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French Phonics Collection�

SSC [Stress syllabification ]

Artwork by: Chloé Motard

Date updated: 22/11/2022

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SSC [Stress syllabification]

phonétique

Introduction

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Syllables and stress

Words are made up of syllables. ‘School’ has one syllable, ‘teacher’ has two syllables, ‘headteacher’ has three and ‘technology’ has four. You might find that you can tap or clap along with the syllables in a word.

In English, one syllable in every word has what we call ‘primary stress’. This means that it is pronounced more strongly than the other syllables in the word.

How many syllables do these words have? The primary stress is in bold.

cat [1] artist [2] organise [3] invisible [4] invisibility [5]

foot [1] football [2] footballer [3] relegation [5]

parler

Notice that the primary stress is often on the first syllable of words in English.

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Syllables and stress

English is a ‘stress timed’ language. We use the stressed syllables to keep a rhythm when we speak – like the beats that keep time in music.

Look at these two examples again:

organisation identification

What do you notice about the other syllables in these words?�How are they pronounced?

organisation identification

' ' ' ' ' ' ‘

The syllables with dots under them are ‘unstressed’. The vowel sounds in them are not as strong or clear as in the stressed syllables. We say that these vowels are ‘reduced’.

parler

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Syllables and stress

écouter / parler

1. amusing	amusant	7. prepare	préparer
2. animal	animal	8. partner	partenaire
3. excellent	excellent	9. university	université
4. computer	ordinateur	10. important	important
5. modern	moderne	11. absolutely	absolument
6. interesting	intéressant	12. arrive	arriver

French is not a stress-timed language. All syllables are sounded fairly equally, with a slightly stronger stress on the last syllable,). Vowels are not ‘reduced’ – they are sounded in full.

This is good news! When you read French words aloud, you don’t have to worry about which syllables to stress, or which vowels get ‘reduced’. Just sound all the syllables equally (with a bit of extra emphasis on the last one) and pronounce the SSCs as you have learned them.

Timing: 5 minutes

Aim: To compare stress syllabification and vowel reduction patterns of known French words and their English translations.

Procedure:

1. Work through the first two paragraphs of suggested explanatory wording. Students may find it interesting/useful to consider things from the perspective of French-speaking learners of English, who DO have to worry about which syllables are stressed, and which vowels might get ‘reduced’.

2. Click to reveal the table.

3. Students sound out the English word in each pair. They try to tap out the syllables and underline the syllable that they think is the ‘strongest’ – the one with primary stress. They note any syllables that are ‘reduced’.

4. Students listen to the French word in each pair. They try to tap out the syllables. Again, tap out the syllables. Draw attention to how all the syllables are sounded roughly equally (perhaps with a bit more emphasis on the last one) and none of the vowels is reduced.

5. Now, students try saying the pairs of words aloud. Remind them about the focus points (primary stress and reduced vowels in English; equal stress, full vowels and slight emphasis on the last syllable in French.

Possible extension: Watch the following video to help students you understand this. Explain that the presenter uses some written symbols on her whiteboard called the ‘phonetic alphabet’, but that they don’t need to worry about this! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EKBAMnZnSI

Transcript

1. amusant

2. animal

3. excellent

4. ordinateur

5. moderne

6. intéressant

7. préparer

8. partenaire

9. université

10. important

11. absolument

12. arriver

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Syllable and stress

Comment prononcer les mots ?

la promotion

le diplodocus

le prestidigitateur

l’animatrice [TV presenter]

interrompre [to interrupt]

rectangulaire

impossibilité

caractérisation

parler

Remember!

Sound all the syllables fairly equally (emphasise the last one a bit more). Pronounce the vowels fully – don’t ‘reduce’ them!

! Exception

The –s is not a SFC here. Pronounce it like English.

Timing: 5 minutes

Aim: to consolidate the French stress-pattern rules introduced in lesson 1 in spoken modality.

Procedure:

1. Remind students of the differences between English and French pronunciation patterns. Click to reveal a bubble containing the key points.

2. Working in pairs, students try to say the words aloud. Students should take their time, as they will also need to apply SSC knowledge.

3. Click to hear the words pronounced by a native speaker. Students repeat.

4. For the cognate words, have students say the English followed by the French several times, slowly at first to focus on the difference, then increasing in speed.

5. Students will have fun with le prestidigitateur (!) This and the other unknown item, animatrice fit this week’s vocabualry theme nicely! Have students produce the feminine and masculine forms respectively.

Word frequency of unknwon vocabulary (1 is the most frequent word in French):

promotion [2139], diplodocus [>5000], prestidigitateur [>5000], interrompre [1479], rectangulaire [>5000], impossibilité [4522], caractérisation [>5000]

Source: Londsale, D., & Le Bras, Y. (2009). A Frequency Dictionary of French: Core vocabulary for learners London: Routledge.

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SSC [Stress syllabification]

phonétique

Consolidation [1]

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Syllables and stress

écouter / parler

1. hospital	hôpital	7. commercial	commercial
2. journal	journal	8. moral	moral
3. ideal	idéal	9. regional	régional
4. international	international	10. central	central
5. local	local	11. liberal	libéral
6. social	social	12. global	global

As you know, French does not have the same system of stressed and unstressed syllables as English. All syllables are sounded fairly equally, with a bit of extra emphasis on the last spoken syllable of each word. Vowels are not ‘reduced’ – they are sounded in full.

Comment prononcer les mots ?

Timing: 5 minutes

Aim: To revise stress syllabification and vowel reduction patterns of known French words and their English translations. NB: many of these cognate words feature in this lesson. The first six are in this week’s new vocabulary set, so students should already have some knowledge of their pronunciation.

Procedure:

1. Work through the paragraph of suggested explanatory wording. This is a summary of the more detailed explanation presented in 8.1.1.2.

2. Click to reveal the table.

3. Students sound out the English word in each pair. They try to tap out the syllables and underline the syllable that they think is the ‘strongest’ – the one with primary stress. They note any syllables that are ‘reduced’.

4. Students listen to the French word in each pair. They try to tap out the syllables. Again, tap out the syllables. Draw attention to how all the syllables are sounded roughly equally (perhaps with a bit more emphasis on the last one) and none of the vowels is reduced.

5. Now, students try saying the pairs of words aloud. Remind them about the focus points (primary stress and reduced vowels in English; equal stress, full vowels and slight emphasis on the last syllable in French.

Possible extension: Watch the following video to help students you understand this. Explain that the presenter uses some written symbols on her whiteboard called the ‘phonetic alphabet’, but that they don’t need to worry about this! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EKBAMnZnSI

Word frequency (1 is the most frequent word in French): �hôpital [1308], journal [520], idéal [1429], international [282], local [622], social [301], commercial [908], moral [1226], régional [1169], central [992], libéral [1080], global [1155]

Source: Londsale, D., & Le Bras, Y. (2009). A Frequency Dictionary of French: Core vocabulary for learners London: Routledge.

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Syllables and stress

Comment prononcer les noms de villes ?

Bordeaux

La Rochelle

Toulouse

Chambéry

Perpignan

Besançon

Avignon

Grenoble

parler

Remember!

Sound all the syllables fairly equally (emphasise the last one a bit more). �Pronounce the vowels fully �– don’t ‘reduce’ them!