Семинарское занятие № 11 Тема: Tendencies in the Pronunciation of English Vowels

Discussion Points:

1. Speak on the phonemic status of the neutral sound [ә]. Describe two possible variants and give examples of both.

2. Compare the systems of vowels in English and Russian and point out the main difficulties in the pronunciation of vowels for Russian learners of English.

3. Define the main processes of modifications of vowels in connected speech. Give examples.

4. Speak on the changes in vowel quality in the present-day English. Give examples.

Семинарское занятие № 12 Тема: Syllabic Structure of English Words

Discussion Points:

1. Give the definition of the syllable. Why is it a complicated phenomenon? What are the features of the syllable?

2. Compare different syllable theories and point out their pros and cons.

3. Speak on syllable formation in English. What are the most fundamental types of syllable in English and in Russian?

4. Speak on syllable division. What problem exists in English with regard to this aspect? What are the ways of its solution? Give examples.

5. Enumerate the functions of the syllable and define the syllable with regard to its functions.

6. Specify the peculiarities of the syllabic structure of English. What should the Russian learners of English pay attention to?

Семинарское занятие № 13 Тема: Syllable Division

Discussion Points:

1. What are basic rules of phonetic (spoken) syllable division: is there any coincidence between a syllabic and a morphological boundary? how are consonants syllabified? how are diphthongs syllabified? are affricates unisyllabic? what are the guidelines for syllabification of syllabic consonants?

2. What is an orthographic syllable? What is another term to designate orthographic syllables?

3. Do parts of phonetic and orthographic syllables always coincide? Exemplify.

4. What is a most general principle the division of words into syllables in writing based on?

5. Where is the syllabic boundary in writing if there are two or three consonants before -ING, e.g. grasping, puzzling?

6. How can compound words be divided, e.g.: hotdog; spotlight?

7. Is it possible to divide a word within a phonetic syllable?

8. What is the rule of syllable division of suffixes in writing?

9. Is it possible to divide a word so that an ending of two letters such as -ED,

-ER, -1C begins the next line? Are there any exceptions to this rule?

10. Is it possible to divide a word of ONE phonetic syllable? a word of less than FIVE letters?

Семинарское занятие № 14 Тема: Word Stress

Discussion Points:

1. Speak on the nature of word stress. What are its components? Compare the nature of word stress in Russian and in English. Explain the reason of terminological confusion in discussing the nature of word stress.

2. Characterize languages according to the placement of word stress. What group do Russian and English belong to?

3. Speak about different approaches to the problem of degrees of stress. What conception is accepted as a teaching norm?

4. Give reasons of the instability of the accentual structure of English words. What tendencies can account for it?

5. Differentiate between the accentual types and accentual structures of words. Enumerate and characterize the accentual types in English. What factors add to the instability of the accentual structure?

6. Speak on the interrelation between the word stress and sentence stress. Point out similarities and differences.

7. What functions does the word stress perform? Dwell on the distinctive function of word stress and give examples.

8. Compare the accentual structures of Russian and English and point out the main difficulties which may arise for Russian learners of English.

9. What WS tendencies determine the location and degree of it? Explain the essence of

• the recessive tendency;

• the rhythmic tendency;

• the retentive tendency and

• the semantic factor.

10. Comment on the case when the location of WS alone differentiates parts of speech. Give examples.

11. Speak on the guidelines to WS placement in English:

• monosyllabic words

• two-syllable simple words

• three-syllable simple words

• four or more syllables

• words with prefixes

• words with suffixes

• compounds and phrases.