Prominence And Intonation In Discourse
Quiz on Chapter 6 of Teaching Pronunciation: A Course Book and Reference Guide.
- 1.
What is intonation?
- A.
The melody or pitch pattern of a sentence.
- B.
The beat or rhythm of a sentence.
- C.
One of the segmental features of a language.
- D.
The loudest syllable in a word that is emphasized more than the others.
Correct Answer
A. The melody or pitch pattern of a sentence.Explanation
The best answer is A. Intonation is the up-and-down melody of language.
Not B: Rhythm only affects timing and emphasis, not melody.
Not C: Segmental features are the individual sounds of a language. (We're talking about suprasegmental features now.)
Not D: This describes a stressed syllable.Rate this question:
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- 2.
The lines on the right represent intonation patterns. Which pattern is the most typical representation of each of these sentences? Does this store sell books?
- A.
Pattern A
- B.
Pattern B
- C.
Pattern C
- D.
Pattern D
Correct Answer
B. Pattern BExplanation
Yes/no questions usually go up at the end, like Pattern B.Rate this question:
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- 3.
The store sells books, magazines, and newspapers.
- A.
Pattern A
- B.
Pattern B
- C.
Pattern C
- D.
Pattern C
Correct Answer
C. Pattern CExplanation
Lists usually have intonation that goes up on each element, then down at the end, like Pattern C.Rate this question:
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- 4.
What did you buy at the bookstore?
- A.
Pattern A
- B.
Pattern B
- C.
Pattern C
- D.
Pattern D
Correct Answer
A. Pattern AExplanation
WH- questions (ones that start with "who," "what," "where," "when," "why," or "how" usually go down at the end, like Pattern A.Rate this question:
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- 5.
I bought a cookbook.
- A.
Pattern A
- B.
Pattern B
- C.
Pattern C
- D.
Pattern D
Correct Answer
A. Pattern AExplanation
Statements also usually go down at the end, like Pattern A.Rate this question:
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- 6.
You bought a cookbook?
- A.
Pattern "a"
- B.
Pattern "b"
- C.
Pattern "c"
- D.
Pattern "d"
Correct Answer
B. Pattern "b"Explanation
Here we've changed a statement into a question by making the intonation rise at the end, like Pattern B.Rate this question:
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- 7.
Was it an expensive cookbook or a cheap one?
- A.
Pattern A
- B.
Pattern B
- C.
Pattern C
- D.
Pattern D
Correct Answer
D. Pattern DExplanation
"Or" questions usually go up on the first part, then down on the last part, like Pattern D. ("Or" questions are a lot like lists.)Rate this question:
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- 8.
Which of these statements is true?
- A.
Languages like Korean and Japanese don’t have intonation. They just sound flat.
- B.
All languages have intonation, but they don’t all have the same kind of intonation.
Correct Answer
B. All languages have intonation, but they don’t all have the same kind of intonation.Explanation
Answer B is best. All languages have some kind of intonation patterns. Sometimes we just don't notice it. Nobody talks with perfectly flat intonation, like a robot.Rate this question:
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- 9.
In English, which word in a sentence usually receives prominence (focus/sentence stress)? (You may choose more than one answer.)
- A.
A word that is in contrast with another word.
- B.
A word that tells new information, not old information.
- C.
A word that the speaker wants to emphasize.
- D.
The last content word in the sentence.
- E.
It could be any of these.
Correct Answer(s)
A. A word that is in contrast with another word.
B. A word that tells new information, not old information.
C. A word that the speaker wants to emphasize.
D. The last content word in the sentence.
E. It could be any of these.Explanation
Any of these answers are possible. The usual position of prominence is D, the last content word in the sentence. However, if the speaker needs to emphasize something else, a different word can be emphasized.Rate this question:
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- 10.
Which of these statements are true of thought groups? (You may choose more than one answer.)
- A.
A sentence must have more than one thought group.
- B.
A thought group has its own intonation contour.
- C.
A thought group is often also a grammatical unit, like a phrase or a clause.
- D.
All speakers of a language break their speech up into thought groups in the same way.
- E.
We pause before and after a thought group, but not in the middle of one.
Correct Answer(s)
B. A thought group has its own intonation contour.
C. A thought group is often also a grammatical unit, like a phrase or a clause.
E. We pause before and after a thought group, but not in the middle of one.Explanation
The best answers are B, C, and E.
Not A: Short sentences might only have one thought group.
Not D: Different people pause in different ways. Some people talk slowly and pause more often; others talk faster and pause much less often. But everybody needs to pause sometimes, or they'll run out of breath and turn blue.Rate this question:
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Mar 18, 2023Quiz Edited by
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Jun 09, 2012Quiz Created by
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