| Reduction
|
In each sentence in English, there are words that are more stressed than others, and in each word with more than one syllable, there is one syllable that is more stressed as well. The other words and syllables are made less important by using reduction. This means that they are shorter, quieter, and lower in pitch (tone) than the stressed words and syllables. Stress and reduction in the phrases form the rhythm of the language and this is important to hear in order to have understanding. Listening and discriminating are two very important skills to improve reduction. |
Click on the 
to hear an example.
Reduction
in words: In multi-syllabic words, there
is one main stress,
and the other syllables can have a full vowel or a reduced vowel (a
schwa --"uh" sound). For example, in the word MIsery there is
a stressed syllable 'MI', a reduced syllable 'se', and a full vowel in
an unstressed syllable 'ry'.
MIsery Most of the time, the reduced syllables are around the stressed syllable to make the stressed one more emphasized.
aPARTment Sometimes there is a difference in meaning when full vowels change to reduced vowels because the main stress is shifted to a different syllable.
|
comedy (KA-muh-diy) |
object (n) (AB-jEkt) |
|
committee (kuh-MI-diy) |
object (v) (uhb-JEKT) |
Reduction in sentences: In general, the
content words (words that give the meaning) in a sentence are stressed
and the structure words (more grammatical words) are unstressed and
reduced. Sometimes structure words can be emphasized, or
placed where they cannot be reduced.
|
|
|
| AUX. VERBS and MODALS | |
| He was
a friendly person. You should
go to the concert. I can
do it. Have
they finished yet? |
Yes, he was.
Well, you should.
She doesn't think
so, but I can. I have
a cat. |
| PREPOSITIONS | |
| Are you coming from
the store? Do you want to
play a game of checkers? |
Where did you come
from? Only if you want to.
What are you afraid of? |
| PRONOUNS | |
| Give her
the mail. Did you
see it? |
She's
here. It's for you. |
| ARTICLES | |
| The
dog is in the yard. A book is a
great thing to have. |
It's the word "the."
I don't have two
TVs, I have a TV. (emphasized) |
Here we can hear the difference
between the stressed words and the reduced words.
Discrimination: What
sentence do you hear? Click on the sentence you
hear to check your answer.
Listen for reduced words and
syllables in the passage on The Other Groundhog or
Once in a Blue Moon. (From Holly's
Listening Comprehension Page and National Public Radio).
Listening Activities - K. Trickel
Interesting listening passages and activities for self-checking comprehension. Listen for reduction in words and sentences.
Reduction Brit vs. Am - Ladefoged
Reduced phrases - Ladefoged
Spoken American English - Contractions and shortcuts
"Relaxed" Pronunciation - W. L. Cruz
Reminders of reduced words you'll hear in American speech. (no audio)Blending and Reduction - R. Williams
Links for information and quizzes.