What is word stress in english language

Wondering how to teach English pronunciation more effectively? Here are definitions, examples, techniques and activity ideas for the classroom that may boost your lessons and help your learners be more successful!

Word stress is the emphasis we place in a specific syllable of a word when pronouncing it. In English words that have more than one syllable, we usually don’t pronounce every syllable with the same weight, so each syllable in a word can be stressed or unstressed.

Stressed syllables are louder than the others — i.e. air comes out of our lungs with more power; but they might also be longer, or pronounced with higher or lower in pitch. Syllables that are not pronounced with such emphasis are usually referred to as unstressed syllables, and they are usually not pronounced as clearly as the others.

Some longer words may have more than one ‘strong syllables’, but one of them tends to stand out more than the other. They are referred to as primary and secondary stress, the former being the strongest.

Stress is usually represented in the phonemic chart and transcription by the symbol /ˈ/ placed before the stresses syllable. In words that have secondary stress, we include the symbol /ˌ/ before the appropriate syllable (e.g. everybody: /ˈev.riˌbɒd.i/).

Unlike sentence stress, that frequently changes position according to the speakers’ intention, word stress tends to be fairly invariable. As a result, even when we want to emphasise a word over all others in an utterance, we tend to stick to the usual word stress pattern, making the stressed syllable even longer, louder or more high-pitched.

Because of this relative invariability, mistakes in word stress may lead to more problems with intelligibility than other errors related to pronunciation, so it is crucial that students are made aware of how the word is usually pronounced. Luckily, the same regularity makes stress patterns fairly easy to teach, and it helps students recognise words with less effort.

Next time you’re teaching, consider using the tips below to include work on word stress in your lessons.

1) Draw students’ attention to word stress whenever you teach them a new word

Even though the English language does show some identifiable patterns and ‘rules’ when it comes to word stress, they tend to be rather abstract and might confuse rather than enlighten students. You may increase chances of internalisation of accurate pronunciation, however, if you deal with word stress as an essential characteristic of the new word when teaching it, just like meaning and spelling, for example.

Some patterns may be easier for students to cope with.

2) Make word stress visible

Not only can visual reference can be quite helpful to clarify the pronunciation of words, but it can also provide students with a model they can use to systematise or organise new vocabulary they learn in a more autonomous way.

Here are some examples of how you to illustrate word stress.

3) Correct mistakes in word stress often.

Given its generally invariable character, misplacing word stress may affect intelligibility (arguably, more so than mispronunciation of individual sounds in a word). Therefore, it is of really important that learners be not only taught, but also corrected when they misplace word stress.

Some useful techniques to correct mistakes related to word stress are:

• Use one of the ways of recording stress above to draw students’ attention to the stress pattern and ask them to try it again.

• Use different fingers to mark each syllable and point at the one that corresponds to the stressed one.

• Say that the pronunciation of the word isn’t accurate and give the learner a second chance to get it right.

• Tap on a surface or clap your hands in a way that illustrates the stress pattern (alternating stronger and weaker sounds).

• Use drawings or different-sized objects to illustrate the appropriate stress patterns and ask the learner to try to produce it again.

4) Use playful activities to teach or practice pronunciation

Regardless of the age of the learner, activities that involve an element of fun can help lower learners’ affective filter, or anxiety levels, and increase opportunities for internatlisation.

The domino game below was designed for a vocabulary lesson in which pre-intermediate learners are being exposed to new lexis to describe professions and revisiting some occupations they already know.

Stage 1 — Lead-in

Students get in pairs and brainstorm jobs that are common now that weren’t common in the past.

Stage 2 — Language presentation and clarification

Meaning: Students analyse statements with the new lexis and match the highlighted words to definitions.

Example:

«I’m an intern now, but I want to keep working here after I graduate from Uni.

Definition: someone who is finishing their training for a job by getting practical experience.

Teacher than asks some CCQs to check students’ understanding.

Pronunciation: Teacher distributes dominoes and ask students to try to get rid of their pieces just as they would when playing regular dominoes. Instead of numbers, however, they are to match words with similar stress patterns.

Stages 3 and 4 — After this stage, students take part in controlled and less-controlled practice.

CLICK HERE to download a free PDF version of the domino.

CLICK HERE to donwload a blank PDF version of the domino, so you can use it in your lessons on any topic.

I hope this post has been useful to you! Let us know how you teach word stress and if you tried sny new things after reading this.

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See you next time!

In our previous post, we shared 12 great tips to help you improve your English pronunciation.  For tip number nine, Understanding Word Stress & Sentence Stress, we explained the importance of word stress rules for communicating effectively in English. In this post, we delve a little deeper into the subject.

What is Word Stress?

The stress placed on syllables within words is called word stress. In one word, we place emphasis on one syllable, while the other syllables are given less emphasis.

English words only have one stressed syllable. Whilst longer words can have a secondary stress, it is always a much lighter stress. It is also worth noting that we stress vowel sounds and not consonants.

In English we have variable stress where the position of the stress is unpredictable. This contrasts with some other languages – like Polish or Finnish – that have fixed stress where the stress on virtually any multi-syllable word falls on a particular syllable. Learn more here.

Where you place stress or emphasis within a word can affect the way in which it is pronounced and therefore its meaning. As a result, knowing which syllable within a word should be emphasised or stressed is very important for correct pronunciation. The reason for this is that placing stress on the wrong syllable within a word can completely change the meaning of a word.

Understanding The Importance of Word Stress

So, understanding the importance of word stress is vital if you want to improve your English pronunciation and speak English like a native English.

But if word stress is so important, exactly what are the rules that we need to follow?

As with so many aspects of the English language, there are many rules to learn. Then, to make things even more tricky, there are also many contradictions or exceptions to those rules. This can make learning English more challenging for some students.

To help you out, we have compiled some simple guidelines for learning the rules of word stress.  We don’t cover all aspects of English word stress rules but the points  we have mentioned will certainly get you started.

English Word Stress Rules

1. Word Stress For Two-Syllable Words

Two-Syllable Nouns

If the word is a two-syllable noun, we usually place the stress on the FIRST syllable.

Example: MONkey, TEAcher, DIStance, INsect, TAble,

Two-Syllable Adjectives

If the word is a two-syllable adjective,  as with two-syllable nouns, we usually place the stress on the FIRST syllable.

Examples: SIlent, BORing, LIttle, PURple, STUpid, CLEver, FRIEndly

Two Syllable Verbs

Conversely, if the word is a two-syllable verb we generally stress the SECOND syllable.

Examples: beGIN, surVIVE, aTTEND, coLLECT, preVENT

See more examples of verbs where the second syllable is stressed.

Two Syllable Prepositions

The SECOND syllable is also stressed if the word is a preposition.

Examples: aROUND, beFORE, beLOW, inSIDE, toWARDS (See more examples of prepositions with stress on second syllable)

2. Word Stress For Words That Are Both Nouns & Verbs

When a word can be both a noun and a verb, we stress the FIRST syllable for the noun and the SECOND syllable for the verb.

Examples:

1) The violent CONflict between the couple conFLICTS with their pacifistic beliefs.

2) The PREsents he preSENTS his wife never fail to disappoint her.

3) They will no doubt disCOUNT my suggestion for DIScounts on Chinese courses for the elderly.

Click here for some good examples with audio included:

As mentioned, there are always exceptions to the rules. That said, it’s fairly accurate to say that only around 20% of two-syllable words have their stress on the second syllable.

3. Word Stress For Words Ending in ‘er’ & ‘ly’.

If a word ends in either ‘er’ or ‘ly’, whether it’s a noun, an adjective or an adverb, the general rules is that the stress is placed on the first syllable.

Example:

ANgrily, PERfectly, SUddenly, HAppily,

FOReigner, GARdener, BARtender, MANager

BIgger, BEtter, FAtter

4. Words That Use The Suffix ade, ee, ese, ique, ette & oon

Stress the actual suffix of words (including the first consonant before the suffix) ending in -ade, -ee, -ese, -ique and -ette and -oon

Examples:

deCADE, inVADE,

ampuTEE, guaranTEE, aGREE,

ChiNESE, oBESE, legaLESE,

vinaigRETTE, kitcheNETTE, laundeRETTE,

anTIQUE, obLIQUE,

carTOON, baBOON

5. Simple Word Stress Rules For Suffixes

The rule changes for words with a number of other suffixes such as -ery, -ian, -ible, -able, i-al, -cian, -ic, -ish, -ics, -ion, -ious, -ia, and -ient. Instead of placing the emphasis on the actual suffix as illustrated in the examples above, we stress the syllable just before the suffix.

Examples:

-ery: CELery, SURgery, reCOVery
-ian: boHEMian, coMEdian, ciVILian, beauTICian
-ible: AUDible, adMISSible, SENSible
-able: aDAPTable, SUITable, CHANGEable
-ial: fiNANcial, artiFICial, oFFICial
-cian: maGIcian, opTIcian, beauTIcian
-ic: BAsic, draMAtic, characteRIStic
-ish: GARish, ENglish, unSELfish
-ics: dyNAMics, aeRObics, hypNOtics
-ion: VERsion, classifiCAtion, CAUtion
-ious: harMONious, PREvious, VARious, FURious
-ia: TRIVia, maLARia, multiMEdia
-ient: ANcient, NUtrient, suFICient
-osis: thromBOsis, psyCHOsis, osMOsis

A good way to remember some of the suffixes above is to use the rule for nearly all suffixes that start with an ‘i’ or a ‘u’. For example, the suffixes -ion, -ual, -uous, -ial, -ient, -ious, -iuor, ior, -ic, -ity.

Notice again  how we stress the syllable immediately before the suffix in the following examples:

diVERsion,

unUSual,

conTINuous,

amBIGuous,

FATuous,

SPAtial,

TRANSient,

LUSCious,

suPERior,

behaviour,

JUNior,

STOic,

linGUIStic,

photoGRAPHic

Note, some exceptions to this rule include words ending in -ism, -ist and -ize.

English Word Stress Videos




How Dictionaries Help With Word Stress

If you are unsure about where to place the stress in a word, you can always refer to an English dictionary.  All good dictionaries give the phonetic spelling of a word.

You can learn which syllable of a word is stressed by looking at the phonetic spelling. The stressed syllable is commonly shown with an apostrophe (‘) just before or just after the stressed syllable.

Unfortunately, dictionary creators never agreed on one system so you should refer to your dictionary’s (how to use this dictionary) notes to see which system they use.

Here’s an example from my dictionary that shows which syllable to stress by placing the apostrophe immediately BEFORE the stressed syllable:

photograph | ‘fəʊtəɡrɑːf

photographic | ˌfəʊtə’ɡrafɪk 

Using the system of capitalising the stressed syllable as in all of my examples above, these two dictionary examples look like this:

PHOtograph

photGRAPHic

Learn Word Stress With Practise & Experience

As previously mentioned, the list of rules above is by no means complete. However, it does explain where to place the primary emphasis on numerous English words.

If the thoughts of learning all these rules is overwhelming, do not be too discouraged.  Many English learners naturally assimilate to word stress rules simply by listening and practicing the language.

Probably the best way to learn is from experience.  Try to get a feel for the music of the language by listening carefully to spoken English.

Of course, if you would like some extra assistance with your English speaking skills, contact us to find out more about our English courses in Hong Kong.

Here’s a brief overview of our English courses. Click the image for more details.

Word Stress in
English

Word stress is
your magic key to understanding spoken English.  Native speakers of
English use word stress naturally.  Word stress is so natural for them that
they don’t even know they use it.  Non-native speakers who speak English to
native speakers without using word stress, encounter two problems:

1. They find it difficult to understand native speakers, especially
   those speaking fast.
2. The native speakers may find it difficult to
   understand them.

To understand
word stress, it helps to understand syllables.  Every word is made from
syllables.  Each word has one, two, three or more syllables.

word	number of syllables
dog	dog	1
green	green	1
quite	quite	1
quiet	qui-et	2
orange	or-ange	2
table	ta-ble	2
expensive	ex-pen-sive	3
interesting	in-ter-est-ing	4
realistic	re-al-is-tic	4
unexceptional	un-ex-cep-tion-al	5

Notice that (with
a few rare exceptions) every syllable contains at least one vowel (a, e,
i, o or u) or vowel sound.

What is Word Stress?

In English, we
do not say each syllable with the same force or strength.  In one word, we
accentuate ONE syllable.  We say one syllable very loudly (big,
strong, important) and all the other syllables very quietly.

Let’s take 3
words: photograph, photographer and photographic.  Do they
sound the same when spoken?  No.  Because we accentuate (stress) ONE syllable
in each word.  And it is not always the same syllable.  So the shape of
each word is different.

	shape	total syllables	stressed syllable
PHO TO GRAPH		3	#1
PHO TO GRAPH ER		4	#2
PHO TO GRAPH IC		4	#3

This happens in
ALL words with 2 or more syllables: TEACHer, JaPAN, CHINa, aBOVE, converSAtion,
INteresting, imPORtant, deMAND, etCETera, etCETera, etCETera

The syllables
that are not stressed are weak or small or quiet. 
Native speakers of English listen for the STRESSED syllables, not the weak
syllables.  If you use word stress in your speech, you will instantly and
automatically improve your pronunciation and your comprehension.

Try to hear the
stress in individual words each time you listen to English — on the radio, or
in films for example.  Your first step is to HEAR and recognise it.  After
that, you can USE it!

There are two
very important rules about word stress:

1. One word, one stress.  (One word cannot have two stresses. 
   So if you hear two stresses, you have heard two words, not one word.)
2. The stress is always on a vowel.

 

Why is Word Stress Important?

Word stress is
not used in all languages.  Some languages, Japanese or French for example,
pronounce each syllable with eq-ual em-pha-sis.  Other languages, English for
example, use word stress.

Word stress is
not an optional extra that you can add to the English language if you want.  It
is part of the language!  English speakers use word stress to
communicate rapidly and accurately, even in difficult conditions.  If, for
example, you do not hear a word clearly, you can still understand the word
because of the position of the stress.

Think again
about the two words photograph and photographer.  Now imagine
that you are speaking to somebody by telephone over a very bad line.  You
cannot hear clearly.  In fact, you hear only the first two syllables of one of
these words, photo…  Which word is it, photograph or photographer?  Of
course, with word stress you will know immediately which word it is because in
reality you will hear either PHOto… or phoTO…  So without hearing the whole
word, you probably know what the word is ( PHOto…graph or phoTO…grapher).  It’s magic!  (Of course, you
also have the ‘context’ of your conversation to help you.)

This is a simple
example of how word stress helps us understand English.  There are many, many
other examples, because we use word stress all the time, without thinking about
it.

Where do I Put Word Stress?

There are some
rules about which syllable to stress.  But…the rules are rather complicated! 
Probably the best way to learn is from experience.  Listen carefully to spoken
English and try to develop a feeling for the «music» of the language.

When you learn a
new word, you should also learn its stress pattern.  If you keep a vocabulary
book, make a note to show which syllable is stressed.  If you do not know, you
can look in a dictionary.  All dictionaries give the phonetic spelling of a
word.  This is where they show which syllable is stressed, usually with an
apostrophe (‘) just before or just after the stressed syllable. 
(The notes at the front of the dictionary will explain the system used.)  Look
at (and listen to) this example for the word plastic. There are 2 syllables.
Syllable #1 is stressed.

example	phonetic spelling: dictionary A	phonetic spelling: dictionary B
PLAS TIC
/plæs’tIk/	/’plæs tIk/

 

Rules of Word Stress in English

There are two
very simple rules about word stress:

1. One word has only one stress.  (One
   word cannot have two stresses.  If you hear two stresses, you hear two
   words.  Two stresses cannot be one word.  It is true that there can be a
   «secondary» stress in some words.  But a secondary stress is
   much smaller than the main [primary] stress, and is only used in long
   words.)
2. We can only stress vowels, not consonants.

Here are some
more, rather complicated, rules that can help you understand where to put the
stress.  But do not rely on them too much, because there are many exceptions. 
It is better to try to «feel» the music of the language and to add
the stress naturally.

1 
Stress on first syllable

rule	example
Most 2-syllable nouns	PRESent, EXport, CHIna, TAble
Most 2-syllable adjectives	PRESent, SLENder, CLEVer, HAPpy

2 
Stress on last syllable

rule	example
Most 2-syllable verbs	to preSENT, to exPORT, to deCIDE, to beGIN

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: the words export, import, contract
and object can all be nouns or verbs depending on whether the stress is
on the first or second syllable.

3 
Stress on penultimate syllable (penultimate = second from end)

rule	example
Words ending in -ic	GRAPHic, geoGRAPHic, geoLOGic
Words ending in -sion and -tion	teleVIsion, reveLAtion

For
a few words, native English speakers don’t always «agree» on where to
put the stress. For example, some people say teleVIsion and others say TELevision. 
Another example is: CONtroversy and conTROversy.

4 
Stress on ante-penultimate syllable (ante-penultimate = third from end)

rule	example
Words ending in -cy, -ty, -phy and -gy	deMOcracy, dependaBIlity, phoTOgraphy, geOLogy
Words ending in -al	CRItical, geoLOGical

5 
Compound words (words with two parts)

rule	example
For compound nouns, the stress is on the first part	BLACKbird, GREENhouse
For compound adjectives, the stress is on the second part	bad-TEMpered, old-FASHioned
For compound verbs, the stress is on the second part	to underSTAND, to overFLOW

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:

Languages
are also differentiated according to the place of word stress. The
traditional classification of languages concerning place of stress in
a word is into those with a fixed stress and those with a free
stress. In languages with a fixed stress the occurrence of the word
stress is limited to a particular syllable in a polysyllabic word.
For instance, in French the stress falls on the last syllable of the
word (if pronounced in isolation), in Finnish and Czech it is fixed
on the first syllable, in Polish on the one but last syllable. In
languages with a free stress its place is not confined to a specific
position in the word. In one word it may fall on the first syllable,
in another on the second syllable, in the third word — on the last
syllable, etc. The free placement of stress is exemplified in the
English and Russian languages, e.g. English: ‘appetite — be’ginning —
ba’lloon; Russian: озеро
— погода
— молоко.

The
word stress in English as well as in Russian is not only free but it
may also be shifting, performing the semantic function of
differentiating lexical units, parts of speech, grammatical forms. In
English word stress is used as a means of word-building; in Russian
it marks both word-building and word formation, e.g. ‘contrast —
con’trast; ‘habit — habitual ‘music — mu’sician; дома
— дома;
чудная
— чудная,
воды
— воды.

There
are actually as many degrees of stress in a word as there are
syllables. The opinions of phoneticians differ as to how many degrees
of stress are linguistically relevant in a word. The British
linguists usually distinguish three degrees of stress in the word.
A.C. Gimson, for example, shows the distribution of the degrees of
stress in the word examination. The primary stress is the strongest,
it is marked by number 1, the secondary stress is the second
strongest marked by 2. All the other degrees are termed weak stress.
Unstressed syllables are supposed to have weak stress. The American
scholars B. Bloch and G. Trager find four contrastive degrees of word
stress, namely: loud, reduced loud, medial and weak stresses. Other
American linguists also distinguish four degrees of word stress but
term them: primary stress, secondary stress, tertiary stress and weak
stress. The difference between the secondary and tertiary stresses is
very subtle and seems subjective. The criteria of their difference
are very vague. The second pretonic syllables of such words as
libe’ration, recog’nition are marked by secondary stress in BrE, in
AmE they are said to have tertiary stress. In AmE tertiary stress
also affects the suffixes -ory, -ary, -ony of nouns and the suffixes
–ate, -ize, -y of verbs, which are considered unstressed in BrE,
e.g. ‘territory, ‘ceremony, ‘dictionary; ‘demonstrate, ‘organize,
‘simplify.

British
linguists do not always deny the existence of tertiary stress as a
tendency to use a tertiary stress on a post-tonic syllable in RP is
also traced.

3. Functions and tendencies of the English stress

Word
stress in a language performs three functions.

1.
Word stress constitutes a word, it organizes the syllables of a word
into a language unit having a definite accentual structure, that is a
pattern of relationship among the syllables; a word does not exist
without the word stress Thus the word stress performs the
constitutive function. Sound continuum becomes a phrase when it is
divided into units organized by word stress into words.

2.
Word stress enables a person to identify a succession of syllables
as a definite accentual pattern of a word. This function of word
stress is known as identificatoiy(у
него
так
в
лекции)
(or recognitive). Correct accentuation helps the listener to make the
process of communication easier, whereas the distorted accentual
pattern of words, misplaced word stresses prevent normal
understanding.

3.
Word stress alone is capable of differentiating the meaning of words
or their forms, thus performing its distinctive function. The
accentual patterns of words or the degrees of word stress and their
positions form oppositions, e.g. ‘import — im’port, ‘billow —
below.

The
accentual structure of English words is liable to instability due to
the different origin of several layers in the Modern English
word-stock. In Germanic languages the word stress originally fell on
the initial syllable or the second syllable, the root syllable in the
English words with prefixes. This tendency was called recessive. Most
English words of Anglo-Saxon origin as well as the French borrowings
(dated back to the 15th century) are subjected to this recessive
tendency. Unrestricted recessive tendency is observed in the native
English words having no prefix, e.g. mother, daughter, brother,
swallow, ,in assimilated French borrowings, e.g. reason, colour,
restaurant. Restricted recessive tendency marks English words with
prefixes, e.g. foresee, begin, withdraw, apart. A great number of
words of Anglo-Saxon origin are monosyllabic or disyllabic, both
notional words and form words. They tend to alternate in the flow of
speech, e.g. ‘don’t be’lieve he’s ‘right.

The
rhythm of alternating stressed and unstressed syllables gave birth to
the rhythmical tendency in the present-day English which caused the
appearance of the secondary stress in the multisyllabic French
borrowings, e.g. revolution, organi’sation, assimilation, etc. It
also explains the placement of primary stress on the third syllable
from the end in three- and four-syllable words, e.g. ‘cinema,
‘situate, ar’ticulate. The interrelation of both the recessive and
the rhythmical tendencies is traced in the process of accentual
assimilation of the French-borrowed word personal on the diachronic
level, e.g. perso’nal — ‘perso’nal — ‘personal.

The
appearance of the stress on the first syllable is the result of the
recessive tendency and at the same time adaptation to the rhythmical
tendency. The recessive tendency being stronger, the trisyllabic
words like personal gained the only stress on the third syllable from
the end, e.g. ‘family, ‘library, faculty, ‘possible.

The
accentual patterns of the words territory, dictionary, necessary in
AmE with the primary stress on the first syllable and the tertiary
stress on the third are other examples illustrating the correlation
of the recessive and rhythmical tendencies. Nowadays we witness a
great number of variations in the accentual structure of English
multisyllabic words as a result of the interrelation of the
tendencies. The stress on the initial syllable is caused by the
diachronical recessive tendency or the stress on the second syllable
under the influence of the strong rhythmical tendency of the present
day, e.g. ‘hospitable — ho’spitable, ‘distribute — dis’tribute,
‘aristocrat — a’ristocrat, ‘laryngoscope — la’ryngoscope.

A
third tendency was traced in the instability of the accentual
structure of English word stress, the retentive tendency: a
derivative often retains the stress of the original or parent word,
e.g. ‘similar — as’simitate, recom’mend — recommen ‘dation.

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I’ve come across countless students who have a  decent understanding of English grammar, writing, and vocabulary.

However, many of these same students continue to struggle with speaking and have difficulty being understood by native English speakers.

What is the reason?

They have not taken the time to tackle word stress.  What exactly is the concept of word stress in English language, and why is it so important to master?

What Is Word Stress?

English is not a flat language, but one of stresses and varying intonations. And here’s how it works:

Each word in English is broken into a number of syllables.

Short words like dog, car, box and so on are one syllable words. Meaning each of these words only has one sound.  

Words such as pretty [pret-ty], quiet [qui-et] and export [ex-port] are broken up into two syllables.

Then there are words with three, four and even five or more syllables. Think of the words  important [im-por-tant], realistic [real-is-tic] and communication [com-mun-i-ca-tion].

Each syllable needs to be pronounced, but some syllables are stressed or emphasized on more than others, depending on the word.

Examples:

In the word ‘important’, the second syllable is stressed, so it is pronounced stronger and should read imPORtant.  

The syllables which are not stressed are called the weak or quiet ones.

This is not only a difficult concept to grasp for Asian speakers studying English, but generally for all English as a second language students.

Even if one understands that importance of word stress, knowing exactly where to emphasize stress is no easy task.

General Rules and Patterns for Word Stress

This video lesson provides an introduction into syllable and word stress rules:

English is a very inconsistent language when it comes to rules. Since it is littered with exceptions, you should always keep in mind that there are no definite rules to English, but general rules and patterns that can be followed.

First, only one syllable can be stressed in an English word regardless if it has two, three, or even four or more syllables.

Two-Syllable Words

In most two-syllable nouns and adjectives, the stress comes in the firs syllable of the word.

Rule: stress on first syllable	Example
Nouns	PRESent, TABle, DOCtor
Adjectives	GIant, UGly, WASTEful

For most two-syllable verbs,  the stress is in the second syllable.

Rule: stress on second syllable	Example
Verbs	exPORT, reGRET, proNOUNCE
Adjectives	GIant, UGly, WASTEful

Three- or More-Syllable Words

For words that have three or more syllables, understanding where to place the stress becomes a little more tricky, but there are some general patterns that can be followed.

The stress comes in the second to last syllable in any word that ends in -ic, -sion or -tion.

Rule: stress on second to last syllable	Example
Words ending in -ic	GRAPHic, geoGRAPHic, geoLOGic
Words ending in -sion and -tion	teleVIsion, reveLAtion

For any word ending in the suffixes -cy, -gy, -phy, -ty or -al, the stress comes in the THIRD syllable from the LAST.

Rule: stress on third to last syllable	Example
Words ending in -cy, -ty, -phy and -gy	deMOcracy, dependaBIlity, phoTOgraphy, geOLogy
Words ending in -al	CRItical, geoLOGical, histORical

Example: Here’s a tricky one!

• Photograph – PHOtograph (3 syllables, first one is stressed)
• Photography – phoTOgraphy (4 syllables, third to last one is stressed)
• Photographic – photoGRAPHic (4 syllables, second to last one is stressed)

Why Word Stress Is So Important

Why exactly is correct word stress so important when it comes to conversing in the English language?

Here are some reasons:

• Word stress heavily affects the sounds of the vowels in a word. Different word stress can make a word sound completely different.
• Native speakers rely on word stress to identify words. Thus, incorrect word stress patterns can lead to miscommunication between non-native speakers and native speakers.
• Knowing the stress pattern of words will help students to learn and remember the correct pronunciation of words.
• Knowing correct word stress will help students to improve their listening comprehension skills.
• Overall, the skill to stress words correctly will help ESL learners more to converse more confidently in English and enjoy it!

While some languages have little or limited stress – like Mandarin –, English is a heavily stress-based language.

Unfortunately, the majority of ESL teachers and students ignore the necessity to practice word stress.

Word stress is not something extra that students should study if they have time. It is an essential part of learning English because it is a major component of the English language.

If I had two dollars for every student I’ve met who was frustrated that his or her speaking skills weren’t improving despite significant gains in the areas of grammar, writing, and vocabulary, I would have a decent amount of savings.

If you are a student out there, then you need to be studying word stress.

If you are a teacher, then you should take time each week to practice it with your students.

How to Practice Word Stress

I wish I could tell something else, but besides the few rules students just have to memorize the correct stress for each word in English language.

They should listen to native speakers – watch movies, listen to podcasts, etc. –, and then repeat the words they’ve heard, imitating their pronunciation. Or they can use the read-aloud function in language learning apps.

Find activities to teach and practice pronunciation here.

2. Try saying this word as though you have been completely taken by surprise: for example, SYLlabus? baNAna? kangaROO? 

These three content words carry the most important ideas in the sentence. Unstressed words tend to be smaller words which we need in order to make our language hold together. They help the sentence “function” and for this reason they are called function words. 

Content Words	Function Words
Main Verbs	go, talk, writing	Pronouns	I, you, he ,they
Nouns	student, desk	Prepositions	on, under, with
Adjectives	big, clever	Articles	the, a, some
Adverbs	quickly, loudly	Conjunctions	but, and, so
Negative Aux. Verbs	can’t, don’t, aren’t	Auxiliary Verbs	can, should, must
Demonstratives	this, that, those	Verb “to be”	is, was, am
Question Words	who, which, where

Now, say this sentence aloud and count how many seconds it takes:

The beautiful Mountain appeared transfixed in the distance.

Time required? Probably about 5 seconds. Now, try speaking this sentence aloud: 

Мы рассмотрели правила и примеры постановки ударений в английском языке. Чтобы узнать больше об английской грамматике, читайте другие публикации в разделе Grammar!