Vowel sounds word stress

English words have certain patterns of stress which you should observe strictly if you want to be understood. The best way to learn English stress is to listen to audio materials and to repeat them after the speaker. The links on the entrance pages of the sections Phonetics, Phrases, and Vocabulary lead to the sites that offer useful listening materials, including sounds, syllables, words, sentences, and conversations. An overview of typical English patterns of word stress in this material will help you to recognize and understand word stress when you work with listening materials. It will also be helpful to listen to examples of word stress in Listening for Word Stress (AmE) in the section Phonetics.

Note: Main stressed syllable in the word is indicated by capital letters in this material, for example, LEMon. In words with two stresses, capital letters with a stress mark before them show the syllable with primary stress, and small letters with a stress mark before them show the syllable with secondary stress, for example, ‘eco’NOMics.

General guidelines on word stress

Generally, common English nouns, adjectives, and adverbs are more often stressed on the first syllable than on any other syllable. Verbs with prefixes are usually stressed on the second syllable, i.e., on the first syllable of the root after the prefix. English words can’t have two unstressed syllables at the beginning of the word; one of these syllables will be stressed. If a word has four or more syllables, there are usually two stresses in it: primary stress (strong stress) and secondary stress (weak stress). Also, secondary stress may be present (in addition to primary stress) in shorter words in the syllable in which the vowel sound remains long and strong.

Prefixes are often stressed in nouns and less often in verbs. Suffixes at the end of the word are rarely stressed, except for a few noun, adjective, and verb suffixes that are usually stressed: rooMETTE, ‘ciga’RETTE / ‘CIGa’rette, Chi’NESE, ‘SIGni’fy, ‘ORga’nize, ‘DECo’rate. In longer derivative words, stress may fall on a suffix or prefix according to typical patterns of word stress. Endings are not stressed.

Stress in derivatives

Stress in a derivative may remain the same as in the word from which it was derived, or it may change in a certain way. When nouns are formed from verbs, or verbs are formed from nouns, the following patterns of stress often occur.

The same stress:

deNY (verb) – deNIal (noun)

ofFEND (verb) – ofFENCE (noun)

reVIEW (noun) – reVIEW (verb)

PREview (noun) – PREview (verb)

HOSpital (noun) – HOSpitalize (verb)

Shift of stress:

preSENT (verb) – PRESent (noun)

reFER (verb) – REFerence (noun)

exTRACT (verb) – EXtract (noun)

inCREASE (verb) – INcrease (noun)

OBject (noun) – obJECT (verb)

Other parts of speech derived from nouns and verbs have the following typical patterns of stress.

Adjectives are usually stressed on the first syllable or repeat the stress of the nouns from which they were derived: fate (noun) – FATal (adj.); COLor (noun) – COLorful (adj.). But stress may change in longer derivative adjectives: METal (noun) – meTALlic (adj.); ATHlete (noun) – athLETic (adj.); geOLogy (noun) – ‘geo’LOGical (adj.); ARgument (noun) – ‘argu’MENtative (adj.).

Adverbs are usually stressed on the first syllable or repeat the stress of the adjectives from which they were derived: ANgry – ANgrily; WONderful – WONderfully; FOOLish – FOOLishly; athLETic – athLETically.

Gerunds and participles repeat the stress of the verbs from which they were formed: forGET – forGETting – forGOTten; CANcel – CANceling – CANceled; ‘ORga’nize – ‘ORga’nizing – ORganized.

Typical patterns of stress

Let’s look at typical examples of stress in English words. Main factors that influence stress are the number of syllables in the word, and whether the word is a noun, an adjective, or a verb.

ONE-SYLLABLE WORDS

One-syllable nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are stressed on the vowel sound in the word. Note that a diphthong is one complex vowel sound that forms only one syllable. A diphthong is stressed on its first main component.

book, cat, rain, boat, crow, chair

read, burn, touch, choose, laugh, hear

new, bright, large, short, clear, loud

late, fast, soon, now

TWO-SYLLABLE WORDS

Two-syllable nouns

Two-syllable nouns are usually stressed on the first syllable.

TEACHer, STUDent, CARpet, LESson

REgion, ILLness, STATEment, CITy

CONvict, INcrease, INstinct, OBject

PERmit, PRESent, PROject, SYMbol

Nouns may be stressed on the last syllable if there is a long vowel sound or a diphthong in it. Words of foreign origin (especially words of French origin) may be stressed on the last syllable.

trainEE, caREER, deLAY, conCERN

poLICE, hoTEL, beRET, rooMETTE

Two-syllable adjectives

Two-syllable adjectives are usually stressed on the first syllable.

FUNny, LOCal, USEful

FOOLish, NATive, CAREless

Some adjectives are stressed on the last syllable if there is a long vowel sound or a diphthong in it.

abSURD, comPLETE, exTREME, moROSE

If there is a prefix in an adjective, stress often falls on the first syllable of the root after the prefix.

inSANE, imMUNE, enGAged

unWELL, unKNOWN

Two-syllable verbs

Two-syllable verbs are usually stressed on the second syllable, especially if the first syllable is a prefix.

adMIT, apPLY, beGIN, beLIEVE

comBINE, conFIRM, deNY, deSERVE

disLIKE, misPLACE, exPLAIN

forBID, forGET, igNORE, inVITE

oBEY, ocCUR, perMIT, prePARE

proPOSE, purSUE, reCEIVE, rePLY

supPLY, surPRISE, unDO, unLOCK

But there are many verbs that are stressed on the first syllable.

HAPpen, CANcel, PRACtice

ANswer, OFfer, MENtion

FOLlow, BORrow, PUNish

THREE-SYLLABLE WORDS

Three-syllable nouns

Three-syllable nouns are usually stressed on the first syllable.

POLitics, GOVernment, GENeral

INterest, GRADuate, CONfidence

But many nouns, especially those derived from verbs with prefixes, have stress on the second syllable.

apPROVal, conFUSion, conSUMer

corRECTness, eLECtion, diRECtor

Some nouns have primary stress on the last syllable if there is a long vowel sound or a diphthong in it.

‘engi’NEER, ‘refu’GEE

Three-syllable adjectives

Three-syllable adjectives are usually stressed on the first syllable.

GENeral, DELicate, EXcellent

WONderful, FAVorite, CURious

Some adjectives have one more stress on the last syllable if there is a long vowel or a diphthong in it.

‘OBso’lete / ‘obso’LETE

‘Vietna’MESE, ‘Portu’GUESE

Some adjectives do not repeat the stress of the noun from which they were derived and are stressed on the second syllable.

geNERic, symBOLic, inSTINCtive

Three-syllable verbs

Three-syllable verbs often have primary stress on the first syllable (even if it is a prefix) and secondary stress on the last syllable (which is often a verb suffix).

‘ORga’nize, ‘MODer’nize

‘SIGni’fy, ‘SPECi’fy

‘COMpen’sate, ‘DECo’rate

‘COMpli’ment, ‘CONsti’tute

But many verbs, especially those with prefixes, have stress on the second syllable.

conTINue, conSIDer, reMEMber

If the prefix consists of two syllables, its first syllable usually gets secondary stress.

‘under’STAND, ‘decom’POSE

‘contra’DICT, ‘corre’SPOND

FOUR OR MORE SYLLABLES

Long nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs usually have two stresses: primary stress and secondary stress. But there are some long words with only one stress. There are four patterns of stress in long words.

Only one stress: on the first syllable

Nouns:

ACcuracy, DELicacy

Adjectives:

INteresting

Only one stress: on the second syllable

Nouns:

inTOLerance, geOMetry, aMERica

simPLICity, moBILity, teLEpathy

acCOMpaniment

Adjectives:

sigNIFicant, mysTErious, traDItional

inTOLerable, unREAsonable, noTOrious

Verbs:

acCOMpany

Two stresses: on the first and third syllable

This is a very common stress pattern in long words in English.

Nouns:

‘eco’NOMics, ‘infor’MAtion

‘consti’TUtion, ‘repe’TItion

‘coloni’ZAtion, ‘multipli’CAtion

Adjectives:

‘aca’DEMic, ‘geo’METrical

‘inter’NAtional, ‘cosmo’POLitan

‘capita’LIStic, ‘conver’SAtional

‘PAtro’nizing

Two stresses: on the second and fourth syllable

Nouns:

con’side’RAtion

in’vesti’GAtion

con’tinu’Ation

Adjectives:

ex’peri’MENtal

in’compre’HENsible

Verbs:

i’DENti’fy, in’TENsi’fy

in’TOXi’cate, ac’CUmu’late

com’MERcia’lize, a’POLo’gize.

Ударение в слове

Английские слова имеют определённые модели ударения, которые нужно строго соблюдать, если вы хотите, чтобы вас понимали. Лучший способ изучить английское ударение – слушать аудиоматериалы и повторять их за диктором. Ссылки на входных страницах разделов Phonetics, Phrases и Vocabulary ведут на сайты, которые предлагают полезные материалы для прослушивания, включая звуки, слоги, слова, предложения и разговоры. Краткий обзор типичных английских моделей ударения в данном материале поможет вам узнавать и понимать ударение в словах, когда вы работаете с материалами для прослушивания. Также будет полезно прослушать примеры ударения в материале для прослушивания Listening for Word Stress (AmE) в разделе Phonetics.

Примечание: Главный ударный слог в слове указан заглавными буквами в данном материале, например, LEMon. В словах с двумя ударениями, заглавные буквы со значком ударения перед ними показывают слог с главным ударением, а маленькие буквы со значком ударения перед ними показывают слог с второстепенным ударением, например, ‘eco’NOMics.

Общие рекомендации по ударению в словах

В целом, употребительные английские существительные, прилагательные и наречия чаще ударяются на первом слоге, чем на любом другом слоге. Глаголы с приставками обычно имеют ударение на втором слоге, т.е. на первом слоге корня после приставки. Английские слова не могут иметь два неударных слога в начале слова; один из этих слогов будет ударным. Если в слове четыре или более слогов, то в нём обычно два ударения: главное ударение (сильное ударение) и второстепенное ударение (слабое ударение). Также, второстепенное ударение может присутствовать (в дополнение к главному ударению) в более коротких словах в слоге, в котором гласный звук остается долгим и сильным.

Приставки часто ударные в существительных и реже в глаголах. Суффиксы в конце слова редко ударные, за исключением нескольких суффиксов существительных, прилагательных и глаголов, которые обычно ударные: rooMETTE, ‘ciga’RETTE / ‘CIGa’rette, Chi’NESE, ‘SIGni’fy, ‘ORga’nize, ‘DECo’rate. В более длинных производных словах ударение может падать на приставку или суффикс согласно типичным моделям ударения в слове. Окончания не ударные.

Ударение в производных словах

Ударение в производном слове может остаться таким же, как в слове, от которого оно образовано, или оно может измениться определённым образом. Когда существительные образуются от глаголов, или глаголы образуются от существительных, часто возникают следующие модели ударения.

Одинаковое ударение:

deNY (глагол) – deNIal (существительное)

ofFEND (глагол) – ofFENCE (существительное)

reVIEW (сущ.) – reVIEW (глагол)

PREview (сущ.) – PREview (глагол)

HOSpital (сущ.) – HOSpitalize (глагол)

Смещение ударения:

preSENT (глагол) – PRESent (существительное)

reFER (глагол) – REFerence (сущ.)

exTRACT (глагол) – EXtract (сущ.)

inCREASE (глагол) – INcrease (сущ.)

OBject (сущ.) – obJECT (глагол)

Другие части речи, образованные от существительных и глаголов, имеют следующие типичные модели ударения.

Прилагательные обычно ударные на первом слоге или повторяют ударение существительных, от которых они были образованы: fate (сущ.) – FATal (прилаг.); COLor (сущ.) – COLorful (прилаг.). Но ударение может меняться в более длинных производных прилагательных: METal (сущ.) – meTALlic (прилаг.); ATHlete (сущ.) – athLETic (прилаг.); geOLogy (сущ.) – ‘geo’LOGical (прилаг.); ARgument (сущ.) – ‘argu’MENtative (прилаг.).

Наречия обычно ударные на первом слоге или повторяют ударение прилагательных, от которых они были образованы: ANgry – ANgrily; WONderful – WONderfully; FOOLish – FOOLishly; athLETic – athLETically.

Герундий и причастия повторяют ударение глаголов, от которых они были образованы: forGET (забывать) – forGETting – forGOTten; CANcel (отменять) – CANceling – CANceled; ‘ORga’nize (организовать) – ‘ORga’nizing – ORganized.

Типичные модели ударения

Давайте посмотрим на типичные примеры ударения в английских словах. Главные факторы, которые влияют на ударение – количество слогов в слове и является ли это слово существительным, прилагательным или глаголом.

ОДНОСЛОЖНЫЕ СЛОВА

Односложные существительные, глаголы, прилагательные и наречия имеют ударение на гласном звуке в слове. Обратите внимание, что дифтонг – это один сложный гласный звук, который образует только один слог. Дифтонг имеет ударение на своём первом главном компоненте.

книга, кот, дождь, лодка, ворона, стул

читать, гореть, трогать, выбрать, смеяться, слышать

новый, яркий, большой, короткий, ясный, громкий

поздний / поздно, быстрый / быстро, скоро, сейчас

ДВУСЛОЖНЫЕ СЛОВА

Двусложные существительные

Существительные из двух слогов обычно ударные на первом слоге.

учитель, студент, ковер, урок

район, болезнь, утверждение, город

осужденный, увеличение, инстинкт, предмет

пропуск, подарок, проект, символ

Существительные могут иметь ударение на последнем слоге, если в нём долгий гласный звук или дифтонг. Слова иностранного происхождения (особенно слова французского происхождения) могут иметь ударение на последнем слоге.

стажер, карьера, задержка, забота

полиция, гостиница, берет, одноместное купе

Двусложные прилагательные

Прилагательные из двух слогов обычно ударные на первом слоге.

смешной, местный, полезный

глупый, родной, беззаботный

Некоторые двусложные прилагательные могут иметь ударение на последнем слоге, если в нём долгий гласный звук или дифтонг.

абсурдный, полный, крайний, угрюмый

Если в прилагательном есть приставка, то ударение часто падает на первый слог корня после приставки.

безумный, имеющий иммунитет, занятый

нездоровый, неизвестный

Двусложные глаголы

Глаголы из двух слогов обычно ударные на втором слоге, особенно если первый слог – приставка.

допускать, применять, начинать, верить

соединять, подтвердить, отрицать, заслуживать

не любить, положить не на место, объяснять

запрещать, забывать, игнорировать, приглашать

подчиняться, возникать, разрешать, подготовить

предлагать, преследовать, получать, ответить

снабжать, удивлять, аннулировать, отпереть

Но есть много глаголов, которые имеют ударение на первом слоге.

случаться, отменить, практиковать

отвечать, предлагать, упоминать

следовать, заимствовать, наказывать

ТРЕХСЛОЖНЫЕ СЛОВА

Трехсложные существительные

Существительные из трёх слогов обычно имеют ударение на первом слоге.

политика, правительство, генерал

интерес, выпускник, уверенность

Но многие существительные, особенно образованные от глаголов с приставками, имеют ударение на втором слоге.

одобрение, замешательство, потребитель

правильность, избрание, директор

Некоторые существительные могут иметь главное ударение на последнем слоге, если в нём долгий гласный звук или дифтонг.

инженер, беженец

Трехсложные прилагательные

Прилагательные из трёх слогов обычно имеют ударение на первом слоге.

общий, деликатный, превосходный

чудесный, любимый, любопытный

Некоторые трёхсложные прилагательные имеют ещё одно ударение на последнем слоге, если в нём долгий гласный звук или дифтонг.

вышедший из употребления

вьетнамский, португальский

Некоторые прилагательные не повторяют ударение существительного, от которого они были образованы, и ударяются на втором слоге.

видовой, символический, инстинктивный

Трехсложные глаголы

Глаголы из трёх слогов часто имеют главное ударение на первом слоге (даже если это приставка) и второстепенное ударение на последнем слоге (который часто глагольный суффикс).

организовать, модернизировать

означать, уточнять

компенсировать, украшать

делать комплимент, составлять

Но многие глаголы, особенно те, которые с приставками, имеют ударение на втором слоге.

продолжать, рассмотреть, помнить

Если приставка состоит из двух слогов, её первый слог обычно получает второстепенное ударение.

понимать, разлагаться

противоречить, соответствовать

ЧЕТЫРЕ ИЛИ БОЛЕЕ СЛОГОВ

Длинные существительные, прилагательные, глаголы и наречия обычно имеют два ударения: главное и второстепенное ударение. Но есть некоторые длинные слова только с одним ударением. В длинных словах четыре модели ударения.

Только одно ударение: на первом слоге

Существительные:

точность, утончённость

Прилагательные:

интересный

Только одно ударение: на втором слоге

Существительные:

нетерпимость, геометрия, Америка

простота, мобильность, телепатия

аккомпанемент

Прилагательные:

значительный, таинственный, традиционный

невыносимый, неразумный, печально известный

Глаголы:

сопровождать

Два ударения: на первом и третьем слоге

Это очень распространённая модель ударения в длинных словах в английском языке.

Существительные:

экономика, информация

конституция, повторение

колонизация, умножение

Прилагательные:

академический, геометрический

международный, космополитический

капиталистический, разговорный

покровительственный

Два ударения: на втором и четвертом слоге

Существительные:

рассмотрение

расследование

продолжение

Прилагательные:

экспериментальный

непонятный / непостижимый

Глаголы:

идентифицировать, усиливать

опьянять, накапливать

превращать в источник прибыли, извиняться.

In
linguistics, stress
is
the relative emphasis that may be given to certain syllables in a
word. It comprises five features:

It is l-o-n-g-e-r –
com-p-u-ter

It is LOUDER — comPUTer

It has a change in pitch from
the syllables coming before and afterwards. The pitch of a stressed
syllable is usually higher.

It is said more clearly. The
vowel sound is purer. Compare the first and last vowel sounds with
the stressed sound.

It uses larger facial
movements. Look in the mirror when you say the word. Look at your jaw
and lips in particular.

Degrees of word stress

English is
commonly believed to have three levels of stress – primary
stress
(in stressed syllable), secondary
stress (in half-stressed syllables), and weak (in unstressed
syllables).

The mark
(`) is used to indicate primary stress, secondary stress is marked by
(,).
A large group of polysyllabic simple words nave both primary and
secondary word stresses, eg ,conver`sation.

Position of the word stress

Word stress in English as well
as in Ukrainian is free, in the sense that the primary stress is not
tied to any particular syllable in all the words. But it always falls
on a particular syllable of any given word. The position of the word
stress is the product of its historical development.

Some ‘rules’ of word
stress

There are patterns in word
stress in English but, as a rule (!), it is dangerous to say there
are fixed rules. Exceptions can usually be found.

Here are some general
tendencies for word stress in English:

1. In a
monosyllabic
word
(a word that consists of a single syllable like cat) and most
disyllabic
words
(a word consisting of two syllables like monkey) the stress falls on
the initial syllable, eg `apple, `table, `happy (the exceptions are
ho`tel, la`goon).

2. In most
polysyllabic
words
stress falls on the third syllable from the end of the word, e.g.
`family, `cinema.

This stress pattern is
especially typical of polysyllabic words with suffixes:

—
ify classify, terrify, humidify, personify, solidify

—
ate operate, exaggerate, associate, integrate, certificate

—
ize apologize, criticize, recognize, computerize

—
logy biology, sociology, anthropology, psychology

—
graphy / grapher autobiography, photography, geographer

—
logist biologist

But exceptions are usually
found.

The stress falls on the second
syllable from the end of the word before the following suffixes:

—
ial memorial, financial, artificial, essential

—
ual visual, unusual, intellectual, individual

—
ian Canadian, vegetarian, pedestrian, politician

—
sion explosion, occasion, conclusion, permission

—
tion definition, production, situation, qualification

—
ient ancient, sufficient, efficient, deficient, proficient

—
cious delicious, conscious, suspicious, judicious

—
tious ambitious, cautious, superstitious, conscientious

—
ic academic, energetic, fantastic, terrific, realistic

—
ary secretary, necessary, contemporary, vocabulary

—
ous dangerous, mysterious, spontaneous, simultaneous

—
ible edible, flexible, incredible, impossible

—
ity ability, necessity, publicity, possibility, humidity

—
meter kilometer, parameter, speedometer, thermometer

The stress falls on the final
syllable by the following suffixes:

—
ee employee, refugee, trainee, referee

—
eer engineer, career, volunteer

— ese Chinese, Japanese,
Portuguese

— ique unique, antique,
technique

3. There are many two-syllable
words in English whose meaning and class change with a change in
stress. The word present, for example is a two-syllable word. If we
stress the first syllable, it is a noun (gift) or an adjective
(opposite of absent). But if we stress the second syllable, it
becomes a verb (to offer).

More examples:

4. Most
words of more that four syllables have two stresses: primary
and secondary.
The primary stress usually falls either on the third or second
syllable from the end.

In words
with the primary stress on the third syllable the secondary stress
usually falls on the first syllable, eg ,deco`ration.

If the
primary stress falls on the fourth or fifth syllable the secondary
stress is very commonly on the second syllable: ar,ticu`lation,
ex,perimen`tation.

Consequently
the position of the secondary stress is often that of the primary
stress in the original word, i.e. in the word from which the
derivative word is formed: ‘possible
— possi`bility, ap`preciate — ap,preci`ation.

5. Some
English words have two
primary stresses,
the second being the nuclear one.

The
following groups of words have two primary stresses:

(a)
polysyllables with separable prefixes haying a distinct meaning of
their own:

—
negative prefixes un-, dis-. non-, in- (and its variants ir-. il-,
im), eg: ,un’able,
,un’known,
,unem’phatic,
,unpre’pared,
,disap’pear,
,discon`nect,
,disbe’lief,
,non’smoker,
,non’final,
,non’union,
,incon’venient,
,in`artistic,
,in’accurate,
,il`literate,
,il’legal,
,imma’terial,
,ir`regular,
,ir`responsible.

re-
(meaning repetition), eg: ,re’wi’ie,
,re`organize,
,reu’nite

mis-
(meaning wrong), eg: ,misunder’stand,
,mis’print,
,mis’count

pre-
(meaning ‘before’, ‘earlier’), eg: ,pre’paid,
,pre-‘war,
,prehis’toric

ex-
(meaning ‘former’), eg: ,ex-‘minister,
,ex-‘champion,
,ex-‘husband

under-,
sub-
(meaning ‘subordinate’), eg: ,under`charge,
,under`secretary,
,sub`conscious,
,subdi`vide

inter-
(meaning ‘among’), eg: ,inter`course,
,inter`change,
,inter`view

— some
other rarely used prefixes like
anti-, vice», ultra-, out-,
eg antifascist,
vice-president, ultra-fashionable, outspread.

Note that
very
common words with these prefixes

sometimes lose the stress on
the prefix in everyday usage, eg; un’usual,
im’possibie, mis’take; the
stress on the prefix is also lost in words which are not used without
these prefixes, eg dis’
courage
(v), dis’dain.

(b)
numerals from 13 to 19 including (otherwise in oral speech they might
be easily mixed with such numerals as 30, 40,
50…
90).

(c)
compound numerals, eg ‘twenty-‘
three.

(d)
compound adjectives,
eg: ‘well-‘known,
‘absent-‘minded, ‘kind-‘hearted.

(e)
compound verbs consisting of a verb followed by a post-position or a
preposition-like adverb which changes the primary meaning of the verb
and as a result of it becomes very important and obtains a strong
stress, eg to ‘give
‘in, to ‘put ‘on, to ‘take ‘off, to ‘try ‘on.

6.
Word
stress in compounds (words composed of separable root morphemes)
depends on the semantic weight of the elements. When the first
element determines, restricts the second one or introduces some
contrast it is stressed while the second element of the compound
remains unstressed though the stressed vowel of the second element
retains its qualitative and quantitative prominence.

This is the
case with the majority of compound nouns. They are usually
single-stressed, eg: ‘reading-room,
‘writing-table, apple-tree, ‘suitcase, ‘raincoat, ‘music-hall,
‘blackboard, ‘fountain-pen, ‘deadline,
‘classroom,
‘software,
‘typewriter,
‘policeman,
‘airplane,
‘bus
station, ‘air
conditioner, ‘sports
car, ‘credit
card, ‘stock
market, ‘Great
wall.

This type
of word stress in compound nouns differentiates compounds from word
combinations in which every word has a stress, compare:

Double-stressed
compound nouns are comparatively rare. In such compounds both
elements are equally important, eg ‘gas-‘stove,
‘gas-‘ring, ‘absent-‘mindedness, ‘ice-‘cream.

Compound
adjectives have generally two stresses for both elements are equally
significant in them, eg: ‘clean-‘shaven,
‘well-‘bred, ‘bare-‘footed, ‘broad-‘shouldered; ‘first-‘class,
‘home-‘made, ‘bad-‘tempered, ‘good-‘natured, ‘absent-‘minded,
‘clean-‘shaven, ‘close-‘shaded, ‘old-‘fashioned.

Compound
adjectives with only one stress on the first element occur when the
second element is semantically weak, and add little meaning to the
first element, eg ‘spring-like,
‘childlike, ‘oval-shaped, ‘square-shaped, ‘yellowish-looking,
‘bottle-shaped, ‘heavy- looking.

Compound
verbs have stresses on both elements as they are of equal semantic
significance, but more strongly on the second word, eg ‘give
‘in — ‘give ‘out, ‘turn ‘on — ‘turn ‘out.

Their noun equivalents have
stress on the first part, compare:

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Stress is a prominent feature of the English language, both at the level of the word (lexical stress) and at the level of the phrase or sentence (prosodic stress). Absence of stress on a syllable, or on a word in some cases, is frequently associated in English with vowel reduction – many such syllables are pronounced with a centralized vowel (schwa) or with certain other vowels that are described as being «reduced» (or sometimes with a syllabic consonant as the syllable nucleus rather than a vowel). Various phonological analyses exist for these phenomena.

For example, in the following sentence, a speaker would typically pronounce have with a schwa, as /həv/ or /əv/ (homophonous with of):

Al and Bob have arrived.

But in other contexts where the word carries stress, it would be pronounced in its «strong» (unreduced) form as /hæv/ (homophonous with halve^{[note 1]}). For example:

Al and Bob have three children.

[In response to the question «Have Al and Bob arrived?»] They have.

Lexical and prosodic stress[edit]

Lexical stress (word stress) is regarded as being phonemic in English; the position of the stress is generally unpredictable and can serve to distinguish words. For example, the words insight and incite are distinguished in pronunciation only by the syllable being stressed. In insight, the stress is placed on the first syllable; and in incite, on the second. Similarly, the noun and the verb increase are distinguished by the placement of the stress in the same way – this is an example of an initial-stress-derived noun.

Moreover, even within a given letter sequence and a given part of speech, lexical stress may distinguish between different words or between different meanings of the same word (depending on differences in theory about what constitutes a distinct word): for example, initial-stress pronunciations of offense /ˈɔfɛns/ and defense /ˈdifɛns/ in American English denote concepts specific to sports, whereas pronunciations with stress on the words’ respective second syllables (offense /əˈfɛns/ and defense /dəˈfɛns/) denote concepts related to the legal (and, for defense, the military) field, and encountered in sports only as borrowed from the legal field in the context of adjudicating rule violations. British English stresses the second syllable in both sports and legal use.

Some words are shown in dictionaries as having two levels of stress: primary and secondary. For example, the RP pronunciation of organization may be given as /ˌɔːɡənaɪˈzeɪʃən/, with primary stress on the fourth syllable, secondary stress on the first syllable, and the remaining syllables unstressed. For different ways of analysing levels of stress in English, see § Degrees of lexical stress below.

English also has relatively strong prosodic stress—particular words within a phrase or sentence receive additional stress to emphasize the information they convey. There is also said to be a natural «tonic stress» that falls on the last stressed syllable of a prosodic unit – for more on this, see below under § Descriptions with only one level of stress.

English is classified as a stress-timed language, which means that there is a tendency to speak so that the stressed syllables come at roughly equal intervals. See Isochrony § Stress timing.

Reduced vowels[edit]

Certain vowel sounds in English are associated strongly with absence of stress: they occur practically exclusively in unstressed syllables; and conversely, most (though not all) unstressed syllables contain one of these sounds. These are known as reduced vowels, and tend to be characterized by such features as shortness, laxness and central position. The exact set of reduced vowels depends on dialect and speaker; the principal ones are described in the sections below.

Schwa and r-coloured schwa[edit]

Schwa, [ə], is the most common reduced vowel in English.^[1] It may be represented in spelling by any of the vowel letters, such as the a in about, the o in harmony, the u in medium, the e in synthesis, the i in decimal or the y in analysis (although the last three are pronounced instead as a near-close vowel by some speakers – see the following section).

In many rhotic dialects, an r-colored schwa, [ɚ], occurs in words such as water and standard. Non-rhotic dialects simply have schwa in these positions, except where the dialect has linking R (although when it is coupled with intrusive R, the underlying phoneme is still a bare /ə/, removing any phonemic difference). The r-colored schwa can be analyzed phonemically as /ər/.

Reduced vowels in the close unrounded area[edit]

In some dialects of English there is a distinction between two vowel heights of reduced vowels: in addition to schwa, there is a distinct near-close central unrounded vowel [ɪ̈] (or equivalently [ɨ̞]). In the British phonetic tradition, the latter vowel is represented with the symbol ⟨ɪ⟩, and in the American tradition ⟨ɨ⟩.^[2] An example of a minimal pair contrasting these two reduced vowels is Rosa‘s vs. roses: the a in Rosa’s is a schwa, while the e in roses (for speakers who make the distinction) is the near-close vowel. See weak vowel merger.

Like schwa, [ɪ̈] does not correspond in spelling to any single vowel letter. It can be represented by a (for example, message [ˈmɛsɪ̈dʒ], climate [ˈklaɪmɪ̈t], orange [ˈɒɹɪ̈ndʒ]), e (puppet), i (limit), u (minute), or y (polyp).

Among speakers who make this distinction, the distributions of schwa and [ɪ̈] are quite variable, and in many cases the two are in free variation: the i in decimal, for example, may be pronounced with either sound. A symbolization convention recently introduced by Oxford University Press for some of their English dictionaries^[3][4] uses the non-IPA «compound» symbol ⟨ᵻ⟩ (ɪ) in words that may be pronounced with either [ɪ̈] or schwa. For example, the word noted is transcribed /ˈnəʊtᵻd/.^[5]

The final vowel of words like happy and coffee is an unstressed front close unrounded vowel most commonly represented with [i], although some dialects (including more traditional Received Pronunciation) may have [ɪ]. This [i] used to be identified with the phoneme /iː/, as in FLEECE.^[6][7] See happy tensing. However, some contemporary accounts regard it as a symbol representing a close front vowel that is neither the vowel of KIT nor that of FLEECE; it occurs in contexts where the contrast between these vowels is neutralized;^{[8][pages needed][9][pages needed][10][pages needed]} these contexts include unstressed prevocalic position within the word, such as react /riˈækt/. For some speakers, however, there is a contrast between this vowel and /ɪ/ in such pairs as taxis vs. taxes and studied vs. studded. See English phonology: § Unstressed syllables under § Vowels.

Reduced vowels in the close rounded area[edit]

According to Bolinger (1986:347–360), there is a reduced rounded phoneme /ɵ/ as in willow /ˈwɪlɵ/, omission /ɵˈmɪʃən/, thus forming a three-way contrast with Willa /ˈwɪlə/ and Willie /ˈwɪlɨ/ or with a mission /ə ˈmɪʃən/ and emission /ɨˈmɪʃən/.

Analogously to the ⟨ᵻ⟩ symbol mentioned above, Oxford University Press have devised the non-IPA symbol ⟨ᵿ⟩ to represent a vowel that may be either /ʊ/ or /ə/ in free variation.^[11] For example, awful /ˈɔːfᵿl/ may be pronounced /ˈɔːfəl/ or /ˈɔːfʊl/. Phonologically, this vowel is an archiphoneme representing the neutralization of /ʊ/ and /ə/.

A rounded vowel [u], corresponding to the [i] happY vowel, is widely used in British works^{[12][pages needed][13][pages needed]} for words such as influence /ˈɪnfluəns/, into /ˈɪntu/. Phonologically, this vowel is an archiphoneme representing the neutralization of /uː/ and /ʊ/.

Syllabic consonants[edit]

The other sounds that can serve as the peaks of reduced syllables are the syllabic consonants, which can result in syllables with no vowel sound. Alternative pronunciations of syllabic consonants are however also possible.^[14] For example, cycle may be pronounced as either [ˈsaɪkɫ̩] with only a dark l sound or as [ˈsaɪkəl] with a schwa and the dark l sound.

In other words, a syllabic consonant can be phonologically analyzed as consisting of either just the consonant or of an underlying schwa followed by the consonant. The consonants that can be syllabic in English are principally /l/, /m/, and /n/, for example in cycle (spelled by L followed by a silent e), prism, and prison. In rhotic accents, /ɜr/ and /ər/ are also pronounced as syllabic [ɹ] or [ɻ].

Unstressed full vowels[edit]

All full (unreduced) vowels may occur in unstressed position (except under theoretical approaches that routinely assign secondary or tertiary stress to syllables containing such vowels – see § Degrees of lexical stress below). Some examples of words with unstressed syllables that are often pronounced with full vowels in Received Pronunciation are given below (pronunciation may be different in other varieties of English).

• Unreduced short vowels: /ɛ/ in the final syllable of document when used as a verb (compare the /ə/ heard when the word is used as a noun);^[15] /æ/ in the first syllable of ambition; /ɒ/ in the second syllable of neon; /ʌ/ in words with the negative prefix un-, such as unknown (compare /ə/ in until).
• Long vowels: /ɑː/ in the final syllable of grandma; /ɔː/ in the final syllable of outlaw; /uː/ in tofu; /ɜː/ in the noun convert; /iː/ in manatee. Note that this last may stand in contrast to the happY vowel found at the end of humanity. This contrast is further described under § Distinctions between reduced and unreduced vowels below.
• Diphthongs: /eɪ/ in Monday; /əʊ/ in piano; /aʊ/ in discount; /aɪ/ in idea; /ɔɪ/ in royale.

Full vowels can often be found in unstressed syllables in compound words, as in bedsheet, moonlit, tentpeg, snowman, and kettledrum.^[16] However, in some well-established compounds the vowel of the unstressed part may be reduced, as in postman /ˈpəʊstmən/.

Many other full unstressed vowels also derive historically from stressed vowels, due to shifts of stress over time (such as stress shifting away from the final syllable of French loan words, like ballet and bureau, in British English), or the loss or change of stress in compound words or phrases (as in óverseas vóyage from overséas or óverséas plus vóyage). There is a tendency, though, for such vowels to become reduced over time, especially in common words.

With vowels represented as ⟨ɪ⟩ and ⟨ʊ⟩, it may be hard to ascertain whether they represent a full vowel or a reduced vowel. A word that illustrates the contrast is chauvinism, where the first i is the reduced vowel /ɨ/, and the second is unreduced /ɪ/.

Degrees of lexical stress[edit]

Descriptions with primary and secondary stress[edit]

In many phonological approaches, and in many dictionaries, English is represented as having two levels of stress: primary and secondary. In every lexical word, and in some grammatical words, one syllable is identified as having primary stress, though in monosyllables the stress is not generally marked. In addition, longer words may have one or more syllables identified as having secondary stress. Syllables that have neither primary nor secondary stress are called unstressed.

In International Phonetic Alphabet transcriptions, primary stress is denoted with ⟨ˈ⟩ and secondary stress with ⟨ˌ⟩. IPA stress marks are placed before the stressed syllable. When citing words in English spelling, primary stress is sometimes denoted with an acute accent ⟨´⟩ and secondary stress with a grave accent ⟨`⟩, placed over the vowel of the stressed syllable.

Secondary stress is frequently indicated in the following cases:

• In words where the primary stress falls on the third syllable or later, it is normal for secondary stress to be marked on one of the first two syllables^[17] of the word. In words where the primary stress falls on the third syllable, secondary stress usually falls on the first rather than the second syllable. For example, ìnterjéction and èvolútion have their primary stress on the third syllable, and secondary stress on the first syllable. However, in certain words with primary stress on the third syllable, the second syllable may have secondary stress corresponding to the primary stress of a shorter related word or base. For example, electricity is pronounced by some speakers with secondary stress on the second syllable (elèctrícity), corresponding to the primary stress in eléctric. In words where the primary stress falls on the fourth syllable or later, the position of the secondary stress on either the first or second syllable often corresponds to the position of the primary stress in a shorter related word or base. For example, òrganizátion and assòciátion, which both have primary stress on the fourth syllable, have secondary stress on the first and second syllable respectively: the same positions as the primary stress on the first syllable of organize and the second syllable of associate.
• In words where the primary stress falls on the third or fourth syllable from the end, a following syllable may be marked with secondary stress.
• In many compound words, where one part of the compound is pronounced more prominently; here the stressed syllable of the prominent part of the compound is marked with primary stress, while the stressed syllable of the other part may be marked with secondary stress. For example, còunterintélligence [ˌkaʊntər.ɪnˈtɛlɪdʒəns], and cóunterfòil [ˈkaʊntərˌfɔɪl]. Dictionaries are not always consistent in this, particularly when the secondary stress would come after the primary – for instance the foil of counterfoil is transcribed with secondary stress in Merriam-Webster dictionaries but not in the OED, although both of them assign secondary stress to the counter of counterintelligence.
• In some dictionaries (particularly American ones), all syllables that contain a full (unreduced) vowel are ascribed at least secondary stress, even when they come after the primary stress (as in the counterfoil example above). Bolinger (1986:358–360) notes that such dictionaries make use of the secondary-stress mark to distinguish full vowels from reduced vowels in unstressed syllables, as they may not have distinct symbols for reduced vowels. John Wells remarks, «Some analysts (particularly Americans) argue […] that the presence of a strong [= full] vowel is sufficient evidence that the syllable in question is stressed. In the British tradition we regard them as unstressed.»^[16]

Note that this last-mentioned group of syllables are those ascribed tertiary stress in the approach described in the next section.

Descriptions with primary, secondary and tertiary stress[edit]

In some theories, English has been described as having three levels of stress: primary, secondary, and tertiary (in addition to the unstressed level, which in this approach may also be called quaternary stress). For example,²coun.ter.³in.¹tel.li.gence has a primary, secondary, and tertiary stress, and ¹coun.ter.³foil has a primary and tertiary stress. Exact treatments vary, but it is common for tertiary stress to be assigned to those syllables that, while not assigned primary or secondary stress, nonetheless contain full vowels (unreduced vowels, i.e., those not among the reduced vowels listed in the previous section).^[18][19] Dictionaries do not generally mark tertiary stress, but as mentioned above, some of them treat all syllables with unreduced vowels as having at least secondary stress.

Descriptions with only one level of stress[edit]

Phoneticians such as Peter Ladefoged have noted that it is possible to describe English with only one degree of stress, as long as unstressed syllables are phonemically distinguished for vowel reduction.^[20] According to this view, the posited multiple levels, whether primary–secondary or primary–secondary–tertiary, are mere phonetic detail and not true phonemic stress. They report that often the alleged secondary (or tertiary) stress in English is not characterized by the increase in respiratory activity normally associated with primary stress in English or with all stress in other languages. In their analysis, an English syllable may be either stressed or unstressed, and if unstressed, the vowel may be either full or reduced. This is all that is required for a phonemic treatment.

The difference between what is normally called primary and secondary stress, in this analysis, is explained by the observation that the last stressed syllable in a normal prosodic unit receives additional intonational or «tonic» stress. Since a word spoken in isolation, in citation form (as for example when a lexicographer determines which syllables are stressed) acquires this additional tonic stress, it may appear to be inherent in the word itself rather than derived from the utterance in which the word occurs. (The tonic stress may also occur elsewhere than on the final stressed syllable, if the speaker uses contrasting or other prosody.)

This combination of lexical stress, phrase- or clause-final prosody, and the lexical reduction of some unstressed vowels, conspires to create the impression of multiple levels of stress. In Ladefoged’s approach, our examples are transcribed phonemically as cóunterintélligence /ˈkaʊntər.ɪnˈtɛlɪdʒəns/, with two stressed syllables, and cóunterfoil /ˈkaʊntərfɔɪl/, with one. In citation form, or at the end of a prosodic unit (marked [‖]), extra stress appears from the utterance that is not inherent in the words themselves: cóunterintélligence [ˈkaʊntər.ɪnˈˈtɛlɪdʒəns‖] and cóunterfoil [ˈˈkaʊntərfɔɪl‖].

To determine where the actual lexical stress is in a word, one may try pronouncing the word in a phrase, with other words before and after it and without any pauses between them, to eliminate the effects of tonic stress: in the còunterintèlligence commúnity, for example, one can hear secondary (that is, lexical) stress on two syllables of counterintelligence, as the primary (tonic) stress has shifted to community.

Comparison[edit]

The following table summarizes the relationships between the aforementioned analyses of levels of stress in English: Ladefoged’s binary account (which recognizes only one level of lexical stress), a quaternary account (which recognizes primary, secondary and tertiary stress), and typical dictionary approaches (which recognize primary and secondary stress, although their interpretations of secondary stress vary).

As described in the section above, the binary account explains the distinction observed between «primary» and «secondary» stress as resulting from the prosodic, tonic stress that naturally falls on the final stressed syllable in a unit. It also recognizes the distinction between unstressed syllables with full vowels, and unstressed syllables with reduced vowels, but considers this to be a difference involving vowel reduction and not one of stress.

Distinctions between reduced and unreduced vowels[edit]

As mentioned in the previous section, some linguists make a phonemic distinction between syllables that contain reduced vowels (as listed above – syllabic consonants are also included in this category), and those that, while being phonetically unstressed, nevertheless contain a full (unreduced) vowel. In some analyses syllables of the latter type are ascribed secondary stress (those of the former type being regarded as completely unstressed), while in others the reduced/unreduced distinction is regarded as one of vowel quality not involving any difference in stress. This last approach is taken by linguists such as Ladefoged^[21] and Bolinger,^[22] who thus consider that there are two «tiers» of vowels in English, full and reduced.

A distinction of this type may become useful for the analysis of a potential contrast between words such as humanity, chicory, shivery and manatee, chickaree, shivaree. When assuming a separate set of reduced vowels, the former may end with /ɨ/, while the latter may end with an unreduced /iː/. Another example, for some speakers, is provided by the words farrow and Pharaoh; the former may end with a reduced /ɵ/ while the latter may end with the unreduced /oʊ/.^[23] Alternatively, these reduced vowels can be analyzed as instances of the same phonemes as full vowels. In that case, it may be the phonemic secondary stress that distinguishes these words.

Some linguists have observed phonetic consequences of vowel reduction that go beyond the pronunciation of the vowel itself. Bolinger (1986) observes that a preceding voiceless stop is likely to retain its aspiration before an unstressed full vowel, but not before a reduced vowel; and that flapping of /t/ and /d/ in American English is possible before a reduced vowel but not before a full vowel. Hence the /t/ in manatee would be an aspirated [tʰ], while that in humanity would be unaspirated [t] or a flap [ɾ].^[24] Wells (1990) explains such phenomena by claiming that, in the absence of morpheme boundaries or phonotactical constraints, a consonant between a full and a reduced vowel generally belongs to the syllable with the full vowel, whereas a consonant between two reduced vowels belongs to the preceding syllable.^[25] According to this analysis, manatee is /ˈmæn.ə.tiː/ and humanity is /hjʊ.ˈmæn.ᵻt.i/; it is then asserted that voiceless stops are only aspirated at the beginning of syllables, and /t/ can only be flapped at the end of a syllable (as in might I /maɪt.aɪ/ → [mʌɪɾaɪ] versus my tie /maɪ.taɪ/ → [maɪtʰaɪ]).

Alternation between full and reduced vowels[edit]

It is a feature of English that reduced vowels frequently alternate with full vowels: a given word or morpheme may be pronounced with a reduced vowel in some instances and a full vowel in other instances, usually depending on the degree of stress (lexical or prosodic) given to it.

Alternation depending on lexical stress[edit]

When the stress pattern of words changes, the vowels in certain syllables may switch between full and reduced. For example, in photograph and photographic, where the first syllable has (at least secondary) stress and the second syllable is unstressed, the first o is pronounced with a full vowel (the diphthong of GOAT), and the second o with a reduced vowel (schwa). However, in photography and photographer, where the stress moves to the second syllable, the first syllable now contains schwa while the second syllable contains a full vowel (that of LOT).

Alternation depending on meaning[edit]

There are a number of English verb-adjective pairs that are distinguished solely by vowel reduction. For example, in some dialects, separate as a verb (as in ‘what separates nation from nation’) has a full final vowel, [ˈsɛpəreɪt], whereas the corresponding adjective (as in ‘they sleep in separate rooms’) has a reduced vowel: [ˈsɛpərət]^[26] or [ˈsɛprət].^[27] A distinction may be made in a similar way between a verb and a noun, as in the case of document (pronounced with a schwa in the noun’s final syllable and sometimes pronounced with a full vowel /ɛ/ in the verb’s final syllable). Finally, differences in syllabic stress and vowel reduction (or lack of the latter) may distinguish between meanings even within a given part of speech, with the best-known such pairs in American English being offense and defense (in each case with the first syllable accented in the context of sports and the second syllable accented in legal contexts).

Alternation depending on type of enunciation[edit]

In some words, the reduction of a vowel depends on how quickly or carefully the speaker enunciates the word. For example, the o in obscene is commonly reduced to schwa, but in more careful enunciation it may also be pronounced as a full vowel (that of LOT). Compare this with the o in gallon, which is never a full vowel, no matter how carefully one enunciates.^[24]

Weak and strong forms of words[edit]

Some monosyllabic English function words have a weak form with a reduced vowel, used when the word has no prosodic stress, and a phonemically distinct strong form with a full vowel, used when the word is stressed (and as the citation form or isolation form when a word is mentioned standing alone). In the case of many such words the strong form is also used when the word comes at the end of a sentence or phrase.

An example of such a word is the modal verb can. When appearing unstressed within a sentence and governing a verb (as in I can do it), the weak form /kən/ is used. However the strong form /kæn/ is used:

• when the word is stressed: I don’t have to do it, but I can do it
• when the word is phrase-final, i.e. without a governed verb: we won’t be doing it, but they can if they want
• when the word is referred to in isolation: The verb «can» is one of the English modals.

In the case of most words with such alternative forms, the weak form is much more common (since it is relatively rare for function words to receive prosodic stress). This is particularly true of the English articles the, a, an, whose strong forms are used within normal sentences only on the rare occasions when definiteness or indefiniteness is being emphasized: Did you find the cat? I found a [eɪ] cat. (i.e. maybe not the one you were referring to). The weak form of the is typically [ði] before a vowel-initial word (the apple) but [ðə] before a consonant-initial word (the pear), although this distinction is being lost in the United States.^{[21][pages needed]} A similar distinction is sometimes made with to: to Oxford [tu] vs. to Cambridge [tə].

The exact set of words that have weak forms depends on dialect and speaker; the following is a list of the chief words of this type in Received Pronunciation:^[28][29]

Always reduced:

a, an, and, be, been, but, he, her, him, his, just, me, or, she, than, that (as conjunction), the, them, us, we, who, you, your.

Reduced, but stressed at the end of a sentence:

as, at, for, from, of, to, some, there.

Reduced, but stressed at the end of a sentence and when contracted with the negative not:

am, are, can, could, do, does, had, has, have, must, shall, should, was, were, will, would.

In most of the above words the weak form contains schwa, or a syllabic consonant in the case of those ending /l/, /m/ or /n/. However, in be, he, me, she, we, been, him the vowel may be the reduced form of /ɪ/, or else [i]; and in do, who, you it may be the reduced form of /ʊ/, or [u]. (For the and to, see above.) These various sounds are described in the § Reduced vowels section above.

The weak form of that is used only for the conjunction or relative pronoun (I said that you can; The man that you saw), and not for the demonstrative pronoun or adjective (Put that down; I like that colour).

Another common word with a reduced form is our, but this is derived through smoothing rather than vowel reduction.

Other words that have weak forms in many varieties of English include your (weakly pronounced as [jə], or [jɚ] in rhotic accents), and my (pronounced [mɨ] or [mi]). These are sometimes given the eye dialect spellings yer and me.

In highly formal registers with exaggeratedly careful enunciation, weak forms may be avoided. An example is singing, where strong forms may be used almost exclusively, apart (normally) from a, although weak forms may be used more frequently as tempo increases and note-values shorten.^{[citation needed]}

The vowel reduction in weak forms may be accompanied by other sound changes, such as h-dropping, consonant elision, and assimilation. For example, and may reduce to [ən] or just the syllabic consonant [n], or [ŋ] by assimilation with a following velar, as in lock and key. Compare also definite article reduction.

Synchronically, ‘em [əm] functions as a weak form of them, though historically it is derived from a different pronoun, the Old English hem.^[30]

The homonymy resulting from the use of some of the weak forms can lead to confusion in writing; the identity of the weak forms of have and of sometimes leads to misspellings such as «would of», «could of», etc. for would have, could have, etc.

English weak forms are distinct from the clitic forms found in some languages,^{[citation needed]} which are words fused with an adjacent word, as in Italian mangiarla, «to-eat-it».

Notes[edit]

See also[edit]

• English phonology
• Schwa
• Tenseness
• Vowel reduction
  • Vowel reduction in Russian
• Initial-stress-derived nouns

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

Sources[edit]

• Bolinger, Dwight (1986), Intonation and Its Parts: Melody in Spoken English, Stanford University Press, ISBN 0-8047-1241-7
• Celce-Murcia, Marianne; Brinton, Donna M.; Goodwin, Janet M. (1996), Teaching Pronunciation: A Reference for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-40504-1
• Hirst; Di Cristo (1998), Intonation Systems: A Survey of Twenty Languages
• Jones, D.; Roach, Peter; Setter, J.; Esling, J. (2011), English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th Ed., Cambridge University Press
• Katalin (2008), Beginner’s English Dialectology
• Knight, Rachael-Anne Knight (2012), Phonetics- A course book, Cambridge University Press
• Kreidler, Charles (2004), The Pronunciation of English, Blackwell
• Ladefoged, Peter (2006), A Course in Phonetics, Thomson
• Garcia Lecumberri, M. Luisa (2000), English Transcription Course, Oxford University Press US, ISBN 0-340-75978-X
• McCully, C. (2009), The Sound Structure of English, Cambridge University Press
• Roach, Peter (2009), English Phonetics and Phonology, 4th Ed., Cambridge University Press
• Upton, C; Kretzschmar; Konopka (2001), Oxford Dictionary of Pronunciation for Current English, Oxford University Press
• Wells, John C. (1982), Accents of English, Volume 2: The British Isles (pp. i–xx, 279–466), Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-52128540-2
• Wells, John C. (1990), «Syllabification and allophony», in Ramsaran, Susan (ed.), Studies in the pronunciation of English, pp. 76–86
• Wells, John C. (2008), Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd Ed., Longman
• Wells, John C. (2012-06-07), HappY Again, retrieved 2015-07-31

What is Word Stress in English?

1.7.1  Word stress is the system of stress within an individual word. Word stress is important because English is a stress-timed language, which means that we speak with rhythm, pronouncing the stress in each content word. Each content word is broken into parts called syllables. One of the syllables in a word will have a stronger stress than the others. We pronounce the stressed syllable more loudly and with more power, while the other syllables are pronounced more quietly and with less power. Every content word in English has one strong stress. For example:

teacher             has two syllables: tea cher         Tee ch (Clear Alphabet)

The first syllable has strong stress, while the second syllable does not. It is weak.

1.7.2  Word stress is not regular in English. The positioning of word stress varies, although it is very often on the first syllable of a word, so if you need to have a guess you should choose the first syllable! This is mainly because suffixes – word endings – in English are not usually stressed. For example, a two syllable word ending with the suffix  ing  must be stressed on the first, because  ing  is never stressed:

Click here for 100 of the most common suffixes in English: most-common-suffixes-in-english

1.7.3  Suffixes can also help us to find word stress because there are many suffixes which follow a rule that the stress must be on the syllable before, for example:

These suffixes are very common, so it’s reassuring to know that the stress will always be before each one. Read and learn the full list here: suffixes-and-word-stress

There are also a number of common suffixes which are stressed. (Click here: most-common-suffixes-in-english.) They are the exception to the rule that suffixes are unstressed. For example:

1.7.4  Other rules of word stress include:

a) Compound nouns are usually stressed on the first syllable. These are words which combine two words, such as:

airport    air + port
football    foot + ball
popcorn    pop + corn
strawberry    straw + berry

There is a list of 300 common compound nouns here: common-compound-nouns.

b) Both parts of phrasal verbs are stressed, for example:

wake up
go out

c) Acronyms are usually stressed on the final syllable, for example:

BBC
DVD

d) There is a small group of words called homographs which are pairs of words with the same spelling, but different stress depending on the type of word, (whether it is a noun or a verb), for example:

Click here for a longer list of noun-verb homographs: noun-verb-homographs.

e) As we can see in the table above, it is very common for two-syllable verbs to be stressed on the second syllable.

This advice can help us to find word stress because modern English often consists mainly of:

• words of one syllable – where the word stress is obvious
• words with suffixes, which guide us because they are not stressed or follow a word stress rule
• words which are compound nouns

Click here for an analysis of a newspaper article that proves this point: working-out-word-stress.

1.7.5  Apart from the helpful guidance above, the best place to start if you want to find the stressed syllable in a word is the final syllable. In general, a word is stressed on the nearest strong syllable to the end. We must work from right to left, beginning with the final syllable, and assess whether each syllable is strong or weak. It depends on the vowel sound: a strong syllable is one with a long vowel sound (e.g. ar, ee), a diphthong (e.g. ai, ei), or a short vowel sound (e.g. a, o, but not a schwa sound). If it is strong, we have found the stressed syllable. If it is weak, we must move along until we find a strong syllable. Click here to read examples of this process: english-stress-rules.

Exercises

Ex. 1.7.1 Reading  Put the words into groups depending on how many syllables there are:

Ex. 1.7.2 Writing  Write more words on the topic of Learning English in each group:

Ex. 1.7.3 Reading  Underline the stressed syllable in each word:

1. adverb
2. article
3. beginner
4. course
5. dictionary
6. elementary
7. English
8. grammar
9. homework
10. intermediate
11. level
12. listening
13. mobile
14. noun
15. paper
16. partner
17. pen
18. pronunciation
19. qualification
20. reading

Ex. 1.7.4 Reading  Underline the suffix in each word and put the words into groups:

1. dictionary
2. reading
3. grammar
4. syllable
5. consonant
6. determiner
7. answer
8. elementary
9. listening
10. spelling
11. speaking
12. advanced
13. writing
14. tablet
15. mobile
16. example
17. beginner
18. qualification
19. student
20. level
21. computer
22. article
23. teacher
24. paragraph
25. certificate
26. intermediate
27. conjunction
28. partner
29. preposition
30. pronunciation

Ex. 1.7.5 Reading  Match the words to make 20 compound nouns:

Ex. 1.7.6 Reading  Add a word to each word to make a compound noun:

1. basket _______________
2. green _______________
3. under _______________
4. super _______________
5. land _______________
6. dust _______________
7. sales _______________
8. news _______________
9. tooth _______________
10. wind _______________
11. work _______________
12. play _______________
13. life _______________
14. ward _______________
15. paper _______________
16. milk _______________
17. every _______________
18. hair _______________
19. day _______________
20. wall       _______________

Ex. 1.7.7 Reading  Use a dictionary to help you complete the table and underline the stressed syllable(s) in each item: