I.

SUPRASEGMENTAL DEFINED
Suprasegmental is a term used in phonetics and phonology to refer to a
vocal effect which extends over more than one sound segment in an utterance,
such as intonation, stress or juncture pattern. Therefore, the specific features that
are superimposed on the utterance of the speech are known as suprasegmental
features (Richards, Platt & Platt, 1992; Ladefoged 2006; Crystal 2008). The word
“supra” means above or beyond the segmental value. It refers to properties of an
utterance that apply to groups of segments, rather than to individual segments.
Suprasegmentals are also called “music of a language” and they are not limited
to single sounds but often extend over syllables, words, or phrases (Ladefoged
2006). Suprasegmental, also called Prosodic Feature, in phonetics, a speech
feature such as stress, tone, or word juncture that accompanies or is added over
consonants and vowels; these features are not limited to single sounds but often
extend over syllables, words, or phrases. In Spanish the stress accent is often used
to distinguish between otherwise identical words: término means “term,” termíno
means “I terminate,” and terminó means “he terminated.” In Mandarin Chinese,
tone is a distinctive suprasegmental: shih pronounced on a high, level note means
“to lose”; on a slight rising note means “ten”; on a falling note means “city,
market”; and on a falling–rising note means “history.” English “beer dripped” and
“beard ripped” are distinguished by word juncture. Suprasegmental features are
aspects of speech that involve more than single consonants or vowels. They are
features of spoken language which are not easily identified as discrete segments.
If learners know features from the smallest component of spoken language or
segments to the larger one or suprasegmental units, they are likely to achieve
better listening and speaking. The alternative terms of suprasegmentals are
‘plurisegmental’, ‘non-segmental’, ‘Prosody’ and ‘superfix’ (Richards, Platt &
Platt, 1992; Ladefoged 2006; Crystal 2008).

II. SIGNIFICANCE OF SUPRASEGMENTALS

The importance of suprasegmentals may be denied in the teaching and

learning of pronunciation. Firstly, it improves English accent and pronunciation
which play key factors in accent reduction and speaking ability in general. If we

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want our speech to be understood in the classroom, we need to help our students
learn and practice both individual sounds and the overall musical pattern of the
language. Secondly, the researchers have proved that roughly one half of people’s
communication is taken up by listening and listening is; therefore, an essential
skill that students need to develop foremost when studying English as a second or
foreign language. Thirdly, suprasegmental is the basic structure of spoken
language which is different from the written language which is usually
marginalised in day to day learning and teaching of English. Finally, Students of
language and those who plan careers in language teaching, coaching, therapy,
acting, and speaking benefit greatly as they can influence meaning by intonation,
stress, rhythm and other suprasegmental features. Hence, the knowledge of seven
major types of suprasegmental features that exist in almost all languages of the
world (assimilation, intonation, stress, rhythm, elision, linking, and juncture) are
very significant for learning pronunciation of a language.The different languages
of the world make their own choices of suprasegmentals which differ from each
other.

III. ASPECTS OF SUPRASEGMENTAL

 SYLLABLES
A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For
example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is
typically made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) with optional initial
and final margins (typically, consonants).

1. ONSET
An onset is the part of the syllable that precedes the vowel of the syllable.
2. RIME

Right branch, contrasts with onset, splits into nucleus and coda

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Here are some examples of syllables divided into onsets and rimes :

Word Onset Rime

I I
It it
Sit s it
Spit sp it
Split spl it
Spoil sp oil
Pie p ie

 STRESS
1. CONTRASTIVE STRESS

A stress imposed on a word or syllable contrary to its normal

accentuation in order to contrast it with an alternative word or syllable or
to focus attention on it, as the stress given to the normally unstressed word
of in government of the people, by the people, for the people in order to
point up the parallel between off, by, and for and to distinguish of from
words such as over or against.

2. LEXICAL STRESS
Lexical stress, or word stress, is the stress placed on a given
syllable in a word. The position of lexical stress in a word may depend on
certain general rules applicable in the language or dialect in question, but
in other languages, it must be learned for each word, as it is largely
unpredictable. Languages in which position of the stress can usually be
predicted by a simple rule are said to have fixed stress. For example,
in Czech, Finnish, Icelandic and Hungarian, the stress almost always
comes on the first syllable of a word. In Armenian the stress is on the last
syllable of a word. In Quechua, Esperanto, and Polish, the stress is almost
always on the penult (second-last syllable). In Macedonian, it is on
the antepenult (third-last syllable).
 INTONATION AND PITCH

1. PITCH

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 Pitch is an important component of accentuation, or prominence,
both at the level of individual words and at the level of longer utterances
(Martha, 1996:148). The pitch of voice is determined by the frequency
with which the vocal cords vibrate.

Pitch range can be divided into three parts as high, mid and low.

Most importantly, the pitch range of utterance shows the speaker’s

attitude towards the information that s/he is conveying. As Brazil,
Courtyard and Johns (1980:163) indicates, the neutral, unmarked, mid
pitch range – which is the speaker’s modal pitch – is used to make a
statement in a neutral manner. In contrast, high pitch range indicates an
informational contrast as shown in example (a). Because high pitch range
implies a contrast even when one is not explicitly present in the discourse,
it can be used to single out individual words for special attention as in the
example (b).

a) I’m going to Harvard, not Yale!

b) I’d never do that.

Low pitch range is used when the speaker wants to assert that two items
in successive tone units are in some sense equivalent, as in the example
(c):

c) I told you already, dummy.

Here the low pitch range on "dummy" signals that it is to be interpreted as

connected with "you."

2. TONIC ACCENT

Tonic accent is emphasis that results from pitch rather than

loudness. And also it is a prominence given to a syllable in speaking,
usually due to a change, especially a rise, in pitch.

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 3. TONE LANGUAGE

A tone language or tonal language is a language in which saying

words with different “tones” (which is like pitches in music but with a
smaller number) changes the meaning of a word even if the pronunciation
of the word is otherwise the same.

Many Asian languages are tone languages, such as Chinese,

Vietnamese, Thai, and Punjabi. Most languages, including Indo-European
languages such as English, are not tone languages.

I. CONCLUSION
By starting with the suprasegmental areas of pronunciation, we can put
pronunciation practice in its rightful place, viewing it in the same light as
grammar, syntax, and discourse: as a crucial part of communication.
Pronunciation needs to be seen as more than correct production of individual
sounds, and should be integrated into the communication class, linking
pronunciation with listening comprehension, and allowing for meaningful
pronunciation practice. In fact, a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first
step.