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Practice
for Stress and Emphasis
Stress is the degree of prominence of a syllable within a word or a word within a phrase or sentence. The syllable or the word is generally made louder, longer, and higher in pitch than neighboring syllables or words. You stress syllables because English is a subtle language, and by doing this you increase intelligibility. There are obvious differences between convict and convict, between project and project. You stress words to make meaning and feeling clear. 1.
Read these aloud, stressing the italicized syllable: Read these sentences, observing the differences in meaning as you stress italicized words:
b) Is that the idiot you wanted me to date? Emphasis is the degree of prominence given to a phrase or thought grouping. An important phrase, or one containing a key idea, can be made louder and higher-pitched than neighboring words. Sometimes it works if you speak softer and lower the pitch on the phrase you wish to emphasize. Raise the pitch and turn up your volume on the italicized phrase as you try this one: I forgot to call you. I refuse to apologize. Repeat, but this time lower the pitch and speak as softly as you can on the key phrase. Which one works better? Remember: The key or idea words that most truly reveal the meaning and thought of a passage are the nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, The shorter words -- pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions -- are generally skimmed over. You'll find important exceptions to all of the foregoing, however. 2. Read each sentence in this exercise twice. The first time, emphasize the italicized sections. The second time, emphasize another section. Do you notice differences in meaning? a)
Nobody wants to kiss when they're hungry. 3. Your best friend has just starred as Ophelia or Hamlet in a campus production of Hamlet. After the performance you go backstage and say to the person, "You were great! What a performance!" with these suggested meanings: a)
Your friend was outstanding. 4. Read these one-liners twice. In your first reading, ignore the obvious emotional nature of the material. Deliberately give a flat and cold reading. In your second reading, respond with as much sincerity, vitality, and animation as possible: a)
I'm frightened! Return to Teacher Voice Lesson / Return to Student Voice Lesson |
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