Rhetorical Questions for English Learners

Rhetorical Questions for English Learners Rhetorical questions can be defined as questions that are not really meant to be answered. Rather, rhetorical questions are asked in order to make a point about a situation or to point out something for consideration. This is a very different usage than yes/no questions or information questions. Lets quickly review these two basic types before moving on to rhetorical questions. Yes/No questions are used to quickly get an answer to a simple question.  They are usually answered with the short response using only the auxiliary verb. For example: Would you like to come with us tonight?Yes, I would. Did you understand the question?No, I didnt. Are they watching TV at the moment?Yes, they are. Information questions are asked using the following question words: WhereWhatWhen / What timeWhichWhyHow many / much / often / far / etc. Information questions are answered in full sentences. For example: Where do you live?I live in Portland, Oregon. What time does the movie start?The movie starts at 7:30. How far is it to the next gas station?The next gas station is in 20 miles. Rhetorical Questions for the Big Questions in Life Rhetorical questions pose a question that is intended to make people think. For example, a conversation might begin with: What do you want to do in life? Thats a question we all need to answer, but its not easy... How much time does it take to become successful? Thats an easy question. It takes a lot of time! Lets take a look at what success requires so that we can get a better understanding.   Where do you want to be in 15 years? Thats a question that everyone should take seriously no matter how old they are. Rhetorical Questions to Draw Attention Rhetorical questions are also used to point to something important and often have an implied meaning. In other words, the person who poses the question is not looking for an answer ​but wants to make a statement. Here are some examples: Do you know what time it is? - MEANING: Its late.Who is my favorite person in the world? - MEANING: You are my favorite person.Wheres my homework? - MEANING: I expected you to turn in the homework today.What does it matter? - MEANING: It doesnt matter. Rhetorical Questions to Point Out a Bad Situation Rhetorical questions are also often used to complain about a bad situation. Once again, the actual meaning of the quite different than the rhetorical question. Here are some examples: What can she do about that teacher? - MEANING: She cant do anything. Unfortunately, the teacher isnt very helpful.Where am I going to find help this late in the day? - MEANING: Im not going to find help this late in the day.Do you think Im rich? - MEANING: Im not rich, dont ask me for money. Rhetorical Questions to Express a Bad Mood Rhetorical questions are often used to express a bad mood, even depression. For example: Why should I try to get that job? - MEANING: Ill never get that job!Whats the point in trying? - MEANING: Im depressed and I dont want to make an effort.Where did I go wrong? - MEANING: I dont understand why Im having so many difficulties lately. Negative Yes/No Rhetorical Questions to Point to a Positive Negative rhetorical questions are used to suggest that a situation is actually positive. Here are some examples: Havent you had enough awards this year? - MEANING: Youve won a lot of awards. Congratulations!Didnt I help you on your last exam?  - MEANING: I helped you on your last exam.Wont he be excited to see you? - MEANING: He will be very excited to see you. Hopefully this short guide to rhetorical questions has answered any questions you may have on how and why we use them. There are other types such as question tags to confirm information and indirect questions to be more polite.

Phoneme Definition and Examples in English

Phoneme Definition and Examples in English In linguistics, a phoneme is the smallest sound unit in a language that is capable of conveying a distinct meaning, such as the s of sing and the r of ring. Adjective: phonemic. Phonemes are language-specific. In other words, phonemes that are functionally distinct in English (for example, /b/ and /p/) may not be so in another language.  (Phonemes are customarily written between slashes, thus /b/ and /p/.) Different languages have different phonemes. Etymology: From the Greek, sound Pronunciation: FO-neem Examples and Observations The central concept in phonology is the phoneme, which is a distinctive category of sounds that all the native speakers of a language or dialect perceive as more or less the same...[A]lthough the two [k] sounds in kicked are not identical- the first one is pronounced with more aspiration than the second- they are heard as two instances of [k] nonetheless...Since phonemes are categories rather than actual sounds, they are not tangible things; instead, they are abstract, theoretical types or groups that are only psychologically real. (In other words, we cannot hear phonemes, but we assume they exist because of how the sounds in languages pattern as they are used by speakers.) (Thomas E. Murray, The Structure of English:  Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology. Allyn and Bacon,  1995)Two points need to be stressed: (1) the most important property of a phoneme is that it contrasts with the other phonemes in the system, and hence (2) we can only speak of the phoneme of some particular speec h variety (a particular accent of a particular language). Languages differ in the number of phonemes they distinguish...but every valid word in every language necessarily consists of some permissible sequence of that languages phonemes. (R.L. Trask,  A Dictionary of Phonetics and Phonology. Routledge, 2004) An Alphabetical Analogy: Phonemes and Allophones The concepts of phoneme and allophone become clearer by analogy with the letters of the alphabet. We recognize that a symbol is a despite considerable variations in size, colour, and (to a certain extent) shape. The representation of the letter a is affected in handwriting by the preceding or following letters to which it is joined. Writers may form the letter idiosyncratically and may vary their writing according to whether they are tired or in a hurry or nervous. The variants in the visual representations are analogous to the allophones of a phoneme, and what is distinctive in contrast to other alphabetic letters is analogous to the phoneme. (Sidney Greenbaum, The Oxford English Grammar. Oxford University Press, 1996) Differences Between Members of a Phoneme We cannot rely on the spelling to tell us whether two sounds are members of different phonemes. For example...the words key and car begin with what we can regard as the same sound, despite the fact that one is spelled with the letter k and the other with c. But in this case, the two sounds are not exactly the same...If you whisper just the first consonants in these two words, you can probably hear the difference, and you may be able to feel that your tongue touches the roof of the mouth in a different place for each word. This example shows that there may be very subtle differences between members of a phoneme. The sounds at the beginning of key and car are slightly different, but it is not a difference that changes the meaning of a word in English. They are both members of the same phoneme. (Peter Ladefoged and Keith Johnson, A Course in Phonetics, 6th ed. Wadsworth, 2011)