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VICEnglish LanguageQuick questions
Unit 3: Language variation and social purpose
Quick questions on Prosodic features of spoken language in VCE English Language Unit 3
3short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is stress?Show answer
Stress is the relative prominence given to a syllable or word. Word stress is fixed (REcord the noun versus reCORD the verb), but sentence stress is a choice: stressing a different word changes the meaning. "I didn't say SHE took it" implies someone else is being accused; "I didn't say she TOOK it" implies she did something else with it. Contrastive stress is a powerful tool for emphasis and implication.
What is intonation?Show answer
Intonation is the rise and fall of pitch across an utterance. A falling tone typically signals completion or certainty (statements, commands); a rising tone typically signals a question, uncertainty or that more is coming. High rising terminal (HRT), a rising tone on a statement, is a noted feature of some Australian and youth speech and can signal inclusiveness, checking for agreement, or tentativeness depending on context.
What is pause?Show answer
Pause is silence within or between utterances. Filled pauses ("um", "er") hold the turn while the speaker plans; unfilled pauses (silence) can signal hesitation, create emphasis, or hand over a turn. A well-placed pause before a key word builds suspense; a long pause after a question can pressure a reply. In transcriptions, pause length is often marked, and it is analysable data.
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