Marathwada Mitra Mandal’s

Shankarrao Chavan Law College, Pune

B.A. LL.B. & B. B. A. LL.B.
1st Year 1st Semester
Module 4: Basics of Phonology and Morphology
SUBJECT and CODE:
General English (CE 0101)
Made by:
Mr. Chandramani Bhalerao
Assistant Professor of English
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 Module 1:
Basics of Phonology and Morphology
1. Speech Sounds of English (RP and Indian English)
2. Word Stress
3. Intonation
4. Structure of Words
3. Word Formation: Processes

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Speech Sounds of English

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 Speech Sounds of English (RP and Indian English)
Speech Sounds
Speech sounds are also called phonemes. A phoneme is defined
as the smallest part or unit of a sound of spoken language that makes a
difference in meaning. A speech sound is a phonetically distinct unit of
speech. There are 44 speech sounds in English language, out of which
24 are Consonant sounds and 20 are Vowels. The 20 vowel sounds are
further divided into 12 Pure Vowels and 8 Diphthongs also called as
Glides. The study of the speech sounds of a language is called as
Phonology, e.g., phonology of English.
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 24 Consonant Sounds 20 Vowel Sounds
/p/ As in Parole / pəˈrəʊl / 12 Pure Vowels 8 Diphthongs or Glides
/b/ As in Bail / ˈb e ɪ l / As in Accuse As in Trial
/ə/ / i ə / or / ɪ ə /
/t/ As in Trial /ˈt r ʌ ɪ ə l / / əˈkjuːz / /ˈt r ʌ ɪ ə l /
/d/ As in Deed / ˈdiːd / As in Perjury As in Intellectual
/ əː / or / 3: / / ʊ ə / or / u ə /
/k/ As in Court / ˈkɔːt / /ˈp ə ː d ʒ ( ə ) r i / /ˌɪ n t ə ˈ l ɛ k t ʃ ʊ ə l /
/g/ As in Govern /ˈɡ ʌ v ( ə ) n / As in Undertaking As in Their
/ʌ/ / ɛ ə / or / e ə /
/ tʃ / As in Charge sheet / ˈtʃɑːdʒʃiːt / / ʌndəˈteɪkɪŋ / / ˈð e ə /
/ dʒ / As in Justice /ˈd ʒ ʌ s t ɪ s / As in Arbitrary As in Timely
/ ɑː / / a i / or / a ɪ / or / ʌ i /
/s/ As in Summons /ˈs ʌ m ( ə ) n z / /ˈɑ ː b ɪ t r ə r i / /ˈt ʌ ɪ m l i /
/z/ As in Zone /ˈz ə ʊ n / As in Intestate As in Loiter
/ i / or / ɪ / /ɒi/
/ʃ/ As in Shift /ˈʃ ɪ f t / / ɪnˈtɛsteɪt / /ˈl ɔ ɪ t ə /
/ʒ/ As in Vision /ˈv ɪ ʒ ( ə ) n / As in Eve-teasing As in Plaintiff
/ iː / / e i / or / e ɪ /
/f/ As in Fraud /ˈfrɔːd / /ˈiːv ˈtiːzɪŋ / /ˈp l e ɪ n t ɪ f /
/v/ As in Verdict /ˈvəːdɪkt / As in Book As in Ownership
/ʊ/ / ə ʊ / or / ə u /
/θ/ As in Throne /ˈθ r ə ʊ n / /bʊk / /ˈə ʊ n ə ʃ ɪ p /
/ð/ As in This /ˈð ɪ s / As in Restitution As in Outspoken
/ uː / / a ʊ / or / a u /
/m/ As in Mortgage /ˈmɔːɡɪdʒ / /ˌrɛstɪˈtjuːʃ(ə)n / / aʊtˈspəʊk(ə)n /
/n/ As in Negligence /ˈnɛɡlɪdʒ(ə)ns / As in Legacy
/ ɛ / or / e /
/ŋ/ As in Counselling /ˈkaʊns(ə)lɪŋ / /ˈlɛɡəsi /
/h/ As in Historic / hɪˈstɒrɪk / As in Ambition
/ /
/r/ As in Remand / r ɪ ˈ m ɑ ː n d / / amˈbɪʃn / or / mˈbɪʃn /
/l/ As in Legacy /ˈl ɛ ɡ ə s i / As in Respondent
/ɒ/
/w/ As in Warrant /ˈw ɒ r ( ə ) n t / / rɪˈspɒnd(ə)nt /
/j/ As in Yesterday /ˈj ɛ s t ə d e ɪ / / ɔː / As in Fraud / frɔːd / 5
 Consonant Sounds
/p/ : As in Parole /tʃ/ : As in Charge sheet
/b/ : As in Bail /dʒ/ : As in Justice
/t/ : As in Trial /s/ : As in Summons
/d/ : As in Deed /z/ : As in Accused
/k/ : As in Court /ʃ/ : As in Petition
/g/ : As in Legacy /ʒ/ : As in Measure
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 Consonant Sounds
/f/ : As in Fraud /ŋ/ : As in Bank
/v/ : As in Verdict /h/ : As in Homicide
/θ/ : As in Oath /r/ : As in Remand
/ð/ : As in Brother /l/ : As in Legacy
/m/ : As in Mortgage /w/ : As in Warrant
/n/ : As in Negligence /j / : As in Union
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 Vowel Sounds
/ə/ : As in Accuse /ʊ/ : As in Booked
/əː/ : As in Perjury /uː/ : As in Juvenile
/ʌ/ : As in Summons /e/ : As in Legacy
/ɑː/ : As in Partition / / : As in Act
/i/ : As in Rebuttal /ɒ/ : As in Voluntary
/iː/ : As in Appeal /ɔː/ : As in Mortgage
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 Vowel Sounds
/ i ə / or / ɪ ə / : As in
/ ʊ ə / or / u ə / : As in
/ ɛ ə / or / e ə / : As in
/ a i / or / a ɪ / or / ʌ i / : As in
/ɒi/ : As in
/ e i / or / e ɪ / : As in
/ ə ʊ / or / ə u / : As in
/ a ʊ / or / a u / : As in
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General Indian English and Received Pronunciation (RP): Differences

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Word Stress

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Word Stress
Stress is the emphasis given to a specific syllable or word in speech,
usually through a combination of higher pitch and longer duration.
Word stress is the emphasis we place on a specific syllable of a word
when pronouncing it. In English words that have more than one syllable,
we usually don’t pronounce every syllable with the same weight, so each
syllable in a word can be stressed or unstressed.
Stressed syllables are louder than the others - i.e. air comes out of
our lungs with more power; but they might also be longer, or pronounced
with higher or lower in pitch.
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Word Stress
Syllables that are not pronounced with such emphasis are usually
referred to as unstressed syllables, and they are usually not pronounced as
clearly as the others.
Some longer words may have more than one ‘strong syllables’, but
one of them tends to stand out more than the other. They are referred to as
primary and secondary stress, the former being the strongest. Stress is
usually represented in the transcription by the symbol /ˈ/ placed before the
stressed syllable. In words that have secondary stress, we include the
symbol /ˌ/ before the appropriate syllable (e.g. everybody: /ˈev.riˌbɒd.i/).
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Word Stress
A Syllable is a part of a word that is pronounced with one
uninterrupted sound. It is also important to remember that we stress the
vowel sound of the word, not the consonant sound. The stress placed on
syllables in a word is called lexical stress or word stress.
Rules about word stress:
One word has only one stress. (One word cannot have two stresses. If
you hear two stresses, you hear two words. Two stresses cannot be one
word. It is true that there can be a "secondary" stress in some words. But a
secondary stress is much smaller than the main [primary] stress, and is only
used in long words.)
We can only stress vowels, not consonants.
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Stress on first syllable
Rule Examples
Most 2-syllable nouns PRESent /ˈprɛz(ə)nt/
EXport /ˈɛkspɔːt/
CHIna /ˈtʃʌɪnə/
TAble /ˈteɪb(ə)l/
Most 2-syllable adjectives PRESent /ˈprɛz(ə)nt/
SLENder /ˈslɛndə/
CLEVer /ˈklɛvə/
HAPpy /ˈhapi/ 18
 Stress on last syllable
Rule Examples
Most 2-syllable Verbs preSENT /prɛˈz(ə)nt/
exPORT /ɪkˈspɔːt, ɛkˈspɔːt/
deCIDE /dɪˈsʌɪd/
beGIN /bɪˈɡɪn/

There are many two-syllable words in English whose meaning and class
change with a change in stress. The word present, for example is a two-
syllabic word. If we stress the first syllable, it is a noun (gift) or an adjective
(opposite of absent). But if we stress the second syllable, it becomes a verb
(to offer).
Some more examples that can be nouns or verbs depending on whether the
stress is on the first or second syllable. Export, Import, Contract and Object.
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Stress on penultimate syllable (penultimate = second from end)
Rule Examples

geoGRAPHic /dʒiːəˈɡrafɪk/
Words ending with:
-ic geoLOGic /dʒiːəˈlɒdʒɪk/

ConCLUsion /kənˈkluːʒ(ə)n/

Words ending with: DiVIsion /dɪˈvɪʒ(ə)n/

-sion and -tion
reveLAtion /rɛvəˈleɪʃ(ə)n/

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Stress on ante-penultimate syllable (ante-penultimate = third from end)
Rule Examples

deMOcracy /dɪˈmɒkrəsi/
Words ending with: dependaBIlity /dɪpɛndəˈbɪlɪti/
-cy, -ty, -phy and -gy
phoTOgraphy /fəˈtɒɡrəfi/
geOLogy /dʒɪˈɒlədʒi/

CRItical /ˈkrɪtɪk(ə)l/
Words ending with:
-al geoLOGical /dʒiːəˈlɒdʒɪk(ə)l/
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Compound words (words with two parts)
Rule Examples
For compound nouns, the
stress is on the first part BLACKbird /ˈblakbəːd/
GREENhouse /ˈɡriːnhaʊs/
For compound adjectives,
the stress is on bad-TEMpered /ˌbadˈtɛmpəd/
the second part
old-FASHioned /əʊldˈfaʃ(ə)nd/
For compound verbs, the
stress is on the second part underSTAND /ʌndəˈstand/
overFLOW /əʊvəˈfləʊ/
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Intonation

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Intonation? /ɪ n t ə ˈ n e ɪ ʃ ( ə ) n /
Intonation is the variation of our pitch in the spoken language. It
indicates our emotions and attitudes, determines the difference between
statements and questions. It helps detect the emotions and attitudes of a
speaker. It is a feature of pronunciation. It is about how we say something rather
than what we say. We use the pitch of our voice to express particular meanings
and attitudes. Through intonation, it is easy for the listener to understand the
speaker's attitude.
In English language, there are 3 basic INTONATION PATTERNS:
• Falling Intonation
• Rising Intonation
• Partial/Fall-rise Intonation
Falling intonation is marked with a diagonal arrow falling left-to-right [↘]
Rising intonation is marked with a diagonal arrow rising left-to-right [↗]
Partial intonation is marked with a diagonal arrow rising left-to-right [↗] and
falling left-to-right [↘]
Falling intonation describes how the voice falls on the final stressed syllable
of a phrase or a group of words. It is used in expressing a complete,
definite thought, and asking wh-questions.
In a conversation with a new classmate, the following questions would
sound most natural with falling intonation:

• What is your name?

• Where are you from?

Questions that require a 'yes' or 'no' answer, however, usually have upward
intonation. In the same conversation with your classmate, your voice
would rise at the end when asking the following questions:

• Have you studied here before?

• Will you come back tomorrow?

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Asking Questions Follows Two Patterns:
1st Pattern:
• Rising Voice at the End of a Question
If the question is a yes / no question, the voice rises at the end of a
question.

• Do you like living in Portland?

• Have you lived here a long time?

• Did you visit your friends last month?

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2nd Pattern:
Falling Voice at the End of a Question
If the question is an information question or if you are asking a
question with 'where,' 'when,' 'what,' 'which,' 'why,' 'what/which
kind of..,' and questions with 'how'—let your voice fall at the end of a
question.

• Where are you going to stay on vacation?

• When did you arrive last night?

• How long have you lived in this country?

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Question Tags to Confirm
If you think you know something, but would like to confirm it, let
the voice fall on the question tag.

• You live in Seattle, don't you?

• This is easy, isn't it?

• You are not coming to the meeting, are you?

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Question Tags to Ask for Clarification
When using a question tag to clarify, let the voice rise to let the listener
know that you expect more information.

• Peter is not going to be at the party, is he?

• You understand your role, don't you?

• We are not expected to finish the report by Friday, are we?

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Rising intonation describes how the voice rises at the end of a sentence.
This is common in yes-no questions or in expressing surprise.

• Your dog can speak?

• Are you hungry?

• Are you scared?

Statements:
• She is ten years old.

• He does not have a car.

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 Partial Intonation describes how voice rises then falls. We use this
intonation when we are not sure, or we have more to add to a sentence.
We also use this intonation pattern to ask questions, as it sounds more
polite. Here, the pitch rises and falls on the focus word.

• Would you have some coffee?

• I want to go to France, but…

• She wants to buy some soda.

• Close the window.

• When are you coming?

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Structure of Words

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Structure of Words
What is a syllable?
A syllable is a part of a word that contains a single vowel sound that
is pronounced as a unit. For example, the word book /bʊk/ has one
syllable, and reading /ˈriːdɪŋ/ has two syllables.

Words have syllables, accordingly they are structured:

Words with One-syllable are known as Monosyllabic words
For example: Cat, dog, car, sky, etc.

Words with Two-syllables are known as Disyllabic words

For example: Ho-tel, Chor-us, in-dex, pub-lish, Kid-nap, pu-nish,
pro-fit, va-lid, con-flict, neg-lect, wit-ness, pa-nic, so-lid,
etc.
Structure of Words
Words with Three-syllables are known as Trisyllabic words
For example:
Beau-ti-ful, me-ta-phor, con-sis-tent, mis-con-duct, im-pri-son,
in-vest-ment, es-ta-blish, ad-mo-nish, dis-con-tent, a-ccom-plish,
ca-pi-tal, en-rich-ment

Words with Four-syllables are known as Polysyllabic words

For example:
Es-tab-lish-ment, a-ccom-plish-ment, a-ca-de-mic, trans-at-lan-tic,
con-ti-nen-tal
Structure of Words have to be identified with CVC Pattern, i.e.
Consonant-Vowal-Consasnant
Structure of Monosyllabic words
Dog: /dɒɡ/ CVC
Car: /kɑː/ CV
Sky: /skʌɪ/ CCV
Structure of Disyllabic words
Kid-nap: /ˈkɪdnap/ CVCCVC Con-flict: /ˈkɒnflɪkt/ CVCCCVCT
Pu-nish: /ˈpʌnɪʃ/ CVCVC Neg-lect: /nɪˈɡlɛkt/ CVCCVCC
Va-lid: /ˈvalɪd/ CVCVC Wit-ness: /ˈwɪtnəs/ CVCCVC
Structure of Trisyllabic words
Beau-ti-ful: /ˈbjuːtɪf(ə)l/ CCVCVCVC Ca-pi-tal:/ˈkapɪt(ə)l/ CVCVCVC

Me-ta-phor: /ˈmɛtəfə/ CVCVCV Ad-mo-nish: /ədˈmɒnɪʃ/ VCCVCVC

Con-sis-tent: /kənˈsɪst(ə)nt/ CVCCVCCVCC Es-ta-blish: /eˈstablɪʃ/ VCCVCCVC

Mis-con-duct: /mɪsˈkɒndʌkt/ CVCCVCCVCC

Im-pri-son: /ɪmˈprɪz(ə)n/ VCCCVCVC

In-vest-ment:/ɪnˈvɛstm(ə)nt/ VCCVCCCVCC

A-ccom-plish:/əˈkʌmplɪʃ/ VCVCCCVC

En-rich-ment: /enˈrɪtʃm(ə)nt/ VCCVCCVCC

Structure of Polysyllabic words
Es-tab-lish-ment: /eˈstablɪʃm(ə)nt/ VCCVCCVCCVCC

A-ccom-plish-ment: /əˈkʌmplɪʃm(ə)nt/ VCVCCCVCCVCC

A-ca-de-mic: /akəˈdɛmɪk/ VCVCVCVC

Trans-at-lan-tic: /ˌtrɑːnsatˈlantɪk/ CCVCCVCCVCCVC

Con-ti-nen-tal: /kɒntɪˈnɛnt(ə)l/ CVCCVCVCCVC

Word Formation: Processes

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 Acronym
Abbreviation
Affixation
Processes Blending
Borrowing
of
Backformation
Word Formation Coinage
Compounding
Clipping
Conversion
Reduplication
Acronym
Acronyms are new words formed from the initial letters of a set of other words
or an expanded phrase, e.g., forms such as CD (Compact disk) or VCR (Video cassette
recorder) where the pronunciation consists of saying each separate letter. But, acronyms
are pronounced as new single words, as in NATO, NASA or UNESCO. Many acronyms
simply become everyday terms such as LASER (light amplification by stimulated emission of
radiation), RADAR (radio detecting and ranging), SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing
apparatus) and ZIP (zone improvement plan) code.

Names for organizations are often designed to have their acronym that
represent an appropriate term, as in mothers against drunk driving (MADD) and women against
rape (WAR). Some new acronyms come into general use, e.g., ATM (automatic teller
machine), PIN (personal identification number) etc.
Abbreviation
It is a shortened form of a written word or phrase used
in place of the whole word or phrase. Abbreviations may be
used to save space and time, and avoid repetition of long
words and phrases.
Some abbreviations are formed by omitting last few
letters of a word. Such abbreviations usually end with a
period.
E.g.: Oct. for October, Univ. for university, and Cont. for continued
Other abbreviations are formed by omitting letters from
the middle of the word and also end with a period.
E.g.: Govt. for Government, Dr. for Doctor, and Atty. for Attorney
Affixation
It is a morphological process where a group of letters (the affix)
are attached to a base or root word to form a new word. Sometimes the
new word takes on a whole new meaning, and sometimes it simply
gives us more grammatical information.
Attaching Prefix or Suffix or both to the Root Word is called
Affixation. Prefixes are used before the root word and Suffixes are used
after the root word.
E.g.: Un (prefix)- Unbound -ly (Suffix)- Lovely. So, it is divided mainly into
Prefix, Suffix and Infix.
E.g.: By adding the affix -s to the end of the word Act means that there are more Acts.
Affixes are a type of bound morpheme, which means they cannot stand
alone and must appear alongside a base word to get their meaning.
Blending
It is the process of combining two separate forms of words to
produce a single new term. However, blending is typically done by
taking only the beginning of one word and joining it to the end of the
other word.
E.g.: Information + Entertainment = Infotainment
Education + Entertainment = Edutainment
Break fast + Lunch = Brunch
Motor + Hotel = Motel
Fantastic + Fabulous = Fantabulous
Scan + Translate = Scanlate
Borrowing
It is the process where we take over words from other languages
or simply we borrow words from other languages. English language has
adopted a vast number of words from other languages, e.g.,
Entrepreneur (French), Metropolis (Greek), Karaoke (Japanese), etc.
Such words are also called Loanwords which are adopted by the
speakers of one language from a different language (the source).
Borrowing is a consequence of cultural contact between two language
communities.
E.g.: Entrepreneur (French) Court (Latin, French, Italian)
Bona fide (Latin)
Justice (Latin and French)
Coinage
It means invention of completely new terms in a language. The most
typical coined words are invented trade names for commercial products that
become general terms associated with the product.
E.g.: Aspirin, Nylon, Vaseline, Xerox, Google, etc.

Compounding
When we conjoin or join two separate words to produce a single form,
it is called compounding. It is a process of combining together two or more
words to form a new word. Closed compounds (Single words) Desktop,
Smartphone, Website etc. Open compounds (Multiple words) Air conditioner, Social
media Hyphenated compounds two-faced
Noun + Noun = Gatekeeper Verb + Noun = Spoilsport
Adjective + Noun = Green thumb Adverb + Verb = Overestimate
Verb + Preposition = Give in
Conversion
It refers to the process of changing or converting the class of a
word without changing its form, e.g., the word email is used as a noun
as well as a verb. It refers to the process whereby words belonging to
one word class are created from an existing word belonging to another
word class without changes to pronunciation or spelling. It is also
called zero derivation. This is because nothing is added, nothing is taken
away.
Common conversions are:
Noun to Verb
Verb to Noun
Adjective to Noun
Conversion
Noun to Verb
e.g.: Name as a noun and Name as a verb

Verb to Noun
e.g.: Talk, Attack, Cover, Call

Adjective to Noun
e.g.: Crazy, Regular, Final
Backformation
It is a type of reduction process known as backformation.
Typically, a word of one type (usually a noun) is reduced to
form a word of another type (usually a verb).
• Donate from Donation
• Emote from Emotion
• Enthuse from Enthusiasm
• Babysit from Babysitter
• Opt from Option
• Abduct from Abduction
• Addict from Addiction
Clipping
This occurs when a word of more than one syllable is reduced to a shorter
form. It also refers to the reduction of a polysyllabic word by dropping a syllable or
more from it. It is the process of forming a new word by clipping off part of an
existing word. For example, the word exam, which of course comes from the longer
word examination. The letters ‘ination’ have simply been clipped off, forming a new
word that shares the definition and context of the older word.
Types of Clipping
• Back Clipping
• Fore Clipping
• Middle Clipping
Types of Clipping
• Back Clipping: (Here, beginning of a word is retained)
Ad = Advertisement, Exam = Examination, Doc = Doctor
Gym = Gymnastics, Memo = Memorandum, Math = Mathematics,
• Fore Clipping: (Here, the final part of a word is retained)
Phone = Telephone, Net = Internet
Aeroplane = Plane, Motorbike = Bike
• Middle Clipping: (Here, the middle part of a word is retained)
Flu = Influenza, Fridge = Refrigerator
 Difference between Back formation and Clipping
Back-formation varies from clipping.
Back-formation may change the word’s class or
meaning, whereas clipping creates shortened words
from longer words, but does not change the class or
meaning of the word.
Reduplication
Reduplication is a morphological process in which the root or
stem of a word or part of it is repeated exactly or with a minor change.
It is used to show plurality, distribution, repetition, customary activity,
increase of size, added intensity, continuance etc.
This is a process of repeating a syllable or a word as a whole
(sometimes with a vowel change) and putting it together to form a new
word.
e.g: Exact reduplication: byebye,
Rhyming reduplication: super-duper, chitchat, pitter-patter,
zigzag, tick-tock, flipflop.