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Listen and compare · 13

CEFR B2

Review the contrast after listening

Marta trajo el informe.

/ˈmaɾta ˈtɾaxo el inˈfoɾme/

Correction of the person: Marta, not Luis.

Marta trajo el informe.

/ˈmaɾta ˈtɾaxo el inˈfoɾme/

Correction of the object: the report, not the map.

What tells the two sounds apart

  • focus on MartaIn the first reading, give Marta corrective prominence. Keep the following material less prominent.
  • focus on informeIn the second reading, give informe corrective prominence. Keep the original lexical stress inside each word.

Why it is hard

The identical words can correct different misunderstandings. This is a prosodic pair: the segmental IPA is deliberately the same. Prominence can involve pitch, duration and intensity; it does not move lexical stress to a different syllable. The model is careful Spain Spanish, but corrective focus exists across varieties with different pitch realizations. Task: Listen to the first six utterances with the words, IPA and correction labels closed. Identify the prominent word in each and give an audible cue such as pitch, duration or intensity. If two intended models sound the same, record no audible contrast. Then open the support and compare. Correct Luis, the map, tomorrow and the library with the four printed replies. Produce two versions of Marta llega mañana, correcting the person and the time respectively, and explain each contrast without moving lexical stress.

Marta llega mañana.

To practise

  1. Marta trajo el informe./ˈmaɾta ˈtɾaxo el inˈfoɾme/Someone said Luis brought it: correct the person.
  2. Marta trajo el informe./ˈmaɾta ˈtɾaxo el inˈfoɾme/Someone said she brought the map: correct the object.
  3. La reunión es hoy./la reuˈnjon es oi/Someone said the meeting is tomorrow: correct the day.
  4. Nos vemos en el museo./nos ˈbemos en el muˈseo/Someone said the library: correct the place.