In our previous text we presented tips on vocabulary that can be useful during job interviews and language skills assessments. In this article we deal with noun phrases and particular kinds of nouns which often appear in everyday project communication.
Pronunciation of compound words, phrases and abbreviations
These are examples that refer to broader vocabulary, and that will help you develop proper intonation patterns. In any foreign language, correct stress and intonation are what gives the language a pleasant rhythm and makes speech sound natural.
As for noun phrases, the stress pattern changes here — each word spoken separately will have its basic stress, but when we put them together it would be unnatural to give them equal priority.
- Agile management, distributed computing, hierarchical data, responsive design, etc. If we were to use the words separately, each of them would be stressed on the first syllable (agile, management) or the one containing the diphthong/long vowel, according to the rule for two- and multi-syllable adjectives and nouns. However, when they appear as a compound noun — the pattern changes: /ˈædʒaɪl,mænɪdʒmənt/. If the adjective has more than 3 syllables, its stressed syllable is still a stressed one, but the strongest stress will fall on the originally stressed syllable of the second word: /distributed com’PUting/, /hierarchical ‘DAta/, /responsive de’SIgn/.
- Back-end / front-end, low-level / high-level, etc. A similar rule applies to hyphenated compound adjectives — while “back,” “front,” “high,” “low” and “end,” as independent, single-syllable adjectives (similarly to level according to the rule concerning two-syllable nouns) have only one possible intonation pattern, in the case of compounds the stress falls on the first word: /'BACK-end/, /'FRONT-end/, /'LOW-level/, /'HIGH-level/. When we put them in noun phrases, the rule from the above point will apply: /low-level 'LANguage/.
- Database management system (DBMS), graphic user interface (GUI). In the case of noun phrases composed of 3 words, the stressed syllable of the word with the most significant meaning will receive the strongest stress: /'MAnagement/, /'INterface/.
- DevOps. These words are a blend, i.e., a noun created by combining two others, but not in their entirety: development + operations. Other words from the same category are, for example, sitcom (situational + comedy), cyborg (cybernetic + organism) or brunch (breakfast + lunch). They are treated like regular one- and two-syllable nouns.
- HTML, CSS, UX, IDE, SaaS. The issue with acronyms pronounced using individual sounds is simple — we stress the last sound. If an acronym is pronounced like a word, e.g. UNESCO, NATO, it is subject to the standard rules of word stress.
Stressing technical phrases in a sentence
We’d also like to provide some info on how to put technical phrases in a sentence and stress them in a correct way. There are two basic types of words in each spoken sentence — content words and structure words. In the sentence: "Will you DO the TASK for me because I'm on SICK LEAVE," the words written in capital letters are an example of content words. If we were to remove them, the message would not be passed, and the rest of the words add grammatical correctness to the sentence (DO TASK SICK LEAVE sounds like a telegram, right?). The basic rule to remember is quite simple: content words should be pronounced in a slower and clearer manner, while everything else is spoken faster, without emphasis.
Technical vocabulary
Finally, we’ve added 8 words to the technical vocabulary:
- Database /ˈdeɪtəˌbeɪs/ — a large amount of data stored in a computer system so that you can find and use it easily.
- Default /dɪˈfɔːlt/ — the way in which things are arranged on a computer screen unless you decide to change them.
- Enumerator /ɪˈnjuːməreɪtə/ — used to name a list of things one by one.
- Precedence /ˈpresɪdəns/ — when someone or something is considered to be more important than someone or something else, and therefore comes first or must be dealt with first.
- Pseudocode /ˈs(j)uːdəʊˌkəʊd/ — instructions written in symbolic code which must be translated into a programming language before they can be executed.
- Scheduler /ˈʃedjuːlə(r)/, /ˈskedʒuːlər/ — a program that arranges jobs or a computer's operations into an appropriate order.
- Tier /'tɪə/ — one of several levels in an organization or system.
- Wireframe /ˈwaɪəfreɪm/ — basic image, or a set of images, that represents the structure of a web page or website, showing the information on it, how it is arranged, and how a user can find the information, but not showing what it will look like.
The next part of the series will be devoted to common mistakes in the use of grammatical tenses. Stay tuned!
