Giáo trình thực hành Ngữ âm học và âm vị học tiếng Anh (tái bán lần thứ 3): Phần 2

134

CHUONG 11

to

affi x / 'efrk s / (n)

phu

co mp l ex w o rd /'k n mp l ek s ' w 3 : d /

tu phric

co n s t itu en t / b n ' s t 1 tj u : mt / (n )

thanh to, thanh phan

en cou n t er / rn ' k au n t :i/ ( v)

gi,ip phdi

i n q u es t i o n / rn ' k w estJan /

dang dugc xet den

i n it i al IT ' mj1/ (adj )

kht i ddu,

n atu re/ ' n eTtJa/ (n )

t[nh chiit, hdn chat

p refi x / ' p ri : fT ks / (n )

tin t6,

p ro d u ct i v e / p ro ' d x k trv / (ad j )

tr;.o sinh

p ropo rt i o n / p ra' p : [n / (n )

ty le

regu l arit y / regju l a: ratT/

tinh ph6 bien, thumng xuyen

ro o t / ru : t / (n )

can to: tu ct'in

s ak e-> fo r t h e s ak e o f / fa aa ' s e1 k av /

d i d11(1 C

s t e m I s t e m / (n )

tit goc, tt can, than tt

s u ffi x / ' s A fT ks / (n )

hau to, tie

t reat men t / ' tri : t man t / (n )

sf!/cdch it

a ddu mot tt

ti @ p

ddu ngit

v i ng@

l


135

11 Complex word stress
1 1 Trgng
11.1 Co mplex wo rds
In Ch ap ter 10 th e n ature o f s tres s was
exp lain ed an d s o me b road g en eral rules
were g iv en for d ecid in g which s y llab le in a
wo rd s h o u ld receiv e p rimary s tres s . Th e
wo rd s th at were d es crib ed were called

"s imp le" wo rd s ; "s imp le" in th is con tex t
mean s "n o t co mp o s ed o f mo re th an o n e
g rammatical u n it" , s o th at, for ex amp le, th e
wo rd ' care' is s imp le wh ile 'careful' an d
' careles s ' (b ein g co mp o s ed o f two
g rammatical u n its each ) are co mp lex ;
'carefu lly ' and ' careles s n ess ' are als o co mp lex ,
and are co mpo s ed o f three g rammatical u n its
' each . Un fortun ately, as was s u g g es ted in th e
Ch ap ter 10, it is o ften d ifficu lt to d ecid e o n
wh eth er a wo rd s h o u ld b e treated as co mp lex
o r s imp le. Th e majo rity o f Eng lish wo rd s o f
mo re th an o n e s y llab le (po l y s y lla bi c w o rds )
h av e co me fro m o th er lan g u ag es wh o s e way
o f co n s tructin g wo rd s is eas ily reco g n is ab le;
for ex amp le, we can s ee h o w co mb in in g 'mit'
with th e p refix es 'p er-', ' s ub -' , ' co m-' p ro d u ced
'p ermit' , ' s u b mit' , 'co mmit' , wo rd s wh ich h av e
co me in to Eng lis h fro m Latin . Similarly ,
Greek h as g iv en u s 'catalo g u e', ' an alo g u e' ,
'd ialo g u e' , ' mo n o lo gu e', in wh ich th e p refix es
'cata-', ' an a-' , 'd ia-', ' mo no -' are recog n is ab le.
Bu t we can no t au to matically treat th e
s ep arate g rammatical u n its o f o th er
lan gu ag es as s ep arate g rammatical u n its o f
Eng lis h ; If we d id , we wo u ld n o t b e ab le to
s tu d y Eng lis h mo rph o log y witho u t firs t
s tud y in g th e mo rph o lo g y o f fiv e o r s ix o th er
lan g u ag es , an d we wo u ld b e forced in to
rid icu lou s an alys es s u ch as th at th e En g iis h

wo rd 'p arallelep ip ed ' is co mp o s ed o f fou r o r
fiv e g rammatical u n its (wh ich is th e cas e in
' An cien t Greek ). We mus t accep t, th en , th at
th e d is tin ctio n b etween " s imp le" an d
"co mp lex " wo rd s is d ifficu lt to d raw, an d is
th erefore n o t alway s u s eful.

am

c ua tu phuc tap

1 1 .1 Ca c tu phuc tap

Chuong 10 da giai thich ban chat cl a
trc;rng am va neu mot so qui ti c ph6 bien
rong rai de quyet dinh am tiet nao trong
mc)t W nen nh~n trong am chinh. Cac tt
da duo·c mieu ta dLlc;IC goi la w "don gian";
"don gian" trong ngu canh nay c6 nghia
la "khong dugc cau tao tr nhieu hon mot
ddn vi ngu phap", vl the, vi du nhu tu
'care' la tu ddn gian trong khi 'careful'
va 'careless' (m6i w du'(JC cau t<)O w hai
ddn vi ngd phap) la tu phuc tap;
'carefully' va 'carelessness' ding la tu
pht c tap va duoc cau tao tu ba don vi
ngd phap. Khong may la, nhu da d cap
o chuong 10, thuong thi that kho quyet
dinh m o t tu nen duoc xem la tu phuc
tap hay don gian. Da so cac tu tieng Anh

co nhieu hon mot am tiet (ca c tu da a m
ti et) d@u bat nguon tu nh@ng ngon ngd
khac v6n c6 cach cau tao tu de dang
nhn biet; vi du, ta c6 the thay vi@c ket
hop 'mit' voi cac tien to 'per-', 'sub-',
'com-' von bi t ngu6n tu tie'ng Latin da
tao ra tu 'permit', 'submit', 'commit' nhu'
the nao. Tu'dng tu, tieng Hy Lap cho ta
ca.c W 'catalogue', 'analogue', 'dialogue',
'monologue', trong d6 cac tien to 'cata­
', 'ana-', 'dia-', 'mono-' de dang dudc
nhan biet. Nhung chung ta khong the tu
d9ng xeni cac don vi ngd phap rieng cda
nhung ngon ngu khac la cac don vi ngCI
phap ri ng cda tieng Anh. Ne'u chung ta
lam vay thi chung ta khong the nghien
.cuu hinh thai hoc ci a tieng Anh ma truoc
ti@n khong can phi nghien ct u hinh thai
hoc cda nam hay sau ngon ngt khac,
chung ta buoc phi phan tich v6 ly chang
han nhu' tu tieng Anh 'parallellepiped'
du'(JC ca'u tao tu 6611 hoac nam Odil vi
ngd phap (day la trui ng hop trong ting
Hy Lap co). Vay thi chung ta phai chap


136
nhan rang rat kh6 d e dua ra su khac biet
gil a cac tu "don gian" va "pht c tap" va
su khac biet do khong phai luc nao cung

huu fch.
Co mp l ex w o rd s are o f t w o maj o r t yp es :

Cac tu pht c tap thuoc hai loai chinh:

i ) w o rd s mad e fro m a b as i c w o rd fo rm (w hich
w e w i ll call t h e s tem ), w i t h t h e ad d i ti o n
o f an a ffi x ; and

i) cac tu dugc tao ra tu mot dang tu co
b an (dang ma chung ta goi la go'c
tu ), c:6 them m9t p h y to'; va

i i) comp ou n d words, w h i ch are mad e o f t w o
(o r o ccas i on ally mo re) i n d ep en d en t
E ng lis h w o rd s (e.g . ' i ce-cream', 'armch ai r' ).

ii) cac tu gh e p , duoc tao ra tu' hai (doi
khi nhieu hon) tt tieng Anh doc lap
(vi du: 'ice-cream', 'armchair').

W e w ill l o o k fi rs t at t h e w o rd s mad e w i t h
affi x es . A ffi x es are o f t w o s o rt s i n E ng lis h :
prefix es , wh i ch co me b efo re t h e s t em (e.g .
p refi x 'u n -' + s t em ' p l eas an t'-> 'u n pl eas an t ' )
an d s uffi x es, w hi ch co me aft er t h e s t em ( e.g .
. s t em 'g ood ' + s u ffi x ' -n es s ' 'g oo d n ess ).

Tntac tien chung ta se xem cac tu
dudc tao ra voi cac phu to. Trong tie'ng

Anh, cac phu t6 thuoc hai loai: tien t6,
dung truoc goc tu (vi du ti&n to 'un-' +
goc W 'pleasant' --> 'unpleasant') va h ~u
to, dung sau goc tu vi du: goc W 'good'
+ h~u toe -ness' --> 'goodness').
1

A ffi x es h av e o n e o f t h ree p o ss i b l e effect s
o n w o rd s t re s s :

C ac phu to co the' co ba anh huang
len trong am ca tr:

i ) T h e affi x i t s el f recei v es t h e p ri mary
s t ress (e.g . 's emi -' + 'ci rcl e' s a :kl
-->
's emi ci rcl e' 's em 1 s a : ' p ers o n ' 'pa :s ~
'p ers o n alit y ' pa :s ~ 'rel a ti).

i) Ban than phu to nhan trong am chinh
(vi du: 'semi-' + 'circle' 's a :kl -->
'semicircle' 's em 1 s a :l ; 'person' 'pa:s ~
'personality' pa :s frelati ).

ii) T h e w o rd i s s t ress ed j u s t as i f t h e affi x

w ere n o t t h ere (e.g . ' p l eas an t' 'pl eznt,
' un p l eas an t ' A n' pl eznt; 'mark et ' m a :kTt,
'mark et i ng ' m a :k1 tJ g )

ii) Tu duqc nhan giong nhu the' khong
co phu t6 d d6 (vi du: 'pleasant'
' pl eznt, 'unpleasant ' A n' pl eznt;
'market' m a :k1 t, 'marketing' m a :kTtJ o l.

i ii ) Th e s t res s remai n s o n t h e s t em, n o t t h e
affi x, b u t i s s hi ft ed t o a d i fferen t s y llabl e
(e.g . ' magn et ' 'm reg na t, ' mag n eti c'
m reg ' neti k).

iii) Trong am van d tr@n goc tut, khong
phi phu to, nhung duoc doi den mot
am tiet khac (vi du: 'magnet' 'm reg na t,
'magnetic' m reg ' nehk).

11.2 Suffixes

11.2 Hau

T h ere are s o man y s u ffi x es t h at it w ill
o n ly b e p o ss i b l e h ere t o ex ami n e a s mall
p ro p o rti on o f t h em; w e w ill con cen t rat e on
t ho s e w h i ch are co mmo n an d pro ducti v e
(t h at i s, are app lied t o a co n s i d erabl e n u mb er
o f s t ems an d cou l d b e ap p lied t o mo re t o
mak e n ew En g lis h w o rd s ). In t h e cas e o f t h e
o th ers , fo rei g n l earn ers w o ul d p ro b ab l y b e
b etter adv i s ed t o l earn t h e 's t em + affi x '
co mb i n at i o n as an i n d i v i d u al i t em.

C 6 nhi@u h~u t 6 den n6i d day chl c6
the' xem xet mot phcin nho cua chung;
chung ta se tap trung vao nhmng hau
pho bien va h u u (ch (nghia la duoc ap
dung vao mot s6 luqng dang ke' cac geic
tu va c6 the' dugc ap dung vao nhieu tu
hon de tao thanh nhang tu mdi trong tieng
Anh). Trong trl/ong hqp cua nhung tu
khac, co le nhung nguoi hQc ngoc1- i ngu
nen hoc each ke't hqp 'g6c W + plw to''
n hu mot muc rieng.

l;

t6

to


137
O n e o f t h e p ro b l ems t h at w i ll b e
en co u n t ered i s t h at w e may fi n d w o rd s w h i ch
are o bvi o u s l y co mp l ex b u t w h i ch , w h en w e
d i v i d e t h em i n t o s t em + affi x , t u rn o u t t o
h av e a s t em t h at i s d i ffi cu lt t o i mag i n e as an
E n g li s h w o rd . Fo r ex amp l e, t h e w o rd
' aud aci ty ' s eems t o b e a co mp l ex wo rd b u t wh at i s i t s s t em? Anoth er p ro bl em i s t h at
i t i s . d i ffi cu l t i n s o me cas es t o kno w w h et h er
a wo rd h as o n e, o r mo re t h an o n e, s u ffi x (e.g .
s h o u ld w e an al y s e ' p ers o n alit y ' , fro m t h e

p oint o f v i ew o f s t res s as sign men t, as pa s n +
rel;,ti o r as p3 :s n + rel + ;,ti?). In t h e s t u d y o f
E n g lis h w o rd fo rmat i on at a d eep er le v el t h an
w e can g o i n t o h ere, it i s n eces s ary fo r s u ch
reas o n s t o d i s t i n g u i s h b etw een a s t em (w hich
i s w h at remain s w h en affi x es are remo v ed ),
an d a root, w h ic h i s t h e s mallest pi ece o f
l ex ic al mat eri al t h at a s t em can b e redu ced
t o . So , i n 'p ers o n al it y ' , w e co u l d s ay t h at t h e
suff "ix '-it y ' i s attach ed t o t h e ste m 'p ers o n al'
w hich co n t ain s t h e root 'p ers o n ' . W e w ill no t
s p en d mo re t i me h ere on l o o k i n g at t h es e
p ro b le ms, b u t g o o n t o l ook at s o me
g en eralis at i o n s ab o u t s u ffi x es an d s t res s ,
u s i n g o nly t h e t erm ' s t em' fo r t h e s ak e o f
s i mp l i ci t y . Th e s u ffi x es are referred t o i n
t h ei r s p elli n g fo rm.

Mqt t ro n g n h an g v an d e s e g ap l a
ch u n g t a c6 t h e t h ay n h mng tu r6 ran g l a
p h u c t q p n h u n g , k h i chu n g t a ch i a ch u n g
t h an h g o c tu + p h u t o t h l h 6 a ra chu n g
co mot g o c tu ma t a k h 6 t t fong t L(Q'n g d 6
l a tu t i en g A n h . V i d u : t u ' au d aci t y ' c6
v e n hu l a mQ t tu p h t c t ap n h u ng d au l a
g o c tu cu a n 6 ? MQ t v an d e k h ac l a t ro n g
mo t s o t ru i n g h o p t h at k h 6 b i et d ug c mot
tu co mo t h ay n h i eu h o n mot h au t o (v i
d 1_1: tu q u an d i em v e cach d at t ro n g am,
ch u n g t a co n en ph an tich ' p ers o n al i t y '

l a pa s n + relati h ay la pa :s n +rel + ati?) K h i
n g h i en cu u cach th an h l ap tu tien g A n h
s au h o n cap d Q ch un g t a x em
o cap
x et o d ay , v i n h u n g ly d o n hu t h e d n
p h ai p h an b i @t g i l a mo t g o c tu (l a p h an
co n l ai k h i l o ai b p h u t 6 ) v a g o c (l a
p h an n h o n h at cl a t ai l i eu tu v u n g ma
mo t g o c tu c6
g i an l u g c t h an h . V ay ,
t ro n g t u ' p ers o n ali ty ' , ch u n g t a c6 th € n 6 i
ran g h a u t6 ' -ity ' d u c g an v ao g o c tt
' p e rs o n a l ' ch d a g o c ' p e rs o n ' . O d a y
chu n g t a s e k h o n g d an h n h i eu th o i g i an
x em x et n h u n g v an d e n ay , m a s e
t i ep t i c x em mot s 6 d i eu t o n g qu at v e
h au t o v a t ro n g am, d€ d o n g i an ch i d un g
t h u at n g d ' g 6 c tu'. Cac h u t 6 d u o;c d e
cap o d an g ch i n h t a cd a chu n g .

do

the

de

gA U 7 , EX 3

t c6 sin trqng a m ch in h

Suf fi xes carrying primary str ess
themselves

Ca c hau

In t h e ex amp l es g i v en , w h ic h s eem t o b e
t h e mo s t co mmo n , t h e p ripiary s t res s i s o n
t h e fi rs t s y llab l e o f t h e s u ffi x . If t h e s t em
cons i st s o f mo re t h an o n e s y llabl e t h ere w ill
b e a s eco n d ary s t res s o n o n e o f t h e s y llab l es
o f t h e s t em. T h i s can n o t fall o n t h e l as t
s y llab l e o f t h e s t em an d is , i f n ecess ary ,
mo v ed t o an earl i er s y llab l e. Fo r ex amp l e,
i n 'Ja p an ' d3a'pen t h e p ri mary s t res s i s o n
t h e l as t s y llab l e, b u t w h en w e ad d t h e s t ress ­
carry i n g s u ffi x ' -es e' t h e p ri mary s tr es s i s on
t h e s u ffi x an d t h e s eco nd ary s t res s i s p l aced
n o t o n t h e s eco nd s y llab l e b u t o n t h e fi rs t:
'Jap an es e' ,d3apa'ni:z.

T ro ng cac v i d u d u ; c cho , d uong n hu
p h 6 bin n h at, t ro n g am ch i n h n am o
am t i et d au t i en cu a h au t o . N eu g o c tt
c6 h o n mot am t i et t h i s e co mQ t t rQ n g
am p h v a mQ t t ro ng s o cac am t i &t cl a
g o c tt d 6 . T rQ n g am n ay k h on g t h € ro i
v ao am t i et cu o i cd a g o c tu v a n eu can ,
n o d u g c d i d en am t i et p h i a t ru ck . V i
d u , t ro n g tu ' J ap an ' d3a'pan, am t i et
ch i n h n am o am t i e t c u 6 i , n h u n g k h i

c h u n g t a t h e m h a u t o m a n g t ro n g a m
' -e s e ' t h i t ro n g a m c h i n h n a m & h u t o
v a t r o n g a m p h u du o c d a t k h o n g p h a i o
am t i et t h t h ai ma o am t i et t h & n h at:
'J ap an es e' ,d3apa'ni:z.


138

•

' -ee': 'refu g ee' ,refju'd3:: 'ev acu ee' 1,vrekju'i:
' -eer': 'mou n tain eer' ,maunh'ma; 'v o l~n teer' , vnlan'lTa
I

•

'-es e' : 'Po rtu gu es e' ,p:,:tJa'gi:z; 'jou rnales e' , dJ3:nl'i:z

•

'-ette' : 'cig arette' ,s1gi;'et; ' laun d erette' ,b:nd~et

•

'-es qu e': 'p ictu res q u e' ,pktfr'esk

Cac hau to khong anh huong de'n
cach dat trong am

~·uffixes that do not af f ect st ress
placement
•

' -ab le' : 'co mfort' 'kAmfat; 'co mfortab le' 'kAmftabi

•

'-ag e' : 'an oho r' 'aenka; ' an ch o rag e' 'ankarrd3

•

'-al': 'refus e' (v erb ) n'fjuz; 'refus al' n'fju:z!

•
•

'-en ' : 'wid e' ward; 'wid en ' 'wardn
' -ful' : 'wond er' 'wAnda; 'wond erfu l' 'wAvdaft

'-in g ' : ' amaze' a'me1z; 'amazing ' a'me1z10

•

'-is h' : 'd ev il' 'devl ; 'd ev ilis h ' 'devhf

(Th is is th e rule for adjectiv es ; v erb s with
s tems o f mo re th an o n e s y llab le alway s h av e
th e s tres s o n th e s y llab le immed iately
p reced in g 'is h ' , e.g . ' rep len is h ' n'plemJ,

'd emo lis h ' dr'mhf.)

(Day la q u y tac d an h ch o cac tin h tu;
cac d on g tt co cac g o c tu n h ieu h o n
mot am tiet lu o n co tro n g am n am & am
tiet d u n g n g ay tru o c ' is h ' , v i d u : ' rep len is h '
n'plemJ, ' d emo lis h ' d11mnhJ.)

'-lik e' : 'b ird ' 'b3:d; 'b ird lik e' 'b3:dla1k

•
•
•
•

•
•

'-les s' : 'p o wer' 'paua; 'po werles s ' 'paualas
'-ly': 'tu rried 'hAnd; 'h urried ly ' 'hurdli
' -men e' (no u n ): 'p u n is h ' 'pAmJ; 'pu n is h men t'. 'pAmJmant
1
-n ess ': ' y ello w' 'jelau; 'y ello wn es s ' 'jelaunas

'-o u s ': 'po is on ' 'przn; 'p o is ono u s ' 'prznas
'-fy ' : 'g lo ry ' 'gb:ri; 'g lo ri[y ' 'gb:nfa1
' -wis e' : ' o th er' 'Ada; ' o th erwis e' 'A0NWa1z
' -y ' (adjectiv e o r no u n ): 'fu n ' 'fAn; 'fu nny ' 'fAni

g AUl 1, EX 3

Suffixes that infl uence stress in the
st em

Cac hau to anh hu ng den trong am
trong go'c tu

In th es e ex amp les p rimary s tres s is o n
th e las t s y llab le o f th e s tem .

Tran g cac v f d u n ay , tron g am ch fn h
n am & am tit cu 6 i cia g o c tt.

• ' -eo u s' : 'adv an tag e' ad'vo:ntTdJ; ' ad v an tag eo u s ' ,redvan'te1d3as
.' -g raph y': 'pho to ' 'fautau; 'p ho to g rap h y ' fa'tografi
'ial': 'p rov erb ' 'prva:b; 'p rov erb ial' pro'vs:biol


139
' -io n ' : 'climate' 'kla,mit; ' climatic' kla1'mret1k

'-ion ' : ' p erfect' 'pa:f1kt; ' p erfectio n ' pa'fekJ'}
'·-io u s ': ' inju re' 'md3a; 'inju rio u s ' m'd3J:rias
' -ty': 'tran q u il' 'tngkwil; ' tran q u illity ' trreo'kwdati
' -iv e': 'reflex ' 'ri:leks; 'reflex iv e' n'fleks1v

Fin ally , wh en th e s u ffix es ' -an ce' , '-an t'
an d ' -ary ' are attach ed to s ing le-s y llab le
s tems, th e s tres s is almo s t alway s p laced o n
th e s tem. Wh en th e s tem h as mo re th an o n e

s y llab le, th e s tres s is o n o n e o f th e s y llab les
in th e s tem. To exp lain th is we n eed to u s e a
rule b as ed on s y llab le s tructu re, as was d o n e
for s imp le wo rd s in th e p rev io u s ch ap ter. If
th e fin al s y llab le o f th e s tem is s tro n g, th at
s y llab le receiv es th e s tress . Fo r ex amp le:
'impo rtan ce' mm'p:tns; 'cen ten ary ' sen'ti:nri.
Oth erwis e th e s y llab le b efore th e las t o n e
receiv es th e s tress : ' in h eritan ce' 1n'her1fans;
' military ' 'm1htri.

Cu 6 i cmn g , k h i cac h au to ' -an ce' , ' -an t'
v a ' -ary ' d u o c g an v ao cac g 6 c tu d o n
am tiet, tron g am h au n h u lu c n ao cu n g
d at len g o c tu. Kh i g 6 c tu co h o n mot
am ti&t, tro n g am n am o mot tron g s o
cac am tiet tron g g 6 c tu d o . 0 € g iai th ich
d ieu n ay , chu n g ta can d un g mot qu y
tac d u a tren cau tru c am tiet, gio n g n hu
d 15'i v o i cac tu d o n g in tron g ch l.id n g
tru o c. Neu am ti&t cu o i cla g o c tu man h
th i am ti@t d o n h an tro n g am. Vi d u :
' imp ortan ce' 1m'pJ:tns; ' cen ten ary '
sen'ti:nri. Ng u o c lai, am tie' t d u n g truo c
am tiet cu o i n h an tro n g am: ' in h eritan ce'
m'hentans; ' military ' 'm1htri.

11.3 Prefixes

11.3 Tie n t 6

We will o n ly d eal b riefly with p refix es .
Th eir effect o n s tres s d o es n o t h av e th e
co mp arativ e reg u larity, ind ep en d en ce an d
p red ictab ility o f s u ffix es , an d th ere is no
p refix o f o n e o r two s y llab les th at alway s
carries p rimary s tres s . Co n s eq u en tly, th e b es t
treatmen t s eems to b e to s ay th at s tres s in
wo rd s with p refix es is g ov erned by th e s ame
rules as tho s e for wo rd s with o u t p refix es .

Chun g ta s e ch i b an n g iln g o n v e cac
tien to . Su tac d on g cla ch un g len tro n g
am co tin h qu y tile tu o n g d 6 i, tfn h - d q c
lap v a tfn h co th e d o an truo c cd a cac
h au to , v a k h o n g co tien t6 n ao cla mo t
h o ac h ai am tiet lu o n man g tron g am
ch in h . Do d o , each g iai q u y et t6 t n h a' t
co v e n h u la p h ai n o i ran g tro n g am tron g
cac tu co tien to bi ch i p h o i b i cac qu y
tac g io n g n h u qu y t a c d an h ch o cac tt
k h o n g co ti@n t6 .

.,

I

O AU11, EX4

11.4 Compound words

1 1 .4 Ca c tu ghep

th e word s d is cu s s ed s o far in this ch ap ter
h av e all cons is ted o f a s tem p lu s an affix . We
n o w p as s o n to an o th er typ e o f wo rd . Th is is
, called co mp o und , an d its main ch aracteris tic
is th at it can_ b e an aly s ed in to two wo rd s , bo th
o f wh ich can ex is t ind ep end en tly as Eng lis h
wo rds . (So me co mpou n d s are mad e o f mo re
th an two wo rd s , b u t \v e will, n o t con s id er
th es e.) As with man y o f th e d is tin ctio n s b eing
mad e in con n ection with s tres s , th ere are
areas o f u n certain ty . Fo r ex amp le, it cou ld
b e arg u ed th at 'p h o tog rap h ' may b e d iv id ed

Cac tu d a d uo c th o lu an ch o d en
b ay g io o tron g ch u o ng n ay tat ca d eu
co mot g o c tu con g mo t p h u t6 . Bay g id
ch u n g ta chu y € n q u a mt lo ai
k h ac.
Lo ai tut n ay d u g c g o i la tu ghep v a d ac
d i€ m ch in h cd a n o la n o co th € d L((JC
p h an tich th an h h ai tu , ca h ai tu n ay d eu
co th € t6 n ti! i d o c lap n h u cac tt tie' n g
An h . (Mot s o tu g h ep dug c tao ra tut n h ieu
h d n h ai tu, 11h u n g ch u n g ta s e k h o n g x em
x et 11h Cl11g w n ay .) Co n g co n h iJ u s u k h ac
b i~t v ~ tron g am, c6 cac ITn h VI/ C k h 6 n g

tu


14 0
in to two in d ep en d en t wo rd s, ' p h o to ' an d
'g raph ' ; y et we u s u ally d o n o t reg ard it as a
co mp o u n d , b u t as a s imp le wo rd . (If,
ho wev er, s o meon e d rew a g raph d is p lay in g
n u merical in formatio n abou t p h o to s, th is
wou ld p erh ap s b e called a 'p h o to -g rap h ' an d
th e wo rd wo u ld b e reg ard ed as a co mp ound ).
Co mp o u n d s are written in d ifferen t way s ;
s 01n:etimes th ey are written as o n e wo rd e.g . ' armch air' , 's u n flo wer' - s o metimes with
th e wo rd s s ep arated b y a h yph en - e.g . 'g ear­
ch ang e', 'fru it-cak e', an d s o metimes with two
wo rd s s ep arated b y a s p ace - e.g . ' d es k lamp ' ,
'b attery ch arg er' . In this las t cas e th ere wou ld,
o f co u rs e, b e no in d icatio n to th e foreig n
learner th at th e p air o f wo rd s was to b e treated
as a co mpo und . Th ere is n o clear d iv id ing
lin e b etween two -wo rd co mp o u n d s an d p airs
o f wo rd s th at s imp ly h app en to o ccu r to g eth er
q u ite freq u en tly .

chac chan. Vi du, ngudi ta c6 the lap
luan rang 'photograph' c6 the' dl.iQ'c chia
thanh hai tu doc lap, 'photo' va 'graph';
nhung, chung ta thuong khong xem no
la tu ghep, ma la mot tt don gian. (Song,
nu mot ngudi nao do ve bieu do bi&u

dien thong tin bling so ve cac hinh anh,
thl co le no dllQ'c gc;>i la 'photo-graph' va
tu nay duoc xem la W ghep.) Cac W ghep
du@c viet theo nhieu cach khac nhau;
d6i khi chung duoc viet du@i dang mot
tu - vi du: 'armchair', 'sunflower' - d6i
khi v6i cac tu dudc tach rdi bang dau
gqch ngang - vi du: 'gear-change', 'fr uit­
cake' - va d6i khi voi cac tu dudc tach
rdi bang mot khoang trong - vi du: 'desk
lamp', 'battery charger'. Di nhien trllong
hqp cuo'i cung khong cho nglloi hoc
ngoai ng@ thay rang cap tu nay phai du;c
xem la tu ghep. Khong co duong phan
chia ro rang gil a cac tu ghep hai tu va
cac cap tu von don gian xuat hien voi
nhau kha thllong xuyen.

As far as s tres s is con cerned, th e q u es tio n
is q u ite s imp le. Wh en is p rimary s tres s p laced
o n th e firs t cons titu en t wo rd o f th e co mp o u n d
and wh en o n th e s econ d ? Bo th p atterns are
fou nd . A few rules can b e g iv en , althou g h
th es e are n o t co mp letely reliab le. Wo rd s
wh ich do n o t receiv e p rimary s tress n o rmally
h av e s eco n d ary s tres s , alth o u g h for th e s ak e
o f s imp licity th is is n o t mark ed h ere. Perh ap s
th e mo s t Iamiliar ty p e o f co mp ou n d is th e
o n e wh ich co mb in es two n o un s, an d
n o rmally h as th e s tres s on th e firs t elemen t,

as in :

Ve mat trong am, cau hoi nay kha
don gian. Khi nao trong am chinh dLiQC
dat & tu thanh phan dau tien cua tu ghep
va khi nao duoc dat o tu thanh phan tht
hai? C a hai mau deu du;c tim thay. C6
the' c6 m9t vai qui tile dl.ic;Jc dl.ia ra, mac
du nhung qui tfr nay kh6ng hoan toan
dang tin cay. C ac tr khong nhan trong
am chinh thuong co trong am phu, mac
du de don gin no khong duoc danh dau
d day. C o le loq i tu ghep quen thuoc
nhat la loai kt hop hai danh tu va thllong
c6 trong am & thanh phan dau tien, nhu
trong:

'ty p ewriter' 'ta rpra rto

's u itcas e' 's u:tke1 s

'car-ferry ' 'ko :feri

'tea-cu p ' 'ti :kA p

' s u nris e' 's A nra 1 z

It is p rob ab ly s afes t for foreign learners
to ass u me th at s tres s will n o rmally fall in th is
way on o th er co mpo u n d s; ho wev er, a v ariety

o f co mp o u n d s receiv e s tres •, in s tead o n th e
s econd elemen t. Fo r ex all' p le, co mpou n d s
with an adjectiv al firs t elemen t an d th e -ed
mo rp h eme at th e en d h av e this p attern (g iv en
in s p ellin g o n ly ):

C6 le an toan nhat la gia st ding tn:rng
am thudng se roi vao cac tu ghep khac
theo each nay; tuy nhien, co du loqi tu
ghep nhan trong am thay vi roi vao thanh
phan thCt hai. Vi du, cac tu ghep voi thanh
phan th& nhat co ch&c nang tinh t u t va
am vi -ed o cuoi co mau nay (chi dL(Q'C
cho o dang chinh ta):


1 41
b ad -' temp ered

bad-'tempered

h alf-' timb ered

half-'timbered

h e a v y -' h a n d e d

heavy-' handed

Co mpound s in wh ich th e firs t elemen t is

a n u mb er in s o me form als o tend to h av e
fin al s tress :

Cac tu ghep ma trong d6 thanh phan
th& nhat la
theo mot dang no do cung
co khuynh huong co trong am cu6i:

so

th ree-' wh eeler

th ree-' wh eeler

s eco n d -' clas s

s econd -' clas s

fiv e-' fin g er

fiv c-' fing er

Co mpou n d s fun ctio n ing as adv erb s are
u s u ally fin al-s tress ed :

C ac tu ghep thuc hi@en cht c nang la
tinh tu thuong dugc nhan o tu cu6i:

h ead -' firs t

h ead -' firs t

No rth -' Eas t

No rth -' Eas t
do wn's tream

do wn ' s tream
Fin ally , co mp ou nd s wh ich fun ctio n as
v erb s an d h av e an ad v erb ial firs t elemen t
tak e fin al s tress :

C u6i cung, cac tu ghep thuc hien
ch(c nang la dong tu va co thanh phan
tht nhat thuc hi@en ch(c nang lam trang
tu nhan trong am cuoi:

d o wn -' g rad e

d o wn -' g rad e

b a ck -' p e d a l

b a ck -' p e d a l

ill-' treat

ill-' treat

11.5 Variable stress

1 1 .5 Trqng a m bie n dfii

It wo u ld b e wron g to imag in e th at th e
s tres s p allern is alway s fix ed and u n ch an g in g
in En g lis h wo rd s . Stres s p o s itio n may v ary
for on e o f two reas o n s : eith er as a res u lt o f
th e s tres s o n o th er wo rd s o ccu rrin g n ex t to
th e wo rd in q u es tio n , o r b ecau s e n o t all
s p eak ers ag ree o n th e p lacemen t o f s tres s in
s o me wo rd s . Th e former cas e is an as p ect o f
con n ected s p eech th at will b e en co un tered
ag ain in Ch ap ter 1 4 : th e main effect is th at
th e s tres s o n a fin al-s tress ed co mpoun d ten d s
to mo v e to th e p reced in g s y llab le if th e
follo win g wo rd b eg in s with a s trong ly
s tres s ed s y llab le. Thu s (us in g s o me ex amp les
fro m th e p rev io u s s ectio n ):

That sai lam khi nghT rang mau trong
am lun co dinh va khong thay di trong
cac tu tieng Anh. Vi tri trong am c6 th€
thay do'i vi mot trong hai ly do: la do
trong am trn cac tu khac xuat hien ke
ben tu dang de cap, hoac vi khong phai
tat ca nhung ngudi noi deu chap nhan
cach dat trong am o mot s6 tt . Truong
hop dau la khia canh noi am ma chung
ta se gap lai trong chuong 14: su tac dong
chfnh la trong am o tu ghep dugc nhan

cuoi co khuynh huong chuyen sang am
ti&t dung truoc neu tu theo Sall ba' t du
bang mot am tiet dugc nhan manh. Vay
(mot so vi du tu phan truoc):

b ad -' temp ered

but

a 'b ad -temp ered 'teach er

h alf-' timb ered

but

a ' h alf-timb ered 'h o u s e

h eavy -' h an d ed

but

a ' h eavy -h an d ed 's en ten ce


1 42
Th e s econ d is n o t a s eriou s p rob lem, b u t
is o n e th at foreig n learners s h o u ld b e aware
o f. A well-k n o wn ex amp le is 'co n trov ers y ' ,
wh ich is p ronoun ced b y s o me s p eak ers as
'kuntrav3:si an d b y o th ers as kan'truvasi; it

wou ld b e q u ite wron g to say th at o n e v ers io n
was co rrect an d o n e in co rrect. Oth er
ex amp les o f d ifferen t p os s ib ilities are 'ice­
cream' (eith er ,a1s'kri:m o r 'a1skri:m)
' k ilo metre' ('k1lami:ta. o r k1'lum1ta) an d
'formid ab le' ('fa:m,dabl o r fa:'mrdabl').

Ly do th& hai khong phai la van de
nghiem trong, nhung la ly do ma ngudi
hoc ngoai ngd nen biet . Mot vi du pho
bien la 'controversy', duoc mot so ngudi
noi phat am la 'kntrava:si va mot so
khac phat am la kon'trvasi; se that sai
lam khi n6i rang mot phien ban dung va
mot phien ban sai. Cac vi du khac ve
nhung kha nang khac nhau la 'ice-cream'
,ars'kri:m hoac 'arskri:m ), 'kilometre'
('krlami:ta ho~c k1'lnm1ta) va 'formidable'
('fa:mrdabf ho~c fa:'mrdabp.

11.6 Word-class pairs

11.6 Cac cap tu loai

" AUll, EX 5
On e as p ect o f wo :d s tres s is b es t treated
as a s ep arate is s u e. Th ere are s ev eral d o zen
p airs o f two -s y llab le wo rd s with id en tical
s p elling wh ich d iffer fro m each o th er in s tres s
p lacemen t, ap p aren tly acco rd in g to wo rd

clas s (no u n , v erb o r adjectiv e). All app ear to
con s is t o f p refix + s tem. We s h all treat th em
as a s p ecial typ e o f wo rd an d g iv e th em th e
follo win g rule: if a p air o f p refix -p lus -s tem
wo rd s ex is ts , b o th memb ers o f which are s p elt
id en tically , o n e o f wh ich is a v erb and th e
o th er o f wh ich is eith er a n ou n o r an adjectiv e,
th en th e s tres s will b e p laced o n th e s econ d
s y llab le o f th e v erb b u t o n th e firs t s y llab le
o f th e n o u n o r ad jectiv e. So me co mmon
ex amp les are g iv en b elo w (V = v erb , A =
adjectiv e, N = n oun ):
' ab s tract'
'co nd u ct'
' co n tract'
' co n tras t'
'd es ert'
'esco rt'
'expo rt'
'imp o rt'
' in s u lt'
' o b ject'
'p erfect'
'p ermit'
'p res en t'
'p rodu ce'
'p rotes t'
'reb el'
' re co rd '
'sub ject'

'aebstrkt(A),
'kDndAkt ( N) ,
'kuntrrekt (N),
'kuntra:st (N),
'dezat(N),
'esk:>:t(N).
'eksp:>:t (N),
'1mp:>t (N),
'msAlt ( N) ,
'nbd31kt (N),
'p3:fkt (A ),
'pa:mt (N),
'preznt (N. A),
'prudju:s ( N) .
'prautest (N),
'rebl ( N).
'rek:>:d(N).
'sAbd31kt ( N) ,

Mot khfa canh ci a trong am tt tot
nha't dt1<;1c xem la mot va'n de rieng. C6
vai chuc cap tu hai am ti&t vdi cach
viet chinh ta gio'ng nhau nhung khac nhau
c3' cach dat trong am, r6 rang la theo tu
loai (danh tu, dong tu hoac tinh tu). Tat
ca deu co tien t6 + goc tu. Chung ta se
xem chung nhu la mot loai tu dac biet
va ap dung qui tac sau day: neu co mot
cap ti "ti@n t6 cong goc tu", ca hai thanh

phan cua cap ny deu d ug c viet giong
nhau, mot thanh phan la dong tu va thanh
phan con lai la danh tt hoac tinh t r, thi
trong am duoc dat 8 am tiet th& hai cl a
dong tu nhung o am ti&t tht nhat cl a
danh tu hoac tinh tu. Mot s6 vi du ph6
bien dudc cho dudi day (V=dqng t Ct ,
A=tfnh tu, N=danh tu ):
reb'strrekt (V)
kan'dAkt (V)
kan'hekt (V)
kan'tro:st ( V)
dr'z3:t (V)
1s'k:>:t (V)
1k'sp:>t (V)
1m'p:>:t (V)
m'sAlt (V)
ab'd3ekt (V)
pa'fckt (V)
po'm t (V)
pn'zcnt (V)
pra'dju:s (V)
pr a' tcst ( V)

n ' b el (V)
n ' k:,:d (V)
sob' d3ekt ( V)


14 3

Not es on problems and further reading
Mo s t o f t h e readin g reco mmen d ed i n t h e n o t es fo r t h e p rev i o u s ch ap t er i s rel ev an t fo r
t h i s o n e t o o . Lo o k i n g s p eci fi cally at co mp o u nds, i t i s w o rt h read i n g Fu d g e (1 9 8 4 : Ch ap t er
5). See al s o Cru ttend en (1994: 207-9). If y ou w i s h t o g o mo re d eep l y i n t o co mpou n d -wo rd
s t res s, y o u s h ou l d fi rs t s tu d y E ng l i sh w o rd fo rmat i o n . Reco mmen d ed read ing fo r t h i s i s
Bau er (1983). O n t h e d i s tin cti o n b et w een ste m and root, s ee Rad fo rd e t al. (1999), pp. 67-8.

Bai tap

Written exercises
Pu t s t res s mark s o n t h e fo llo w in g w o rd s
(t ry t o p u t s eco n d ary s t res s mark s o n as
w ell).

viet

1. Eat dau nhn len cac t! sau day (cung
co gang dat cac dau trong am phu).

a) s h o p -fi tt er

b ) o p en -end ed

c) Ja v an es e

d) b i rt h -mark

e ) an ti -cl o ck w is e

f ) confi rmat i o n

g) ei gh t -s i d ed

h ) fru it -cak e

i ) d e fec t i v e

j ) ro o f-timb er

2

W rit e t h e w o rd s
i n p h on emi c
t ran s cri pt i o n , i n cl u d i n g t h e s t res s mark s .

2. P hi@n am cac tu nay theo am v i hoc,
bao gom cac dau nhan.


144

CHU'dNG 12
cite /sari/ (v)

tr[ch d d n

contracted form /bn' trrektrd ' fo:m/

dq ng tfnh llt(IC

co-ordinate /bu' :-i:drnert/ (v)

phoi hap

co-ordinated use /bu' :-i:drnertrd 'ju:s/

d un g ph6i hap

deduction /dr' dAkJn/ (n)

st suy luan

demonstrative function /d1monstr;it1v ' fAnk.fn/

chute nang chi dinh (chi r6 nay,
kia, day, d())

demonstrative sense /dr' mpnstratrv ' sens/

nghi chi dinh (chi r6 nay, kia.
day, dr5)

devote /dr' v;iut/ (v)

d iin h clw

function word TfAnkfn wa:d/

ht ti t

imply 1Tm' pla1/ (v)

ngam chi st ton tai (mot thut gi )

in conjunction with /in bn' d3A1Jk.fn w10/

ding v di

practically /' prrekt1kh/ (adv) (all)

h a u nh (t at ca)

pre-consonantal /' pri :,kuns;i ' nrentl/ (adj)

dting trurJc ph(t c7m

roughly /' rAfl1/ (adv)

khodng (= about)

sense /sens/ (n)

_v nghia

severely /sr'v1;ilr/ (adv)

m;i.ng ni, trdm tr(mg

1 45

12 Weak forms
12 Cac dang yeu
Chapter 9 discussed the difference
between strong and weak syllables in
English. We have now moved on from
looking at syllables to looking at words. We
will now consider certain well-known
English words that can be pronounced in two
different ways; these are called strong forms
and weak forms. As an example, the word
'that' can be pronounced ilret (strong form) or
ila t (weak form). The sentence 'I like that' is
pronounced a1 la1k o ret (strong form); the
sentence 'I hope that she will' is pronounced
a1 ha o p ila t Ji wII (weak form). There are
roughly forty such words in English. It is
possible to use only strong forms in speaking,
and some foreigners do this. Usually they
can still be understood by other speakers of
English, so why is it important to learn how
weak forms are used? There are two main
reasons; first, most native speakers of English
find an "all-strong-form" pronunciation
unnatural and foreign-sounding, something
that most learners would wish to avoid.
Second, and more importantly, speakers who
are not familiar with the use of weak forms
are likely to have difficulty understanding

speakers who do use weak forms; since
practically all native speakers of British
English use them, learners of the language
need to learn about these weak forms to help
them to understand what they hear.

Chlldng 9 da ban ve su khac nhau
gil a cac am tiet manh va yu trong tieng
Anh. Bay gi chung ta se chuyen tu viec
xem xet cac am tiet sang xem xet cac
tu. Chung ta se xem xet mot so tu ting
Anh ph6 bien c6 the duoc phat am theo
hai cach khac nhau; nhung tu nay duoc
goi la dang manh va dang yeu. Vi du:
tu 'that' c6 the duoc phat am la ilret (dqng
manh) hoac 0a t (dang yeu). Cau 'I like
that' duoc phcl t am la ax lark 0 a t (dang
mqnh) ; cau 'I hope that she will' dtl(Jc
phat am la ax ha up ila t Ji w rl (dang yeu).
C6 khoang bon muoi W nhu the trong
tieng Anh. Chung ta c6 the chi st'I dLJng
dang manh trong van noi va mt so
nguoi nuoc ngoai lam nhu vay. Thuong
thl nht ng ngudi noi ting Anh khac van
c6 the' hie'u ho, vay tai sao hoc cclch
dung cac dang yeu lai quan trong? C6
hai ly do chinh; tht nhat, hau het nht ng
nguc'li ban nga noi tieng Anh thay cach
phat am "dqng tat ca deu manh" la khong
tu nhien va nghe co ve ngoai lai, dieu

ma hiiu het nhung ngttoi hoc muon tranh.
Thu hai, va quan trong hon, ngudi n6 i
khong quen dung dang yeu co the gap
kh6 khan trong viec hieu nht ng ngttc'li
noi dung dang yeu; vi trn thuc te tat ca
tat ca nhL7ng nglloi n6i Anh ban nga deu
st dung chung, nguoi hoc ngon ng@ nay
can phi hoc ve nhung dang yeu nay de
giup ho h ie'u nhung dieu ho nghe.

We must distinguish between weak forms
and contracted forms. Certain English
words are shoctcned so severely (usually to
a single phoneme) and so consistently that
they are represented differently in informal
writing. e.g. ' it is' - ' it' s' ; ·we have' - ' we' ve' ;
' do not' - ' don' t' . These contracted forms are
discussed in a later chapter, and are not
included here.

Chung ta phai phan biet gida cac dang
yeu va d an g ru t gon . M o t so t u tieng
Anh dll(JC rut gon qua mLIC (thllc'lng con
m o t am vi don) va kien dinh den n6i
chung duoc trlnh bay khac nhau trong
van viet than mat, vi du: 'it is' - 'it's';
'we have' - 'we've'; 'do not' - 'don't'.
Nhung dang rut gon nay duoc thao luan
trong cac chuong sau va khong duoc trinh
bay a day.

14 6

ca

ca

A l mo s t all t h e w o rd s wh i ch h av e bo t h a
s t ro n g an d w eak fo rm b elo n g t o a cat ego ry
t h at may b e called function words - w o rd s
t h at d o n o t h av e a d ic ti on ary meani ng i n t h e
w ay t h at w e n o rmally ex p ect n o un s , v erbs,
ad j ecti v es an d ad v erb s t o h av e. T h es e
fu n ct ion wo rd s are w o rd s s u ch as au x i li ary
v erb s , p repo s i ti o n s, co nj u n ct i o n s , et c., all o f
w h i ch are i n cert ai n ci rcu ms t ari ces
p ro n o u n ced i n t h ei r s t ro n g fo rms b u t wh i ch
are mo re freq u en t ly p ro n o u n ced i n t h ei r
w eak fo rms . It i s i mp o rt ant t o rememb er t h at
t h ere are cert ai n con t ex t s w h ere o n l y t h e
s t ro n g fo rm i s accep t abl e, an d o t h ers w h ere
t h e w eak fo rm i s t h e n o rmal p ro n u n ci at i o n .
Th ere are s o me fai rl y s i mpl e ru l es ; w e can
s ay t h at t h e s t ro n g fo rm i s u s ed i n t h e
fo llo w i n g cas es :

H au h et t at
cac tu co
d an g

m an h l an y eu d eu t h u o c v e m o t p h am
t ru ma c6 t h e g o i la tu ch& c na ng - tuc
l a cac tr k h on g co n g h i a t u d i en t h eo
cach ch un g t a t h u on g mu o n c6 ci' d an h
tu, d o n g tu, tf n h tu v a t ran g tu. Cac tt
ch u c n an g n ay la n h u ng W n hu t re;1 d l) n g
tu, g i ai W, l i en tu, v .v ., t a' t
cac t t
d 6 , t ro n g m<')t s o t ru i n g h o p , d uo c p h at
am t h eo d a n g m a n h ci a c h u n g n h u n g
d ug c p h at am t h u o ng xu y en h o n
d an g
y eu. D i eu q u an t ro n g l a p h ai n ho ran g
co mo t s o n g u can h ma o d6 ch i co t h e
ch ap n h an d an g manh , v a n h u n g n g d
can h k h ac t ro n g d o d an g y eu l a each
p h at m b l n h th uo n g . C6 mi) t s o q ui t ac
k h a d o n g i a n ; c h u n g t a c 6 t h e n o i ra n g
d an g man h d u o c d u n g t ro n g n h u ng t ru i n g
h c;1p s au d ay :

i ) Fo r man y w eak -fo rm w o rd s , w h en t h ey
o ccu r at t h e en d o f a s en t en ce. Fo r
ex ampl e, t h e w o rd 'o f h as t h e w eak fo rm
av i n t h e fo llo w i n g s en t en ce:

i)

ca

D 6 i v d i n h iu tu c6 d an g y eu , k h i
ch un g x u at h i en o cu o i cau ; v i d u: tt
' o f' c6 d an g y eu l a av t ro n g Call s au
d ay :

'I'm fo nd o f c'li ps ' aim 'fond av 'tJrps
H o w ev er, w h en i t co mes t h e s en t en ce, as i n t h e fo llo w i n g
ex amp l e, i t h as t h e s t ro n g fo rm ov:

T u y n h i en , k h i n o d u n g o cu 6 i cau ,
n hll t ro ng v i d u s au , n6 co d an g man h
l a ov:

'Ch i p s are w h at I' m fon d o f 'tJrps a 'wot arm 'fond ov

Man y o f t h e w o rd s g i v en b el o w
(p art ic u l arl y t h e fi rs t n i n e) n ev er o ccu r
at t h e en d o f a s en t en ce, e.g . ' t h e', 'y o u r'.
So me wo rd s (p arti cu l arl y t h e p ro n o u n s
n u mb ered 1 0 -1 4 b elow) d o o ccu r i n t h eir
w eak fo rms i n fi n al p o s i t i o r..

N h i eu tu d u ; c ch o d uo i d ay (d ac b i et
l a ch i n tu d au t i en ) k h o n g b ao g i o x u at
h i en o cu o i cau , v i d u : ' t h e', ' y ou r' .
Mo t s o tu (d ac b i et la cac d ai tu d u ; c
d an h s 6 10-1 4 d u 6'i d ay ) x u at h i en o
v i t ri cu o i t h eo d an g y eu cu a ch un g .

i i ) W h en a w eak -fo rm w o rd i s b ei n g
i i ) K h i mot tu d an g y eu t rai n gu @c v 6'i
co n t ras t ed w i t h an o t h er w o rd , fo r
mo t t t k h ac; v i d u :
ex am p l e:
'T h e l etter's from h i m, n o t to h i m' i);, 'letaz 'from rm not 'tuam
A s i mil ar cas e i s w h at w e mi g h t call a coo rdin at ed u s e o f p repo si ti o ns :

Mot t ru o n g h o p t u on g t u la d i eu ma
ch un g t a c6 t h e' g o i l a s u dt_ing ktft
h o p cac g i o i tu:

'I t rav el t o an d fro m L o ndo n a l o t ' a, 'trrev! 'tu: an 'from 'lAndan a 'lot
'A w o rk o f an d ab ou t l it eratu re' a 'w:l:k 'ov an a'baut 'htntJa
i i i ) W h en a w eak -fo rm w o rd i s g i v en s t res s
fo r t h e p u rp os e o f emph as i s , fo r ex amp l e:

i i i ) K h i mo t tu d an g y eu d u o c n h an
mu c d ic h n h an man h ; v i d u :

vl


14 7
'Y ou must g i v e me mo re mon ey ' ju 'mas t 'grv mi 'm: 'mAni
i v ) W h en a w eak -fo rm w o rd i s b ein g "ci t ed "
o r "qu o t ed " , fo r ex amp l e:

i v ) K h i mo t tu d an g y eu d an g d u d c t ri ch
d an ; v i d u :

'Y o u s h o u l d n ' t p u t "and " at t h e en d o f a s en t en ce'

ju 'fodnt po t 'rend a t Di 'end a v a 's entans
A no t h er p oi n t t o rememb er i s t h at w h en
w eak -fo rm w o rd s w ho s e s p elli n g b eg i n s w i t h
'h' (e.g . ' h er' , ' h av e' ) o ccu r at t h e b eg i nn i n g o f
a s en t en ce, t h e p ro n u n ci at i o n i s w i t h i n iti al
h, ev en t ho u gh t h i s i s u s u ally o mi tted i n
o t h er con t ex ts.

Mo t d i em k h ac can n h o l a k h i cac tu
d an g y eu co d an g v i et b at d au b an g 'h'
(v i d u : ' h er' , ' h av e' ) x u at h i en o d au cau ,
cach p h at am co h o vi tri d au , mac d u
n o t h uon g bi l u o c b t ro n g n h u n g n g @
can h k h ac.

O AU1 2 , EX 1 -2

In t h e res t o f t h i s ch ap t er, t h e mo s t
co mmo n w eak -fo rm w o rd s w i ll b e
i n t ro d u ced .

2

3

Ph an co n l ai cl a ch u o ng n ay s e g i o i
t h i eu cac tu d an g y eu ph 6 b i en n h at.

' t h e'

' t h e'

W eak fo rms : ila (b efo re co n s on an t s )

D an g y eu : d» (tru o c ph u am)

' Shu t t h e do o r' 'JA t ila 'd:>:

' Sh u t t h e do o r' 'JA t il3 'd;,:

iii (b efo re v o w el s )

d i (t ruo c n g uy en am)

'W ai t fo r t h e en d ' 'we,t fa iii 'end

' W ai t fo r t h e en d ' 'we,t fa iii 'end

2

' a' , ' a n '

W eak fo rms : a (b efo re co n s on ant s )

D an g y eu : s (t ruo c p h u am)

'Read a b ook ' 'ri:d a 'buk

' Read a b o ok ' 'ri:d a 'buk

a n (b efo re v ow el s )

a n (t r u o c n g u y e n a m )

'E at an app l e' 'i:t a n 'repl

'E at an appl e' 'i:t a n 'repl
3

' an d '

W eak fo rm: a n (s o met i mes
z,J)

n aft er t, d, s,

' Fi s h an d ch i p s '

5

n sa u t, d, s , z,J )

' Co me and s ee' 'ka m a n ' s i:

'if n 'fps

' bu t '

' an d '

D a n g y e u : a n (d o i k h i

' Co me an d s ee' 'kAm a n 's i:

4

'a', 'an '

' Fi s h an d ch i p s ' 'tiJ ~ 'tJ1 ps

4

'b u t '

W eak fo rm: ba t

D an g y eu : b a t

' It ' s g o o d b u t ex p en s i v e' ,ts 'g o d ba t
1 k's pens 1 v

' It ' s good b u t ex p en s i v e' ,ts 'g o d ba t
1 k's pens 1 v

' th at '

Th i s w o rd o nly h as a w eak fo rm w h en

u s ed i n a rel ati v e cl au s e; w h en u s ed w it h

5

' t h at '

Tr n ay ch i co d an g y eu k h i du o c d un g
t ro n g men h d e q u an h e; k h i d u g c du n g


1 48

6

7

8

9

duoc phat

a demonstrative sense it is always
pronounced in its strong form.

voi nghia chi dinh, no luon
am o dang manh cla no.

Weak form: oat

Dang yeu: 0at

'The price is the thing that annoys me' d3
'praIs iz 0» '0 1 0at a'n;nz mi

'The price is the thing that annoys me' oa
'pra1s iz oa 'l h u oat a'nJIZ mi

' than'

6

'than'

Weak form: 0an

Dang yeu: 0an

'Better than ever' beta 0an 'eva

'Better than ever' beta i'lan 'eva

'his' (when it occurs before a noun)

7

'his' (khi 116 xua't hien truck danh

W)

Weak form: rz (hrz at the beginning of a
sentence)

Dang yeu: rz (hrz d dau cau)

'Take his name' 'terk rz 'nerm

'Take his name' 'te1k TZ 'ne1m

(Another sense of 'his', as in ' it was his', or
'his was late', always has the strong form.)

(Mot y nghia khac cua 'his', nhv trong
'it was his' , ho,;ic 'his was late' , lu6n
co dang manh.)

'her'

8

' h e r'

When used with possessive sense,
preceding a noun; as an object pronoun,
this can also occur at the end of a
sentence.

Khi duoc dung voi y nghia so hL7u,
di.'tng trVoc danh W; lam da i W a vj
tri tic tu, no cung c6 the xuat hi@n o

cuoi cau.

Weak forms:

Dang yeu: a (truoc phu am)

a

(before consonants)

'Take her home' terk a 'haom

'Take her home' te1k a 'haom

ar (before vowels)

ar (truoc nguye 11 am)

'Take her out' 'terk r 'aot

'Take her out' 'te1k ar 'aot

'your'

9

'your'

Weak forms: ja (before consonants)

Dang yeu: j» (trL/o'c phu an ,

'Take your time' 'tc1k ja 'ta1m

'Take your time' 'te1k ja 'ta1m

jar (before vowels)

jar (truoc nguye 11 a ml

'On your own' 'nn jar 'aon

'On your own' 'nn jar 'aon

1 0 ' she', 'he', 'we' , 'you'

1 0 'she', 'he' , 'we' , 'you'

This group of pronouns has weak forms
pronounced with weaker vowels than the
i: and u: of their strong forms. I will use
the symbol, i and u (in preference to I
and o) to represent them. There is little
difference in the pronunciation in
different places in the sentence, except
in the case of 'he' .

Nhom cac da i tu nay c6 dang ye'u
duoc phat am voi cac nguyen am yeu
hon i: va u: o dang manh cua chung.

T6i st dung cac ky hi@u i va u (hon
la 1 va u) de trinh bay chung. Co it su
khac biet ve cach phat am o nhung
vi tri khac nhau trong cau, ngoai trt
a truang hc:;1p cua 'he' .

Weak forms:

Cac dang yeu:


149
a) ' she'

a ) ' s h e'

Ji

'Why did she read it?' 'wa1 did

Ji 'ri:d 1t

Ji

'Why did she read it?' 'wa1 did

Ji 'ri:d

It

'Who is she?' 'hu: '1z Ji

'Who is she?' 'hu: '1z Ji

b) 'he' i (the weak form is usually pronounced
without h except at the beginning of a
sentence)

i (d an g y eu th u on g du@c ph at am
k h o n g c6 h n g o a i t ru t ru i n g h o p o
d au cau )

b ) ' h e'

'Which did he choose?' 'witJ did i 'tJu:z

'Which did he choose?' 'witJ did i 'tJu:z

'He was late, wasn't he?' hi waz 'lert 'wznti

'He was late, wasn't he?' hi waz 'lert 'wznt i

c) 'we' wi

c) 'we' wi

' How can we get there?' 'hau kan wi 'get

' How can we get there?' 'hau kan wi 'get
0e3

0ea

' We need that, don' t we?' wi 'ni:d det
'daunt wi

' We need that, don' t we?' wi 'ni:d itret
'daunt wi

d ) ' y o u ' ju

d ) 'y o u ' j u

' What do you think?' ' w o t d a j u '1110k

' What do you think?' 'w o t d a j u '1110k

' You like it, do you?' ju 'la1k 1t 'du: ju

' You like it, do you?' ju 'lark 1t 'du: ju
1 1 ' h i m'

11 'him'

D an g y eu :

Weak form: nn

' Leave him alone' li:v

mi a'laun

'I've seen him' a1v 'si:n 1m
1 2 ' h e r'

1

' Leave him alone' li:v

mt

a'laun

'I've seen him' arv 'si:n rm
1 2 ' h e r'

o

d au cau )

Weak form: a (ha when sentence-initial)

D a n g y e u : s (h a k h i d u n g

' Ask her to come' o:sk a ta 'kAm

' Ask her to come' 'a:sk a ta 'kAm

'I've met her' arv 'met a

'I've met her' arv 'met a

1 3 ' t h em '

1 3 ' t h em '

Weak form: 0am

D an g y eu : 0am

' Leave them here' li:v itam 'h1a

' J_,eave them here' li:v dm 'hr

' Eat them' i:t ilam

' Eat them' i:t itam

14 'us'

14 ' u s '

Weak form: as

D an g y eu : as

' Write us a letter' 'rait as a 'leta

' Write us a letter' 'rart as a 'leta

' They invited all of us' cle1 m'va1hd 'J:l
av as

' They invited all of us' i)e1 m'va1tld 'J:l
av ;,s

The next group of words (some
prepositions and other function words)
occur in their strong forms when they ate

N h a m t u t i e p t h e o (m o t
g i o i tu v a
tu ch &t c n an g k h ac) x u at h i @n & d an g
ma n h cd a ch un g k h i ch un g n am d

so


15 0
fin al in a s en ten ce; ex amp les o f th is are
g iv en . (Ex amp le 19 is a p artial
ex cep tio n .)

1 5 ' at'

c uoi c au; c ac v i du v e di@u nay da
du@c c ho. (Vi du 19 l a mot phan ngoai

le.)
1 5 ' at'

Weak form: at

Dang y eu: at

Tll s ee you at lun ch ' all 'si: ju at 'IAnJ

TU s ee you at lun ch ' a d 'si: ju a t 'Inf

In fin al p o s itio n : ae t

d

' Wh at's h e s h o o tin g at?' wots i 'Ju: h o ret

' Wh at's h e s h o o tin g at?' wots i 'fu:tr aet

1 6 'for'

v i tri c uoi: aet

1 6 ' fo r'

Weak form: fa (b efore co n s on an ts )

Dang y eu: fa (truck phv am)

' Tea for two ' 'ti: fa 'tu:

'Tea for two ' 'ti: fa 'tu:

fa r (b efore vo wels )

fa r (truck nguy en am)

' Th an k s for as king ' 'ae nks fr 'a :s km

' Th an k s for as king ' 'llreo ks fa r 'o :s km

In fin al po s itio n : fa:

d

' Wh at' s th at for?' 'w o ts 'iJret fa:

' Wh at's th at for?' 'w o ts 'iJret fa:

17 'from'

vi tri c u6i: f3 :

17 'fro m'

Weak form: fra m

Dang y eu: fra m

Tm h o me fro m wo rk ' a mm 'ha um fra m
' w 3 :k

Tm h o me from wo rk ' aJm 'ha o m fra m
' w 3 :k

In fin al p o s itio n : fro m

d

'Here' s wh ere it came fro m' 'h1 a z w ea r It
'ke1 m fro m

'Here's wh ere it came fro m' 'h1 a z w ea r ,t
'keim fro m

18 ' o f'

vi tri c uoi: frm

18 ' o f'

Weak form: av

Dang y eu: a v

'Mo s t o f all' 'm a o s t a v ';i :I

'Mo s t o f all' 'm a o s t a v ';i :I

In fin al p o s ition : v

} v i tri c uoi: nv

•

'So meon e I' v e h eard o f 's A m WA D a 1 v 'h3 :d

' So meon e I' v e h eard o f 's A m WA n a TV 'h3 :d

OV

DV

19 ' to '

19 'to'

Weak forms : ta (b efore con s on an ts )

Dang y eu: ta (truck phv am)

'Try to s to p ' 'tra ,

'Try to s to p ' 'tra 1 ta 's top

ta

' s to p

tu (b efore v o wels )

tu (truoc nguy en am)

'Time to eat' 'ta m tu 'i:t

'Time to eat' 'tarm tu 'i:t

In fin al p os itio n : tu ( It is n o t u s u al to u s e
th e s tron g .form tu:, an d th e p re­
co n s o n an tal weak form to is n ev er u s ed .)

}v i tri c uoi: tu (Dang manh tu: thuOng
k hong duoc dung, dang y eu truoc phu
am k hong b ao gio duoc dung.)


151
'I don' t want to' a , 'da unt 'wont tu

' I don' t want to' a, 'da unt 'wont tu

20 ' as '

20 ' as '
Weak form: az

Dang yeu:

' As much as possible' a z 'm Alf a z 'po s a b!

' As much as possible' a z 'm A tf a z 'po s a b!

In final position: rez

0 vi tri cuo'i:

'That's what it was sold as' 'i hets 'w ot 1 t
w a z 's a ul d rez

'That's what it was sold as' 'i) rets 'wot ,t
w a z 's a ul d rez

9z

rez

21 'some'

21 ' some'
This word is used in two different ways.
In one sense (typically, when it occurs
before a countable noun, meaning "an
unknown individual" ) it has the strong
form:

Tu nay duoc dung theo hai cach khac

'I think some animal broke it' a 1 'l hg k s A m
'rem m lI 'bra uk rt

'I think some animal broke it' a, 'h1k s A m
'rem m lI 'bra uk rt

It is also used before uncountable nouns
(meaning " an unspecified amount of")
and before other nouns in the plural
(meaning "an unspecified number of" ),
in such uses it has the weak form s a m .

nhau. Theo mot nghia (thuong khi no
xuat hien truoc mot danh tu dem dugc,
co nghi a la "mot ca nhan la") no co
dang manh;

No cung dugc dung truoc cac danh

tu khong dem du@c (co nghia la "mot
luong khong xac dinh") va truoc
danh tu khac d dang s6 nhieu
nghTa la "mot so lugng khong
dinh"); trong cac cach dung nhu
n6 co dcJ. ng ye'u s a m :

cac
(co
xac
the',

'Have some more tea' 'hrev s a m 'm a : 'ti:

'Have some more tea' 'hrev s a m 'm a : 'ti:

In final position:

0 vi tri cuoi:

SAID

'I've got some' a ,v 'got

sAm

'I've got some' a ,v 'got

SAID

SAID

22 'there'

22 ' there'
When this word has a demonstrative
function, it always occurs in its strong
form i) ea (i) ea r before vowels), e.g.

Khi tu nay co cht c nang chi dinh, no
luon xuat hien o dang manh des (0 ea r
truoc nguyen am), vi du:

'There it is' 'i) ea r ,t

'There it is' 'i) ea r 1 t •,z

'iz

'Put it there' put ,t 'i) ea

'Put it there' put Jt 'i) ea

Weak forms: i) a (before consonants)

Dang yeu: da (truoc phu am)

'There should be a rule' 0 'fo d bi a 'ru:I

'There should be a rule' i) a 'fud bi a 'ru:I

i) a r (before vowels)

0a r (truoc nguyen am)

' There is' 0 a r '1 z

' There is' 0a r '1 z

In final position the pronunciation may
be 0 a or 0 ea .
There isn't any, is there?' da r 'rznt eni

'1z 0

o r 0 a r 'rznt eni 'rz 0 ea

} vi tri cuoi: cach phat am c6 the la
i) a ho;'j c i) ea .
There isn' t any, is there?' da r 'rznt eni

'1z 0a

o r 0 o r 'rznI t eni '1 z 0 ea


15 2
The remaining weak-form words are all
auxiliary verbs, which are always used in
conjunction with (or at least implying)
another (" full" ) verb. It is important to
remember that in their negative form (i.e.
combined with ' not') they never have the
weak pronunciation, and some (e.g. 'don' t' ,
'can' t') have different vowels from their non­
negative strong forms.

C ac tu dang yeu con lai tat ca deu
la tro dong tu von luon du@c dung ket
hop vdi (hay it ra la ngu y mot dong tu
khac vit day du). Dieu quan trong la
phai nho rang o dang phi dinh cua chung
(nghTa la ket hp voi 'not') chung khong
bao gio co cach phat am yeu, va mot s6
tu (vi du: 'don't', 'can't') co cac nguyen
am khac voi dang manh khong phi dinh

cua cluing.

23 'can', 'could'

23 'can', 'could'

Weak forms: kan, kad

Dang yeu: kan, kad

' They can wait' 'er kan 'wert

' They can wait' 'er kaon 'wert

'He could do it' 'hi: kad 'du: It

'He could do it' 'hi: kad 'du: It

In final position: kren, kud

} vi tri cu6i: ken, kud

' I thtnk we can' a1 'lhok wi 'kren

' I think we can' aI 'lhuk wi 'kren

' Most of them could' 'maust av 0am kud

' Most of them could' 'maust av_kud

24 ' have' , 'has' , 'had'

24 'have', 'has', 'had'

Weak forms: av, az, ad (with initial h in
initial position)

Dang yeu: av, 3z, ad (voi h dau & vi trf
dau)

' Which have you seen?' w1tJ av ju 'si:n

' Which have you seen?' wtf av ju 'si:n

' Which has been best?' witJ az bi:rt 'best

' Which has been best?' wtf az bi:rt 'best

' ¥ost had gone home' maust ad 'gun
'haum

' Most had gone home' maust ad 'gun
'haum

In final position: hrev, hrez, hred

o vi tri cuoi: haev, hrez, hred

' Yes, we have' jes wi 'hrev

' Yes, we have' jes wi 'hrev

' I think she has' a, 'lhok Ji 'hrez

'I think she has' aI 'lhuk Ji 'hrez

' I thought we had'

'I thought we had' aI 'lb:t wi 'bred

a1

'03:t wi 'hred

25 'shall' , 'should'

25 'shall', 'should'

Weak forms: Jal or J!; Jad
' We shall need to hurry'

wiJl 'ni:d ta 'hAri

Jl; fad
' We shall need to hurry' wiJl 'ni:d ta 'hAri
Dang

yu:

Jal hoc

' I should forget it' a1 Jed fa'get It

' I should forget it' a, Jed fa'get rt

In final position: Jrel, Jud

o

' I think we shall' m 'lhok wi 'frel
' So you should' 'sau ju 'Jud

vi tri cu6i : fel, Jud

. ' I think we shall' a, 'lhok wi '.frel
' So you should' 'sau ju 'Jud

26 'must'

26 ' must'

This word is sometimes used with the
sense of forming a conclusion or deduction,

T l nay d6i khi duoc dung voi nghia
la dua ra ket luan hay suy luan, vi du:


153
e.g . ' s h e left at 8 o ' clo ck , s o s h e mu s t h av e

arriv ed b y no w' ; wh en 'mu s t' is u s ed in th is
way , it is rath er les s lik ely to o ccu r in its
weak form th an wh en it is b ein g u s ed in its
mo re familiar s en s e o f "ob lig atio n " .

' s h e l eft at 8 o ' cl o ck, s o s h e mu s t h av e
arri v ed by n o w ' ; k h i ' mu s t ' d u o c d u n g
theo each n ay , no it co kha nang x uat
h i en o d an g y eu h o n k h i n o d u o c d u n g
t h eo n g hT a qu en t h u q c h d n cu a n 6 l a
"o b li g at i o n " (b 6 n ph an ).

Weak forms : ma s (b efore con s o n an ts )

D an g y eu : ma s (tru o c phu am)

' You mus t try h ard er' ju ma s 'tra , 'ha:da

' You mu s t try h ard er' ju ma s 'tra 1 'ha :da

ma st (b efore v o wels )

ma s t (t ru o c n g u y en am)

'He mu s t eat mo re' hi ma s t 'i:t 'm:

'He mu s t eat mo re' hi ma s t 'i:t 'm;,:

In fin al p os ition : mAs t

} v i t ri

' Sh e certain ly mu s t'

Ji

'sa:tl}Ii 'mAs t

2 7 'd o', 'do es '

cuoi: ma s t

' Sh e certain ly mu s t'

Ji

's a:tl}Ii 'mAs t

2 7 ' d o ', ' d o es '

Weak forms :

D an g y eu :

'd o ' da (b efore co n s on an ts )

' d o ' da (t rv ac phu am)

'Wh y d o th ey lik e it?' 'wa , da iJe, 'la ,k ,t

'Wh y do th ey lik e it?' 'wa r do 0 er 'la rk rt

du (b efore vo wels )

d u (t ruo c n g u y en am)

'Wh y d o all th e cars s to p ?' 'wa 1 du ;,:I iJa
'ka :z 's top

'Wh y do all _th e cars s to p ?' 'wa r du 3:1 0 2
'ka :z 's top

' d o es ' da z

' d o es ' d a z

· 'Wh en d o es it arriv e?' 'wen da z It a 'ra ,v

'Wh en d o es it arriv e?' 'wen da z It a 'ra 1 v

In fin al p o s itio n : du:, dAz

} v i t ri cu o i : du:, dz

'We d o n ' t s mo k e, b u t s o me p eop le d o '
'wi: da unt 's ma uk ba t 's Am pi:pl 'du:

'We d o n ' t s mo k e, b u t s o me p eop le d o '
'wi: da unt 's ma uk ba t 's AID pi:pl 'du:

'I th in k J o h n d o es ' a 1 '0 1 pk 'da nn dAz

'I th in k Joh n do es ' a 'h1 pk 'da n dAz

28 ' am' , ' are', ' w as ' , ' w ere'

28 ' am', ' are' , ' w as ' , ' w ere'

Weak forms : a m

D an g y eu : a m

'Wh y am I h ere?' 'wa , a m a , 'hia

'Why am I h ere?' 'wa i a m a 1 'hia

a (b efore co n s o n an ts )

a (trv ac phu am)

'Here are th e p lates ' her a 0a 'plea ts

'Here are th e p lates ' hrer a 0 a 'plerts

_ ar (b efore v o wels )

a r (tr u o c n g u y en am)

'Th e co ats are in th ere' iJa 'ka uts ar m
'dea

'Th e co ats are in th ere' 0a 'ka uts a r mn

wa z

wa z

'He was h ere a min u te ago ' hi wa z h1 a r a
'mm1 t a 'g a u

'He was h ere a minu te ago ' hi wa z ha r a
'mm1 t a '9 a u

'd e


15 4
wa (before consonants)

wa (tru o c ph u am)

'The papers were late' ifa 'pe,pa z w a 'l eJt

' Th e p ap ers w ere l at e' tla 'pe,pa z w a 'l eJt

war (before vowels)

w a r (t ru ck n g uy en am)

'The questions were easy' oa 'kw es tJa nz

w a r i :z i

' T h e q u es t i o n s
'kw es tJa nz w a r i :zi

In final position: rem , a:, woz, w a :

a vj trf cuo i: rem, a:, woz, wa:

'She' s not as old as I am' Jiz 'nt 3 z ' ul d 3 z

' She' s not as old as I am' Jiz 'nt a z 'a ul d 3 z

'a, rem

w e re

eas y '

d3

'a, rem

'I know the Smiths are' a , 'na u ifa 's milt s

'I know the Smiths are' a, 'n au ila 'sm i lt s

a:

a:

'The last record was' a r l a :st 'reko :d w z

'The last record was' a , l a :st 'rek:d w z

'They weren' t as cold as we were' o e,
'w a :nt a z 'ka ul d 3 z 'wi: w 3 :

'They weren' t as cold as we were' ilc,
'w 3 :nt a z 'ka ul d a z 'wi: w 3 ;

Notes on problems and further reading
This chapter is almost entirely practical. All books about English pronunciation devote
a lot of attention to these words. Some of them give a great deal of importance to using weak
forms, but do not stress the importance of also knowing when to use the strong forms,
something which I feel is very important. See Mortimer (1984).

Written exercises

B a i tap v iet

In the following sentences, the
transcription for the weak-form words is left
blank. Fill in the blanks, taking care to use
the appropriate form (weak or strong)

T ro n g cac cau s au d ay , ph i en am cu a
cac tu d an g yu d uo c d e t r6 n g . H ay d i en
v ao ch t r6 n g, can t h an d e s t d un g d an g
t h i c h h o p (y e u h o a c m a n h ) .

1. I want her to park that car over there.

po :k

a r wDnt

ko :r a uv a

2 . Of all the proposals, the one that you made is the silliest.

a:l

p a p a y zl z

w An

m e rd rz

s rl i a s t

3. Jane and Bill could have driven them to and from the party.
d3 em

bl

pa :ti

drrv n

4. To come to the point, what shall we do for the rest of the week?
kA m
pm t w t
res t
w i:k
5. Has anyone got an idea where it came from?
enrw A n gp t a rdra w ea r rt kem
6. Pedestrians must always use the crossings provided.

p o d es tr1 a n z

:l w1z ju:z

krps mz

p r o v a rd rd

7. Each one was a perfect e ample of the art that had been developed there.
i :tJ

w An

p3 :fkt +g za :m p!

a :t

bi:n drv el a pt


155

CHUONG 13
my

aesthetic /i:s' 8et1k/ (adj)

tham

affricate /' a:fnbt/

am tiic xdt

allophonic / ,a:la' fomk/ (adj)

ve

applied phonology / a' pla1d fa' nofad311

am

composition /,kmpa' z1[n/ (n)

thanh phdn, ca'u tq,o

diacritic / ,darn'kntik/ (n)

ditu khu bi!) t

dispense with /dr' spens w1M/ (v)

bd

distinctive feature / d1' stI1Jktiv' fi:tJa/

dijc dilm khu bi!) t

economical / ,i:ka' nom1kl, ,ek-/ (adj)

tie't kii)m

economy /1' konam1/ (n)

t{nh tie't kif) m

fricative /' fnkanv/ (n)

am xdt

ingenious /m' d3i:n1as/ (adj)

thong minh, d(ic ddo, sang tq,o

intractable /m' tra:ktabl/ (adj)

kh6 gidi quye't

intuition / ,mtju( :) ' 1Jn/ (n)

Linh cdm, trtfc gidc

lax /la:ks/ (adj)

(am) l oi, ch n g

minimal pair /' mm1ml ' pea/

cijp ta sai bii)t qtc tilu (chi kluic
nhau m(it am)

neutralisation / ,nju:trala1' ze1Jn/ (n)

si,t trung t£nh lu5a, ,W trung d1tnK
hda

pervade / pa' ve1d/ (v)

Lan tda, Ian r()ng

preoccupation / pn,okju' pe1Jn/ (n)

st am anh, quan tam qua mtc

property / ' propan/ (n)

ddc diem, tinh chat

pure phonology / ' pjua fa'nolad31/

am vi hoc thuan tuy

rhotic /' rautJk/ (adj)

r-tinh, nhan manh r, doc r d cu6i
vein

segment / ' segmant/ (n)

am doq,n, chilt iloq,11

syllabicity / ,sila' b1s;,tt/ (n)

am vi co am ti@t tinh/cau thanh
am tiet

tense /tens/ (adj)

(am) cang

mat tha am

vi

hoc tng dung


156

13 Problems in phonem-ic analysis
13 Cac van

de trong vi@c phan tich am vi

Th e con cep t o f th e p hon eme was
in trod u ced in Ch ap ter 5 , an d a few th eo retical
p rob lems conn ected with p hon emic an aly s is
h av e b een men tio n ed in o th er ch ap ters . Th e
g en eral as s u mp tio n (as in mo s t p ho n etics
b o o k s ) h as b een th at s p eech is co mpo s ed o f
p h o n emes an d th at u s u ally wh en ev er a
s p eech s o u n d is p rodu ced by a s p eak er it is
p o s s ib le to id e!ltify wh ich p h o n eme th at
s ou nd b elo n g s to . Wh ile th .s is o ften true,
we mus t reco g n is e th at th ere are ex cep tio n s
wh ich mak e u s co n s id er s o me q u ite s erio u s
th eo retical
p rob lems.
From
th e
co mp arativ ely s imp le p o in t o f v iew o f
learnin g p ron un ciation , th es e p rob lems are
n o t p articu larly imp o rtan t; h o wev er, fro m
th e p o in t o f v iew o f learnin g ab o u t th e
p h o n o lo gy o f En g lis h th ey are to o impo rtan t
to ig n o re.

Khai niem v e am v i da dugc gidi thieu
c hlidng 5 va mot s6 van de ly thuy et
c o lien quan v oi v i@c phan tic h am vi
da duoc de c ap trong ca c c hlidng k hac.
Su gia dinh c hung (nhu trong hau het c ac

s ac h ngt am hoc ) c ho rang loi noi duoc
c au thanh tu c ac am vi v a thong thung
ba't cu k hi nao mot ngudi noi tao ra ngd
am thl ta co the x ac dinh am do thu(>c
ve am v i nao. Mac du dieu nay thuong
dung, nhung c hung ta phii c ong nhan
rang c o nhung trucrng hqp ngo,;1i I~ k hie' n
c hung ta phai x em x et mot s o v an de ly
thuy e' t k ha he trQng. Tu quan diem hoc
c ac h phat am tlidng d6i k ha don gian,
nhung van de nay dac bi@t k hong quan
trong. The nhLlng, tu quan diem hoc am
vi hQc c ua tie'ng Anh, thl qua la quan
trQng k hong the b qua.

Th ere are p rob lem o f d ifficu lty typ es . In
s o me cas es, we h av e d ifficu lty in d ecid in g
o n th e o v erall p h o n emic s y s tem o f th e accen t
we are s tu d y in g , wh ile in o th ers we are
con cerned abou t ho w a p articu lar s ou n d fits
in to th is s y s tem. A n u mb er o f s u ch p rob lems
are d is cu s s ed b elo w.

C6 nhieu loai v an de k hac nhau. Trong
mot s o truong hc;1p, c hung ta tha'y r!ing
x ac dinh am vi t6ng quat c ua giong ma
c hung ta dang nghien c uu la dieu k ho
k han, rnij.c du trong nhung truong hQ' p
k hac c hung ta lai quan tarn den van de
rn(>t am dac biet phu hop vi he th6ng

nay nhu the' nao. Mot s o' van de nhu the
duoc tho luan duoi day .

13.1 Affricates

13.1 Cac am tac xat

Th e affricates tJ an d d3 are, p ho n etically ,
co mp o s ed o f a p lo s iv e follo wed by a
fricativ e, as exp lain ed in Ch ap ter 6 . It is
p o ss ib le to treat each o f th e p air tf, d3 as a
s in g le co n s o n an t p ho n eme; we will call th is
th e o n e-phon eme an aly s is o f f, ds. It is als o
p o ss ib le to s ay th at th ey are co mpo s ed o f
two p h o n emes each - t p lu s J and d p lu s 3
res p ectiv ely - all o f wh ich are alread y
es tab lis h ed as ind ep end en t p h o n emes o f
En g lis h ; th is will b e called th e two-phoneme
analysis o f tf an d d3. If we ad o p ted th e two -

Cac am tac x at tf v a d3, ve mat ngu
am hoc , dugc c au thanh tu mot am bat
theo s au la mot am x at, nhu da giai thic h
trong c hlldng 6. Ta c ung c6 the x ern m6i
c ap tf, ds la mot am v i phu am don; c hung
ta s e goi v iec nay la pha n ti ch m o t a m
vj c ua t.f, dJ . Ta c ung c o the noi rang
c hung duoc c au thanh tu hai am vi tuong ung la t c ongfv a dc ong 3- tat ca
nhung am nay da duoc thi&t lap roi duoi
dang c ac am vi doc lap trong tie' ng Anh;

v iec nay duoc goi la pha n ti ch hai a m vi

a


157

p ho n eme an aly s is, th e wo rd s ' ch urch ' an d
'ju d g e' wo u ld b e co mp o s ed o f fiv e p h o n emes
each , lik e th is :

t · .f ·

3: · t · .f

d - 3 -A -d -3

in s tead o f th e th ree p h o n emes, res u ltin g fro m
th e o n e-pho n eme an aly s is:

t.f-3:-t.f

d3 -4 -d3

ci a tf va d3 . Neu ta chap nhan cach phan
tich hai am vi thl ca c tu 'church' va
'judge' moi tu se dugc tao thanh tu nam
am vi, gio'ng nhu the' nay:
t·J-

3-

t · .f

d - 3 -A -d -3

thay vl W ba am vi do ke't qua phan tich
m o t am vi:

t.f-:J:-t.f

d J -A -d J

an d th ere wou ld b e n o s ep arate t.f an d d3
p ho n emes . Bu t h o w can we d ecid e wh ich
an aly s is is p referab le? Th e two -pho n eme
an aly s is h as o n e main ad v an tag e: if th ere
are no s ep arate t.f and d3 p h o n emes , th en
o ur to tal s et o f En g lis h co n s o n an ts is s maller.
Man y p hon o lo g is ts h av e claimed th at o n e
s h o u ld p refer th e an aly s is which is th e mo s t
"econ o mical" in th e n u mb er o f p h o n emes it
res u lts in. Th e arg u men t for th is migh t b e
b as ed o n th e claim th at wh en we s p eak to
s o meo n e we are u s in g a "co d e" , and th e mo s t
efficien t co d es do n o t u s e u n n ecess ary
s y mb o ls. Furth er, it can b e claimed th at a
p ho n o log ical an aly s is is a ty p e o f s cien tific
th eo ry , an d a s cien tific th eo ry s h o u ld b e
s tated as econo mically as p o s s ib le. Ho wev er,

it is th e o n e-p h o n eme an aly s is is g en erally
ch o s en by p h o no lo g is ts . Wh y is th is? Th ere
are s ev eral arg u men ts; n o s in g le o n e o f th em
is co n clu s iv e, b u t ad d ed tog eth er th ey are
felt to mak e th e o n e-p h on eme an alys is s eem
p referab le. We will lo o k b riefly at s o me o f
th es e arg u men ts.

va se kh6ng c6 cac am vi tf va d3y rieng.
Nhttng lam the no chung ta c6 th€ quye't
dinh phan tich nao la thich hop hdn? Phan
tich hai am vi co m o t uu di€m chfnh:
ne'u kh6ng co cac am vi tJ va d3 rieng
biet thi toan bo tap hop cac phu am tieng
Anh cda chung ta tr& nen nho hon. Nhieu
nha am vi hoc khang dinh rang ngudi ta
s thich su phan tich mang tinh "tiet kiem"
nha't a so luong cac am vi ma n6 dtla ra.
Lap luan ve van de nay c6 the dua tren
thuyet cho rang khi chung ta n6 i voi m Qt
nguoi nao d6, chung ta dang st dung mot
"ma", va cac ma ht u hi@u nhat khong
st dung cac ky hieu khong can thiet.
Hdn nua, nguoi ta con cho rang phan tich
am vi hoc la m o t loai gi thuyet khoa
hoc va mt gia thuyet khoa hoc nen duoc
phat bieu cang co tinh tiet kiem ca ng
tot. Tuy nhien, cach phan tich mc}t am
vi thuong duoc cac nha am vi hoc chon.
Tai sao lai nhu vay? C6 mot

lap luan;
khong mot lap luan no c6 the thuyet
phwc dl/Q'C, nht/ng ke't hc;ip lc)i voi nhau
thl chung lam cho cach phan tich mc}t
am vi duong nhu hop ly hon. Chung ta
se xem xet so lugc mot so lap luan nay.

On e arg u men t co u ld b e called "p h on etic"
o r "allophon ic" : if it cou ld b e s h o wn th at
th e p h o n etic q u ality o f th e t an d J (o r d
an d 3 ) in tf. d3 was clearly d ifferen t fro m
realis atio n s o f t, J, d, 3 fou n d els ewh ere
in s imilar co n tex ts, this wou ld s uppo rt th e
an aly s is o f tf, d3 as s ep arate p h o n emes .
As an ex amp le, it mig h t b e claimed th at J
in 'h u tch ' hAtf was d ifferen t (p erh ap s in
h av ing s ho rter d uratio n) fro m J in 'h u s h '
o r 'Wels h ' hf. we lf: o r it mig h t b e claimed
th at th e p lace o f articu latio n o f t in 'watch
ap es ' w tf e mps is d ifferen t fro m th at o f t

i) M o t lap luan c6 the dugc goi la "ngt
am" hay "tha am vi": ne'u chung minh
dl/Q'C rang cha't IL/Q'ng nga am cua t
va .f (ho;:'jc d va 3) trong tf, d3 ro rang
khac voi cac dang the hi@n cl a t, f ,
d, 3 duoc tim thay o mot noi khac trong
ngfl canh tL(dng ti_/ thi di u nay se Ing
su cho viec phan tich tf, d3 la cac am
vi rieng. Vi du, nguoi ta co the' cho

rang .f trong 'hutch' hAtf la khac (co
le co tho i khoa ng ngan hdn) VO i .f
trong 'hush' hAj ho;:'jc 'Welsh' wel.f;
hoac nguoi ta co the cho ding vi tri

i)

so


158
in 'wh at s h ap es ' wnt Je1ps. This arg u men t
is a weak o n e: th ere is no clear ev id en ce
th at s u ch p h o n etic d ifferen ces ex is t, an d
ev en if th ere were s u ch ev id en ce, it
wou ld b e easy to p rod u ce ex p lan atio n s
for th e d ifferen ces th at d id n o t d ep en d
on p h on emic an alys es (e.g . th e p o s itio n
o f th e word b ound ary in 'watch ap es ', 'wh at
s h ap e s ' ).

ca'u am cda t trong 'watch apes' wntJ
e1ps khac vdi vi tri cau am cl a t trong
'what shapes' wot Je,ps. 0ay la l-1p
lu~n khong vung cha"c: khong c6
chung co ro rang cho thay rang co
nhetng SL! khac bi@t ngu am nhu the,
va tham chi neu co chung co nhu the
thl se khong de dang giai thich nhung
slf khac biet von khong dua vao cac

thuyet phan tich am vi (vi du: vi tri
cua ranh giai tu trong 'watch apes',
'what shapes').

ii) It cou ld b e arg u ed th at th e p ropo s ed
p h o n emes tJ and d3 (if o n e were arg u in g
for th e o n e-p h o n eme an aly s is ) h av e
d is trib u tio n s s imilar to o th er con s on an ts ,
wh ile o th er co mb in atio n s o f p los iv e p lu s
fricativ e do n o t. It can eas ily b e s ho wn
th at tJ an d d3 are fou n d in itially , med ially
an d fin ally . an d th at no o th er co mb in atio n
(e.g . pf, dz, ti!) h as s u ch a wid e d is trib u tio n .
Ho wev er, s ev eral con s o n an ts are
g en erally accep ted as p h o n emes o f BBC
d es p ite n o t b ein g free to o ccur in all
p o s itio n s (e.g . r, w, j, h, o, J) , s o th is
argu men t, tho ug h s up p o rting th e o n e­
p ho n eme an aly s is , d o es n o t actu ally
prove th at tJ, d3 mu s t h e clas s ed with
o th er s ing le-con s o n an t p h on emes .

ii) Nguoi ta co the lap luan rang cac am
vi du; c neu ra tf va ds (neu mot ngudi
dua ra lap luan ung ho phan tich mot
am vi) co cac phan b6 tuong tu cac
phu am khac, mac du nhung su ket
hop khac cha am bat va am xat khong
co. Ngttoi ta co the' d~ dang chung
minh r1ng tJ va d3 duoc tim thay o vi

trf dJu, giaa va cuoi va kh6ng co SL!
ket hop no khac (vi du pf, dz, t i!) c6
slf phan bo rqng 11h11 the. Tuy nhien,
mot so phu am thuong duoc chap nhan
la am vi cl a giong BBC mac du no
khong tu do xut hien tat ca cac vi
tri (vi du: r, w ,j, h, , 3 ), vi vay lap luan
nay, dt:, i ng ho thuyet phan tich mot
am vi, that st! kh6ng clnrng minh rang
tf, d3 phai du;c xep loai cung voi cac
am vi phu am don khac.

iii) If tJ and d3 were ab le to co mb in e q u ite
freely with o th er con s o n an ts to form
con s o n an t clus ters . th is wou ld s u p po rt th e
o n e-p ho n eme an aly s is . Infin itial,
h o wev er, tJ an d d3 n ev er o ccu r in clus ters
with o th er co n s o n an ts. In fin al p o s itio n
in th e s y llab le, we fin d th at t.f can b e
follo wed b y t (e.g . 'watch ed ' wotJt) an d
d3 by d (e.g . ' wedg ed ' wed3d). Fin al tJ
and d3 can b e p reced ed b y I (e.g . ' s qu elch '
skel(f, 'bu lg e' bAld3); 3 is n ev er p reced ed
b y I, an d .f is p reced ed b y I o n ly in a few
wo rd s an d n ames , e.g . 'Wels h '. 'Wals h '
wel.f, wol.f. A fairly s imilar s itu atio n is
foun d if we ask if n can p reced e tf an d
d3; s o me BBC s p eak ers h av e ntJ in
' lu n ch ', ' Fren ch ' , etc., an d n ev er
p ron o u n ce th e s equ en ce nJ with in a

s y llab le, wh ile o th er s p eak ers alway s

iii) Neu tf va d3 co th€ tlf do ket hQ'p vai
cac phu am khac de' ti;\O thanh cac
cum phu am thi di@u nay s i ng ho
cha su phan tich mot am vi. Tuy nhien,
a vi tri dJu, tJ va d3 khong bao gio
xuat hien trong cac cum voi cac phu
am khac. d vi tri dau trong am ti&t,
chung ta thay rang tf co the' c6 t theo
sau (vi du: 'watched' wo(ft) va d3 co
d theo sau (vi dt1: 'wedge' wed3d). t.f
va d3 o vi tri cu6i co the' co I dung
tru o c (vi du: 'squelsh' skeltJ, 'bulge'
hAld3); J kho ng baa gio co I dung
trttac, va .f c6 I dung truac chi a mqt
so' td va ten, vi du: 'Welsh' w el.f,
'Walsh' wolf. Mqt tlnh huo'ng kha
ttJong tl_/ dtJ(J'c tim thy neu chung ta
hoi lieu n c6 the' dang truck tJ va d3
hay khng; mot so nguoi noi gio ng