Download Stress in simple words

Stress in simple words
Stress is the force by which the syllable is uttered. This can be illustrated in the
following words:
Father /fa:ðə/, open /əupn/, camera /kæmrə/ (in such words the first syllable is stressed).
Potato/pəteitəu/, apartment/əpa:tmənt/, relation/rileiʃn/ (the second syllable is stressed).
Stress can be studied from the point of view of production and of perception. The
production of stress depends on the speaker using more muscular energythan is used for
unstressed syllables. From the perception point of view, all stressed syllables have one
characteristic in common, and that is prominence. Stressed syllables are more prominent
than unstressed syllables. There are four factors that make a syllable prominent: loudness,
length, pitch and quality. Stressed syllables are louder and stronger than unstressed
syllables. In addition they have high pitch. There are two main levels of stress: primary and
secondary. consider the following word in which the first syllable has a secondary stress
and the the fifth syllable has a primary stress.: indivisibility/indivizibiləti/.
Placement of stress within the word
In order to decide on stress placement, it is necessary to make use of some or all of the
following information:
1. Whether the word is simple, complex or compound.
A complex word is a word that has a prefix or a suffix.
2. Whether the wordis a noun, verb, adjective, etc.
3. How many syllables the word has.
4. What the phonological structure of those words is.
Two – syllable words
1. If the second syllable of the verb is strong, it is stressed as in apply /əplai/, arrive
/əraiv/, attract /ətrækt/, assist /əsist/.
2. If the final syllable is weak, the first syllabl;e is stressed: enter /entə/, envy /envi/,
open /əupən/, wqual /i:kwəl/..
3. A final syllable is unstressed if it contains /əu/: follow /foləu/, borrow /borəu/.
Two – syllable adjectives are stressed according to the same rules: lovely /lΛvli/,
even /i:vn/, hollow /holəu/, divine /divain/, correct /kərekt/, alive /əliv/.
There are exceptions; for example, honest /onist/, perfect /pə:fikt/, /pə:fekt/, both of
which end with strong syllables but are stressed on the first syllable.
Nouns require a different rule. If the second syllable contains a short vowel, the
first syllable is stressed. Otherwise it will be on the second syllable: money /mΛni/,
product /prodΛkt/, larynx/læriŋks/, estate /isteit/, balloon /bəlu:n/, design /dizain/.
Other two – syllable words such as adverbs and prepositions seem to behave like
verbs and adjectives.
Three – syllable words
1. In verbs, if the final syllable is strong, it is stressed: entertain /entətein/,
resurrect /rezərekt/.
2. If the last syllable is weak, stress will be placed on the preceding (penultimate)
syllable: encounter /iŋkauntə/, determine /ditə:min/.
3. If both the second and the third syllable are weak, the initial syllable is stressed:
parody /pærədi/.
Nouns require a different rule:
1. If the final syllable is weak, or ends with /əu/, it is unstressed; if the syllable
preceding this final syllable is strong, that middle syllable is stressed:
mimosa /miməuzə/, potato /pəteitəu/, disaster /diza:stə/, synopsis /synopsis/.
2. If the second and third syllables are both weak, the first syllable is stressed:
quantity /kwontəti/, cinema /sinəmə/, emperor /empərə/, custody /kΛstədi/.
Concerning the three – syllable simple nouns, even if the final syllable is
strong, the stress will be placed on the first syllable. The last syllable is quite
prominent, so that in some cases it could be said to have secondary stress :
Intellect /intəlekt/, alkali /ælkəlai/, marigold /mærihəuld/, stalactite /stæləktait/.
Adjectives seem to have the same rule, to produce stress patterns such as:
Opportune /opətju:n/, derelict /derəlikt/, insolent /insələnt/, anthropoid
/ænϴrəpoid/.