Æ «∂æts nÅtø…l/ 13 as /\z/ As good as ever /\z «g¨d \z `ev/ - The strong form /æz/ occurs when as functions as a preposition in exposed position, e.g. (i) What’s he acting as? /«wÅts i
æktîN æz/ 14 **but** /b\t/ _Poor but proud_ /«pø… b\tpra¨d/ - The strong form /b√t/ is accented to emphasise a contradiction, e.g. (i) Rain? Nothing but rain! / ' reîn Æ n√†îN
b√t reîn/ 15 **than** /∂\n/ _More often than not_ /mø…r «Åfn ∂\nnÅt/ - The strong form /∂æn/ occurs in stranded position and when accented , as in (i) Who is he taller than? /«hu…z i
tø…l\ ∂æn/ (ii) _Better? Who’s he better than?_ / ' bet\ Æ «hu…z i bet\∂æn/ 16 that /∂\t/ Now that you mention it /«na¨ ∂\t ju menßn ît/ The conjunction and relative pronoun _that_ has in practice no strong form; the determiner _that_ , on the other hand, has no weak form, i.e. it is always pronounced /∂æt/, e.g. (i) _He said that that was easy_ /hi sed ∂\t «∂æt w\zi…zi/ (iv) PREPOSITIONS 17 at /\t/ Is he good at languages? /îz i «g¨d \t `læNgwîÊîz/ - At may be either weak or strong between a weak syllable and an unaccented personal pronoun, as in (i); a weak form is used between a strong syllable and a pronoun, as in (ii); the strong form /æt/ is used in exposed position (e.g. (iii) and
(iv)) and when accented, as in (v), e.g. (i) He kept looking at you /hi «kept l¨kîN \t (æt) ju/ (ii) _Don’t look at him_ /«d\¨ntl¨k \t îm/ (iii) What’s he aiming at? /«wÅts i eîmîN æt/ (iv) _What’s he aiming at now?_ /«wÅts ieîmîN æt na¨/ (v) You say he’s clever? What at? /ju «seî hiz 'klev\ Æ wÅt æt/ 18 **for** /f\/ _For better or for worse_ /f\ «bet\r ø… f\wé…s/
- For may be either weak or strong between a weak syllable and an unaccented personal pronoun, as in (i); a weak form is used between a strong syllable and a pronoun, as in (ii); the strong form /fø:/ is used in exposed position (e.g. (iii) and (iv)) and when accented, as in (v), e.g. (i) It’s better for you /îts
bet\ f\ (fø…) ju/ (ii) _It’s good for you_ /îtsg¨d f\ ju/ (iii) What’s he famous for? /«wÅts i feîm\s fø…/ (iv) _What’s he famous for mainly?_ /«wÅts ifeîm\s fø… meînli/ (v) What is it for? /«wÅt îz ît fø…/ 19 **from** /fr\m/ _A year from now_ /\ «jî\ fr\mna¨/ - From may be either weak or strong between a weak syllable and an unaccented personal pronoun, as in (i); a weak form is used between a strong syllable and a pronoun, as in (ii); the strong form /frÅm/ is used when the word is stranded (e.g. (iii) and (iv)) and when accented, as in (v), e.g. (i) You’ll be hearing from me /jul bi
hî\rîN fr\m (frÅm) mi/ (ii) _I’d like to hear from you soon_ /aîd «laîk t\ «hî\ fr\m jusu…n/ (iii) Where does he come from? /«we\ d\z i k√m frÅm/ (iv) _Where does he come from everyday?_ /«we\ d\z ik√m frÅm evrideî/ (v) Where are you from? /«we\r \ ju frÅm/ 20 **of** /\v/ _The best of luck_ /∂\ «best \vl√k/ - Of may be either weak or strong between a weak syllable and an unaccented personal pronoun, as in (i); a weak form is used between a strong syllable and a pronoun, as in (ii); the strong form /Åv/ is used in exposed position (e.g. (iii) and (iv)) and when accented, as in (v), e.g.
(i) Rose is right and George is wrong /«r\¨z îz ' raît Æ \n «Êø…Ê îz rÅN/ (ii) _Tell me: is he married?_ /tel mi Æ îz i 'mærid/ (iii) That’s what it is / ∂æts wÅt ît îz/ (iv) _That’s what it is_ /«∂æts wÅt îtîz/ 24 are // What are you up to? /«wÅt \ ju √p tu/ _They’re (are) arriving soon_ /∂e\r \«raîvîNsu…n/
- The strong form /å…/ is used in exposed position and when accented, e.g. (i) I’m sure they are /aîm
ßø… ∂eî å…/ (ii) _We aren’t ready yet, are we?_ /wi «å…ntredi jet Æ å… wi/ 25 **was** /w\z/ _She was brilliant_ /ßi w\zbrîlj\nt/ - The strong form /wÅz/ is used when stranded and when accented, e.g. (i) I wonder what it was /aî
w√nd\ wÅt ît wÅz/ (ii) _I wonder what it was_ /aî «w√nd\ wÅt îtwÅz/ 26 were /w/ We were pleased with it /wi w\ `pli…zd wî∂ ît/ - The strong form /wé…/ is used when stranded and when accented, e.g. (i) Nervous? I suppose we were / ' né…v\s Æ aî s\
p\¨z wi wé…/ (ii) _Nervous? I suppose we were_ / ' né…v\s Æ aî s\«p\¨z wiwé…/ 27 have /h\v/ (in initial position or after a pause) /\v/ (not in initial position and not after V) /v/ (after V) Have you decided? /h\v ju dî ' saîdîd/ I could have sent you an e-mail /aî k¨d \v «sentßu \n i…meîl/ _They’ve been cheated_ /∂eîv bi…nêi…tîd/ The weak forms described are used when have is used as an auxiliary verb (i.e. Sp. haber ), and sometimes with the meaning of have got (i.e. Sp. tener ) with an object which is not a pronoun. - The strong form /hæv/ is used in exposed position and when accented, as in (i). The strong form is preferred when have means tener , as in (ii), and is the only
possibility when it means comer , etc., as in (iii), e.g. (i) You haven’t been there, but I have / ‡ju hævnt bi…n ∂e\ Æ b\t aî hæv/ (ii) _Have a good time_ /«hæv \ g¨dtaîm/ (iii) Have you had tea? /«hæv ju hæd ' ti…/ 28 has /h\z/ (in initial position or after a pause) /\z/ (not in initial position or after V; usually after /s, z, ß, Z, ê, Ê/) /z/ (after V) /s/ (after /p, t, k, f, †/) Has anyone complained? /h\z «eniw√n k\m pleînd/ _Your coach has arrived_ /jø…k\¨ê \z \raîvd/ Who has (’s) finished? /«hu…z fînîßt/ _What has (’s) happened?_ /«wÅtshæp\nd/
- The strong form /hæz/ is used when has means tiene (que) or come , etc., and also when it is stranded and/or accented, e.g. (i) She always has coffee /ßi «ø…lweîz hæz
kÅfi/ (ii) _They haven’t, but he has_ / ‡ ∂eî hævnt Æ b\thi… hæz/ (iii) He hasn’t paid yet, has he? /hi «hæznt peîd jet, ì ' hæz i/ 29 **had** /h\d/ (in initial position or after a pause) /\d/ (not in initial position and not after V) /d/ (after V) _Had he left by then?_ /h\d i 'left baî ∂en/ _The clock had stopped_ /∂\klÅk \d stÅpt/ We had (’d) better hurry /wid «bet\ `h√ri/ - The strong form /hæd/is used when had means tuvo or comió , etc., and also when it is stranded and/or accented, e.g. (i) She’s just had something to eat /ßiz «Ê√st hæd «s√m†îN tu
i…t/ (ii) _They hadn’t, but he had_ / ‡ ∂eî hædnt Æ b\thi… hæd/ (iii) He hadn’t noticed, had he? /hi «hædnt n\¨tîst, Æhæd i/ 30 do /d/+ C How do you know /«ha¨ d\ ju… n\¨/ /du/+ V _How do I know_ /«ha¨ duaî n\¨/ - The strong form /du…/ is used in exposed position and also when accented, e.g.
it is also used when stranded and when accented, e.g. (i) I must have fallen asleep /aî «m√st \v «fø…l\n \ sli…p/ (ii) _Indeed, you must_ /îndi…d ju m√st/ (iii) We mustn’t allow that, must we? /wi «m√snt \ la¨ ∂æt, Æm√st wi/ 36 would /d/ (after V) We would (’d) love to go /wid `l√v t\ g\¨/
- The strong form /w¨d/ is used after C, and also when stranded and when accented: (i) That would be nice /
∂æt w¨d bi naîs/ (ii) _Who do you think would?_ /hu… d\ ju †îNk w¨d/ (iii) I would if I could /aî «w¨d îf aî `k¨d/ REFERENCES García Lecumberri, M. L. & J. Maidment (2000). English transcription course. London: Arnold. Gimson, A. C. & Cruttenden, A. (2001^6 ). Gimson’s pronunciation of English. London: Edward Arnold. Kenworthy, J. (1987). Teaching English pronunciation. Harlow: Longman Group UK Limited. Knowles, G. (1987). Patterns of spoken English. Harlow: Longman Group UK Limited. Roach, P. (2000^3 ). English phonetics and phonology: a practical course. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Roach, P., J. Hartman & J. Setter (2006^17 ) English pronouncing dictionary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wells, J. C. (2008^3 ). Longman pronunciation dictionary. Harlow: Longman Group UK Limited.
