2020-03-25 Pronunciation: thought groups

Greg Malivuk
gmalivuk@staffordhouse.com
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - Notes from all classes
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Please call me Ben. = My full name is Benjamin but I prefer people to call me Ben.
Please call me, Ben. = I’m talking to Ben and I want Ben to call me.
- A comma followed by a name often means that’s who you’re talking to. (vocative comma)
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7-week-long vacations = some vacations, each seven weeks long
7 week-long vacations = seven vacations, each one week long

I teach twenty-two-year-olds. = I teach some students who are 22.
I teach twenty two-year-olds. = I teach twenty babies.

You need to write twenty-five-page papers in this class. = some papers of 25 pages
You need to write twenty five-page papers in this class. = 20 papers of 5 pages
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Notice: in modifiers with numbers, the noun is still singular.
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Let’s eat Grandma! = We are cannibals and Grandma is the weakest person.
Let’s eat, Grandma! = We are inviting Grandma to eat with us.
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exercise 4A - Listen to the audio and choose the correct option.
1 a
2 b
3 b
4 a
5 a
6 b
7 a
8 b
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“Marie,” said the landlord, “is irresponsible.” = According to the landlord, Marie is irresponsible.
Marie said the landlord is irresponsible. = According to Marie, the landlord is irresponsible.
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“Before they were famous” spreadsheet - Guess to match the information about each celebrity. Then practice saying the sentence with thought groups.
Brad Pitt / was a limousine driver / before acting in movies.
Tommy Hilfiger / sold blue jeans / from the trunk of a car.
Jennifer Lopez / worked in a law office / before becoming a superstar.
Bill Gates / started a software company / at the age of 15.
Matthew McConaughey / cleaned chicken coops / as an exchange student.
Lucy Liu / studied linguistics / at the University of Michigan.
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English pronunciation has different “levels”:
1 individual sounds
2 syllables
3 words
4 thought groups
5 sentences
- Usually the last content word of a thought group has more stress.
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Can you guess or figure out where the thought groups should be in this letter?
Is it a nice letter or a mean letter?

Dear John / I want a man who knows what love is all about / you are generous kind and thoughtful / people who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior / you have ruined me for other men / I yearn for you / I have no feelings whatsoever when we're apart / I can be forever happy / will you let me be yours / Gloria

Dear John / I want a man who knows what love is / all about you are generous kind and thoughtful people / who are not like you / admit to being useless and inferior / you have ruined me / for other men I yearn / for you I have no feelings whatsoever / when we're apart I can be forever happy / will you let me be / yours / Gloria
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You can go to https://www.nationalpunctuationday.com/dearjohn.html to see the different versions with punctuation.
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Homework: Try to find another English sentence where changing the stress or thought groups can change the meaning completely. (You might find examples where the punctuation shows the difference. Just make sure that the pronunciation also changes, and that you can pronounce both versions.