Chapter 4. Thought Groups
Thought Groups: Overview
Scenario F: Too Fluent
Scenario Spotlight
Rami is a PhD student in Computer Science. His English is pretty good and he is proud of his language ability. While his grammar and vocabulary are advanced, he talks so fast that sometimes it is difficult to understand his speech. Most people try to become more fluent, so Rami is confused while this may be an issue.
4-1 DiscussionInstructions: Read Scenario F, think, and discuss with your classmates.
- What issues have Rami had?
- Why do you think this is happening?
- What are some strategies for overcoming these pronunciation challenges?
Scenario Resolution
Rami, the ambitious PhD student, was aware of his fast-paced speech, but he had always assumed it was a sign of fluency. However, he began to realize that his rapid delivery was hindering his communication. To address this issue, Rami decided to slow down his speech and focus on clarity. He started by recording himself speaking and listening carefully to identify where he was speaking too quickly. He learned about the meaning of thought groups and the importance of pauses in speech. These were the first steps towards his improvement.
Regardless of topic, one of the pronunciation features most influential for enabling an audience to understand what one says is the suprasegmental feature of thought grouping. Thought groups are so vital because they are the foundation upon which so many other suprasegmental features are built. Thought groups, in general, refer to any discrete stretch of speech that forms a coherent message, and typically…
- are grammatically and semantically sound;
- are set off by pauses before and after;
- include one prominent element (prominence, see Part 4); and
- have an intonation contour built around that focused element.
It’s important to note, though, that there is no one rule-governed method for dividing an utterance into thought groups. A fast speaker may only pause once during an utterance, while a slow speaker could pause up to four times in the same utterance. Listen to the following examples:
Notice the difference? Both recordings have two thought groups, but they are not the same. In fact, the meaning of the sentence will probably be interpreted differently by listeners. The first sentence suggests that the boy, using a telescope, saw a man; the second suggests that the boy saw a man who was carrying a telescope. As noted, thought groups affect the positioning of other suprasegmental features, such as prominence, intonation, and rhythm. Notice which words are prominent in both examples, and how the intonation curve shifts as the prominence shifts.
However, when learning thought groups, there are a handful of grammatical structures which are typically used to express a single thought group:
Common Grammatical Structures Expressed in Thought Groups (Smith, Meyers, & Burkhalter, 1992, p. 62)
- Article + adjective + noun (…the large molecule…)
- Subordinating conjunction + noun + verb (…because the experiment failed…)
- Preposition + article + noun (…in the graph…)
- Verb + object (…use a dictionary…)
- Relative pronoun + noun + verb (…which she solved…)
- Verb + adverb (…rotated quickly…)
- Article + noun + verb (…the student agreed…)
- Verb + direct object + preposition + indirect object (…hand it to him…)
If you consider the role thought groups play on the positioning and use of other suprasegmentals, you can see how vitally important they are for producing intelligible speech. Using logical thought groups can help a speaker sound more fluent, and it reduces the cognitive load of the listener, which will allow them to better understand your intended message.
Activities
4-2 Listen and Practice
Instructions: Below is a recording device along with six audio recordings. First, listen to an audio recording while following along with the transcript provided above each recording. Then, when you feel ready, use the recording device to record yourself saying the line. Compare your recording with the audio recording. Reflect on how thought groups affect the way which you speak.
“The three largest cities in the United States are New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.”
“People are said to think, play, and work at their best when the 24-hour temperatures average between 63 and 73 degrees Fahrenheit.”
“Three American holidays in the summer are Memorial Day, The 4th of July, and Labor Day.”
“On Groundhog Day, in February, if the groundhog sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter.”
“If you break a mirror, then you will have seven years of bad luck, unless you throw the broken pieces into a moving stream.”
“Halloween, which in Europe honors the dead, but in the United States celebrates childhood, points to the adoration of youth in America.”
4-3 Thought Group Practice
Instructions: Identify the most likely thought group boundaries and the focus word in each thought group.
- The meeting is about the new project.
- Could you please pass the salt?
- I’m going to the store after work.
- Can you help me with this assignment?
- We should eat dinner at seven o’clock.
Answer Key:
- The meeting // is about the new project.// Focus words: meeting, project
- Could you please // pass the salt?// Focus words: please, salt
- I’m going to the store // after work.// Focus words: store, work
- Can you help me // with this assignment?// Focus words: help, assignment
- We should eat dinner // at seven o’clock.// Focus words: dinner, seven
Instructions: Learn about the powerful shadowing technique through this video:
Find a TED Talk that interests you.
Shadow the speaker in terms of one or two of the following that are hardest for you (only one or two because you can’t focus on everything at one time!)
Pausing (a.k.a., “thought grouping”)
The specific words the speaker stresses via pronouncing their stressed vowel longer than the average stressed vowel (FYI: By default, English speakers add focus to the last content word of a phrase, i.e., the part of the phrase where new information is usually located. However, this can change if speakers add emphasis focus somewhere else in the phrase.)
Words the speaker connect together (e.g., “want to” → “wanna”)
