Function Words in Everyday Speech
2021-12-17
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1Imagine you are using an internet service to watch American films.
2Perhaps you decide to watch Mixtape, a movie recently made by Netflix.
3My gosh! This store is so rad!
4You might ask yourself about the words you just heard.
5Why did the speaker say the word rad - a term that means very good or amazing - in a louder way?
6Why were some of the words said quietly and more quickly?
7In today's report, you will learn about function words in everyday speech.
8Let's start with a few important terms and ideas.
9Function words are words that have a grammatical purpose.
10Function words include pronouns, determiners, and conjunctions.
11These include words such as he, the, those, and the words and or but.
12Americans often reduce function words in everyday speech.
13In other words, they often say functions words more quietly and quickly.
14Let's consider an example sentence.
15He picked up the book.
16The function words are he, a pronoun, and the, an article.
17These function words do not really give specific information.
18If you heard a person only say the words "he... the...,"
19you would have a hard time understanding what they meant.
20Now let's consider the other words in the statement - the content words.
21Content words are words such as nouns, verbs, and adjectives.
22The content words in our example are the phrasal verb picked up and the noun book.
23He picked up the book.
24If the statement only had content words, it would not be a complete sentence,
25but it would still communicate a general idea.
26If our example only had content words, it would be this:
27....picked up ... book.
28The importance of content words explains why Americans often reduce function words in everyday speech.
29Function words have a grammatical use but are less central to expressing specific meaning.
30Listen again to our example and note how the function words are said more quickly and quietly.
31He picked up the book.
32Think back to the line from the film Mixtape:
33My gosh! This store is so rad!
34The first sentence has the word gosh, a kind of expression that shows excitement or surprise.
35This term is said a bit louder.
36In the second sentence, note that the content words are spoken a bit louder as well,
37while the function words are said quietly and quickly.
38Store, a noun, and rad, an adjective, are spoken most clearly.
39The word so is also spoken clearly because it helps to show the speaker's strong feelings.
40If we took out some of the function words, the reduced statement would be:
41Gosh! ...store...so rad
42This is not a complete sentence, but it does communicate the speaker's very general idea.
43Note that the verb BE is treated almost like a function word.
44In other words, the speaker does not stress the verb BE. Instead of saying "This store is so rad,"
45the speaker says something closer to "This store's so rad."
46While Americans often stress verbs, the verb BE can be a special exception.
47In other words, Americans often do not stress the verb BE.
48The reasons behind this are complex.
49But one possibility is that the verb BE in its present tense form does not add a lot of information.
50In today's report, we explored how and why function words are often reduced in everyday speech.
51Speakers often reduce function words because they want to draw the listener's attention to content words -
52the words that give the most specific meaning.
53The next time you listen to Americans speak, pay careful attention to how they reduce function words.
54With time, you will notice regular, repeated ways in which English speakers express ideas.
55And of course, make careful note of when speakers say function words more loudly and clearly.
56This act is often a clue that the speaker is making a correction or clarification.
57I'm John Russell.
1Imagine you are using an internet service to watch American films. Perhaps you decide to watch Mixtape, a movie recently made by Netflix. 2My gosh! This store is so rad! 3You might ask yourself about the words you just heard. Why did the speaker say the word rad - a term that means very good or amazing - in a louder way? Why were some of the words said quietly and more quickly? 4In today's report, you will learn about function words in everyday speech. Let's start with a few important terms and ideas. 5What are function words? 6Function words are words that have a grammatical purpose. Function words include pronouns, determiners, and conjunctions. These include words such as he, the, those, and the words and or but. 7Americans often reduce function words in everyday speech. In other words, they often say functions words more quietly and quickly. 8Let's consider an example sentence. 9He picked up the book. 10The function words are he, a pronoun, and the, an article. 11These function words do not really give specific information. If you heard a person only say the words "he... the...," you would have a hard time understanding what they meant. 12Now let's consider the other words in the statement - the content words. 13Content words are words such as nouns, verbs, and adjectives. 14The content words in our example are the phrasal verb picked up and the noun book. 15He picked up the book. 16If the statement only had content words, it would not be a complete sentence, but it would still communicate a general idea. 17If our example only had content words, it would be this: 18....picked up ... book. 19The importance of content words explains why Americans often reduce function words in everyday speech. Function words have a grammatical use but are less central to expressing specific meaning. 20Listen again to our example and note how the function words are said more quickly and quietly. 21He picked up the book. 22Back to the film 23Think back to the line from the film Mixtape: 24My gosh! This store is so rad! 25The first sentence has the word gosh, a kind of expression that shows excitement or surprise. This term is said a bit louder. 26In the second sentence, note that the content words are spoken a bit louder as well, while the function words are said quietly and quickly. 27Store, a noun, and rad, an adjective, are spoken most clearly. The word so is also spoken clearly because it helps to show the speaker's strong feelings. 28If we took out some of the function words, the reduced statement would be: 29Gosh! ...store...so rad 30This is not a complete sentence, but it does communicate the speaker's very general idea. 31Note that the verb BE is treated almost like a function word. In other words, the speaker does not stress the verb BE. Instead of saying "This store is so rad," the speaker says something closer to "This store's so rad." 32While Americans often stress verbs, the verb BE can be a special exception. In other words, Americans often do not stress the verb BE. The reasons behind this are complex. But one possibility is that the verb BE in its present tense form does not add a lot of information. 33Closing thoughts 34In today's report, we explored how and why function words are often reduced in everyday speech. Speakers often reduce function words because they want to draw the listener's attention to content words - the words that give the most specific meaning. 35The next time you listen to Americans speak, pay careful attention to how they reduce function words. With time, you will notice regular, repeated ways in which English speakers express ideas. 36And of course, make careful note of when speakers say function words more loudly and clearly. This act is often a clue that the speaker is making a correction or clarification. 37I'm John Russell. 38John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor. 39_____________________________________________________________ 40Words in This Story 41determiner - n. grammar: a word (such as "a," "the," "some," "any," "my," or "your") that comes before a noun and is used to show which thing is being referred to 42conjunction - n. grammar : a word that joins together sentences, clauses, phrases, or words 43specific - adj. clearly and exactly presented or stated : precise or exact 44exception - n. a case where a rule does not apply 45clue -- n. something that helps a person find something, understand something, or solve a mystery or puzzle 46clarification -- n. the act of making (something) clear or clearer